COTA Moto GP 2013

I missed this dude was in Fayettenam. That Lumbee muscadine wine could explain mbmotorsport's behavior.





:up:

 

Why is there blue ink on the check and a red Pilot G2 sitting there? Smells fishy.

Im just giving you shit This is pretty awesome, though!

 

And I remember that too.
I've been watching the Shaun Palmer video so yeah, I'm a little amped!

 

:up::up:

 

Good work, mate. If you continue to feel philanthropic, come on out to Tally this weekend to help TWF endurance.

 

That was Japan last year. He stalled on the start and fell back to about the bottom 4. He was up well past mid pack by the second corner, and went on to win the race. That made a believer out of me.

 

Marquez is great, and has definitely arrived, but I don't think he's gonna dominate like Rossi did from 01 to 05, just yet. The other guys are still plenty competitive. Im a huge fan of Marc, and think he has a chance to put up a Rossi type career, but he definitely benefited from a couple things on Sunday.

One being that it was obviously a track that favored the Honda, and the other being that it was a new track to all of the riders. I think that, due partly to his youth, he learned it faster than anyone, and also, the other top three guys didn't have the many hundreds of laps around the place, on the big bikes, that they do at most of the other tracks.

I do also agree though, that if he does find a way to win at Jerez, its gonna be a long season for the other three aliens!

 

Good job MBM!!!

 

How long before papa starts talking shit about all of the over the top Marquez fans?

I give it a month.

 

I agree with most of this with the exception of him learning because he was young. I think that him being young is exactly why he won. Everyone he was racing against has been injured and has seen the impact ( i know his eye). But he is still young and invincible. THAT is why he won.

With tthat said, I think as far as ablility on top of a motorcycle and getting it to do exactly what you want, he is second only to Stoner, then maybe little ass Pedrosa.

I think Vale has made his career on the breaks and with his mind. Lorenzo, smooth, that was the thing that was even more apparent it person. You coudl see Lorenzo from far away coming and instantly know it was him by how smooth he was. He rides effortlessly.

I think Marquez has the ablity to win the championship this year, but not sure he will, I think he will crash himself to the moon though. Next year he will win it all. This year... Lorenzo with Pedro and Vale 3rd. As much as I hate to say that.

And MAN I miss Marco

 

Since his passing my heart just hasn't been in motogp and racing in general like it once was. He was it, the shit and the tits for me in racing.

 

So...the rules at the gate DID state one bottle per person; however, the gates were not manned by a bunch of Nazis as some feared. I easily brought in about 10 bottles per day. They simply looked real quick in the big pocket of the back and let us through every day. I saw plenty of people eating their own food as well. I am sure they had to conceal that somewhat though, because I also saw quite a few people being instructed to throw food and open drinks away. All in all I think they handled it well.

 

I dont think he will ever dominate like Rossi did in that 5 year span unless Lorenzo decides to retire. For that 5 years, Rossi simply did not have a Stoner or Lorenzo. Once he did, his winning % was cut in half.

 

I was curious about the fan experience overall. Traffic in/out, parking, ticket nazis, food, motels, downtown, etc.???

They said over 61k in attendance yesterday. That seems a decent crowd. :up:

 

Speaking of feeling invincible, anyone else here think he's gonna push it till he bins it, then back off a while? I've seen that happen as well.

 

COTA is a fabulous facility, but they have a lot to learn before they can really do a good job with the motorcycle racing fans.

Traffic in wasn't bad, but that was only because everyone didn't try arriving at once. Traffic out after the races yesterday was just horrible - you were forced in a specific direction based on which lot you parked in, even if that wasn't the way you needed to go. It appeared to me that the goal was nothing more than traffic dispersal - move all the vehicles outward from COTA in any and every direction. Once far enough out, the attendees could figure out how to circle back to where they wanted to go.

This meant, for instance, that if you were in Lots N or P you would be sent Eastward, ending up in Wyldwood. If your destination was the airport or downtown Austin, you would find yourself about 20 miles (or more) East of where you needed to be.

Entry into the facility was straightforward. I didn't see any real issues unless someone tried to bring in a LARGE something or other. With the ugliness in Boston earlier in the week, I'm quite happy they didn't let any really large things in.

Plenty of areas and accessways to wander around the track, and once you were in there, security was well-managed and unobtrusive.

The food and drinks at the track were wildly overpriced, as expected. $10 for a domestic beer, $10 for a burger, $7 for a hot dog.

Downtown Austin is definitely the place to stay. Hotels were typical downtown-city prices - I didn't notice any gouging going on. There were several other events going on in Austin, but it didn't seem hugely crowded. Lots of restaurants and music places, and if you knew where to go you could hobnob with the racers. Saturday night at dinner our table was next to a big contingent of Moto2 racers (I helped Ratthapark Wilairot understand what the two Texas girls he was trying to pick up were saying ), and Rossi and his crew were two tables away.

The airport was a zoo Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and today. It, like the roads around the track, lacks the capacity to handle the traffic generated by such big events.

All-in-all, I'd give it about a "C+" grade. Austin needs to add some infrastructure to accommodate Circuit traffic, and COTA needs to better understand the fan bases for the various events, and tailor pricing/procedures to each.

 

Yeah...

Something tells me that he may have a few "to the moon!'' highsides in his future (see 'Jorge, rookie year').

Or not...

 

WOW there was that many!?!?! I guessed half that. I figured 10K on friday 20K on sat and 30-40 on sunday. Where was that sited at?

I mean the place is HUGE but didn't seem to be that that crowded.

 

Thanks! I'll give them a break since it was an inaugural event and many are still trying to get it all figured out. Laguna Seca has become better each year with the logistics based on what they learn every year. :up:

 

I do agree with IWS on the infrastructure to an extent. The roads into and out of COTA could definitely be wider. That being said it took us less than an hour to get out of the F lot and back to our hotel 9 miles away on Sunday after the race and we left right after the GP race as most were doing. The majority of that time was due to the gridlock of people trying to get out of the Parking Lot itself. Once out of the lot we got back to our hotel quickly, but we were sent out the front exit and were staying at the Best Western near the airport. That was the best direction for us to leave, so it worked out well in our case. I think they are doing the best they can with the roads in the area. I.e...the road leading into the front of the track (2 lane road) was set up to run the shoulder on both sides effectively making it a 4 lane road for the weekend. Also, after the race they had the 3 "lanes" heading out of the track running toward the highways. All in all I was actually very happy with how the traffic worked out for us, especially after all the horror stories that were floating around.

Food was high, but for the most part it is what I am accustomed to seeing at most concerts or ball games here in Tampa. I saw $8 beers, $5 hotdogs, $4 or $6 dollar waters depending on size, $8 dollar burgers, etc. There were definitely some stands that had better pricing on certain food items than others, so shopping around a bit helped. I saw quite a few people who would leave for a little bit and had coolers packed at their cars, which is what I did one day and would probably do every day if I were to do it again.

The real question that should be asked is Would you do it again?? And my answer to that is...In a heartbeat. I had an absolute blast at my first GP and can't wait to go again next year.