MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas - 2014

Back in April I had a chance to go to the second annual running of the MotoGP races at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track in Austin, Tx. I went to the races last year and had a blast, but after watching the races on TV,  I realized that there were parts of the track I did not walk to. So this year with one of my best friends we went exploring to another part of the track. Most of the shots are from my Canon 7D with a Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5 and a few I took with my Samsung Galaxy S4. It turned out to be a good weekend, great racing, and it wasn't too hot. So here are some of my shots.

Here is another area of the track I got to to see some action.  Here are two riders turning into Turn 9 at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA)

During a practice run, Moto2 rider number 55 looks at the other riders coming out of Turn 2 at the Circuit Of the Americas.

Moto2 Riders passing under the pedestrian bridge by Turn 16 at the Circuit of the Americas.

I had a chance to go to the top of the observation tower at the Circuit of the Americas and the views were spectacular.  It is the best seat in the house to see the entire track.

Here is a shot from the Observation tower looking down on riders at turn 16 of the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

Here is a wider shot from the Observation Tower looking down on Turn 16.

Looking down on Turn 18 one ride had some bike trouble.   Here is another shot I captured from the Observation Tower of a track, where a corner worker is trying push start this bike.

Looking down on Turn 18 one ride had some bike trouble.   Here is another shot I captured from the Observation Tower of a track, where a corner worker is trying push start this bike.

Each moto GP Event I have been to (only Indianapolis and Austin, Tx) there is Ducati Island (Ducati set up a nice area for Ducati owners to park and have some nice seats at the track.  Here is a shot on Ducati Island from the rea of the Observation tower.

Here is a panoramic shot I took from there.  On the right side you see turn 1 and on left you see turns 13 and part of 14. 

Below are a few shots from the track walk after the practice runs on Day 1.

During the track walk I took this shot from one of the starting grid positions at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

This shot was taken during the public track walk after day one practice.  From the start  line to turn one there is a 133 foot climb in elevation.  Ok so that doesn't seem like a lot but let me know bad your quads and calfs are burning when you reach the top.

Once the qualifying sessions were done I followed a a crowed of people and ended up going to a rider Q&A session.  Unfortunately, I did not get an autograph because I didn't  have a wristband, but here are a couple of shots I got from that Q&A session.

Columbian MotoGP rider Yonny Hernandez tosses a signed hat back to a fan at Circuit of the Americas riders Q&A session.

MotoGP fan favorite Valention Rossi waves to the crowd.

I had a chance to meet an interesting lady in the vendor village.  There was a BMW S 1000 RR that caught my attention.  While looking in the bike I noticed that there was a different type of mount for a GoPro mount by the handlebars. I asked if the owner of the bike was here and then I was introduced to the 5 time land speed record holder Valerie Thompson.  We had a chance to share some different riders stories and end the end I got an autograph from her.  Now even though she can go 210+mph on land, she has a fear of skydiving.   Well at least I have one up her on something.  To learn more about Valerie go to her site here and facebook fan page here.

Hope you enjoyed what you seen.

2@N