MotoGP Tips and Tricks

Discussion in 'Trips & Events' started by Big_Jim59, Feb 7, 2016.

  1. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    A friend and I have been thinking of going to the MotoGP in Austin, TX in April. I was hoping that someone, who has been to a MotoGP event before could give me some tips. I am looking for advice on
    1. What's the best ticket to buy. (general admission or a grandstand pass?)
    2. What to take? I have looked at the Circuit of the Americas web site and you can't take much but you can take a blanket, a folding chair and a small umbrella.
    3. Ride or Drive? We were thinking of hauling bike down anyway and doing the Three Sisters ride possibly on Sunday.
    4. What's the best day to go?
    5. What is there to do and does it pay to buy the more expensive tickets?
     
  2. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    I'll ask a friend that tracks there and has worked the races there for GP. He should have a lot of info for you.
     
  3. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    Thanks! I have been doing Google searches and have not turned up anything definitive. It would be nice to get some advice so that I can make a plan.
     
  4. atx

    atx New Member

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    MotoGP is the only event at COTA where they cater to motorcycles at all. You get up close parking, free gear check, and if you pay extra there are parade laps. Word is that sometimes you can get lucky and just sort of sneak into the line to get a free parade lap, but no promises. Plenty of seating in general admission if you are looking to save some cash, beach towel is good enough for me, though i will cram a small chair in my backpack sometimes. They keep changing the rules on what you can and can't bring honestly, but last time i was there it was 2 small sealed water bottles per person, no aerosol sunscreens, no large umbrellas, and a few other rules. They don't exactly search you very hard though, so anything you can fit in your pockets is good to go. I get season passes for GA super cheap and go to almost every event, though i might end up missing MotoGP this year unfortunately.
     
  5. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Check oot the Moto GP website "Seatsniffers.com" Moto-GP groupies.. I think Norcalboy is the leader of the pack..;)

    Rules at those big racemeets change almost from day to day. That part is run by the beancounters whose task is to extract every centavo out of every peso. The various manufacturers have a bunch of say-so too.

    I think the full size umbrella thing is pretty much a constant for the obvious reasons. There could be exclusions so maybe it's best to check for alternatives


    http://i.imgur.com/uwxqQ.png
     
  6. LongIslandVFR

    LongIslandVFR New Member

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    I haven't been to a MotoGP race at COTA but I attended the 2014 Formula 1 USGP there. I purchased GA tickets and spent a lot of time on the hill by the esses (turns 3-6). Definitely hang out at the top of the hill by Turn 1 for the start! Theres some decent viewing between Turn 6 and 7 and you can look up the hill to Turn 8 and 9 also.

    COTA has a good amount of GA spots. If you do plan on getting grandstand tickets go for the "Stadium Section" turns 12-16
     
  7. safetypro10

    safetypro10 New Member

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    OK, I've been every year, and hopefully this year too.

    They have a deal that is basically roving reserved seat sitting. You sit anywhere you want except sky boxes. I like the 2nd level front straight sitting. Covered from sun and rain, close to vendors and restrooms. MC parking costs like $20 for the 3 day pass, and occasionally that means infield parking.

    But, with a folding beach chair and sunshade, you can sit all over the track in the grass and have great views.

    Download the map, turns 1, and 13 are great views, but you can sit in the grass in front of the esses, great bike views.

    Temp can be 40 to 90. Hat and shades required, maybe sweatshirt. You're riding jacket maybe perfect, or extra luggage.

    They will not allow outside food or drink, including water.

    Budget about $120 with parking for 3 days.

    Food is typical captive budget, about $15 a meal.

    Plenty of restrooms and water fountains in the stands.

    Have fun, hope I make it there too.

    Larry
     
  8. SlideRule

    SlideRule New Member

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    Hey Jim, I’ve done the Austin trip the past few years and really enjoyed it. Here are some notes that might help out others who are thinking about going:
    1. I’ve always just gone with General Admission tickets with a folding chair in a backpack. The track is so big that you can only see a quarter of the track at any one time (Unless you are up on the “Mullet”), so at the very least try to sit somewhere near a vid screen which are sprinkled around the track. There is plenty of room everywhere, so it isn’t worth it to me to sit shoulder to shoulder in a grandstand seat.
    2. I take a small backpack with appropriate layers for the expected weather (could vary quite a bit in Texas) and a couple bottles of water. Like atx said above, they don’t really search you very hard; I usually stow away snacks & other stuff without it getting confiscated. Once they had water refilling stations once you get inside, which was handy since it was awfully hot that year.
    3. I’ve had my wife with me both times I’ve gone, so we flew into town. If I can talk my buddy into going with me this year, I’ll almost certainly ride, and I’m all the way out in California. If I was coming from Dallas it would be a no-brainer. Keep in mind there isn’t a shuttle from Austin to the track like there is for Formula 1, so you’ll have to find a way there and back every day if you don’t have a vehicle. If I remember right, its something like a $30-40 cab ride, so plan accordingly. I believe bike parking is free at the track.
    4. If you can swing it, you might as well go all three days (Friday, Saturday & Race on Sunday), although if you can’t make Friday its not a deal-breaker. There are far fewer people there that day, so you might be able to meet a rider or two with a paddock pass. Qualifying on Saturday is one of my favorite parts of the weekend – I try to sit where I can see inside the pits: its pretty amazing to watch the crew swap out a swingarm in a couple minutes! Obviously the race is on Sunday, but instead of rushing off to fly home Sunday night/evening, we usually stay in town and fly out Monday morning instead. That’s what most of the riders/teams do, and as a result we’ve ran into several of them Sunday night at a restaurant or in the airport on the way home. Got a nice pic of my wife sandwiched between Marc and his brother at the BBQ joint at the end of the terminal!
    5. I rather like the town of Austin which has quite a bit to do around town. We try to stay in a hotel rear the river & I35. There are several decent breweries & bars nearby on Rainey Street, which are a nice and quiet compared to the craziness going on downtown. Saturday night we do Sixth Street; they close the road between I35 & Congress Ave, making a “Block Party” of bars & other nightlife. Sunday night after the race we celebrate at one of the many great Texas BBQ places around town.
    If you plan on staying in Austin, hotels are already starting to fill up so its probably best to reserve a room sooner rather than later. Let me know if you have any more questions or if you want to meet up there, I’m pretty sure I’ll be going there again this year.
     
  9. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    Did somebody say Norcalboy,Pesos and seat sniffing?

    download.png
     
  10. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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  11. grabcon

    grabcon New Member

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    My wife and I are trailering the bikes do to Austin from the Denver area. Leave Thursday morning and get there Thursday night. About 900 miles. We are staying at a hotel a few miles from the track just off the interstate. The whole trailer thing allows us 2 extra days in Austin and Texas for riding. If we rode the bikes it would take 2 days each way plus the weather this time of year is kind of dicey. We could still get snow in Colorado, New Mexico, and such in either direction.

    We bought the 3 day reserved seating pass ($149 each section T15 row 10) which includes free MC parking for all of the days. The passes allow us to go all over accept to the paddock area. Our plan is to go to the practice and qualifying session Friday and Saturday and then head west to the hill country for some riding each day. Spend all day at the track Sunday and head out Monday morning to the hill country and stay in Fredericksburg and ride for several days out of that location then head back to Denver. 8 days total, it will be a nice way to kick off the riding season for 2016.
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2016
  12. LongIslandVFR

    LongIslandVFR New Member

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    Hill country is really nice out there...stopped by the Zoo out in the middle of nowhere out there
     
  13. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    For the non race fans there's a really neato Armadillo Festival in Victoria, Texas featuring a beauty contest and armadillo tacos.

    Neato is one of those words that are used by the dudes that talk funny, North of Texas.
     
  14. atx

    atx New Member

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    Victoria is over 2 hours away, muchhhh better stuff to do within a 2 hour trip of Austin than visit nowheresville.
     
  15. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Two hours is nothing for a true armadillo taco fan. The Austin versions are adulterated with hamburger and are not organic.
     
  16. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    Well there was good intell posted above, my friend actually worked an event there and it was a while ago. Here is what he said.


    When Daisy and I went, we track marshaled. So we didn't really get the watching experience. No idea on tickets or best places to watch. I know most tickets enabled you to wander most of the areas. Brian and Jenn had a bad experience the first year with the VIP tickets but, from what I understand, that has been fixed and it is supposed to be a lot better. If that's true, I would spring for that. If that's out of the budget, I'd just get the GA ticket and wander.

    I'm not sure on what you can or can't bring.

    I liked track marshaling. You don't get better seats, I touched multiple motoGP, moto2 and moto3 bikes which was very cool. It is 3 long days though and Texas in April can get hot or be cold ... or both in a 20 minute period. Lol. When you TM you can stay on the grounds for free in a tent or trailer. They feed you 3 meals a day - its food some is good some is not. You can TM hungover pretty easily. I also know people who will be working and should be able to hook you up with cool jobs/corners or the ability to slack off. People came from all over the world to do it because they couldn't do it in their home countries which was cool. You should have the opportunity to walk the Pits when normal people cannot. It may even be possible to work in the pits.

    I would want to be there on Sunday for the races. It is the most crowded and most exciting, without a doubt. I enjoyed all three days but if I were to skip one, I would skip Friday.

    I would probably avoid riding the 3 sisters that weekend it will likely be a zoo. Stay a couple extra days or come early and ride it on a Tuesday just to avoid the clowns. With the weather being unpredictable, I would drive & trailer but I am a wuss when it comes to that.

    If flying, might look into flying to Houston or San Antonio and renting a car and driving. Hotels in SA will be cheaper too and only an hour drive if that matters. Austin will be more fun but stupid expensive.
     
  17. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    Thanks for all the tip. I knew that I had come to the right place to ask.
     
  18. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Check out the Honda part of the main site if possible. Honda does good things at other major race meets. At Laguna Seca one year Honda had free gear storage and the only place on the grounds that had water that was not a couple of pesos for a very small bottle.

    Keep checking too. The rules and deals do change.

    Ten pesos if ya get a pic of Norcalboy in one of those umbrella hats hugging the fence. ;)
     
  19. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    It sounds like staying suitable hydrated is the order of the day.

    My friend says that there is parking at the Ducati Island. I was told that I can check out all the Ducati stuff I just can't park my lowly Honda there.

    http://www.ducatiusa.com/ducati-island.do
     
  20. atx

    atx New Member

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    Yeah ducati island is actually pretty cool to walk through just to see what people rode in on honestly, there will be a few new models on display that you can sit on as well most likely too.
     
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