Gamers will take on the notoriously technical Circuit of the Americas for the fourth and final Online Challenge. So here is a guide on how to ace the Texan venue!
The fourth and final online Challenge of the new MotoGP™ eSport World Championship will see gamers compete to set the fastest possible lap time around Texas’ Circuit of the Americas aboard Marc Marquez’s Repsol Honda RC213V.
The challenge will run from Thursday 7th April to Sunday the 10th, the same dates as this year’s American GP so you can gain inspiration from the best in MotoGP™ before attacking the track with your own controller!
Grand Prix racing in the US has a long history at legendary tracks such as Daytona, Laguna Seca and Indianapolis. In 2013, the impressive new Hermann Tilke-designed 5.513 km Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, joined the MotoGP™ calendar and become an instant hit - with its cutting edge facilities and a capacity for 120,000 fans.
The US has a fantastic motorcycling heritage - with great champions such as Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz being amongst the best riders to have ever competed in Grand Prix racing.
And this track would offer even those particular legends some food for thought. The Circuit Of The Americas is the first purpose-built Grand Prix facility in the U.S. near Austin, Texas, with a 5.513km track and a capacity for 120,000 fans. Construction of the impressive 1000-acre facility was completed late in 2012, with MotoGP lining up at the track for the first time in 2013.
One of its more distinctive features is near 41m-elevation change with an impressive incline at the end of the home-straight followed by a sharp left. The circuit is one of the most varied on the GP circuit, with a mix of fast straights and tight hairpins, with most sections mirroring at least some part of a famous track around the world.
It was designed by well-known German architect and circuit designer Hermann Tilke. The driving direction is counter clockwise and has a total of 20 corners with 9 right turns and 11 left turns.
The first part of the track is about getting in the flow. Brake hard for turn one and shift back to first. Then take turns two to nine in third gear, going from right to left and back again. Be careful not to push too hard; brake and accelerate gently so as not to run off line.
Brake hard and shift back to first for turn 11. Then blast out onto the back straight before trail-braking into turn 12, again taken in first. From there, it’s a series of sharp shoots, taken in first. Turns 16 to 18 are where you can have some fun, feathering the throttle through all in fourth gear before skimming off enough speed into turns 19 and 20 to complete the lap.
Accuracy is the name of the game at this track, as well as decent bike set-up, as the varied turns demand a machine that works well in all types of corners.
Remember to check in on the progress of the fourth Online Challenge at esport.motogp.com, and across all of our social media platforms including YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.