A Dummy's Guide to MotoGP in Austin
By Khiem Dinh
"If you build it, they will come." What applied to a baseball field in the middle of a corn field also applies to one of the finest race tracks in the world located in the middle of the Austin hill country. Since the Formula 1 race last November where the asphalt had barely cured before the cars hit the surface, many changes have occurred at the track. This time around, it was the MotoGP rodeo putting on the show. In my opinion, nothing is a more pure expression of the synergy between man and high-powered machine. Along with this event being the first MotoGP race at the track, more history was made at this race with maybe the most disruptive rider to join MotoGP since Valentino Rossi.
Fast Lap with Billy Johnson - Circuit Of The Americas
By Billy Johnson Circuit Of The Americas (COTA for short) is America's first purpose-built Formula 1 track which stands at 3.427 miles long. The track is characterized by a lot of elevation change and with 20 diverse and technical turns, it's a formula for great racing and a really difficult but fun track to drive. Located in Austin, TX the track was designed with the assistance of Hermann Tilke, who is responsible for designing most of the modern F1 circuits. Proposed in the middle of 2010, COTA was completed in time for the November 18, 2012 Formula 1 race which I was fortunate enough to attend. The track will host everything from MotoGP to Australian V8 Supercars and the world's top Road Racing series. It's exciting to finally have a modern European-style circuit here in the States with a similar track specification, layout, curbing, and run-offs. Rather than the tight, narrow, and bumpy tracks that characterize North American racing circuits.
MotoIQ Radio: Willow Springs MPTCC Review, Edo Stepanyan, Road Atlanta Drift Preview, and Jacob Leveton
By Justin Banner and Kerryann De La Cruz
Well, since we didn't do a review, we'll do a recap of the MPTCC Round 2 at Willow Springs Raceway and we'll interview Edik "Edo" Stepanyan right after! Then it's time for drifting! We'll talk about the upcoming round at Road Atlanta and then have Jacob Leveton on to discuss the favorites and look to see what the history of this track is like. We'll also try to get Michele Abbate and Ken Gushi on all here on MotoIQ Radio! Got questions? Type them in the comments or on the MotoIQ Facebook Page!
MPTCC Round 2: Willow Springs International Raceway
By Martin Gonzales
Only two races into the 2013 MPTCC season and we already had a close battle for championship positions. No doubt Edik Stepanyan in the M-Factory Acura Integra had a solid grasp on first place after winning both races at Autoclub Speedway, but there was a fight for third place going on between Michele Abbate in the Scion Racing Scion tC and Steve Rockwood in the MotoIQ Project Infiniti G20 Racecar! Justin Taylor was only six points behind first and after watching Edik's taillights the first two rounds, he was ready to put the Rockstar Garage Honda S2000 in the top podium spot.
By Mike Kojima
I am old enough to have been around during what I consider to be the golden era of American road racing in the 80's. In this time we saw the rise of IMSA with the outrageous GTP prototypes and the exotic sort of production based GTO and GTU cars. SCCA had Trans Am and even CART Open wheelers were sporting awesome technology rivaling Formula One but with closer more exciting racing. I was lucky enough to have been a fan during this time and later on in the decade a participant.
Nerd's Eye View: UMS Time Attack Evo
By Wes Dumalski
Like all car stories this one starts as a tale of insanity… The 2003 Mistubishi Lancer Evolution VIII you see before you was one of the first Evos to hit the States and ever since it landed it has been within the sites of Tony Szirka. While he did not own the car when it arrived, his hands have been on it ever since several Arizona based shops were unable to deliver on the previous owner's requests. Like many cars despite the fact that the title is held in someone else's name the car belongs to the one that works on it, slaves over it, and pours their heart and soul in to making it all that it can be, and in this case that person is NOT the owner.
Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks – Round 3 at LA Coliseum
MotoIQ Radio: Joe Marko of HMS Motorsport, Ryan Gates of Gates311, and Joel Miller for SpeedSource Racing
Last weekend there was a tragic accident at a Southern California raceway where a young woman died as a result of the injuries she received. Safety is paramount in any form of high performance racing and we'll have Joe Marko of HMS Motorsport to give everyone safety pointers about harnesses and precautions to try and make your track day a little more safe. Then we'll have Ryan Gates of Gates311 to come on and talk about the latest of his company, the latest offerings for the 311RS builds, and his thoughts on Time Attack and more. Then Joel Miller will come on and for those who don't know, he was the co-driver of the Road Atlanta round winning car in Grand Am's GX Class, the SpeedSource Skyactive-D Mazda 6. We'll talk about that car, the future of GX, and his thoughts on being the first Skyactive-D winner in Grand Am. Finally, Kerryann and I will talk randomly about the next round of the MotoIQ Pacific Tuner Car Championships at Willow Springs Raceway Have questions for our guests or want to add your comments to the discussions? Type them in the comments or on the MotoIQ Facebook Page!
Mazda Motorsports Media Day
For the better part of a decade, Mazda Motorsports has hosted a media day highlighting their racing activities. They also bring out some pretty cool hardware from their racing history. This year, the headliner of the show was the new SKYACTIV-D ('D' stands for diesel if you hadn't figured that out already) racing in Grand-Am. Mazda Motorsports not only showcased the car, but also had Sylvain Tremblay of SpeedSource along with one of his engineers to do a tech deep dive. Follow along to find out a few of the details on the new SKYACTIV-D power plant along with some gratuitous pictures of their other racing hardware.
Fast Fridays - Just Another Friday Night in Kansas
By Pablo Mazlumian
Cars, cars and more cool cars...in Kansas? Coastal American residents likely wouldn't expect to see such an assortment of muscle cars and exotics in the KC suburb of Overland Park, Kansas. Shoot, it's adjacent to a town called Prairie Village. But when spring arrives, a slew of local enthusiasts get together every other Friday to cruise and talk shop.
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