Latest News

Psychedelic. The town, the track, the rider

Twist and go. And when Rossi twists, he really goes now

The indefatigible Mr Crutchlow

9:55. The Texan adventure begins for MotoGP

Could it be podium time for Stefan Bradl? He's top 3 on day 1

COTA: built for spectacle

Ben Spies gets to race at home this weekend

Life saver: the compulsory brake lever protector saved Rossi at Qatar

Bradley Smith: overshadowed by Marquez, but right on target to match Bradl's progression. The boy's doing great

Ducati Island. Hayden and Dovizioso doing OK in Texas

The life of a Moto2 mechanic: strip, clean, rebuild. Do it all again tomorrow.

Hammer time. And butter time.

Alvaro Bautista, fresh from signing a deal through 2014

If you'd like to have desktop-sized versions of Scott's fantastic photos, you can become a site supporter and take out a subscription. If you'd like a print of one of the shots you see on the site, then send Scott an email and he'll be happy to help.

A fire in the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha garage in the small hours of Thursday morning has caused disruption for several teams at the start of this weekend's Austin round of MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas. A lithium battery on a motorcycle starter engine appears to have caught fire, after being left on a charger overnight, a common occurrence in the paddock. Fortunately, the sprinkler installation in the garages put out the fire quickly, meaning there was no damage to the race bikes, and most importantly of all, no injury to anyone at the circuit.

There is damage, though. Sprinkler systems went off in the garages set aside for the factory Yamaha, Tech 3 Yamaha, Cardion AB and LCR Honda teams, soaking everything in the garages with water, and filling the boxes used to store equipment with water. Computers and servers were lost to water damage, while other electrical equipment is being examined for signs of water damage. The loss of the computers is inconvenient, but Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis told the media that they had another server which was undamaged, and a full data back up plan in place.

Everyone in both Yamaha teams was full of praise for the Circuit of the Americas. "I think if we hadn't been here, in this circuit, with these excellent facilities, we'd have lost probably six bikes," Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis told the media. "It would have been another story. So my thanks go to the circuit, to the people that helped us, also to the fire service, because their help during the incident, but also frankly their help now is exemplary, to help clean it up." The excellent fire prevention facilities at COTA had made all the difference. At many traditional tracks in Europe, the fire would not have been dealt with so quickly.

Jarvis summed up the damage done: "we've lost computers, we've lost TV screens, monitors, servers, all of our crates are full of water, so that means all the gear's filled with water, all the spare parts, so you know, it's an issue, it's a big issue," Jarvis said. It would not affect their ability to race, however. "We'll be able to race this weekend, we're quite confident of that, but we have to really look, we have to take everything to pieces basically, and then dry everything to make sure we don't have corrosion issues."

Those corrosion issues could be more of a problem in the next few races. Water damage to electrical components is extremely difficult to trace, and can often take a few weeks to take hold. "The bigger concern we have here is that we have to check everything today, and make sure everything is functioning," Jarvis explained. "But what we can't anticipate is what is the knock-on effect, after this race we go back to Europe, then we have the next race in Jerez so we need to make sure everything's dry, because you have corrosion problems."  Jarvis said that Yamaha's Japanese engineers were more concerned about electrical parts. "The problem is not mechanical parts, because you can see, the problem is when you have electrical parts, you cannot see [those problems]. So that requires a lot of testing, double checking. Hopefully we don't have any issues, small issues, corrosion problems, electrical connections, this is the concern."

Team staff - and sponsors, and track staff, and anyone who can pitch in - are currently in the process of cleaning out the six garages affected, working hard to get everything ready for practice on Friday morning. Everyone should be ready for this weekend, and ready to race on Sunday. But the fire raises two questions: in the short term, whether the teams involved will suffer electrical issues in a couple of races time, due to damage which is almost impossible to spot now, or later. If Jorge Lorenzo or Valentino Rossi suffer a DNF because of an electrical fault, that could have a major impact on the championship. And secondly, whether the lithium batteries currently being employed in a number of uses - including in the bike starter motors - are safe enough, and being employed correctly.

The Factory Yamaha team, the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team, and the Circuit of the Americas all issued press releases after the fire, which are reproduced below:

Tech 3 ready to compete in Austin after garage fire

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team would like to thank the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and local Austin Fire Department staff for their immediate action after a small fire broke out inside Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith’s pit garage overnight.

One of the electric starters used to start the Team’s Yamaha YZR-M1 machinery caught fire, but thanks to the high standards of safety and fire prevention at the new COTA track, a sprinkler system was immediately activated and prevented any serious damage.

Computer equipment was damaged but despite the disruption to preparations for the inaugural Circuit of the Americas race, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is not anticipating the fire incident causing any problems to its participation in this weekend’s much anticipated first race in Texas.

Team staff will now commence a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team would also like to place on record its appreciation to the management and staff at Yamaha for its cooperation in helping the French-based squad be as best prepared as possible for the weekend.

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager:

“Unfortunately there was a small incident inside the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 garage overnight. The process of starting a MotoGP machine requires an electric starter and overnight they are left on charge. This is standard procedure and something we have been doing ever since the introduction of the four-stroke era. Unfortunately in the night one of the batteries caught fire. We have suffered quite a lot of damage and of course it is not ideal preparations but thankfully the fire prevention measures undertaken by the Circuit of the Americas and the assistance of the local Fire Department were invaluable in limiting the damage. The sprinkler system was immediately activated and fire crews on scene promptly and I am grateful for that. We will be conducting a thorough investigation to find out why this issue occurred and take the necessary steps to ensure it is not repeated in the future. I would like to apologise to the Yamaha Factory Team, LCR Honda and Cardion AB too, as the sprinkler system was also activated inside their pit area as well. But it could have been much worse and with the fantastic support of Yamaha and others in the close-knit MotoGP community, I am confident we can participate in this weekend’s race without any additional problems.

Fire Causes Disruption for Yamaha at Circuit of The Americas

Austin (Texas, USA), 18th April 2013

Yamaha Factory Racing’s start to the Austin Grand Prix weekend was less than desirable as a small fire in the adjacent Tech3 garage in the early hours of this morning activated the fire safety systems, covering both the Yamaha Factory Racing and Tech3 equipment and MotoGP machines in water and powder. The fire was accidental and likely caused by and electric motorcycle engine starter.

As a result of the activation of the sprinkler system and the quick response of the COTA and local Austin Fire Department there is unlikely to be much damage.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director

“The first impression we had when we arrived was really bad but fortunately it doesn't look as bad as we initially thought. We will now have to disassemble the bikes and dry them, clean them and rebuild them again. For sure it could have been a lot worse. We don’t know the cause yet but it is possible the fire started in a battery of an electric motorcycle engine starter inside the Tech3 garage. The emergency automatic fire system was activated and as a result we have water and white fire retardant powder everywhere. Most importantly no one was injured in this incident. The fire started around 1am and we were informed by IRTA at 6am. We are now in the process of cleaning everything. We have to say a big thank you to the circuit staff who are putting in a lot of effort to be of help.”

Small fire causes minimal damage to garage at Circuit of The Americas

Incident has no impact on final preps for Red Bull MotoGP of The Americas

AUSTIN, Texas (April 18, 2013) – Circuit of The Americas today announced that a small overnight garage fire will have no impact on final preparations for the Red Bull MotoGP of The Americas, which begins tomorrow, Friday, April 19, and runs through Sunday, April 21, at the new purpose-built Grand Prix facility in Central Texas.

The fire, which was first reported at 1 a.m. CDT, was contained to Garage 4, although water and fire retardant power from the Circuit’s fire suppression system also affected parts of Garages 1, 2, 3, and 5. No significant damage occurred and no one on the scene was injured.

Preliminary reports from Austin Fire Department officials on the scene indicated that the fire was accidental, and likely caused by an electric motorcycle engine starter that was charging at the time of the incident. The equipment was located in the garage currently being used by the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team. Garages assigned to the Yamaha Factory Racing Team, LCR Honda Motorcycle Racing Team and Cardion AB Motoracing Team were also affected by water.

“We extend our sincere thanks to the Austin Fire Department for their assistance early this morning as they quickly helped us extinguish the fire in Garage 4,” Circuit Vice President of Public & Media Relations Julie Loignon stated. “The Circuit’s fire suppression system performed well, and while we have some cleaning up to do in the garages affected by water, there was no significant damage to the buildings or the equipment housed in the garages that is vital to the affected teams’ performance this weekend. We are continuing with preparations for the Red Bull MotoGP of The Americas and look forward to treating fans to world-class motorcycling racing this weekend as the champions from MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 come to Texas for the very first time.”

With the MotoGP paddock once again assembled for the start of the season at Qatar, the four organizations who make up the Grand Prix Commission, MotoGP's rulemaking body, took the opportunity to meet and discuss and adopt a number of rule changes. The rules cover a number of areas, including testing for all three classes, the 2014 technical rules for MotoGP, and further steps to control the real cost of engines in Moto3.

The most significant part of the press release is perhaps also the least obvious. The GPC confirmed the 2014 technical regulations previously agreed upon, after Dorna received assurances - and detailed proposals - that the manufacturers were prepared to supply private teams with affordable machinery. The news that Yamaha has agreed to lease engines to teams was the final piece in the puzzle which ensured that the rule package for 2014 would be adopted. Honda had previously agreed to build a customer version of their RC213V machine, five of which they will supply to private teams, and with Yamaha supplying four engines for lease - or more likely, a package including a Yamaha engine in a Yamaha-inspired chassis built by FTR - the grid will have at least twelve prototypes, nine MSMA-supplied privateer machines, and three other bikes, two of which could be factory Suzukis. Ducati has not been asked to supply privateer teams, unsurprising given the fact that the Italian factory is the smallest manufacturer by a very, very long way, and designing and building a separate engine or bike for customer teams is simply beyond their resources. 

If agreement had not been reached, the consequences could have been very far reaching. Dorna's back up plan if Honda and Yamaha had not agreed to build customer bikes was to impose a draconian set of technical regulations, including spec hardware and software for electronics system, and imposing a rev limit. That, however, would have caused many, if not all, manufacturers to walk away from the series. This is the best solution, for the time being.

The GPC also agreed that although previous meetings had agreed to only permit a single specification of brake disk, in an attempt to cut both development and maintenance costs, they conceded that such a specification will not be sufficient for every track on the calendar. A circuit like Motegi, with lots of high speed straights and very heavy, straight braking requires a much larger disk to help dissipate the heat generated. This rule has therefore been modified to allow different specs of brake disks at certain named circuits on the calendar.

An important change was also made to the Moto3 engine regulations. When the rules were announced, one of the key components was a cap on prices, limiting the cost of an engine to 12,000 euros, and introducing a price-controlled list of homolated tuning parts and kits. Price-capping the engines naturally led the manufacturers to seek a way around these controls, and they found it in the service contract: KTM or Honda partner Geo Tech will sell you an engine for 12,000 euros, and parts to tune the engine at a fixed price. However, if you want the engine to work properly, you need to enter into a service contract with the manufacturer to manage the engines for the season. The cost of a service contract is believed to run in the low six figures, or pretty close to what it would have cost to lease a top-spec Aprilia RSA at the end of the two-stroke 125cc period. As happens all too often, imposing cost-cutting regulations has merely created even more expensive loopholes.

The GPC have now found a set of rules which they believe will rein in the most blatant abuse of the service contract system. Instead of the manufacturers supplying engines to the teams directly under a service contract agreement (which often meant that the teams would have to hand the engines back at the end of the year), the manufacturers will have to supply the engines to Dorna, who will distribute them on a random basis to the teams using that engine. The arrangement will see teams end up with 6 engines which they own at the end of the year, for a price of 68,000 euros. 

Though it closes one loophole, it will not wipe out the service contract altogether. Teams will still agree separate contracts with factories for support with getting the best of the engine, though the parameters within which they operation have been greatly narrowed. The factory engineers will still have more knowledge on how to use the exhaust and electronics to get the best out of the bike, and the richest teams will still be able to afford both the contracts and the best technical staff.

Perhaps the most dispiriting change comes to the testing regulations. The use of private tests at which "contracted riders" - the official term for riders racing full-time in the MotoGP championship - take part has now been banned once again. Thiis a reversal of the previous ruling allowing testing, made before the 2011 season, which was itself a reversal of the ban imposed in 2009, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Though the intent is admirable, its actual effect on cost cutting will be negligible. The ban had previously been lifted for two reasons. Firstly, to allow more intensive testing with the 1000cc MotoGP machines, which were introduced in the 2012 season. And secondly, to allow Ducati to speed up the pace of their development, by having Nicky Hayden and then new signing Valentino Rossi ride the Desmosedici, instead of the test team, who were not felt to be fast enough to explore performance at the very limit. For 2013, Ducati has put together a vastly more effective testing structure, hiring Michele Pirro as a test rider for the Desmosedici. Pirro, capable of lapping at proper MotoGP race pace, is making a big difference to Ducati's development efforts, and so Ducati no longer needs their contracted riders Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso to ride the bike so often. And with the 1000cc machines now broadly established, and major rule changes not expected until 2017, the need for extra testing for Ducati and the other factories is less pressing.

Who the new testing restrictions hurt most of all are new manufacturers in the MotoGP class. Though Suzuki is free to test as much as they like ahead of entering the series, should they decide to race in 2014, they will be restricted to testing with contracted riders to the official tests only. Should Suzuki find themselves still in need of major development work - given the newness of the bike, that is very much to be expected - they will have to try to find a rider fast enough to develop the bike, and with experience with the official Bridgestone tires. That is a very short list of candidates indeed.

Below is the press release containing the revised rules agreed at Qatar:

FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix

Decision of the Grand Prix Commission

The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Ignacio Verneda (FIM Executive Director, Sport), Herve Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA) in the presence of Javier Alonso (Dorna) and Mike Trimby (IRTA, Secretary of the meeting), in a meeting held on 06 April 2013 in Losail (Qatar), made the following decisions:

Technical Regulations

MotoGP Class

New technical regulations, effective from 2014, that were approved at the GPC meeting held at Valencia in November 2012 and already announced, were all confirmed. This follows the successful conclusion of negotiations between Dorna and the Manufacturers concerning the supply of additional machines and/or engines for the MotoGP class from 2014.

For reasons of safety, it was agreed that a different specification of brake disc could be authorised by Race Direction for use at specified circuits. Currently, the only circuit at which this applies is Motegi.

Moto3 Class

Changes to the regulations concerning supply of engines for the Moto3 class were approved. The objective is to reduce the cost of the engine programme for the teams and to ensure that there is equality of performance between engines supplied by the same manufacturer.

With effect from 2014 engines will be provided to Championship Organiser by the manufacturers in three batches during the season. The engines will be sealed and distributed randomly by the Technical Director and will become the property of the teams, with no requirement for them to be returned under any “service contract”. When an engine has completed the normal cycle of use it will be replaced by another sealed engine and it is anticipated that the six engines will be more than sufficient for the season. At the end of the season the team then owns six engines with only minimal mileage accrued which can be used for testing or sold on. The fixed cost for the engine package is €68,000.

The concession to allow timing chain replacement on Honda engines at regular intervals, which involves supervised breaking of the engine seals, will be extended until the end of 2014.

With effect from 2015 the maximum revs permitted for Moto3 machines will be reduced from 14,000 RPM to 13,500 RPM and the timing chain replacement concession will be cancelled.

Sporting Regulations

Effective Season 2014 (i.e. from 11 November 2013):

Testing Regulations – MotoGP class

New testing restrictions will be introduced for the MotoGP class. This will restrict the amount of testing permitted by contracted riders to:

One three day official test at a circuit in Europe between the final event and 30 November.

Three of three day official tests in the period between 01 February and the first event of the season.

A maximum of three tests, each of one day, on the Monday after events designated by Dorna/IRTA in Europe.

Any activity authorised by Race Direction.

No testing is permitted between 01 December and 31 January, both dates being inclusive.

Test riders, as opposed to contracted riders, will continue to be allowed to test for development purposes at any time and circuit using the “test tyre allocation” available to each team. This will also apply to contracted riders of CRT category teams, subject to approval of testing at a Grand Prix circuit being granted by Race Direction in advance of the test.

Testing Regulations – Moto3 and Moto2 classes

Changes to testing regulations for the Moto3 and Moto2 classes were also approved. Testing is now permitted as follows:

At any circuit, with any riders, between the final GP and 30 November.

Three pre-season official tests, but only with contracted riders, at circuits in Europe nominated by Dorna/IRTA.

Teams may also designate one GP circuit and one non-GP circuit where they may test at any time from 01 February onwards with any riders, but not within 14 days of an event at the circuit.

Teams may also participate in tests held on Mondays and/or Tuesdays after events in Europe when these days are not required for MotoGP class testing.

Any activity authorised by Race Direction.

No testing is permitted between 01 December and 31 January, both dates being inclusive.

FIM Medical Code

Changes to the FIM Medical Code were approved. The changes mainly concerned more precise definitions of the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Medical Officer, the Medical Director and the FIM Medical Representative. (Previously the FIM Medical Observer). However, the changes also officially recognised the presence and role of the “FIM World Championship GP Medical Team”.

This team is the group of doctors experienced in the management of severe trauma. Their role is to provide support of immediate trackside medical assistance in the event of serious injury until transfer to the medical centre or hospital. The team will be located in fast medical intervention vehicles to work alongside local medical personnel

Race face. Marc Marquez' is one of the best

Hey! I think I see Tony up there! Hi Tony!

Ducati owners will tell you it's called "character"

Many feared an Espargaro runaway, but Scott Redding kept him honest almost to the line

At my signal, unleash hell

Lord and master. There was no stopping Jorge Lorenzo

Marc Marquez' riding style. Spectacular doesn't even begin to cover it

Cal Crutchlow knows what he's got to do to get past the Hondas: "Take a leaf out of Valentino's book, and start charging them"

Yup, he's definitely back

Lonely in red

/race

It was hard, but Pol Espargaro enjoyed that

Welcome to the dustbowl

If you'd like to have desktop-sized versions of Scott's fantastic photos, you can become a site supporter and take out a subscription. If you'd like a print of one of the shots you see on the site, then send Scott an email and he'll be happy to help.