Austin confirms MotoGP race

Circuit of The Americas today announced that the world’s premier motorcycle racing World Championship, MotoGP, will join its roster of racing events next spring with the three-day series set for April 19-21, 2013, at the purpose-built Grand Prix venue. With the addition of the MotoGP series, the new circuit will be the first North American racing venue to host both two-and four-wheeled World Championship events in one year’s time.

MotoGP, the pinnacle of all motorcycle World Championships, consists of 18 races in 13 countries on four continents with pan-global television coverage. Nine nationalities of the world’s most skilled riders, including current U.S. riders Colin Edwards, Ben Spies and 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, compete with cutting-edge, prototype motorcycle technology produced by Ducati, Yamaha and Honda, as well as the new CRT regulation machines from the likes of FTR, Suter and Aprilia. The series traditionally holds three races, including Moto2 and Moto3 competitions, during each event for various classes of motorcycles based on engine size.

Carmelo Ezpeleta, chief executive officer for Dorna Sports, commercial rights holder for the MotoGP series, is extremely happy to add the Austin Circuit to the official MotoGP schedule. “We are excited to be working with Circuit of The Americas to expand our programming in the United States and bring our series to an exceptional new Grand Prix facility in Texas. We see tremendous opportunities to market MotoGP and grow its fan base through this agreement and know Circuit of The Americas is the right promoter to help us achieve that goal."

Circuit President Steve Sexton added, “The Circuit of The Americas team is delighted to introduce yet another world-renowned racing series to our 2013 event calendar—one we know will be hugely popular with fans coming to experience MotoGP for the first time at our state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex in Austin. MotoGP has a worldwide fan base with more than two million followers watching races in person each year. We’re confident it will be a great addition to our programming and draw tens of thousands of people to Central Texas, creating yet another major event with significant economic impact for our region. We want to extend our thanks to the Austin Sports Commission for its help in securing yet another first-class event for our city and for helping us become the first U.S. racing venue to host two World Championship motorsport events."

MotoGP’s reach extends to more than 200 countries and territories that receive live or same-day delayed broadcasts of the MotoGP events, with the coverage delivered to more than 337 million households worldwide.