MotoGP Crashes Formula 1’s Party at Circuit Of The Americas
Oddly, MotoGP and Formula 1 are typically used in reference to each other, depending on the audience you’re chatting up. When surrounded by car guys, one might describe MotoGP as “the Formula 1 of motorcycle racing,” which, in one fell swoop, educates our automotive friends on MotoGP’s standing as the peak of two-wheeled roadracing and its prototype nature. Bless their hearts, as the Texans would say.
Yet the two series don’t often meet on the racetrack. Four MotoGP prototypes will run high-speed demonstration laps at Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, Texas, during the Formula 1 MSC Cruises United States Grand Prix on Saturday, Oct. 24.
The 20-minute session runs from 11:40 a.m. to noon CDT, ahead of the third F1 practice session. Organizers expect more than 400,000 spectators across the weekend.
With the MotoGP World Championship at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix this weekend, a mix of official test riders and a forthcoming rookie will take the track: MotoGP Hall of Fame inductee and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing test rider Dani Pedrosa; reigning WorldSBK champion Nicolo Bulega of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati; Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP test rider Andrea Dovizioso; and Aprilia Racing test rider Lorenzo Savadori, who will ride the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team’s Aprilia on behalf of the U.S.-owned squad.
For the uninitiated, MotoGP bikes can exceed 225 mph and 60 degrees of lean angle, and do so with the rider exposed to the elements of that brutal environment.
The crossover also reflects the recent shared ownership between Formula 1 and MotoGP. Colorado-based Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1 and its commercial rights, completed its €4.2 billion purchase of an 84% stake in Dorna Sports, MotoGP’s commercial rights holder, in July 2025. The COTA F1 demonstration puts that alliance on display before one of Formula 1’s largest U.S. audiences to boost domestic interest.
Champions Make the Pitch
Pedrosa, who collected three Grand Prix world titles across the 125cc and 250cc classes, as well as 31 premier-class victories, said riding a MotoGP machine at COTA always carries special meaning and ranked the circuit among the most iconic anywhere. He added that the speed, sound and performance of the bikes are “something you have to experience in person.”
Bulega, who moves to the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team next season, described the demonstration as a rare opening to showcase MotoGP before one of the largest audiences in racing. The Italian said the atmosphere at COTA never disappoints and that he hopes the laps reveal how spectacular the sport truly is, giving fans an early look at what awaits when he comes back to Austin in 2027.
Laying Groundwork for 2027
Away from the track, MotoGP will operate a Fan Zone display featuring all four motorcycles throughout the weekend, with teams and riders onsite Thursday through Sunday.
The effort is aimed squarely at building momentum for the Grand Prix of the United States, which returns to Circuit Of The Americas April 23-25, 2027.
Source: MotoGP
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