Circuit of the Americas: Homegrown Hellraising

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When it comes to choosing venues for press launches, car and motorcycle manufacturers are in a constant race to outdo each other-- from Sardinia to the Arctic Circle, no locale is too far flung for a car or bikemaker to debut their wares, if only for the "wow" factor of juxtaposing their latest, greatest hardware against a visually and viscerally stunning background.

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The latest hot property is the newly minted Circuit of the Americas, a 3.4 mile road course which made its auspicious debut with last November's Formula One United States Grand Prix, and is building buzz for its rumored half billion dollar price tag and difficult-to-learn layout. It's also garnered some unwanted attention for some ugly friction with racing legend Kevin Schwantz, but for the (mainstream) most part, the circuit promises to stoke the motorsports fire stateside in a way that hasn't been achieved in recent memory.

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And so it was in a grand fashion that Ducati launched the first motorcycle press launch at COTA-- and only the second vehicular press launch there, on the heels of a Jeep SRT8 event just a few weeks earlier-- and heralded the new track with their $30,000 1199 Panigale R superbike.

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What's it like to pilot the ?berDuc at the Austin track? In a word, daunting: negotiating 20 turns of varying camber, shifting radii, and elevation changes is no small task, and doing so aboard a 195 hp, 417 lb two-wheeled rocket requires every last ounce of core strength, concentration, and intestinal fortitude. It's not just about remembering the nuance of each turn, but staying on guard when rhythmic, high-speed esses constrict into a tight right hander that's sure to create some interesting power plays when the MotoGP circus goes to battle there on April 21. The track offers a little bit of everything, which I was fortunate (and frightened) enough to experience on the Panigale R: a dramatic uphill that resolves with an acute left hander, followed by a sweeping right hander that F1 cars have taken at roughly 180 mph-- not to mention a back straight so long, the Ducati is able to hit the rev limiter in sixth gear before its monobloc stoppers are called to duty for a sharp left hander so tight, F1 cars can only handle it at a piddling 68 mph.

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With rental rates for the general public rumored to be in the $100,000 range, it's unlikely that COTA will be accessed by many enthusiasts. But in terms of a fresh stage for motorsports in the U.S., it will be hard to beat the newest, biggest, and most notorious circuit to hit primetime in years.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/ducati-panigale-r-circuit-of-the-americas?src=rss

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