Grand Premio de Catalunya

Circuit Information

By the time the GP circus makes a second trip of the season to Spain the pace is hotting up and the tough are showing their mettle. The race takes place only one week after the Italian round; the season is getting serious.

The 4.727 km (2.937-mile) track was built for both F1 and motorcycle GP racing, and this introduces a special complication for riders and technicians. The huge braking forces generated by the cars causes the tarmac to distort on the corner entries. Historically, this washboard effect has made things difficult for the suspension engineers and even more so for the riders.

Interestingly, the MotoGP machines clock higher top speeds on the long pit straight than the F1 cars, which are heavily encumbered by the enormous downforce created by their wings and bodywork.

The track has few really slow corners, and the sweeping bends are made all the more difficult by changing gradients as the circuit runs up and down the hillside overlooking the massive pit and paddock complex. The medium/fast Campsa corner leading onto the back straight, for example, sits atop the crest of a rise and is unsighted. Although the modern layout might at first appear somewhat sterile, in fact this is one of the more challenging circuits from a technical standpoint, and a fine arena for high-class racing.

Gran Premio Alice d'Italia

Circuit Information

The historic circuit of Mugello would be full of dramatic atmosphere even if they were racing tractors. When the Italian heroes of the MotoGP class join battle, lifting their front wheels at more than 340 km/h (211 mph) on the front straight and jostling for position round the swooping final corner, then it is a really special day.

The circuit itself is magnificent, its 5.245 kilometres (3.259 miles) sweeping across both flanks of a steep valley. As with Brno, long medium/fast corners lead one into the next, making overtaking difficult; while the straight sees some of the highest terminal speeds of the year.

It is a challenge for both riders and machines: one of only a handful of tracks remaining where the 990cc MotoGP four-strokes run for any length of time with the throttles pinned wide open.

Italian riders have claimed more GP victories than any other nation. Mugello shows that a fine national obsession with motorcycle racing tradition is alive and kicking.

Grand Prix Alice de France

Circuit Information

The roads around Le Mans have seen motor racing since 1906, but today's circuit dates back to 1923 when the 24 Hour race was first run over a 17 km course which ran almost into the city of Le Mans. A magnificent race control tower, permanent offices and pit complex were unveiled in 1991, together with the short GP Bugatti track. Spectators are mostly confined to the section bewteen the Ford Curves and Tetre Rouge.

Le Mans is a circuit made up of a number of second gear hairpins linked together by a series of long straights, with only the occasional chicane breaking up the run to the next hairpin. A design of the past, the French circuit causes little concern for engineers regarding set-up. Turns three and five are the most likely passing points and all efforts will be focused towards finding stability under brakes in these areas.

Grand Prix of China

Circuit Information

The event is held at the ultra-modern Shanghai International Circuit, which was bankrolled by the government to the tune of $325 million and surpasses even Sepang in state-of-the-art splendour. The facility will certainly provide a striking backdrop, with gleaming, futuristic architecture including two giant steel-and-glass “wings” 140 metres wide which bestride the start-finish straight.

The circuit itself was designed by German Hermann Tilke, who also penned Sepang and the new Istanbul circuit that will host the Turkish GP in October. Most of Tilke’s creations feature a combination of long straights and awkward compound corners; they tend to produce good racing, even if they might not get the riders’ pulses racing in the manner of Assen or Phillip Island.

Shanghai’s 5.300 km (3.293-mile) layout includes a long, 1.175 km (0.73-mile) back straight that offsets the sinuous nature of the rest of the track. Top speeds should comfortably exceed 200 mph, but most of the corners will entail the use of the lower gears, so average speeds will probably be in the medium range.

The lap starts with a long decreasing radius right-hander that will require the brakes to be applied all the way through the corner while the bike is under load, making it tricky to maintain good balance. That feeds directly into a tight left, followed by a fast stretch to a right-hand hairpin. A sweeping S-bend provides some relief before a tight double left-hander.

After another short burst it’s hard braking again for a 90 degree left, which opens out into a long banked right-hander that turns through more than 180 degrees before spitting bikes out onto the back straight. Exit speed will be critical here, but getting the power down under simultaneous hard acceleration and cornering will not be easy, presenting a similar problem to the final two turns at Estoril.