The first-ever MotoGP round in India is underway, and with the first day of free practice and timed practice done, riders had their first taste of the Buddh International Circuit, which hosted Formula 1 races in 2011, 2012 and 2013. It was Luca Marini of Mooney VR46 Racing Team who posted the fastest lap time of 1:44:783, while Marco Bezzecchi of the same team and Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac Racing hit a top speed of 348.7 kmph.
Here’s what the riders had to say about the Buddh International Circuit after the free practice sessions. Some of them also raised concerns about run-off areas, especially turn 4, right after the BIC back straight. The turns 8 and 9 are entertaining, with its double apexes, but the approach and departure continue to be tricky.
"I think it’s fantastic. I think they did a very good job last two months. It’s true that we can improve a few things for next year, but they did a very good job. Our riders were very thankful that this GP can be in a normal way, and adjusting alright,” said six-time world champion Marc Marquez.
“Grid positions will be very important, because here it will be very difficult to overtake, because when you don’t go on a racing line, it’s so easy to make a mistake, in turn 1, and turn 4. The layout of the track is nice, and the grip is better than what we expected. It’s true that it’s not like Misano. So yeah, the grip of the track is good and the layout also is nice,” added Marquez.
Turn 1 continues to be tricky, and most riders seem to be unanimous in their opinion that it will be crucial on race day. There were three crashes on Friday on turn 1, with LCR Honda racer Nakagami also experiencing a high-speed crash after losing the front end under hard braking.
“This corner is so easy to make a mistake, especially on the braking point. You try to brake 2-3 metres later, that is not easy at 300 kmph, and then you meet the turn, so yeah, you need to be very precise. So, maybe next lap you brake earlier, then you miss the speed. It’s so critical that T1 is the most difficult one to be consistent,” said Marquez.
“They did a really good job in terms of washing the track. And yeah, it's very technical. Some parts of the track are very difficult, like corner one, because you have just one line and you can brake just in a point, because if you brake one metre after, you are wide and you go outside. So, it's quite intense to be very precise on that and also corner 12, I think I did twice the correct line today. I was always wide, it was very difficult", the current world champion said.
“For me, Turn 1 is probably one of the most critical corners that I've ridden on so far. if you miss your braking point by nothing, you're buggered. Like, it's hectic. So I hope everyone gets through clean, and from there we can fight."
“It’s so visually deceiving. You can’t see where you’re going so you feel like you’re just accelerating towards the wall at the end. It’s a weird optical illusion, and it goes against every fibre in your body to keep accelerating.”
“Turn 1 is a little bit difficult to do! It’s a 90º corner with a very narrow exit, and 90º corners only have one line anyway. But with the left afterwards, the track continues a little more to the right before you turn right, and it’s slightly downhill then uphill. It’s a nightmare to do! Every time you go into a new lap, if you’re a little bit too late looking at the dashboard or switching a button or whatever, you’re gone - you don’t make the corner.”
This is the first instance of the Buddh International Circuit hosting a MotoGP round, and so far, it has been entertaining and sets the tone nicely for Saturday’s qualifying and the race day. The track has a length of 4.96 km with 9 right corners and 5 left corners. The longest straight is 1,006 metres, and the total width of the track is 12 metres.
