Everything is bigger in Texas, or so goes the saying. Circuit of The Americas certainly meets that criteria: 3.4 miles in length, 20 turns, an elevation gain of 133 feet and its .745-mile front straight is the longest on the MotoGP calendar. After the final qualifying session for April’s inaugural Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, I asked Longview native Ben Spies for his view of this new race circuit.
• “I hate to say it, but Turn 1 is a very dangerous corner for a start. It’s a good corner for racing, but with the shape of the turn, the way the right line is supposed to be for a start, if somebody messes up a tiny bit, you could take out a lot of people—like the first chicane at Monza....