MotoGP 2021

This years MotoGP was great, but a bit different as a spectator than the previous races at COTA. Primarily because it usually happens in the spring, but this year it took place in the fall, just a few weeks before Formula 1. This meant that there were temporary bleachers in place that aren't there in the spring, and that they had the back section of the track closed off. While I was saddened to not be able to get out to turns 9,10, and 11, I was glad there were bleachers at turns 4 / 5 as well as between turns 18 and 19 that allowed me to photograph over the fences instead of through them at those sections.

It was also remarkable because this was probably the last time I’ll get to see Valentino Rossi (AKA "The Doctor"), number 46, on the track. He is supposed to retire at the end of this season. He is 42 years old and has been a professional motorcycle racer since 1996. This is a sport where the average rider he’s going up against is around 27.

I’m not going to get overly detailed about each photo or which rider(s) are in the photo. And the photos aren’t really organized in chronological order. Instead I’ve grouped them by style of photo and/or section of track.

These are just 4 photos I liked that didn’t fit with any other photo groups.

Looking towards turn 2 from turn 4

Looking towards turn 2 from turn 4

The riders look at the big monitors
around the track during qualifying
to see how they are doing

Pulling a wheelie out of turn 19

Turn 1 is very hard to see from General Admission areas.
But using my 600mm lens I can see it from turn 18.
I really like the way the bikes go almost level when they do wheelies out of turn 1.

These are the typical panning photos you get from General Admission areas at COTA.
Shooting through the fence you can get some “good” shots, but the fence will always prevent them from being “great” shots.

These were taken at turn 6 and turn 16.

There has always been a zone at turn 4 where you could shoot over the fence and get a good clear panning shot, but it is small and they are parallel to you, so you can’t really see the front end of the bike very well. With the bleachers in place there I could get clear photos from the exit of turn 2 all the way to the entrance to turn 6. I’m very happy about all the shots I got here. The photo of bike 37 is my favorite shot of the entire weekend.

Turn 19 was one of those spots that you could photograph, but just barely. And the camera angle was a bit too low for my taste. But this was another spot where the temporary bleachers allowed me to get much better views, and photos, of the bikes this year.

The first 2 shots are fun to me because they show 2 different ways of taking the same turn. The last 3 shots are taken at turn 7, but I’ve taken shots like this there before.

The first lap of each race is always intense simply due to the close proximity of the riders to one another. It takes a few laps for them to spread out. It always amazes me at how closely they ride at the speeds they are going in the turns.

Moto 3, Lap 1,
exiting turn 2 and going into turn 3

Moto 2, Lap 1,
exiting turn 2 and going into turn 3

Moto GP, Lap 1, Turn 8

This last section has the only 2 good shots I’ve EVER managed to get of bikes on the long back straight. It’s shooting through multiple fences at the bikes running full throttle (+/- 200 mph) about 800ft away. I was only using my 300mm lens, so these are almost 1:1 crops of the photo I took.

And of course, the obligatory photo of the winner, Marc Marquez. He’s won all but one of the MotoGP races at COTA.