A staple of American sports is the ‘Make Some Noise Meter’ on Jumbotron TVs inside their stadiums – a clearly-faked decibel level monitor that encourages the excitable home fans to whoop even more loudly, which is usually employed to put off the opposition on a third down or a free throw.
But you can’t fake the noise of fans at an outdoor racetrack, and from my vantage point on the inside of Turn 1 during COTA’s MotoGP round on Sunday, I could clearly hear the buzzed crowd making some genuine noise in reaction to some thrilling on-track action, lots of overtaking moves, and a significant faller.
This was the first race following the news that F1 owner Liberty plans to acquire 86% of MotoGP owners Dorna Sports in a blockbuster deal worth €4.2 billion, which it hopes to finalise by the end of 2024.
The Liberty deal meant that MotoGP’s annual trip to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas felt way more important this year. Not just because it’s now the only round on the Liberty’s side of the Atlantic, following Argentina’s demise from the schedule, but the acquisition means America now has a major stake in the game.
Source: Autosport