After all the drama of the lead up to the race, with photos of a flooded track after a month’s worth of rain fell in a day, the MotoGP paddock has arrived at the Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna. Fortunately for the event, the water has all been cleared, the drainage working well, though the ground surrounding the track is still saturated after absorbing all that rain. Another downpour in the afternoon didn’t help.
Circuit staff have been hard at work cleaning the track, trying to wash the bright red Brazilian mud (technically called oxisol) from the surface, though the remainder of the facilities are still a little behind schedule. The service roads are full of mud and potholes, the drainage in the paddock is unreliable, as is the flushing in the bathrooms. The media center is a tent, reminiscent of Silverstone before MotoGP switched paddocks to the Wing.
It is all a bit makeshift, but that is not uncommon the first time MotoGP arrives at a circuit. At least the track should probably be fine, despite the forecast of more rain to come. It shouldn’t be as torrential as the downpour on Monday and Tuesday, but there are signs of water seeping through the asphalt from below the waterlogged track. Fortunately, Goiânia is not far from the equator, at the end of Brazilian summer, and the scorching sun dries any moisture very quickly indeed.
No track time
