MotoGP at COTA for practice sessions

AUSTIN (KXAN) - If you blink, you’ll miss the action.

MotoGP is at the Circuit of the Americas for a three-day private practice session before the actual race comes to town April 21.

Check out photos of MotoGP at COTA

For the six riders taking advantage of the early practice, the extra experience on the track is proving to be invaluable.

“I think it’s very, very important to come here and to understand the track,” 2012 Moto GP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo said following a few laps around the track. “The beginning was difficult to understand all the lines. From the first lap to the last one I improved 22 seconds.”

Other drivers like Valentino Rossi shared the sentiment. This new course will take some time to get used to.

“The track is so difficult,” Rossi said. “It’s very technical and it has a lot of blind corners where you have to understand where to brake, so it’s a good advantage to come here.”

The 2013 season starts on April 7 in Qatar before coming to Austin for the inaugural Grand Prix of the Americas.