Laguna Seca Race Report

BMSOB wrote:

What a race!!! Got back last night from Laguna about 10pm. A friend & I loaded his street legal scooters, 1 is a honda trail 110...

What a race!!! Got back last night from Laguna about 10pm. A friend & I loaded his street legal scooters, 1 is a honda trail 110, the other is a Yamaha Zuma, into my 84' Toyota PU & drove to the track early Sunday morning. The last few years they have restricted vehicles at the track because of access & traffic problems. You can still park at the track but it costs $30 & is sold out months ahead. All others have to park in town & ride shuttle buses to the track but motorcycles can park at the track free. We parked in the town of Marina, unloaded the bikes & rode 10 miles to the track. We were quite a sight amidst all the sport bikes with our folding camp chair backpacks & cooler bungeed on the back doing our best Nicky Hayden imitations at 35-40mph. Much hilarity ensued at the entrance to the track when asked how far we had ridden & we replied with a grin,150 miles. It was somewhat true. We had driven 150 miles, just not on the bikes. Some people had come from across the country just to be here & there were thousands of bikes of every type & color. Motorcyclists being what they are we recieved many waves & fist pumps as we wound our way down the back roads to the track for what would turn out to be one of the most compelling races I have ever seen.

Prior to the big race Sunday there was a general consensus that everyone was basically racing for second as reigning champ Casey Stoner & the almighty Ducati had thoroughly waxed everyone through practice & qualifying, breaking the lap record an incredible 8 consecutive times on his way to pole position .5 secs. ahead of Rossi. Rossi was asked prior to the race what he needed to win & he jokingly said a 30 sec. head start. But he's not called the Doctor for nothing. He knew if he was to have any chance he would have to get in front of Stoner early & try to set the pace.

That's just what he did. Stoner got the lead & it looked like it was over before it started but with the tires still not up to temperature on the first lap Val made a heroic pass of Stoner going into the Corkscrew that he clearly wasn't expecting. I think the entire Ducati team thought that this would be easy but that was not going to be the case.

Laguna is a technical track with 3 good passing zones, turns 2, 6, 11, & one dicey spot at the Corkscrew. To make one there requires some bold moves, tire punishing riding & big brass balls. Valentino knew this. He used every bit of experience 7 world championships require to harrass Stoner & block his drives out of the slow turn 11 down the front straight, hugging the inside line going deep into turn 2 to keep Stoner at bay ,leaned over at insane angles, as they crested the front straight thru turn 1 at 165mph side by side.

The Ducati was obviously faster. Give Stoner props though, he was riding hard & went right back by Rossi the very next lap going into turn 2. Rossi was having none of it & stuffed it inside of Stoner at turn 5. Using the Ducati's superior HP Stoner repassed Val on the outside going up the hill towards the corkscrew & this is where it got interesting.

Unwilling to give up Valentino drove waaaay deep into the turn, got into the dirt, jumped the curb & still made the pass forcing Stoner to the edge of the track on the exit of the downhill turn. MX racing, MotoGP style. A huge roar went up from the crowd that could be heard a mile away. As the 2 continued the battle around the whole track, a wave of sound, rising & falling with each move by the riders followed them as the crowd went wild.

Stoner was back in front going into turn 2, the Ducati sliding a bucking with the traction control straining to keep grip as he gassed it, leaned over impossibly, to keep the tight line. Again Rossi block passed Stoner at turn 5 & the game was on. After a series of banzai passes, (at least 5), in a 2 lap span, the pattern was set. Stoner, riding very hard, dogging Rossi at every turn & looking for a way past on almost every corner. For his part, Valentino was using every trick in the book to keep the faster Ducati behind him & block the lines Stoner needed to get a run on him & there were still 27 laps to go!

At that point Stoner knew this would be no easy win & decided to go to school on Rossi matching his every move. 2 different times he nearly threw it away at Rainey curve, making knee saves as the Ducati slid both tires trying to hook up under full throttle in an attempt to get a drive down the hill to turn 10. It was magnificent riding on the very edge by both riders. Several times Stoner managed to draw alongside Val on the start straight & passed him again into turn 2 only to run wide & let him back by. The crowd was electric & was definately getting it's money's worth. Again & again Stoner tried to get a run on Rossi. Again & again he was repulsed until he finally made a mistake, running wide at 11 in an attempt to get another drive down the straightaway, & dumped it in the gravel runoff area. He was up & going in a flash but his chance was gone & so was Rossi. MotoGP racing at a level of intensity rarely seen.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Nicky fought hard but was slowly swallowed up by Vermullen & eventually Dovisioso, who followed Nicky to learn his lines for many laps, before finally making a pass. Nicky did well to finish 5th, the only Michelin rider in the top 10 & clearly dissappointed.

The revelation of the race was AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies. Starting well back in the field, he managed to work his way up to 7th before giving it back to Tony Elias on the last lap & settling for 8th. He was smooth & strong throughout the race & got faster as the race went on. To see him up there battling with former WSB Champion James Toseland & others in the top 10 was fun to watch. At 1 point there were 3 American in the top 10! Jamie Hacking on the Kawasaki rode well & eventually finished 11th ahead of many full time GP riders. Good stuff. Colin Edwards was nowhere to be found this weekend & that was very dissappointing. He cruised around in 14th place for most of the race leaving his fans with little to cheer about.

It's hard to call Rossi "the old man" when he's only 29, but the story of the race was the older experienced man outwitting & outriding the younger faster man. In the process they put on one of the best displays of racing I have ever seen & with Pedrosa out the championship, at least for now, the title chase becomes very interesting. After being schooled by Rossi this weekend it will be interesting to see if the kid can come back & defend his title. The rest of the season should be wild.

BMSOB wrote:

What a race!!! Got back last night from Laguna about 10pm. A friend & I loaded his street legal scooters, 1 is a honda trail 110...

What a race!!! Got back last night from Laguna about 10pm. A friend & I loaded his street legal scooters, 1 is a honda trail 110, the other is a Yamaha Zuma, into my 84' Toyota PU & drove to the track early Sunday morning. The last few years they have restricted vehicles at the track because of access & traffic problems. You can still park at the track but it costs $30 & is sold out months ahead. All others have to park in town & ride shuttle buses to the track but motorcycles can park at the track free. We parked in the town of Marina, unloaded the bikes & rode 10 miles to the track. We were quite a sight amidst all the sport bikes with our folding camp chair backpacks & cooler bungeed on the back doing our best Nicky Hayden imitations at 35-40mph. Much hilarity ensued at the entrance to the track when asked how far we had ridden & we replied with a grin,150 miles. It was somewhat true. We had driven 150 miles, just not on the bikes. Some people had come from across the country just to be here & there were thousands of bikes of every type & color. Motorcyclists being what they are we recieved many waves & fist pumps as we wound our way down the back roads to the track for what would turn out to be one of the most compelling races I have ever seen.

Prior to the big race Sunday there was a general consensus that everyone was basically racing for second as reigning champ Casey Stoner & the almighty Ducati had thoroughly waxed everyone through practice & qualifying, breaking the lap record an incredible 8 consecutive times on his way to pole position .5 secs. ahead of Rossi. Rossi was asked prior to the race what he needed to win & he jokingly said a 30 sec. head start. But he's not called the Doctor for nothing. He knew if he was to have any chance he would have to get in front of Stoner early & try to set the pace.

That's just what he did. Stoner got the lead & it looked like it was over before it started but with the tires still not up to temperature on the first lap Val made a heroic pass of Stoner going into the Corkscrew that he clearly wasn't expecting. I think the entire Ducati team thought that this would be easy but that was not going to be the case.

Laguna is a technical track with 3 good passing zones, turns 2, 6, 11, & one dicey spot at the Corkscrew. To make one there requires some bold moves, tire punishing riding & big brass balls. Valentino knew this. He used every bit of experience 7 world championships require to harrass Stoner & block his drives out of the slow turn 11 down the front straight, hugging the inside line going deep into turn 2 to keep Stoner at bay ,leaned over at insane angles, as they crested the front straight thru turn 1 at 165mph side by side.

The Ducati was obviously faster. Give Stoner props though, he was riding hard & went right back by Rossi the very next lap going into turn 2. Rossi was having none of it & stuffed it inside of Stoner at turn 5. Using the Ducati's superior HP Stoner repassed Val on the outside going up the hill towards the corkscrew & this is where it got interesting.

Unwilling to give up Valentino drove waaaay deep into the turn, got into the dirt, jumped the curb & still made the pass forcing Stoner to the edge of the track on the exit of the downhill turn. MX racing, MotoGP style. A huge roar went up from the crowd that could be heard a mile away. As the 2 continued the battle around the whole track, a wave of sound, rising & falling with each move by the riders followed them as the crowd went wild.

Stoner was back in front going into turn 2, the Ducati sliding a bucking with the traction control straining to keep grip as he gassed it, leaned over impossibly, to keep the tight line. Again Rossi block passed Stoner at turn 5 & the game was on. After a series of banzai passes, (at least 5), in a 2 lap span, the pattern was set. Stoner, riding very hard, dogging Rossi at every turn & looking for a way past on almost every corner. For his part, Valentino was using every trick in the book to keep the faster Ducati behind him & block the lines Stoner needed to get a run on him & there were still 27 laps to go!

At that point Stoner knew this would be no easy win & decided to go to school on Rossi matching his every move. 2 different times he nearly threw it away at Rainey curve, making knee saves as the Ducati slid both tires trying to hook up under full throttle in an attempt to get a drive down the hill to turn 10. It was magnificent riding on the very edge by both riders. Several times Stoner managed to draw alongside Val on the start straight & passed him again into turn 2 only to run wide & let him back by. The crowd was electric & was definately getting it's money's worth. Again & again Stoner tried to get a run on Rossi. Again & again he was repulsed until he finally made a mistake, running wide at 11 in an attempt to get another drive down the straightaway, & dumped it in the gravel runoff area. He was up & going in a flash but his chance was gone & so was Rossi. MotoGP racing at a level of intensity rarely seen.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Nicky fought hard but was slowly swallowed up by Vermullen & eventually Dovisioso, who followed Nicky to learn his lines for many laps, before finally making a pass. Nicky did well to finish 5th, the only Michelin rider in the top 10 & clearly dissappointed.

The revelation of the race was AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies. Starting well back in the field, he managed to work his way up to 7th before giving it back to Tony Elias on the last lap & settling for 8th. He was smooth & strong throughout the race & got faster as the race went on. To see him up there battling with former WSB Champion James Toseland & others in the top 10 was fun to watch. At 1 point there were 3 American in the top 10! Jamie Hacking on the Kawasaki rode well & eventually finished 11th ahead of many full time GP riders. Good stuff. Colin Edwards was nowhere to be found this weekend & that was very dissappointing. He cruised around in 14th place for most of the race leaving his fans with little to cheer about.

It's hard to call Rossi "the old man" when he's only 29, but the story of the race was the older experienced man outwitting & outriding the younger faster man. In the process they put on one of the best displays of racing I have ever seen & with Pedrosa out the championship, at least for now, the title chase becomes very interesting. After being schooled by Rossi this weekend it will be interesting to see if the kid can come back & defend his title. The rest of the season should be wild.