MotoGP

[Beuphonium]

Ladies and Gentleman-

 

Today was extremely interesting, I know not about the events taking place on Fri and Sat, but today I worked a security detail at the race at Laguna Seca. What an interesting event. Unfortunatly my shifts prevented me from seeing the entire race, but I did get to see the pass in lap 17 that took the lead for Hayden.

 

What I will say, however, is that I found it very interesting that the price of water went from $4.00 / 20 oz bottle to the police distributing 16oz water bottles by the hundreds to angry race fans that had been standing in lines for hours. I realize that the logistics of moving close to 60,000 people aren't easy, but I don't think the speedway was prepared for the sheer volume in addition to the weather conditions. I did witness one arrest from a guy trying to cut in front of about, say, 6000 people in line. Almost got tazered!

 

I hope all of you who were in attendance enjoyed the race though ( I might even have given you some water on your way out!) I did get some great pictures and video from the middle of turn 3, from an exclusive location , but now that I've seen one, I think the next US races (for a variety of reasons) I'll catch on TV.

 

- Joe K

04 Cafe Sport

84 V65SP

[Enzo]

I was all set up to go to this race, but with the horrible heat, I'm really glad I stayed home and watched it on the plasma. On top of it all, Valentino's bike blew up.

[Steve G.]

Ladies and Gentleman-

 

Today was extremely interesting, I know not about the events taking place on Fri and Sat, but today I worked a security detail at the race at Laguna Seca. What an interesting event. Unfortunatly my shifts prevented me from seeing the entire race, but I did get to see the pass in lap 17 that took the lead for Hayden.

 

What I will say, however, is that I found it very interesting that the price of water went from $4.00 / 20 oz bottle to the police distributing 16oz water bottles by the hundreds to angry race fans that had been standing in lines for hours. I realize that the logistics of moving close to 60,000 people aren't easy, but I don't think the speedway was prepared for the sheer volume in addition to the weather conditions. I did witness one arrest from a guy trying to cut in front of about, say, 6000 people in line. Almost got tazered!

 

I hope all of you who were in attendance enjoyed the race though ( I might even have given you some water on your way out!) I did get some great pictures and video from the middle of turn 3, from an exclusive location , but now that I've seen one, I think the next US races (for a variety of reasons) I'll catch on TV.

 

- Joe K

 

Cafe Sport

84 V65SP

 

I learned from last year that the people who run this event at Laguna Seca are incompetant. Your comment has now back up my claim. They had a year of knowledge of the logistics needed for a "Full House" at this event, and they failed again.

For Moto GP, this is the wrong race track at the right location. These machines need a 'big' track, like Road America.

I'll not be back.

Ciao, Steve G.

[stogieBill]

 

For Moto GP, this is the wrong race track at the right location. These machines need a 'big' track, like Road America.

 

Ciao, Steve G.

 

 

Having gone through the mess last year, was glad I stayed home on caught the whole race on the telly.

 

I also agree that Laguna Seca is no longer a proper venue for this event. If this is the best the US can foot (it's not!) Then I see it going away.

 

It will be interesting to hear if they at least got the transportation nightmare resolved. We left early right after the GP last year and it still took 2 hours to get out.

 

Ciao and be safe,

 

Bill

[Beuphonium]

The transportation was one of the largest messes there-

 

In theory, it worked perfectly. All automobile parking was to be done off site, all "automobile" parking lots were then re-designated "motorcycle only". If you were on a bike, you could go almost directly in and out. Everyone else (Including myself) was bussed in, this way there would be no horrendous stream of cars trying to leave, etc. So the GP race finishes, with the two AMA superbike races still slotted afterward, and thousands of people are trying to leave, waiting in lines for the buses to bring them back to their cars. Somehow lines got routed the wrong way, and the cops started letting people who had been waiting in line for an hour on the buses, People on the other side of the street, who had been waiting there for three hours, just erupted, and rightfully so. I daresay I'd have felt much better (even in the heat) with my flack jacket and service rifle.

 

The shame of it is, that it really seemed to be a nice track, but logistically, the whole event was one fiasco after another.

 

I've got a good pic of Rossi turned around on his bike checking it out, running down the straight between turns 3 and 4

 

- Joe K

04 Cafe Sport

84 V65SP

[g.forrest]

a good race from the lounge a good win by hayden, and a exceptional ride to second by pedrosa after a couple of mistakes. i felt sorry for vermulan a valiant effort but let down by machine problems. casey showed again he has the talent, but still has a lot to learn. i don't know what KR's problem may have been if any bar just cant cut it. i thought it totaly out of norm to have three machines expire in one race in moto gp of late.. but then again it was in merica....pharlap.. les darcy..etc. it is certainly much more dificult now for rossi and even more so for hopper.

[geddo]

Didn't go last year but my buddy that I went with this year did and he said traffic was horrendous that year. This year we left during Superstock, walked right out to our bikes parked in the 'Grassy Knoll', rode out to 68 with no slow down, went out to 101 and traffic was moving great until 156, 5 miles of slowdown there and then straight home to SJ... no problem at all. Riding a bike and or camping is the way to go if you can, if you are going to drive then be prepared to wait for the crowds to die down.

 

I think this is a great track for MotoGP, personally I think the overly computer aided track designs are less than interesting, an old track with character that follows the flow of the land is a dying breed and that (for me) is too bad. I know the rider's have said this track is hard and I understand the need to keep them safe, but whoever said a track should be easy??

 

As far as event coordination they made a lot of changes based on fan feedback and I think that shows a commitment to get things right. They dropped attendance from 53k to 48k, changed the traffic flow, allowed track crossing (though this was a failure in my mind as it needed to happen after the MotoGP race not at the end of the day), built a larger souvenir stand, and created more space for concessions. I am sure after the feedback this year they will make more adjustments... as for the weather, nobody knew it was going to be that hot, there were record temperatures in many areas, and the fact that they were trucking in and giving away free water was plus in my mind.

 

My biggest complaints are the track crossing at times when it wasnt really needed and none when it was, changing of the event schedule which left us sitting around with nothing to watch for hours, and camping on Archery Hill which me and my friends have renamed 'Tick Hill'. We camped for 3 days and found more than 20 ticks on our person or in our tents... not sure what they could have done about it before hand but hanging out in camp was not an option for us.

 

Cannery Row was a nice place to ride down to and check out all the bikes and 'interesting people'. I learned something I was not aware of, apparently Japanese Sportbikes need to be wound up regularly in order to get them work, in some cases all the way to rev limiter...

 

In all I would go again and camp in the preferred spots, get a hotel in Salinas, or find a campground somewhere outside of the event and just ride in in the morning.

 

Cheers,

Geddo

[Keith Foster]

The transportation was one of the largest messes there-

 

-Snip-

 

The shame of it is, that it really seemed to be a nice track, but logistically, the whole event was one fiasco after another.

 

 

For me it worked very well, but I did the following which wouldn't be for everybody:

 

Saturday and Sunday mornings I was at the parking lot between 8 and 8:30am. got dropped off at the track basically an hour later.

 

Saturday I left right after MotoGP qualifying, just before the AMA Superbike race. There was a short wait, maybe 10 minutes.

 

Sunday I left after 3-4 laps of MotoGP, there was a small line, one bus about took everyone.

 

For me it was easy come easy go.

 

Talking with the driver on the way out, he said he was the last bus to run the "normal incoming" direction, the ones after him were told to reverse direction to take people out. And on our way out there were 30-40 busses coming the other way down the narrow property roads. They had set up the routes so that there was one way traffic only for the buses on any one road at a time I understand. He said there were 75 busses in use for the event. The busses were the motor coach style that hold what, 80 or so people?

 

I agree that Laguna leaves a lot to be desired in terms of location. I taped the event and will watch it when I get home. I wonder how the people who rode to/from the track had it, if that system worked OK.

[jtucker]

A friend of mine took part in a cross-country ride that was put together by Red Bull. It sounds like that was a complete nightmare as well. For more info on that, here's a blog of the ride that was posted by another Philadelphia-area rider who took part:

 

http://www.teampromotion.com/tpm.php?page_id=feature_072106

 

Apparently, they allowed alot of people/bikes that have no business attempting a cross-country trip. There was one guy on a Honda GB500 (which I think retired on the 2nd day) and a guy with a GSXR "stunt" bike... you know, the kind with the crushed in gas tank (for standing on) that only hold maybe 2 gallons of fuel

[jrt]

Well, I can't speak to the conditions, but I sure enjoyed watching it on TV. I thought it was a nice race; the Kentucky kid was just on, I felt a little bad for Rossi, and I was very impressed with Pedrosa. His weight (or lack of) is a BIG asset exiting corners- did you see him just walk away from Roberts and Vermulan?

[gthyni]

Kenny sure did get a scare when he got mixed up in the Pedrosa/Stoner fight

and did come past him one on either side, and then Pedrosa going into the corkscrew

on the rumble strip. Those guys are crazy, surely someone told them that you can't be

fast on the peculiar LS before you learnt the difficulities of it, but they did seem to

care at all and rode like 2 Jorge Lorenzos on X.

[jrt]

Yeah, the US commentators (TV guys) got real excited when they were three across. Wild stuff!

[frogonwheels]

I did attend The Laguna Seca GP 2006 as my first ever live Moto GP. I bought the tickets online a week earlier. I got to stay at the Toro campground ( around 4 miles East of the track ). The camping was not marked properly from the freeway, and from the bad directions given to me at the will call, I missed it by ...6 miles !!!! It happened to others I taked to.

 

But after that, it was really smooth sailing...beside the heat.

Buses where running every 10/ 15 minutes. Very confortable, very fast.

On Saturday, I left the track around 7:00 PM and waited only 20 minutes to catch the bus back to the campground ( showers, etc... ). On Sunday, I left around 9:00 AM, caught a bus and found myself on the track by 9:20 AM.

 

I walked around, wearing my GUZZI hat, and got an early lunch. I decided to try turn 1, since I was a bit dissapointed ( meaning not impressed enough for the racing part ) by the corkscrew during qualifying the day before. I showed up at 11:30 AM, found a great spot right by the fence. I hookep up my umbrella in the fence, and stood there for 2 hours 1/2 until the GP race.

 

It was a real bummer they canceled the AMA race earlier. But people were real friendly, and nobody threw a tandrum..

 

I enjoyed the race. I took pictures and a movie. I saw Nicky with his right arm pumped up after the finish line. I caught Valentino's engine blowup on tape. I LOVED the sound of the bikes by the way.

 

As soon as Nicky won, I left and caught the first bus out. The race was over by 3:10 PM and I was at the campground by 3:30PM . I had told my family I would be back in Sacramento ( about 200 miles away ) late in the day. I ended up home by 6:30PM ( 210 miles in 3 hours, good highway 5 ... )

 

I would go back with a friend. Alone is a bit lonely. The track is fun in the way that you can see a lot of it from one spot, and you can walk it pretty quick. Yet, I feel it is just outdated, and would need some longer fast corners for overtaking and fun for the fans.

 

They NEED much more going on, on the track itself at any given time. They need to make it exiting, and I would say overall that is what lacked the most, an exiting atmosphere.

 

Dump the two guys doing life commentaries, and get some real charismatic fellows. Get some gas, oil and rubber smells. I miss the " old days " in the way that everything there today was spotless, from the racing teams, the track, the vendors and the fans. I saw basically only newer " Japs " speed bikes, and all the new Ducatis owned in America. Fans wore tatoos, not greassy dirty jackets, and drank .....water!!! ( because they're just too young ! )

 

Kidding apart, the crowd was very friendly, very calm and they drank quality beer ( no Bud, no Michelob etc...). Everybody tried to keep the grounds clean, and it was nice to see 20 years old guys, all tanned and tatooed, go the extra 20 yards to find a garbage can. More power to them !!!!

 

It was darned too hot. But this has nothing to do with the organizers. It could be better, and will be better. I would go back...with some of you Guzzi guys.

 

Yet, I can't wait to watch it on TV tomorrow evening on the Speedvision replay at 4:00 PM.

 

Ciao.

 

Terry

[g.forrest]

interesting that mick doohan said of pedrosa when he joined the big time..quote. he'll struggle with his low weight and small size on the bigger bikes. guess he's been proved wrong.

Well, I can't speak to the conditions, but I sure enjoyed watching it on TV. I thought it was a nice race; the Kentucky kid was just on, I felt a little bad for Rossi, and I was very impressed with Pedrosa. His weight (or lack of) is a BIG asset exiting corners- did you see him just walk away from Roberts and Vermulan?

[ferguzzi]

The press over here are making a big deal about the fact pedrosa weighs about 4 kilos, and it being a big advantage. It certainly seemed a fair point, but there was a sharp right hand turn one the sachsenring last week with some vicious bumps, and he always suferred on it, and I guess there are plenty of other spots on the circuits I've missed where he feels it more then others.

It can't simply be smaller = faster, otherwise we would have had 15 year old female gymnasts competing for the last few years.

Not that there wouldn't be a market for that....

 

On a different note, I feel the pain of the boys who said it was a little warm. I'm just back from a trip around the sunny southwest Of the US on an electra glide( now there's a piece of shit), and we hit 146degrees f at one stage. Thats reeeely hot in celcius.

I'll provide some photos and thoughts as soon as I get some energy back.