Sport-Touring
The Club House => Pit Row => Topic started by: rgbeard on December 31, 2013, 04:51:18 PM
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Kevin and I did this track in June 2013, and I want to go back in 2014!!
Looks like Keigwins does not have their 2014 dates posted yet..... I'm watching.
http://www.keigwin.com/events_schedule.php (http://www.keigwin.com/events_schedule.php)
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I would love to give that track a spin. :thumbsup:
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If you want to, at any point in the future, do Laguna Seca, please do it sooner than later.
There's serious pressure to close Laguna Seca coming from various groups, including the County and the State of California.
One of these days we'll look back and remember the track with the killer corkscrew. That'll probably be the tee-off for the 12th.
I doubt it makes it another 10 years.
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I doubt it makes it another 10 years.
It's California. It'll take at least 20. ;)
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I thought the track was in a county park.
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I thought the track was in a county park.
It is. In the begining Laguna Seca was built on Fort Ord, property of the US Army and donated, in part, so the wealthy wouldn't have to race their sports cars around Pebble Beach and annoy their neighbors.
There's a whole sub-story here of rich Army officers returning from the rigors of battling the enemies of democracy and finding theselves stationed on the idyllic Monterey Peninsula.
When Fort Ord was closed the land the track was on was ceded to Monterey County to be used as a County park with camping facilities and a race track that was to be used, under agreement, for about 4 or 5 noisy racing events per year. The track, you see, is run by the charitable SCRAMP, and all proceeds go to local organizations and everything is staffed by volunteers. That's why Boy Scouts sell race programs.
If you've attended events over the years you've probably noticed the encroachment of the "gilded" crowd with their small manses and golf courses.
These people are the enemy.
can build very nice homes close to their
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I thought the track was in a county park.
It is. In the begining Laguna Seca was built on Fort Ord, property of the US Army and donated, in part, so the wealthy wouldn't have to race their sports cars around Pebble Beach and annoy their neighbors.
There's a whole sub-story here of rich Army officers returning from the rigors of battling the enemies of democracy and finding theselves stationed on the idyllic Monterey Peninsula.
When Fort Ord was closed the land the track was on was ceded to Monterey County to be used as a County park with camping facilities and a race track that was to be used, under agreement, for about 4 or 5 noisy racing events per year. The track, you see, is run by the charitable SCRAMP, and all proceeds go to local organizations and everything is staffed by volunteers. That's why Boy Scouts sell race programs.
If you've attended events over the years you've probably noticed the encroachment of the "gilded" crowd with their small manses and golf courses.
These people are the enemy.
can build very nice homes close to their
Attended '05, '06 & '07 MotoGP. I totally understand what you're saying. But where da'fuck do they get their water? Colorado? ;)
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Signed up for 6/23/14.
8)
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Signed up for 6/23/14.
8)
You're gonna make me do it, aren't you.
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Signed up for 6/23/14.
8)
You're gonna make me do it, aren't you.
What do you think? ;)
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I think I may need to keep the stock pipe on my new bike until early July.
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8)
'twas a good day.
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I feel so fortunate to have spent two days on it. Compared to Mid-Ohio, Beaverun, Summit Point (main and Jefferson), VIR, and Barber, Laguna is hands-down my favorite track. :inlove:
It's funny talking to people about this track. They all ask about the corkscrew and how scary it is. I'm quick to reply that I went in thinking the corkscrew was going to be the scariest, but it isn't. Once you have your line, it's a hoot! There's SO much camber once you enter the thing, it's all gas gas gas.
The scariest part of Laguna is the kink on the straight (turn 1). At speed, I nearly want to shat myself everytime I take it. :o ;)
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For me, turn eleven was the most thrilling. I lost the front there three times in the first session yesterday, and that affected my approach a bit.
Whatever it he slippery spot was it cleared up (or my line changed and I mostly missed it) because after the first session I only occasionally tucked the front there the rest of the day.
As for the corkscrew, everybody had said to look for the tree with the orange construction tape and sight on that. Cool, right? My first lap I crested and tipped in, looking around for the tree, and by the time I spotted it I was already taking the Rossi line through the corner!
After a couple of sessions I got the feel for the turn and no longer needed the tree.
I enjoyed the track quite a bit. What made it so hard to learn compared to every other track I've ridden is that roughly half the turns are blind until very late, so you need a few laps just to have any idea at all of WTF to do...
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8)
'twas a good day.
Excellent.
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I think I may need to keep the stock pipe on my new bike until early July.
There's an old guy sitting in the shade next to the climb to the 'screw and he holds a sound gun. He's very cranky.
R Doug has it right. The blind, cresting kink that is turn one is the most daunting. You're flat out, or you want to be, but until you get your marks you've no idea where you're going. In the old days, before they added Andretti and the infields bits to extend the track for FIM requirements, you continued flat out through 3 or 4 ever-faster bumpy sweepers (depends on how fast your bike was. An RD350 with sorted suspension was pinned. A KZ1000 was almost a nightmare) before you went under the bridge and up the hill.
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Looking at the data, I was hitting about 120 mph over that crest. The real mental challenge for me there was to stay pinned until halfway down the back side, rather than rolling off at the top.
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Looking at the data, I was hitting about 120 mph over that crest. The real mental challenge for me there was to stay pinned until halfway down the back side, rather than rolling off at the top.
The MotoGP guys are pushing real close to 160 MPH at that point, if you're to believe the on-board data and press releases. It's mind-boggling to think about that.
Back in the '90s the elder WSBK riders who'd experienced some of the older classic track of Europe, such as Spa-Francorchamps, the old Assen and even the Nordschliefe had a fondness for Laguna. It was all off-camber and blind and it pissed off people like Fogarty.
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Looking at the data, I was hitting about 120 mph over that crest. The real mental challenge for me there was to stay pinned until halfway down the back side, rather than rolling off at the top.
The MotoGP guys are pushing real close to 160 MPH at that point, if you're to believe the on-board data and press releases. It's mind-boggling to think about that.
I can believe it. I've seen Jeremy's data and he tops it at about 150. I'm pretty sure If I'd had my old RR I would have been near 130.
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I'm not sure what speed I took it. But, I know the bike's suspension extends at the crest. The bike "floats" to the right. And, the RPMs pick up on the bike as the suspension unloads.
For me, it was all about trusting the corner worker.
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My big deal with that corner was having the time for the bike to settle while braking and shifting down to second from sixth. As far as the line goes, that wasn't an issue after the first couple of laps.
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It's a vivid memory for me.
Wayne Rainey wasn't a World Champion yet. He was riding a Team Maclean Honda RS500 (the triple) and making his bones. It was one wheel or the other, sometimes both, off the ground through that old section.
Freddie Spencer tore through it, too. The 5 lap qualifier on the square 4 NSR500. It sounded like a ripped zipper. That Camel Challenge race was prolly the only race that bike ever won. Mick Grant always crashed 'em.
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Rainey Corner:
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Very red and very cool.
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I had to get a red bike to match my leathers.
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:lol: :smiley_thumb: I'll bet that bike is a hoot on the track.
Here's some more Laguna love.
Leading the pack down the Corkscrew
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Exiting Andretti
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(from Eric Bostrom's GoPro)
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Stoner's pass on Lorenzo in T1 in the 2011 race was the one that Schwantz (I think) ranked as one of the best overtakes for the lead that he had ever seen.
Some comments from Stoner about the pass (Cycle News)
"Casey Stoner showed exceptional patience on Sunday afternoon at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Second-quickest in qualifying, the 25-year-old Repsol Honda rider waited until the closing laps of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix before driving hard out of Turn 11 and up the short front straightaway to pull alongside race leader Jorge Lorenzo as they crested Turn 1—the fastest section of the rolling, 2.238-mile racetrack. Stoner completed the pass on the reigning world champion going into Turn 2 and then took command of the race. Margin of victory was 5.6 seconds.
I asked Stoner if blind, fast Turn 1 was an ideal place to pass Lorenzo. “Yeah, it’s a scary corner,” the Australian admitted. “But I don’t find it as scary as other people. I’ve never had a ‘moment’ there. It’s not a corner where you’re on the limit. I’ve always felt pretty confident going over there, and that’s why I’ve had the top speed all weekend.”
On that particular lap, Stoner was clocked at 262.7 kph—the equivalent of 163.2 mph. “I’m the only one who holds it flat with a longer sixth gear,” he added. “It feels comfortable to me. I feel like Turn 2 is Turn 1, you know? Turn 1 for me is just a kink.”
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That's why Stoner is who he is.
I'd like to see him back.