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oddlycalm
07-10-05, 10:27 PM
Woooohoooo :D What about US riders taking 1st and 2nd in the USGP :thumbup: Man, Edwards getting past The Doc on the entry to the corksrcrew was smooth as butter. Laguna looked packed, and the fans got treated to a real surprise result. Folks will be talking about this one for a while I expect.

The support races looked good as well. Bostrom nailing down the Superbike race on the Ducati from flag to flag was another nice surprise.

About the only negative I could really think of is that the course is a bit dinky for the MotoGP bikes which can't even get into 6th gear there, but it's great to have them back in the US again.

oc

eiregosod
07-10-05, 11:49 PM
Super race, and a great crowd. Previous Laguna experience was a bonus as they jnew the line to go up the hill to the corkscrew.

TV production values were pretty high. All the local broadcasters here were sent out to Laguna :thumbup:

RichK
07-11-05, 01:51 PM
It was an amazing race to attend! Those bikes are REALLY loud and REALLY fast. Every turn exit had black streaks about 100 yards long....the bikes are so powerful they spin up the rear wheel out of every turn. I can't believe how hard these guys ride, lap after lap. The bikes are just beasts.

The crowd was the biggest I've ever seen at Laguna, and very international. Traffic was not for the timid. My wife and I rode our bicycles in from Seaside, and avoided the problem (but we paid in sweat - it was a hot, fogless day).

There were rumblings all weekend about the riders complaining about the safety of Laguna Seca. I don't think they are used to walls closer than 200 feet away. Many of them were freaked by the Turn 1 rise. Lots of tankslappers at 160mph coming over the rise.

I haven't seen the SPEED coverage, but Nicky rode a couple victory laps with a big American flag.

G.
07-11-05, 01:54 PM
those guys are insane. I was scared witless just watching them.

Sean O'Gorman
07-11-05, 02:11 PM
How much faster are they than the Superbikes?

RichK
07-11-05, 02:18 PM
How much faster are they than the Superbikes?

I think Mat Mladin's pole time was 1:24.8, and Hayden's MotoGP pole time was 1:22.6. At Laguna, that's a pretty significant difference.

If you're calculating dollars spent per second of laptime difference, though.... :eek:

RichK
07-11-05, 02:21 PM
:thumbup:

http://www.speedtv.com/_assets/library/img/large/74713_hayden.laguna.flag.jpg

Sean O'Gorman
07-11-05, 02:24 PM
I think Mat Mladin's pole time was 1:24.8, and Hayden's MotoGP pole time was 1:22.6. At Laguna, that's a pretty significant difference.

If you're calculating dollars spent per second of laptime difference, though.... :eek:

Ah. I was just curious if the difference was enough to make the safety complaints be considered "unusual," like if they were 5-7 seconds quicker a lap or something like that.

RichK
07-11-05, 02:29 PM
Ah. I was just curious if the difference was enough to make the safety complaints be considered "unusual," like if they were 5-7 seconds quicker a lap or something like that.

Yeah, not a big difference. The AMA guys are used to even scarier tracks like Daytona, so Laguna probably doesn't even faze 'em.

RacinM3
07-11-05, 03:03 PM
Haha Rich, my wife and I were in a furniture store yesterday, and one of the displays had a TV - it was on during the last few laps. I commented to my wife on how huge the crowd looked, bigger than CART in its heyday at Laguna (which was a pretty good crowd).

So my wife comments...."I bet RichK's there". :laugh:

RichK
07-11-05, 03:06 PM
Haha Rich, my wife and I were in a furniture store yesterday, and one of the displays had a TV - it was on during the last few laps. I commented to my wife on how huge the crowd looked, bigger than CART in its heyday at Laguna (which was a pretty good crowd).

So my wife comments...."I bet RichK's there". :laugh:

:laugh: He was!

Here's a shot of the crowd, taken from the Turn2 hill:

http://www.southbayriders.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5336&stc=1

RacinM3
07-11-05, 03:12 PM
Yeah, exactly. I also noticed that the OTHER hill, the one to the right and out of view in that photo, had a big crowd on it as well. You know it's packed when that hill gets folks on it....

RichK
07-11-05, 03:26 PM
I took a pic of the other hill, don't have it here though. I haven't seen people on that hill since CART ~'94 (Mario's last race).

oddlycalm
07-11-05, 06:34 PM
It was an amazing race to attend! Those bikes are REALLY loud and REALLY fast. Every turn exit had black streaks about 100 yards long....the bikes are so powerful they spin up the rear wheel out of every turn. I can't believe how hard these guys ride, lap after lap. The bikes are just beasts. Yeah, I knew you were gonna be real glad you went to this one. :thumbup::D Wish I could have been there myself. :(

My thoughts on MotoGP are similar to what Mark Donohue said when asked if the 917 had too much power. I can't recall his exact words, but the gist of it was that until the driver could lay rubber all the way from one turn to the next there wasn't such a thing as too much power. I lot of us speculated what MotoGP would be like when the details of the engine power were first released as approaching 300hp. Many said that nobody would be able to ride them, or it would be suicide, but it's neither. Instead it's just about the best racing left in a world of personality driven motosport entertainment and spec series mediocrity.

From the looks of the crowd, there are others that agree.

oc

RichK
07-11-05, 06:47 PM
If you want to come next year, let me know. There are some definite Do's and Don'ts to getting in & out of Laguna.

Some people were in cars for 3 hours to get in & more hours to get out.

RacinM3
07-11-05, 07:23 PM
HAHA...DO arrive as soon as the gates open. DO enter off Hwy 68. DON'T leave until after the very last race. DO consider hanging out and getting something to eat after the races are over. DON'T even think about leaving the Hwy 68 way. DO leave the Fort Ord way. DON'T stray from the old Ford Ord Road, unless you want to get blow'd up.

That about it? The crowds are somewhat less substantial for my club races there. :gomer:

RichK
07-11-05, 07:34 PM
Close! They blocked off the main entrance from Hwy 68 this time, though! :eek: Only buses and people capable of riding/preparing 300hp, 2-wheeled monsters came in through the main entrance.

We parked in Seaside and rode in via Hwy 218, which was also a better escape route. The key is parking near Turn 2, and leaving right after the main race.

coolhand
07-11-05, 09:03 PM
Close! They blocked off the main entrance from Hwy 68 this time, though! :eek: Only buses and people capable of riding/preparing 300hp, 2-wheeled monsters came in through the main entrance.

We parked in Seaside and rode in via Hwy 218, which was also a better escape route. The key is parking near Turn 2, and leaving right after the main race.

or take your truck with an ATV or motocycle or pocket bike (saw that a Infineon this year) and park near the exit, once the race is over hop on it back to your car.

people have told me it works, i will try it somtime

Sean O'Gorman
07-11-05, 10:02 PM
Wow, that pic of the crowd just blows my mind. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in my visits to Mid-Ohio, Road America, and Road Atlanta.

Just goes to show that if the fans aren't going to permanent road courses, it isn't because they don't like travelling to the race track.

oddlycalm
07-12-05, 12:31 PM
Wow, that pic of the crowd just blows my mind. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in my visits to Mid-Ohio, Road America, and Road Atlanta.

Just goes to show that if the fans aren't going to permanent road courses, it isn't because they don't like travelling to the race track. Well, I have seen crowds like that, and much bigger, at US road races in the past. Our dinky little track here in Portland drew as many as 85,000 on race day alone in the early years of the CART race and around 125,000 for the weekend. We always rented a motorhome, parked it at turn 6 and lived at the track for the weekend because getting in and out of the track was such a hassle. I can't quote you the exact numbers from RA and MO during that period, but I was at both some years and the crowds were similarly huge.

Castration of the equipment, retirement of the big names and effective competition from NASCAR for both audience and driving talent killed those crowds. MotoGP is proof positive to me that there is a large paying audience in the US for top equipment piloted by top talent.

A business plan for survival is not even close to the same thing as a formula for stand out success. MotoGP is a shining example of the latter.

oc

RacinM3
07-12-05, 01:43 PM
Speaking of fans going out of their way to road races.....when I raced at Sebring in '03 during the 12 Hour weekend, I had never in my life seen such a big crowd at the track. And that place is really in the middle of nowhere. Same with Lime Rock, they had a huge crowd, even though it poured rain all weekend.

People are obviously willing to make the trek for the right product. But those of us who saw Portland, Laguna, etc. at the height of CART already knew that. There's another FTG for you.

Sorry to derail your topic, RichK, the bike races looked like great fun!

RichK
07-12-05, 01:48 PM
Sorry to derail your topic, RichK, the bike races looked like great fun!

Not at all, this is a good topic. It's all about the product. Formula 1 would've drawn the same or more.

Here's another cool pic:

http://www.speedtv.com/_assets/library/img/large/74378_53214708.jpg

Red Bull put a TON of money into this event, as seen by the signage. Now I know where the $2/can goes! :laugh: Yamaha also paid for all of the track improvements. You can see in this picture that the curbing is now flat, per the FIM standard. Even the curbing paint is specified to give a certain amount of grip. All the track records are going to fall for SCCA and everyone else.

RichK
07-12-05, 03:40 PM
Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
July 10, 2005

Number of spectators

Friday: 40,520
Saturday: 55,201
Sunday: 57,932

Total: 153,653

The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca drew more fans over the three days than all but four 2004 Grands Prix (Jerez, Catalunya, Sachsenring and Valencia), topping Welkom, Le Mans, Mugello, Assen, Rio, Donington Park, Brno, Estoril, Motegi, Losail, Sepang and Phillip Island.

Dr. Corkski
07-12-05, 03:48 PM
Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
July 10, 2005

Number of spectators

Friday: 40,520
Saturday: 55,201
Sunday: 57,932

Total: 153,653

The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca drew more fans over the three days than all but four 2004 Grands Prix (Jerez, Catalunya, Sachsenring and Valencia), topping Welkom, Le Mans, Mugello, Assen, Rio, Donington Park, Brno, Estoril, Motegi, Losail, Sepang and Phillip Island.But I am sure they can get 1,536,530 in San Jose. :laugh:

NismoZ
07-12-05, 04:38 PM
Yeah, RA had 75k plus, advertized as the biggest sporting event in Wisconsin, and there was always room for lots more. First time most of us had experienced top European talent and the place was up for grabs. Best driver parade I ever saw, fans just charged the fences for Surtees,and especially Gurney as I recall. (The "McLeagle"!? :) ) '67 Can Am. I agree with M3's post above that says if we'd just put the VERY BEST out there regardless of series we'll show up in droves, outhouses or not.