Laguna-Seca to receive improvements. But what about the fans?

Having been to Laguna once before, I knew what to expect from the traffic situation. Opening up the east road through the bombing range was a good idea and probably helped a little. And it is a fun and scenic road, and we found our way to the old base and spelunked for a while which was cool.



But as a mere general admission pass holder (even with a paddock pass) I felt like a second-class citizen compared to the masses of VIP tents and suites everywhere. I don't remember all that from the WSB races in 2002. We are left to try to peer over the top of a bunch of chain-link fence surrounding the track and that's about it. I'm glad I was there for the first one and it was a fun trip, but I don't think I'll plan on going back until they make it a little more accomodating for the little guy.



In fact from what I understand, even a bunch of the riders in the AMA support races felt the same way. Either they should bring in the 250s and 125s and make it a normal GP weekend, or Dorna needs to learn to play nicer and share.

I went and I must say that the organization sucked. I stayed in San Jose (!) because the MOtel 6 there was at regular rate (rather than something like $150 a night or more for a crappy room). I had to commute about 1+ hr, but it was on my bike and I usually commute about 35 minutes a day anyway. This is one way to screw the local gougers. The access was FUBAR: someone said that cops were there only to ticket, and that's the truth. The bottleneck was that there were few people to check the tickets and those few people seemed to be local volunteer/minimum wage workers, not particularly interested in being fast. Once you were in, I found it pretty good, if you had a grandstand ticket (which I did) and if you did not try to go through, for example, the dunlop bridge. There were booths at the entrance of the bridge on either side, so people waiting in line would be blocking the people trying to pass and the personnel there did NOTHING to help the situation: they just sat there and kind of looked at the damage. I know many are just volunteers, but I say pay them and expect some actual work. It was very poorly organized, IMHO. I expect some problems with crowd, etc. at any large event, but this was pathetic! STill, would I go back? Hell, yes! Sitting in the grandstand (turn 4), listening to the combined roar of all the bikes passing together after the start was unforgettable. I had a paddock pass and I also walked around a lot, so I got to see a lot of the riders fairly close by, got to see and hear my childhood hero (Giacomo Agostini), and I got to thank Wayne Rainey for helping bring back the MotoGP, I chatted with the Ducati mechanics and some of the others, I took in all the smells/sounds/sights, etc. etc. If you like bikes and racing, you have to go: it is unforgettable.

Laguna Seca's not too bad, if you go for the MotoGP. We recommend getting there on Thursday, in order to have dinner with Valentino Rossi courtesy of AGV Helmets, who will also take care of your hotel bill for the long weekend at the Hyatt.



You can watch the practices on Friday - your VIP passes are good for the whole weekend - or visit the Robb Report hospitality suite and classic bike & car show and auction in Monterey.



Traffic is less crazy on Saturday than it will be on Sunday, so that's the day to ride in and park your motorcycle in the Honda lot right next to the Parts Unlimited hospitality tent on Turn 5, where they have tent and umbrella shade, hot hors d'ouvres and a lunch buffet and cold drinks, and an awesome view of the riders as they arc through the turn about 20 feet from your table. Today's also a good day to use your pit passes to tour the pits, see the GP crews and meet Michael Jordan at his team's area. Cheer on your shop racer as he competes in the AMA race after the MotoGP practices. Finish the day with Kevin Scwantz, Eddie Lawson, and other legends as you close the bar at the Hyatt - it turns out that's where they hang out and they're normal guys and are happy to talk about bikes and racing until 2 am.



Sunday is nuts, and the crowds are impossible, so take a Red Bull helicopter from your hotel to the Red Bull hospitality tent at the start line. They don't quite have the view of the Parts Unlimited tent, because the racers are moving too fast and it's farther from the course, but the bar cannot be beat and the widescreen plasmas show a live video feed from every turn and it's well air-conditioned. And you can see the podium fairly well, so you'll see Rossi (who you gave one of your shop shirts on Thursday) probably get a first instead of a third this year. Wait until the crowds leave, and then do a lap on the track on your shop racer's HRC CBR1000RR after they leave the access gate open.



Well, that's what we did, anyway.