[sportbikebandit]

Like my dad said never buy the first year of any new model. However, to see Nicky win in person would be worth all the inconvience for me. Next year I hope to make it. Hopefully the people who manage the event are listening. I think the event can only get better. You can't beat California sunshine and the interesting Laguna Seca Track.. The announcers on Speed thought it was better than the WSB events of the past in terms of getting people in and out.



If MO was there, where are all the photos, stories, interviews. Did you talk to Rossi, Nicky? Colin? Don't tell me you left your press creditials at home.

 

[RubberPants]

I was very dissapointed with the racing as there seemed to be lessaction than when the SBK was there with AMA. The long line ups the a**hole cops pickin on us. The skanky dusty facility and basicially it was bedlam! I will stay at home and watch it on TV next year!!!

 

[sportbikebandit]

To be fair you are right. If it would of been Valentino running away with the race with Biaggi second, instead of two Americans, we probably all be whinning how boring the racing was. Even the AMA SB race was boring. The SuperStock race had some good action until Tommy Gun went down...

About the race track. Have we come to expect NFL like stadium convience at sporting events? i.e. are our expectations of a arguably isolated road track facility tated by newer more urban venues? Just a thought. How did it compare to an outdoor concert?

 

[sportbikebandit]

should read tainted not tated. sorry

 

[23020]

It was great. I went on Friday and Sunday. I came to cheer for Nicky and couldn't have gotten a better show. We were perched up on turn 2 and everytime we saw Nicky crest turn 1 in first place, we'd go nuts! You can park your arse anywhere you'd like, unless you paid for grandstand seating or are Brad Pitt and friends in the VIP boxes.



Yes, the track is dusty, and LEOs were ticketing riders that crossed the DY to get around cars. Getting out was an exercise in patience, as each parking lot (or should I say brush field) had only one little bottleneck to get in/out of, and with roughly 50,000 people all trying to get out at the same time. Having driven the car with my non-riding cousin, I will surely let him know that I'll be on two wheels next year.



If I had any requests at all for LSR, it be that they put up more permanent larger bathroom facilities, than the nasty nasty port-a-potties there--and more paved trails surrounding turn 1 and 2.

 

[Abe_Froman]

Overall it was fun. Ecstatic to see Nicky win his first race. Great to finally see the GP bikes in person. Monterey is beautiful.



However it had a different feel than the race I attended back in '02. The constant helicopter runs in and out of the facility for the glitterati, the numerous VIP tents, etc., and the heavily restricted access to the GP area of the paddock, and prime viewing spots unless you were rich and/or famous, etc., made it seem as if the whole event was taken over and tailor made for the celebrity set. I understand that even this is more than the euro fans get but so what. This is America. We are forced to suffer the ignominy of having a great TV channel taken over by NASCAR because motorcycle racing isn't popular, so at least leave us the racetracks to ourselves sans VIP skyboxes and celebrities that couldn't ride a motorcycle well if their life depended on it. I was surprised they didn't erect some catered VIP suites up on the corkscrew. Oops I think I just gave someone an idea for next year.



Your recent article about McQueen was timely. I agree with Dean from Soup. We don't know for a fact that he's spinning in his grave but it sure is likely. Here's one celebrity that would have showed up with a bike in the back of a pickup and threw down with rest of 'em. I'm not holding my breath for Brad Pitt to get his WERA license.



At least the riders know where they come from. Valentino was hassled by the cops on South Boundary road while celebs were being choppered in overhead.

 

[50268]

The race was great. I love the Leguna track. But does ANYONE else agree that it should have gone to a much nicer facility such as Barber??

 

[12217]

Re: Watching on TV next year...

...I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that glorious experience. If it's like this years' telecast, you'll get a grainy picture and Brian Drebber's usual capacity to misspeak.

Also, was it just me, or were both of the marquee events somewhat a parade? I realize that the strategy for both winners was to get out front and ride perfect laps, so this might be due to conditions beyond the control of the SPEED producers. Probably it was their focus on the day's big story (Nicky) that leaves the impression. I'm not really complaining, either: that focus was shared by me.

To be fair, they did spent a lot of time providing very good coverage to Edwards and Rossi's and Spies and Yates' races for position.

 

[red916]

Cool! One less person next year!

 

[edward44]

Enjoy it while you can.Valentino and Co. say it's too dangerous and a lot of changes will be needed before they will come back. Read F1 style: very wide track,huge runoff areas, spectators a mile away. Being east coast I didn't get to see it but having been luckey enough to see racing at Watkins Glen in the late sixties early seventies I got got to enjoy the GP, Can-Am and Trans-Am cars race really close up. Nowdays, I think racing is made for TV.

 

[452]

AMEN!

 

[Buzglyd]

Hey KP. Those 4 cylinders sounded a lot like two cylinders. Why would those race teams go and ruin that great 4 banger sound like that?

 

[Abe_Froman]

Edit

My comments do not however apply to Jordan and Matt Leblanc. Jordan antes up and runs a team that requires a lot of money spent by either himself or Nike, and either way he makes it happen for the riders. Leblanc can actually ride and does trackdays therefore he can really appreciate what the racers are doing.

 

[28086]

This experience was awesome. Yes, it had its poor moments. I spent more time sitting in a rental car getting in out of that bomb-ridden canyon, than I spent trackside. It was dusty, wallet-draining, and demoralizing to see the corporate crowd dominating the setting in F1-style. But you know what--next year, I will be back, this time with a rented bike and tent, or an RV to soak up every moment. I will always cherish my virgin consumation with the chest-reverberating boom of motogp bikes at turn 4. It was simply stunning, and made me feel like a kid again. And 20 yrs from now, I will forget all the lines and other crap will be telling my grandkids about that sound, and Nicky's perfect day.

 

[damediggler]

Hmmmm,..... I have mixed feelings about Laguna this year. First off, the Moto Gp was awesome. Seeing Nicky get his first ever GP win in person was worth the price of admission alone. Yet compared to 01' and 04, the racing seemed to be average, but that isn't really anyones fault. I do agree that the races in previous years were more exciting but that happens in racing. As far as Laguna Seca is concerned, they have some serious work to do. It just did not seem like they were prepared at all for the amount of people there. Restrooms, parking, traffic, and food were all definate problem areas. And when will they cut those damn trees in the corkscrew so more people can see the freagin track?? They don't have to chop them down , because I like shade too but just trim em so you can see the track better. Because of the lay out it is not a really good spectator track but with minor improvements, it could be much better. I had to wait 2hours just to get out of the parking lot behind the corkscrew. I took a gamble taking the car the last day to the track since law enforcement officers were being Natzis and not letting bikes pass cars(bikes are made to get through tight spaces, and cars are for sitting in traffic). WTF? This was the first year and they were scrambling to make it ready in time. I'll definately be there next year, but if they don't do a lot of fixin' I'll stay home and watch it on TV the years after that.

 

[422]

Big bang ignition timing. Torque to the track, less HP. Not enough track for screamer ignition timing.

 

[35639]

I was talking to a friend who was in one of the VIP tents in the paddock area about the response of the GP folks to the Laguna track. I surprised to hear that the race officials were horrified that spectators (with passes) were allowed into the paddock area. Apparently, that's unheard of in the Euro MotoGP events. Again, this is hearsay, so it could also be BS.



I thought the best viewing spot was free... up on the hill by turn 2. you could see hard braking for turn 2 as well as some of turns 3, 4 and 5. We sat in the grandstand for the GP race and it wasn't nearly as good. I know better for next year...

 

[25850]

sears point. the organizers there actually give a *****.



SCRAMP is managed by a crusty group of hobbyists who could care less if fans are happy.

 

[31391]

I go every year. I've also been to most of the Euro races. The BIGGEST difference??? The stupid Ahole Cops that just don't have a clue! In Europe traffic moves because the bikes can go anywhere and get through traffic and the Cops don't hassle but actually encourage it to speed things up. At Laguna I think they sat up at night and tried to think of ways to impede traffic flow. I didn't care as i just lane split or went down the opposing lane until some moron told me to get over and then I went right back. Problem is most of the bikers were too scared and sat in long lines with the cars. Too bad as it just doesn't make sense. If a Monterey Cop could just go and watch a couple hundred bikes over in Europe going down the oncoming lane and if a vehicle comes up the other way they all move over like a drill team he might start to get it. Extraordinary circumstances call for a little bit of extraordinary thinking and consideration, but the Cops up there just aren't capable of outside the box thinking, or thinking in any form for that matter. All the local news stations slammed the traffic control so maybe they might get the hint, but I doubt it.

Besides that the track just wasn't ready for the crowd. Souvenir lines were ridicules, food line silly. Even lines to get into the Paddock. As for dust and shabby appearance it looked better than LeMans does, at least there weren't a few thousand drunken French pissing on all the walls. Or Assen where there is usually mud everywhere with a few thousand drunk Dutch rolling in it, or down the hills, and where they took out all the bridges so now you have to walk COMPLETELY around the track to get anywhere.

Will I go back next year? You bet!

Jamie

 

[Steven_Verschoor]

I know several of the GP riders said the track was not yet up to safety standards. I think they may be right. I was in the T4 grandstand during the Superstock race. Saw two crashes where both riders looked like they ended up against the wall. Scary.