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Who went to WSBK @ Laguna Seca this weekend and what did you think?

A

akacastle

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Sep 12, 2008
Location
east bay, California
Moto(s)
01 gsxr600, 08 sv650s
Just wondering who went to the race this past weekend and what did they think, I know the negatives but wanted to hear positives and how many BARFers may have gone.
 
Watching from the couch it sure looked like a ghost town. Corkscrew fence with just a few leaning against it. Grandstands with plenty of room and camping with room left over. But thats just my inner couch-potato talking.
 
I went, it was my first time at Laguna seca. I had a blast! I liked how there was so much action, 4 races in one day. It was fun walking around and checking out all the dealer stalls and checking out all the sweet new bikes. Ducati island was cool.

We went on a test ride on the new Yamaha fzo7. Damn that bike is sweet! I'll hopefully get one in the next few years.

Over all great time, I heard the crowd was small compared to moto gp, but it was fine for me, got a great view wherever I wanted to watch.
 
I enjoyed it immensely...

The turn out was much better than the race last September, moving it to mid summer helped, but it was not, as Dog Boy put it, "Tokyo Subway crowded" like MotoGP was before they added Indy and COTA US races. I'm glad they had the 2 races on Sunday, race 1 was great, race 2 had too many red flags.

I was also happy with the track view from just about anywhere, there weren't vendor tents and VIP areas buttressed up against the fence so you could watch from pretty much anywhere with an unobstructed view. We watched race 1 at the Corkscrew hoping to catch some race shenanigans, and Sykes delivered on the first lap, and it was actually pretty crowded up there.

I think WSBK racing is very entertaining, and has the potential to grow here, if Dorna lets it. I would really like to see it return as a viable competitor to MotoGP, as it was in the late 90's to 2002, but that won't happen.

... those Alfa 4C's are pretty cool as well.
 
was a great showing on sunday, weather was nice to add to the beauty of fast bikes and the smell of race fuel. Not a bunch of people but that made it more enjoyable for me. I had T-4 seats and only watched 1 race from them. The pits were fun and it was good to see a few AFM riders in the pits, including Ken and the PTT tents with a few nice riders who were more than willing to talk. Big showing from the local MEEN MOTORSPORTS team and a huge congrats to Jake and the rest of the team for the 1st AMA win. Ameen was stoked and Im glad he has built the team into a top caliber team that it is. The WSBK crash in the corkscrew was fun to watch from the fence and i was amazed nobody hit that duc, real talent in those riders! Other than that the beer was over priced and not cold enough but the margarita was good and loaded. Great parking on the paved part above T2. Gear check was nice as always. AMA was not televised again so even the announcers had a tough time calling the race and were only able to call it from what they saw and what the chatter was on race control. Great day to spend with family and friends and YES, the WSBK bikes smell much different than the AMA superbikes! It was magical!
 
essentially deserted, EZ to get around -
excessive parking direction/control, lotsa empty lots

lunch was $10 + $4 drink just about everywhere

vendor count was WAY down

EBR scored points in SBK!
oddly, Pegram [the wild card] beat the Factory riders [May/Yates]......

for awhile, Joy Higa was chasing JRP in AMA Pro practice

Meen's DSB win really is huge - local shop goes BIG !!

pacing between races was perfect - watch, kanoodle, watch, walk around, etc.

zero popo presence on in/out road - weird
 
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I was there Sunday. I had a blast, and the sunburn to prove it. There were lots of people at the corkscrew later in the day. I enjoyed the races immensely, and the booths/tents were very interesting.
 
westie said:
Watching from the couch it sure looked like a ghost town. Corkscrew fence with just a few leaning against it. Grandstands with plenty of room and camping with room left over. But thats just my inner couch-potato talking.
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Not true. Last year was a ghost town. It was much better this year. I was actually pleasantly surprised at the number of people on Saturday. The corkscrew on Sunday looked like, at least, a MotoGP Saturday.

The previous WSBK race in Portugal look emptier than Laguna, imo. Yeah! :party (I think).
 
First time at Laguna Seca for me over the weekend too! There were plenty of people there, but not like you see in MotoGP races in Europe. More people on Sunday than Saturday, I though. It was fun, met a bunch of BARFers around the corkscrew area... Did a lot of walking... A LOT. Pedometer says I walked 4.2 miles on Saturday and 6.5 miles last Sunday...

The races were fun to watch. Seeing the riders drop into the corkscrew in person is something else... so different than just watching on TV. Managed to get into the pit area during the pit walk on Sunday, it was cool seeing the bikes there... the paddock area was great too...

I've been spoiled with the awesome Gold Passes that I got, now I'll have to figure out how to get similar passes the next time the races roll around here again... :)
 
For someone who has "panic attacks" in large crowds I had a great time! You can't compare these events to MotoGP, but I went to WSBK races in 03,04 and this seemed about the same.

Wish I would have got Paddock Pass because it looked deserted watching the footage on TV when the riders made the walk and I so much would have liked to meet Guintoli and Johnny Rea !
 
Didn't go this time but I have spectated and raced quite a few times. I don't know about this roadrace as a spectator thing as I'm getting older. As a racer it makes sense but as I get older, paying money to hike 2 miles from my car in the dirt for a standing spot by the fence doesn't sound so good anymore.
The first thing they need to do is tighten up the show. The show should be 3 hours of non-stop entertainment. Then maybe a real seat, like in a baseball stadium, and perhaps even a little shade. That's asking a lot but if tracks want to compete with other forms of entertainment, they will have to invest in new ways to attract people and keep them in the seats.
I hate to say it, but the Nascar model is working pretty good. You park your car, grab a beer and go to your seat. The show lasts about 3 hours and you are only bored during the yellow flags. It's harder to do in roadracing but some seats (in a turn) a big screen and some useful info would make the show much better.
 
No Honda and I think Triumph might have been there but you needed a special pass to get to them. Moto Gzzi was there even! Anyone confirm Triumph was there? I really wanted to sit on a Street Triple :(

It was dead, security is too relaxed, couldn't believe you can bring in a cooler of anysize

Maybe dead because of the world cup final? They were showing it on monitors around the track. Somepeople even left after the first race to watch the soccer game. Everyone pretty much left after the second WSB race and did not watch the second AMA one

Hopefully they broke even to come back next year
 
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russ69 said:
It's harder to do in roadracing but some seats (in a turn) a big screen and some useful info would make the show much better.
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They have seats in turn four with a big screen. But, the best part of Laguna is actually how much track you can see from the hillside, and sitting under the trees in the corkscrew. So, really, it's a better experience than most racing, if you take advantage of it.
 
banshee01 said:
It was dead, security is too relaxed, couldn't believe you can bring in a cooler of anysize
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It was dead compared to what? You would rather they confiscate all your stuff like at COTA? I am really missing your complaint. :wtf
 
One of the nicer moments came on Saturday, after Super Pole. They had a few of the of the riders in an open Q&A (Sykes, Davies, Baz, Haslem, a few others) that was pretty much open to everyone. They brought up a 5 year old girl who was "The world's biggest Chaz Davies fan!" At first she was supposed to ask a question, but being in front of a crowd, and next to her favorite rider, she froze. The mc tried to get her to ask the question, but she just hid behind the stuffed turtle she got at the Aquarium the day before. The mc then told the crowd her 6th birthday was Sunday, and got everyone, crews and riders included, to sing "Happy Birthday!" to her. :thumbup

Never saw anything like that at a MotoGP race.
 
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Decent turn out. Great show.

More of you Phucks need to show up next year.

Great time for the money. Only down fall was not bringing ID and being told "no beer for you"

Really???

Support this folks. Please!
 
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