Moto GP gone from Laguna Seca / Mazda Raceway

[Map8]

I'm already writing sponsorship proposals for when weed is fully legal. :lol

 

[moto-rama]

I would love that. But I feel like they'd need to repave the entire track

Who'd complain? All they need to do is bulldoze the bus stop , move 9. 10 up the hill a ways to stretch it out. Then bring back the hay bales, stacks of old tires, and bungee cords at the bottom of the hill,.

It would make "real men" out of them...including the women of course.

Or better yet, bring back Cotati Raceway! Complete with the bushes growing up through the cracks in the tarmac....

 

[N23]

Im sure WSBK will be moved to mid summer and the weekend will be like it was back before motogp starting coming there. I hope they will bring WSS next time.

and for the open weekend... lets get some CEV or BSB.

This. Who doesn't remember Mat Mladin running Superpole that year and taking pole against WSBK. As much as I hated Suzuki getting the pole it was awesome seeing the American series up front.

 

[afm199]

I mentioned 8a, and 6 seems fine to me. I think the asphalt is really for cars, but it works for bikes, too. I am still not getting your issue, however. What tracks have been designed for bikes? It gets a bit ridiculous after awhile. The MotoGP traps are very deep and wide, cars get stuck in them, and don't like the traps. No track is perfect for bikes and cars, whatever one's cookie-cutter definition of perfect might be. Certain MotoGP riders bitch about little bumps at a lot tracks, are they out of bike spec, too? I just am not sure where you draw the line unless you want NASCAR bumper safe racing. These are motorcycles going fast.

Six has never been fine, it was a killer corner with two smokes and should be asphalt runoff with 200 - 300 feet of runoff. It's a high speed corner that guarantees you will go down hard and probably stay there if you leave the track at speed. Blowing a corner and IMMEDIATELY hitting a gravel trap is NOT a safe track. The track sucks. Most of Laguna is like that. Sears Point will never be a GP track for that reason.

 

[budman]

I'm already writing sponsorship proposals for when weed is fully legal. :lol

You know that many cigarette companies already have full marketing program in place ready to roll out right.. damn your smart.

"Marblunto Racing"
"The kind" racing team.
"Killer Green Racing" << -- perf for Kawasaki
"Club Racing" with the tagline "We are professional grade bitches".

I am sure there are plenty more.. good luck with that.

 

[Spec-ECU]

Weed sponsorship may be the only thing that can slow these guys down!

 

[Johndicezx9]

The problem with Laguna is that there are no real fuckin' freeways in Monterey Co., so the whole place turns into a parking lot Sunday evening. Traffic blows there when there's nothing going on, so MotoGP makes it absurd.

Yes, tourists come to Monterey for the picturesque freeways....

Hell, there are freeways near Candlestick and the O.co colessium and they still back up. Any event that draws tens of thousands of people will do that. Read mcn after the Hritish GP and you' ll see the same comlaints.

 

[aminalmutha]

Yes, tourists come to Monterey for the picturesque freeways....

Hell, there are freeways near Candlestick and the O.co colessium and they still back up. Any event that draws tens of thousands of people will do that. Read mcn after the Hritish GP and you' ll see the same comlaints.

Yes, cuz that's what I meant.

What I mean is access in and out of Laguna and the Monterey Peninusla in general, sucks. Bad. Yes, freeways back up when there are large events, but it can take hours to go a very short distance after the GP.

I've been to plenty of events and numerous arenas, ball parks, race tracks, etc. Laguna, by far and away, is the biggest pain in the ass to get out of, even after things were "improved".

Been to COTA... piece of cake. Oakland Colusseum, Candlestink, Arco, LA Colusseum, etc, etc. Closest was the NHRA at Sears, but even that wasn't nearly as bad as Laguna GP.

 

[Johndicezx9]

I even cabbed it in and out one year, took 20 minutes to the track and about the same to downtown Monterey.

 

[aminalmutha]

Sure, but not right after the GP is done on Sunday. And you're still in Monterey. I'm talking about getting OUT of Monterey. It's gridlock for hours after the GP.

 

[clutchslip]

Six has never been fine, it was a killer corner with two smokes and should be asphalt runoff with 200 - 300 feet of runoff. It's a high speed corner that guarantees you will go down hard and probably stay there if you leave the track at speed. Blowing a corner and IMMEDIATELY hitting a gravel trap is NOT a safe track. The track sucks. Most of Laguna is like that. Sears Point will never be a GP track for that reason.

First went off there when I launched a little smoke out of the old dip. The bike went over the hill. Went off there when it was a "normal" old-style trap and rode to the new wall and rode out. Went off there, right after it was redone for MotoGP. I couldn't ride it out because the pit was so deep that the bike came to a dead stop about halfway into it. I think it's "reasonably safe".

You are asking for 200-300 feet of asphalt. Even COTA, one of the newest tracks in the world doesn't have that on every corner. That's a bit much, don't you think? And I don't think asphalt is necessarily safer. If you lowside, you just keep going until you hit something. You can see this at some MotoGP tracks, where they slide all the way to the fence/wall. If you you don't get hurt, should you ALWAYS be allowed to re-enter the race after screwing up? Are we racing anymore, or just knitting?

Good debate. Let's ride ALL the MotoGP tracks next year and determine which are the safest for grumpy old men.

 

[afm199]

First went off there when I launched a little smoke out of the old dip. The bike went over the hill. Went off there when it was a "normal" old-style trap and rode to the new wall and rode out. Went off there, right after it was redone for MotoGP. I couldn't ride it out because the pit was so deep that the bike came to a dead stop about halfway into it. I think it's "reasonably safe".

You are asking for 200-300 feet of asphalt. Even COTA, one of the newest tracks in the world doesn't have that on every corner. That's a bit much, don't you think? And I don't think asphalt is necessarily safer. If you lowside, you just keep going until you hit something. You can see this at some MotoGP tracks, where they slide all the way to the fence/wall. If you you don't get hurt, should you ALWAYS be allowed to re-enter the race after screwing up? Are we racing anymore, or just knitting?

Good debate. Let's ride ALL the MotoGP tracks next year and determine which are the safest for grumpy old men.

You were lucky, and going 2/3 the speed a fast (GP) rider would. That trap is notorious for crashes that need ambulances. Face it, willya, Laguna is not and never was a moto track and the run off SUCKS.

 

[Johndicezx9]

Sure, but not right after the GP is done on Sunday. And you're still in Monterey. I'm talking about getting OUT of Monterey. It's gridlock for hours after the GP.

I guess all that's left for you is the helicopter...

I went to the Nurburgring for an F1 race, and it was a clusterfuck getting out of there when it was over, and I went to Assen for a MotoGp race, that certainly wasn't "easy" to get of either. I pretty much chalk it up to the nature of the beast.

As for the traffic out of Monterey, that's just summer around here.

 

[afm199]

I guess all that's left for you is the helicopter...

I went to the Nurburgring for an F1 race, and it was a clusterfuck getting out of there when it was over, and I went to Assen for a MotoGp race, that certainly wasn't "easy" to get of either. I pretty much chalk it up to the nature of the beast.

As for the traffic out of Monterey, that's just summer around here.

Nurburgring traffic is terrible. I went to races there for three years.

 

[Johndicezx9]

Nurburgring traffic is terrible. I went to races there for three years.

Isn't it funny how the traffic is always bad around the more "picturesque" tracks of the world, I can't imagine why. You know where there aren't traffic issues? Qatar, Bahrain, basically any track built in desolate desert....

(My next F1 race will be Spa Francorchamps, rather go there than COTA.)

 

[corndog67]

I guess all that's left for you is the helicopter...

I went to the Nurburgring for an F1 race, and it was a clusterfuck getting out of there when it was over, and I went to Assen for a MotoGp race, that certainly wasn't "easy" to get of either. I pretty much chalk it up to the nature of the beast.

As for the traffic out of Monterey, that's just summer around here.

I lived there for 39 years. If you know your way around, you can get out in a reasonable amount of time. Leaving maybe 5 minutes earlier going out through Barloy Canyon, I've gotten out of there in 5 minutes or less, on a bike. A car, truck or RV is a different story.

Road Atlanta is bad. When I went there, and didn't know my way around, it was 1 lane in and out. Not sure about now , that was 10 years ago.

 

[aminalmutha]

I guess all that's left for you is the helicopter...

I went to the Nurburgring for an F1 race, and it was a clusterfuck getting out of there when it was over, and I went to Assen for a MotoGp race, that certainly wasn't "easy" to get of either. I pretty much chalk it up to the nature of the beast.

As for the traffic out of Monterey, that's just summer around here.

I agree, it's part of the event, but that may be what pushes people away. I know several people who go to GP Friday and Saturday and go home to watch the race on TV because it's such a pain in the ass to get out of. It's not Laguna's fault, but it'd be nice if that clusterfuck of a road called 101 thru Monterey Co. was an actual fuckin' freeway. Hwy 1 could use some girth, too.

Just sayin', COTA was a total cakewalk. Hell, it's less of a pain in the ass to fly to frickin' Texas than it is to deal with Monterey. Plus, it doesn't smell as bad.

 

[Johndicezx9]

I agree, it's part of the event, but that may be what pushes people away. I know several people who go to GP Friday and Saturday and go home to watch the race on TV because it's such a pain in the ass to get out of. It's not Laguna's fault, but it'd be nice if that clusterfuck of a road called 101 thru Monterey Co. was an actual fuckin' freeway. Hwy 1 could use some girth, too.

Just sayin', COTA was a total cakewalk. Hell, it's less of a pain in the ass to fly to frickin' Texas than it is to deal with Monterey. Plus, it doesn't smell as bad.

You're just little Sally Sunshine, aren't you....

 

[clutchslip]

Just sayin', COTA was a total cakewalk. Hell, it's less of a pain in the ass to fly to frickin' Texas than it is to deal with Monterey. Plus, it doesn't smell as bad.

Except Texas has f'ing stop lights in the middle of the f'ing highway. It took me a long, long time to get back to downtown Austin. And the food is definitely much, much better at Laguna.

My next MotoGP excursion will probably be Le Mans, because I can time it with other fun things to do there. Not much less to do in Austin, for me.

 

[Archimedes]

Six has never been fine, it was a killer corner with two smokes and should be asphalt runoff with 200 - 300 feet of runoff. It's a high speed corner that guarantees you will go down hard and probably stay there if you leave the track at speed.

Totally agree. I was watching WSB this weekend when one of the riders rode off at speed and as soon as I realized it was 6, out of pure reflex I started saying out loud 'lay the bike down, lay the bike down..' That wall comes up on a rider so fast, even with all the gravel. Scares the shit out of me to see guys crash there.