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

[Hoho]

You should've seen Adam doing stoppies with his wheelchair going down the hill from the corkscrew. Just about gave me a heart attack.

 

[smm]

Rode down Sunday with the wife, son and his GF. I liked it much better that MotoGP: less crowded and more races so you could try out several vantage points before settling down. Settled on the hill above T2 for the main event: really neat to see where people get on the brakes and a great overall view of the course.

Aside from Honda and BMW, most of the bike manufacturers were there. Yamaha had an orange FZ9 there that was really sweet. One of those in a dual sport configuration might cause me to trade in my F800GS.

Firestone DBA + Frog dog for a paltry $16. And the nap afterward for free...

 

[m0t0_ryder]

Only down fall was not bringing ID and being told "no beer for you"

Really???

Budman got carded and failed!

I went Sunday. Crowds were, of course, smaller than for MotoGP.
Still plenty of folks there enjoying the show.

The vendor count was way down, but as mentioned earlier that just made it easier to get to the infield fences to watch the action.

Took lots of photo's. Even got to shoot thru the normally crowded photographers viewing portals scattered around the track.

Got this crash sequence at turn three during the first AMA race...

 

[m0t0_ryder]

continued...











Got a great sequence of the WSB crash in the corkscrew too.
Including a video of the entire crash as well!

 

[Map8]

Was there for Friday afternoon and all day Saturday and Sunday. About half the Motogp size crowd on Sunday. Fewer vendors and large hospitality areas meant you could get see so much more of the track than at MotoGP. Less signage, too. Best part is you are up close to the track and get a fantastic view of how hard these racers are pushing the bikes. Nothing like being there. You get sounds and views you will never see on TV.

Johndicezx9 covered most of the highlights for me. The fan access to the rider interviews in the paddock were really cool. None of the gates and fences behind the garages like MotoGP. It was easy to get around and view from different locations. Weather could not have been better. Been going to Laguna since the late '80s and always love being there.

Oh, and seeing the light bar fall off that Dodge Charger Safety Car at 100 mph before the 2nd restart of Race 2 was hilarious and scary at the same time.

 

[m0t0_ryder]

What else was there to like there?
Lemme think about that for a moment...

It was a Funday!



Something to pucker up about!



Tried to stay abreast of all the action!



Bubbly beauties.



Blue eyes to hypnotize.

 

[amphora001]

My wife and I went Sunday. I was alright. First time there. Really feel like everyone should be allowed to go to padlock area. Also it's stupid that there's no general admission standing area to watch the start line. I got grandstand for turn 4, but didn't realize I can't even see the start grid, not even just to peek.

Here's some pic at the padlock area:

 

[russ69]

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.

The corkscrew is cool but I'd rather sit in the grass at Mosport Park, as I did in 1967 GP.

 

[Crjunkee]

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 on Saturday, The Corkscrew was a ghost town compared what I am used too. Here is a photo I took while sitting on the hill across the walk path from the fence

Who else saw this little beauty

 

[BigRich]

I only have MotoGP to compare against. So take that with a grain of salt.

Attendance seemed low, not as many educated fans as MotoGP. Vendor presence was low, kinda disappointing. Why was Honda not there, another disappoint.

Paddock Pass would've been a great value...I had T11 grandstand tix, but that didn't seem necessary because you could literally get everywhere else! That was the coolest part of the day. Overall, great value for the money...I just hope they can make it back next year!

 

[akacastle]

Went Sunday only. Agree with what most people have posted. Lack of crowd is definitely a plus compared to when Motogp was there, but also a sign that, yes, we need to support by attending to keep WSBK coming back now that the premier show is gone. Lots of "eye candy" also this year. Turn 2 I would have to say is the best view point as you can see atleast half of the track (can't see turns 6 thru the corkscrew and "Rainey turn" but you can see btwn turns 10 and 11, if you have binoculars). Yeah, surprised no one hit the Duc in the crash in the corkscrew, that was fairly amazing. Please go next year people if you didn't go this year. Oh, earplugs at the track store, $3 f*cking bucks?!!!!! Vendor had them for $1 (yes, I am CHEAP).

 

[dboylangky]

I went and it was great! Not as many vendors as I would've liked but I didn't expect it to be as big as motogp. I could've easily got in for free. When my buddy was buying our parking pass he only showed them two tickets (had a total of 4 people in the car) and they let us through. The plus side to this was that there wasn't DEAD stop traffic. Got home in an hr and a half compared to the 2 hrs and 30 mins leaving motogp last year.

 

[Map8]

One thing I left out of my post is that you get to see TWO premier class races on the same day. I've always liked that about the WSBK format and I'm glad Laguna didn't alter the schedule this year.

 

[fast4d]

I hate crowds so it was very nice for me.

BTW, I wished Marco good luck in the 2nd race. oops.

 

[sidewazzz]

49K total of the weekend

 

[Maygoddess]

Definitely very chillax compared to MotoGp. I didn't go last year to WSBK. I just read crowd was up 20% this year. But of course compared to MotoGP crowds, felt like a ghost town. Which actually was nice not to feel like cattle just trying to cross the bridges. The paddock pass definitely made it worthwhile if you are into meeting the riders and pit crews.

Saturday meeting Shelina Moreda at her pit and her giving me and my girlfriends who also track some body positioning pointers on her bike and talking about her girl dirt camps was awesome. She was the first person to agree with me that it would have been better to remember my dirt bike get off so I could learn from it. She had a lowside the day before so she reiterated that crashes are always learning tools! Chatted up Melissa Paris and Elena Myers at their pits and hanging with Tucker Lancaster's proud grandpa as Tucker prepped for an interview. Grandpa shuffled me by Tucker's mom to get some better camera angles! On Sunday as my friends and I were just trying to get to the restrooms under the garages just before the Race 2 Podium Ceremonies, we were passing by the pit garage entrance area and they motioned for us to go out to the track to watch the podium ceremonies! Wow! Really? SURE!! Also was out there for the AMA Pro Superbike Podium ceremonies as well. Josh Hayes is so sweet and actually helped me adjust my iphone to get a selfie with him!

So if you are a groupie like me and my friends to meet and greet your faves, then get the paddock pass. Without the MotoGP crowd, it made it very easy and fun back there!

The Veteran golf carts back and forth to corkscrew was nice to have when we wanted to head up there. Not sure if they are also accessible from outside paddock?

The vendors were lacking but maybe with more steam next year, that will increase. I think same issue as IMS..they don't come if people don't come and people don't come if the vendors don't! Sigh!

Fun times. Definitely worth it and hopefully with more support it will grow bigger each year!

 

[fast4ward]

Kind of ironic that a lot of posts are praising the lack of crowds, and that may well be the thing that kills off this event.

For those who watched from their couch, don't complain when we have no World Championship race events in the area because you didn't go when they were in town.

I worked T5 all 3 days

 

[rugbydawg13]

A few of the cooler shots I got this weekend. Photos taken with Chaz Davies, Eugene Laverty, Alex Lowes, some cool billet parts, a whole lot of tires, from the post race stage, and of our local DSB rider and Z2 instructor - Roi Holster and his team.

 

[banshee01]

Definitely very chillax compared to MotoGp. I didn't go last year to WSBK. I just read crowd was up 20% this year.

Do you have a link to the article? I would like to read....

 

[sidewazzz]

Do you have a link to the article? I would like to read....

Last years crowd was something like 40K over the weekend this year was 49K