The US Round of WorldSBK sees the paddock decamp to the West Coast and for the Superbike riders this is certainly a favorite round of the campaign. The challenging Laguna Seca circuit is unique and rightfully regarded as one of the most action packed and thrilling on the calendar. The lap might be short but there's no rest for the wicked in the Northern California hills.
The lap begins with one of the most difficult corners of the entire season. While the Corkscrew gets the attention, it's Turn 1 over a blind crest that grabs the attention of riders. There's a variety of lines on offer depending on bike setup with gearing a key concern. In WorldSBK gear ratios are fixed for the season and with the deduction in revs for 2018 this will be even more crucial. We see a lot of variety at Laguna Seca with regards to gear patterns, and this will be even more exaggerated this season.
In the past some riders were forced to use six gears whereas others were using only five around the 3.6km track, but ahead of the action you could expect to see all riders using six gears this weekend. The track snakes its way through the Monterey hills around a lake and offers as much of an engineering challenge as a riding challenge.
Double WorldSBK champion, Colin Edwards, once said that “Laguna has a bit of everything. There's everything from first gear corners to fifth gear corners. There's slow and fast corners. Cambered corners and off-camber corners. It runs uphill and downhill and has absolutely everything. There's also no time to relax on it because the straights are short. It's a battle out there every lap.”
Momentum
That battle takes place over 21 laps and with only round at Misano remaining before the summer break you can be sure that the field will be keen to go into it with some momentum. Momentum is also key at Laguna Seca, with one corner leading into the next and any mistake being compounded by being off line or out of sync in the following corner.
It's all about avoiding mistakes at Laguna Seca because running wide at one corner has an impact at the next. This means that at the start of the lap it's crucial to get turns four through six linked up. At the end of the lap it's about maintaining speed from the Corkscrew to the final corner. One mistake will ruin your lap, and that's why it's so important to be able to maximize track time over the course of the weekend. Getting your eye in and being prepared for that one fast lap in qualifying is a huge challenge for riders around this twisting, technical race track.
While The Corkscrew gets the attention of the fans and photographers it's the first corner that scares the riders. With the pit wall to their left and a hill to their right, the circuit tunnels towards the first corner of the lap. It's blind, uphill and taken flat out in fifth or sixth gear depending on the setting. The riders will see only blue sky and the tips of a trio of telegraph poles in the distance. You aim for the middle pole and hope that everything is clear across the brow of the hill.
It's a heart in your mouth corner but you need to be aggressive through here. Some riders will dab the rear brake to settle the bike across the crest but most will be concentrating on ensuring the right line and letting the bike run towards the outside of the track on the entry into Turn 2.
Precision
The wider you can be on the entry to Turn 2 the better. This is a double apex left hander where it's incredibly easy to be sucked into the corner when following another rider, and this mistake can see you drift past the apex and run wide on the exit. Turn 2 rewards precision and patience.
As you exit this left hander riders will try to hold second gear on the way into the next corner. Turn 3 is flatter than it appears and can easily see riders try to carry too much speed. Compounding this is that the corner is wide on the entry but tightens towards the exit. Having confidence in the front end is crucial through this corner and the feedback from the bike is crucial.
With a variety of lines through turns 5 and 6 the rider's approach dictates much of how they find their lap time. During the race you can see riders get aggressive through here and try to force a move on the entry, but it sacrifices their speed on the exit of the corner. Turn 5 is a key corner because you can brake early, and while you sacrifice your entry speed that comes back to you in spades on the corner exit and allows riders to get alongside each other on the entry to Turn 6.
Speed bumps
The only problem is that Turn 6 has some natural defense mechanisms against a pass in the form of undulations. A dip on the entry loads up the bike's suspension under braking but once the rider is exiting the corner and starting to open the gas the front will be unloaded as it exits this dip. The gradient is incredibly steep on the exit so it's important to have good drive on the exit along the Rahal Straight.
A blind kink at 150 mph greets the riders on the back straight before they come to the fabled Corkscrew. Threading the eye of a needle through Turn 7 leads directly into The Corkscrew and picking the right moment to brake is crucial. It's possible to overtake on the entry, as we've seen on numerous occasions, but it's also incredibly easy to carry too much corner speed and run wide on the exit.
Coming into The Corkscrew all a rider can see is the blue of the Californian sky. It's blind on the entry and leads into a steep downhill corner where a huge amount of force is put through the bike. Likened to a roller coaster by all the riders, you need a lot of confidence to flick the bike back to right but patience is needed as the rider waits for the suspension to load up before opening the throttle.
Compression and release
Through Rainey Curve the g-force starts to build for the riders after the compression at The Corkscrew. This allows the riders to be more aggressive as they throw the bike from side to side through the heavily banked left hander. For many this is their favorite section of the track because of it's highly technical nature where one corner feeds into another.
From the Corkscrew to the final corner it's all about momentum and avoiding a mistake. The final corner is just about picking the right braking marker and then picking up the throttle smoothly without pulling too big a wheelie. If you've done that you're on your way to a fast lap at Laguna Seca but putting together a string of 21 laps is a real test of mettle.
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Comments
That was a very good explanation of the track's challenges
You must've seen a lot of races there. The first time I went to Laguna it was nearly new. I was twelve. Stirling Moss led Dan Gurney across the stripe in nearly identical Lotus 19's. That was 1961. The track was a hairy 1.9 miles long at that time where T1 linked directly to today's T5 through a couple of gentle left bends around the outside of the lake. It was fast, narrow with no runnoff. Later I saw Jim Hall's various Chaparrals during the mid-late 60's. In the seventies I got to see KR do the deed aboard his screaming Yamaha's and even later saw Nicky win his first MotoGP race in 2005. Definely turn one is hair raising for even the spectators. Nick Hayden showed everybody how to get through turn one in 2005... flat out on the side of the tire with a little wiggle from the rear tire at the crest. A little step out. Everybody else lifted there, which explains why Nick led every session from Friday through Sunday. They should name that turn for Nick Hayden. Above Rainey is a great spot to watch as well. Anyway, thanks for the write-up.
Casey Stoner
Everyone probably has their favorite first turn hero. For me it is Casey Stoner. I was there to see him pass Jorge on the outside one year and on the inside another. Going through that turn fast is one thing, to pass a rider there is another. For me, Stoner owns that turn. But I agree, Nicky needs to have a turn named for him. Should have been done by now. And MotoGp needs this track on the calendar.
As a child my father took me
As a child my father took me to sit at the bottom of the corkscrew by a tree to watch mid 1970's races. Later I was riding there and plunked Pop at the same spot many years later. He just died in Fall, so I am enjoying thinking of him smiling and staring without much to say.
Turn one is scary. The entry to turn 2 wants to tempt you into jaws to be eaten. Climbing to the corkscrew is...odd. Words can't describe turning off the top of a building and into the ether of a falling chicane called the corkscrew.
There are only three conventional corners on the whole track. It is a crazy piece of art, tarmac snaking through impossible terrain. Nothing like it will ever be built again.
Missing you Nicky as we enjoy your playground
It’s fun to hear from some of
It’s fun to hear from some of the older fans here. I think my first time spectating at Laguna was at the AMA National in 1972, when we had factory teams from all the major big-bore manufacturers except Honda: Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha (350’s!), HD, Triumph, BSA and Norton. Gary Nixon, Yvon DuHamel, Roberts, Triumph and BSA Triples and of course the John Player Nortons. My last time there was to watch Márquez win in 1993. It’s obviously a wonderful track to ride, but I will say that over the years the spectating has gotten worse and worse, as more and more fences, structures, and advertisements block views of the track. And though I’ve stopped attending the last few years of WSBK, I certainly appreciate that a world-class event comes to my backyard.
In reply to It’s fun to hear from some of by dman904
"... to watch Márquez win in 1993."
John Kocinski won the premier class there in 1993, and Marc Márquez was about 7 months old. Did you mean to type 2013?
In reply to "... to watch Márquez win in 1993." by Colonial Piglet
Oops, yes 2013
And I was there in 2013, but not in '93 ...
Thanks Steve English
Thanks Steve English. " it's crucial to get turns four through six linked up " I must agree. Looking at live timing some riders are loosing a lot of time in sector two. On paper it seems fairly simple, turn four, turn five and off towards six. Where are they loosing a second or more ? I guess the exit from 3 effects the run into 4, & like you say it gets tight on the exit of turn 3. there is that little kink between 4 & 5 that seems like you can straight line it IF you get the exit of turn 4 correct.
Some were loosing time down from the top of the hill, other riders were making up time in the last sector.
Yes dannyboy, I agree, Casey Stoner, those big moves in turn one. Laguna Seca back on the calendar !
Some riders put in lots of laps. Some did 25% less than most of the field, I think it shows how motivated they are.