World Superbike Races

The weekend is all about the races. The main event are the World Superbike races - there are two at every event - with some AMA races tossed into fill out the weekend. I've never been to Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca so I didn't know what to expect. I liked the place. It's basically a big bowl shaped valley with a racetrack carved out on the inside. But this is a road racing track not a big round oval like you see the NASCAR guys twirling around. The track climbs up and down the sides of the valley and has massive elevation changes. Mazda Raceway is famous for "The Corkscrew". The official webpage describes it this way...

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is an 11-turn, 2.238-mile jewel of a road course on California’s beautiful central coast. While the track is a favorite of racers and fans worldwide, many focus on one specific section—officially Turns 8 and 8A—or more commonly known as The Corkscrew.

The Corkscrew is a one-of-a-kind turn in motorsports. Here’s what makes the hard-left, hard-right combination so spectacular:

At the apex to Turn 8 (the lefthander and entry to The Corkscrew), the elevation change is a 12 percent drop. By the time a race car reaches the apex of Turn 8A (the righthander), the elevation is at its steepest – an 18 percent drop. The Corkscrew drops 59 feet between the entrance of Turn 8 to the exit of Turn 8A—the equivalent of a 5½ story drop—in only 450 feet of track length. From Turn 8 to Turn 9, the elevation falls 109 feet, or just over 10 stories.

I got this video on my phone of the guys riding through The Corkscrew during practice...

Riding the Parade Lap

As part of the BMW package I bought we got to ride on the track as part of what they call a 'parade lap'. 

Our bikes lined up for the parade lap...

Normally on a parade lap you ride around slow (like a parade). Not this one, we FLEW around the track. I was interested in seeing The Corkscrew from a riders perspective and doing it at more than a casual pace was exciting. The drop was dramatic for sure but what gets you is how sharp the first turn really is. With no visual reference to the next turn (it's hidden by the crest of the hill until you're already about to head over the side) you have to just "know" where to aim. The first time through was a real eye-opener. We actually got to ride two laps so knowing what to expect the second time around really helped. Now I want to do a track day there!

The Gang

One of the fun parts of the trip was that I met up with my Sister and her guy Tom at the races. Neither of them had been to a motorcycle race so it was a new experience for them but mostly it was a chance to catch up with family.

The only one missing from that pic is John. He was gone right then getting a new set of sunglasses because his broke while doing the Land Rover test drive. Who knew it would be so dangerous to just play around.  The only shot I have of him is while he's driving - you'll have to trust me, he's in there...

As usual Pam and I were snuggled up during the races...

The Races

The races were awesome with lots of close fighting for all of the podium positions. We got some good photos of the action, enjoy....

The only disappointing part of the race was the lack of a walk through the actual pit's. They announced a pit walk for those of us carrying paddock passes but the guards at the gates kept us behind the fences away from the hot pit area so it wasn't nearly as fun. We did stumble onto Tom Sykes (the current leader in the championship) giving an interview...