Red Bull USGP: Laguna Seca

[RichK]

Bikes are on track today....Roger Lee Hayden's been going pretty fast as a wildcard replacement for Kawasaki, he was just behind Nicky for much of 2nd Practice.

Weather should be a balmy 70 degrees, way better than the 100+ disaster last year. Track is re-paved as well.

I'm headed down just for Sunday, and I'll try to get an umbrella girl pic or two like last year. :)

[Rogue Leader]

Bikes are on track today....Roger Lee Hayden's been going pretty fast as a wildcard replacement for Kawasaki, he was just behind Nicky for much of 2nd Practice.

Weather should be a balmy 70 degrees, way better than the 100+ disaster last year. Track is re-paved as well.

I'm headed down just for Sunday, and I'll try to get an umbrella girl pic or two like last year. :)

Anyone know where the TV coverage is at for this race?

[RichK]

Anyone know where the TV coverage is at for this race?

SPEED has Qualifying (only time during the year) on Saturday.

Check your Tivos for Sunday's race, it's on FOX.

TV schedule (http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/mcy/USGP_2007-tvCoverage.aspx)

[oddlycalm]

Huge day today for the Australian riders. Stoner 1st, Vermeulen 2nd and Ant West doing a great job for 7th. :thumbup: The combination of the Ducati and Bridgestones fit Stoner's riding to perfection.

Sorry to see Nicky and Hopper gomer each others race, but it happens.

oc

[indyfan31]

I got a question. What is that "ridge" that each rider has along his back, it runs from the lower back to the bottom edge of the helmet. I figure it's some sort of safety gear but what is it supposed to do?

[devilmaster]

I got a question. What is that "ridge" that each rider has along his back, it runs from the lower back to the bottom edge of the helmet. I figure it's some sort of safety gear but what is it supposed to do?

spine protector? (i'm just guessing from your description)

[gerhard911]

Areo hump. Smooths the air flow over the riders helmet and back when in the crouched riding position.

[oddlycalm]

The aero hump is just that, but they do wear spine protectors and other body armor. Different than the off the rack body armor the motocross guys wear but the same idea. Elbows, shoulders, spine, knees, chest, etc. Carbon fiber and kevlar has made offs significantly less wear and tear.

Still, abrasion and puncture protection is a long way short of preventing broken bones. MotoGp is still way dangerous.

oc

[eiregosod]

one rider was badly injured at the corkscrew in a nasty crash when a bike collided with him.

[RichK]

Rich's report:

Wow, it was another fun race this weekend - it looked boring on TV, but the mid-pack battles were great in person. Every time Pedrosa got passed, the crowd went nuts! :laugh: Another indication of Pedrobot's popularity was the FULL stack of Pedrosa posters in the paddock, while most of the other riders stacks were gone by mid-day.

This year, the 800s all sound very distinct from each other. A racing newbie could close their eyes and pick out Yamaha, Ducati, Honda and Suzuki with no problem. The Yamaha has a very deep bass sound, the Ducati sounds like last year's bikes, the Honda is smooth like a sewing machine, and the Suzuki just plain rips the air to shreds. The Kawi's were kind of a blend of the Yamaha and Honda.

Stoner is a great rider, but that Ducati is in a different league. Watching from the exit of Turn 11, Casey was on the throttle BEFORE the apex, and his bike pulled so much harder than any other brand. In person, you can see the 'unfair advantage' quite easily. It's obviously got more power, but the traction control appears to work better as well. For me, although he's been able to stand up to pressure from Rossi and he won in the wet, the jury's still out. If Rossi were his teammate, IMO nobody would be saying his name so much. We'll see next year when Melandri is his teammate. I became a Marco Melandri fan this weekend - the dude could barely put his boot on after the qualifying crash (stupid move my Kurtis Roberts), and still finished on the podium the next day. In addition to that, he STILL was out there signing autographs between sessions by sitting on a scooter and having his friend ride him down the fenceline. Cool.

You could really see the Honda front end problems in person. In Turn 4, Pedrosa would tip it in, then have to stand the bike up a few degrees, then tip it in again. He had no confidence in the front end. Nicky was smoother on corner entry, but wasn't going for it either.

Roger Hayden - top finishing American in his first MotoGP race, with virtually no testing time! He didn't put a foot wrong and finished in 10th. I think we'll eventually see him (and hopefully Ben Spies) on a GP bike. Speaking of Spies, that dude was doing perfect 2 wheel slides all the way through Turn 4, every lap, for the whole AMA race. His qualifying time would've put him 12th on the GP grid. Amazing.

It was a great event this year - Laguna Seca finally got their act together with the transportation issues, and the new track surface worked out OK. The atmosphere, as in the past, is great with lots of international visitors, huge amounts of commitment by Red Bull & Yamaha, and of course the miles-long lines of motorcyclists riding in and out of the place. :thumbup:

[Spicoli]

^^^nice recon. sounds like you had a blast. :thumbup:

[Indy]

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Thanks for MotoGP, Tony! :tony: :tony: