Laguna Seca Raceway / AMA
04/29 - 05/02/99

Event Final Tech Info

Race Times / Results:

Notes:

Laguna is hands down the best track we've been to. It's just plain fun to ride! Each section is a blast. Hauling ass up the front straight, blind over the rise in T1, getting light, wiggle a bit and keep it pinned down the hill. Running full tilt up the hill to the Corkscrew, pulling wheelies over the hump before it levels out and dumps you down the Corkscrew. The Corkscrew is great. At first, you don't want to gas it too much or too soon as you touch down at the bottom, but then you realize that all your weight is coming down on the track and you just pour it on and head down the hill. The keys to Laguna are corner speed, late apexes, light braking, and reference points. nail it right and you can pour the throttle on. Miss it and you're screwed. Reference points are very, very important, as many areas are blind. The rise and kink over T1, heading over the final rise to the Corkscrew, turning in for the Corkscrew. You can't see the track ahead, so you have to have good points of reference to turn-in and brake.

There are only two really hard braking points at Laguna - coming into T2 and T11. You also get on the brake pretty hard for the Corkscrew, but it's more of a roll-off, drop two gears, and go over. To keep the corner speeds up you also have to be light on the brakes or trail brake a lot of the other corners. Don't jam on the brakes - roll off, grab the gear(s) and get back on the gas. Steve and I had been on Laguna once, for a Keith Code California Superbike School session last November. It gave us the opportunity to learn the layout and think about all these things as we came into this AMA weekend.

It was not your normal California weather this weekend - maybe for the Monterey area, but not for two boys from San Diego. Most of the weekend was cold, temps usually in the low 50's.The wind howled worse than at this year's Willow race.

Getting in good practice laps was tough. There were almost 80 bikes in the 750 and 600 sessions out on the track at once. We spent more time working passing techniques (and getting passed) then putting together fast laps. We started running high 1.4x's on Thursday and began chipping off seconds all the way through the final qualifying for the 600 SS race on Saturday afternoon. I ran a best of 1.37.6, Steve ran a 1.39.7.

Having a back up bike paid big dividends on Thursday when Steve lowsided in T3. That turn claimed a number of bikes throughout the weekend. Steve lost the front end as he got on the gas during the second lap of the last practice session. He and the bike were sliding along just fine until the bike hit the rumple strip on the outside of the turn. The bike caught the strip and did a few barrel roles through the dirt, beating it up pretty badly. Steve caught the strip with his boot and did a couple of rolls himself, banging up his backside and pulling a muscle in his back. The bike went under a tarp behind the trailer and Steve took a few Advil's.

I missed qualifying in the 750 SS by 0.5 seconds, Steve missed it by 1.1 seconds. Steve missed qualifying in the 600 SS race by 1.4 seconds, I was gridded 41st with a 1.37.6 time. That time would have put me 37th in the 750 SS race. I shaved 1.7 seconds off my lap times between the morning 750 and afternoon 600 qualifying sessions. I felt bad for Steve, but was pumped up for the race. I felt I had a really good chance at a decent finish come Sunday's race. That didn't come to pass, though.

It began to rain about one-half hour before the race started. Not a nice downpour that would have washed all the oil off the track, but a lousy drizzle that brought it all to the surface and made the track feel like ice. A number of riders opted out of the race without checking the condition of the track. I changed to a clear shield, suited up, and went out to see what it was like. I have practically zero experience riding in the rain. I've only done it once on the street, and had one CCS race at Buttonwillow last year - but the track was clean and grip was OK. The AMA gave us three laps before the race to check it out.

I entered the track at the bottom of T2, headed for T3, tipped it in just a bit and started a two-wheel slide that put me way outside on the the paint and almost into the dirt. Whoa - let's be more careful out there! I think I could have walked around the track faster than I took the next few turns. I was real tentative on the brakes and as I pulled onto the flat before the Corkscrew I knew I had too much speed to make the turn. I scrubbed off what I could, turned down the hill and headed straight for the curbing on the right side of the track. Paint, curbing, wet - not a good mix. I planted both feet on the track and skied my way down the Corkscrew. Embarrassing to be sure, but it saved my butt. That was it for my 600 race. I didn't even want to think about T11. I put it away and survived to race another day. I wasn't alone in this decision. ten other riders did-not-start. Of those that did start the race, nine more failed to finish. That's almost half the grid!

Although it was a disappointing end to an otherwise excellent weekend, Steve and I were glad we made the trek to Laguna. We learned a lot more about riding the new F4s, Steve finding the limits in T3, me discovering some good tricks for keeping corner speed up and some decent lap times.

The 'California Tour' of the AMA series comes to a close with Laguna Seca. Steve, Dave and I have been on the road for over three weeks and are anxious to get back home. I'd like to thank racing buddy and good friend Tony Silvera (AMA #297) for his help at Sears and Laguna. Tony helped us out of a couple of tough spots on the road, hauled the trailer to Laguna with his truck, and most importantly, kept us laughing with his twisted sense of humor.

Next round, AMA action at Road Atlanta, June 2 - 4, 1999.

Bob.

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