Octane Magazine - MotoGP at Laguna Seca 2005

The MotoGP Circus
Mazda Laguna-Seca Raceway

Story and Photos by Dan Hankin

The next American race legend. Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden set a track record in qualifying, landed on pole, and dominated the race leading every lap from start to finish to a flawless victory.

The MotoGP circus was in town in the beautiful City of Monterey, California July 7-11 for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. For those of you who don't follow motorcycle racing, MotoGP is the two-wheeled world's equivalent of Formula 1. Making this particular event even more special was the fact that MotoGP had not raced on American asphalt since 1994.

Troy Bayliss charging hard.

My brother Ryan and I boarded a plane at Norfolk International Airport at 5:35 am on Thursday, July 10, hopped to Charlotte for a short layover, and took off for the Gold Coast. I got the window seat and watched the sun rise behind us with a warm glow off the rear of the wing. The sunrise eventually faded to billowy clouds, distant cities, emerald fields, white capped mountains, and finally, the Industrial City - South San Francisco.

We grabbed our bags and followed the signs to the airport tram for a ride to the rental car garage. A metallic blue Honda Civic swallowed our bags and we descended the garage ramps to the 101 en route to Mazda Laguna-Seca Raceway.

In my usual fashion, I had waited until a few weeks before the event to figure out where we'd be staying, quickly deciding on camping after checking the rates on accommodations suggested by the track website. Even if I could justify a thousand dollar hotel bill, they were all booked, so camping was an easy decision. On-site camping at the track was booked as well, but overflow camping was available at Toro Park, a county park located a few miles down the road.

The designated camping areas at Toro Park were situated in a large clearing centered in some rugged looking terrain. Hiking trails wound through the woods behind our tent, and shortly after we got settled, the couple camped out next to us, John and Carla from Worcester, Massachusetts, claimed to have spotted a coyote on the hill and a bear trap at the edge of the woods.

Now, I enjoy nature as much as the next guy, but sharing my cold cuts with a black bear was not on my travel itinerary. When the park rangers started showing up to write tickets for the bikers riding around the park without helmets, I stopped one to inquire about the local wildlife.

The ranger informed me that there were no bears known to frequent the area, but I might want to be on the lookout for bobcats, mountain lions, and wild boars. I figured these were all animals I was not likely to encounter so long as I minded my own business in the clearly marked camp area, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have visions of being gored in the ass by a wild boar every time I got up in the middle of the night to relieve myself at the edge of the woods.

I'm happy to say we did successfully camp for 4 days and 3 nights without a single incident involving fangs or tusks. Our wildlife experience was limited to a roadkill coyote, frogs serenading us to sleep, and the calls of wild turkeys and quail waking us a few hours later.

At any event of this magnitude, you're going to have a few folks complaining that something was wrong, and I did hear a few people belly aching about the traffic and about the free bus service that shuttled campers from the park to the track.

However, the reality of the situation is that any time you have 58,000 people trying to get to a place with one road in, you're going to have a line. The road to the track entrance was long, winding, and climbed a very steep grade. The advantage of being on the shuttle bus was that when you got tired of sitting in traffic, you could step out of the air conditioned coach into the morning sun and hoof it to the gate. Motorcyclists also took advantage of the narrow shoulder or split lanes for a quicker trip up the hill. Those on four wheels just had to wait.

A group of riders stop during practice to run through practice starts.

Friday was exploration day. We arrived at the track late in the morning armed with a small cooler, sunscreen, and comfortable shoes. During the MotoGP practice session, we circled the track looking for the best vantage points. The crowd was relatively thin during practice and people kept moving, so there was always a fresh spot from which to watch.

By the last practice session riders were starting to heat things up a bit. Colin Edwards gave the crowd a thrill entering a turn hot and picking his front wheel up mid-corner, sliding sideways with smoke pouring off his rear tire. It was going to be a good weekend.

Factory Yamaha rider, Colin Edwards gets a rise out of fans before taking off on a practice start. Edwards was one of four American riders running in MotoGP.

In addition to the MotoGP main event, the AMA Repsol Superstock Series and AMA Superbike Championship, as well as the Yamaha & GE Financial Superstars of Super Karts, would practice and race later in the weekend.

The Super Kart race pitted the world's top Super Kart drivers against motorcycle racing legends, including Eddie Lawson, Kevin Schwantz, Doug Chandler, and Wayne Rainey.

In 1993, Rainey was leading the 500cc Grand Prix Championship on his way to a fourth consecutive World Championship when he was crippled in a racing accident in Italy. Rainey's accident in September of 1993 ultimately led to changes in track design, making racing safer for today's riders. Rainey stayed involved with racing after his accident as a team owner and later got into kart racing when fellow champion and friend Eddie Lawson gave him a hand-controlled race kart.

If you think these guys have slowed down in their old age, consider that these karts are powered by 250cc two stroke Yamaha engines and are capable of speeds up to 140 mph. Four time world champion Eddie Lawson set the Laguna Seca Super Kart track record in 2003 running a 1 minute, 23.875 second lap at an average speed of 100.864 mph. To compare, the fastest motorcycle lap at Mazda Laguna-Seca Raceway, until this weekend, was set by Troy Bayliss on a Ducati in 2002 with a 1 minute, 24.833 second lap. American rider Nicky Hayden raised the bar in qualifying this weekend with a scorching 1 minute, 22.670 second lap, claiming pole for the race and establishing himself as the man to beat.

Even the unflappable defending champion Valentino Rossi proved no match for Hayden at the 11 turn, 2.238 mile road course. Hayden took advantage of his pole with a strong start and led every one of 32 laps to a flawless victory. American Colin Edwards got by Italian Valentino Rossi to finish second, giving American fans a one-two victory to celebrate at the first U.S. Grand Prix in a decade. An ecstatic Hayden did his customary victory lap, American flag in tow, stopped for a burnout, and returned to the paddock to pick up his father for a second lap.

Much of the crowd dispersed after the Grand Prix, leaving us with great seats for the final race of the weekend, the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship. Roger Lee Hayden took an early lead on his Kawasaki in the Supersport race, opening up a two and a half second gap over second place after Attack Kawasaki's Ben Attard crashed out of the lead on lap four.
Yamaha rider Jason DiSalvo qualified second for the Supersport race, but found himself in tenth place following a bad start. DiSalvo found his pace a few laps in and sliced his way back to second place to put the heat on Hayden. Hayden was able to hold DiSalvo off until the last turn of the final lap. Both riders went deep into the corner, late on the brakes with DiSalvo on the inside, making the final stretch a drag race to the checkered flag. DiSalvo's Yamaha had the edge on Hayden's Kawi for a hard earned victory for DiSalvo, and an edge-of-the-seat finale for the fans, and for Yamaha. Yamaha went all out for the weekend, outfitting their factory bikes in classic yellow and black race livery in celebration of their 50th anniversary.

Older brother Tommy Hayden suffered a bigger disappointment earlier in the day in the AMA Repsol Superstock Series race. Hayden, who is the defending champion and current points leader by a considerable margin, was leading the race when he crashed hard while passing lapped traffic, suffering a broken hand and ending his race. He returned later in the day to run the Supersport race, but was obviously in pain and finished sixth, far behind his normal pace.DiSalvo's Yamaha teammate Aaron Gobert finished third.

With the eldest Hayden in the gravel, Yoshimura Suzuki's Aaron Yates and Yamaha's Jason DiSalvo battled for the win with Yates hanging onto the lead when DiSalvo failed to stick a last lap pass. Roger Lee Hayden rounded the podium on his factory Kawasaki.

There was more to the weekend than racing. All of the major motorcycle manufacturers set up in the vendor midway with their current cycle lineups on display for anyone who wanted to throw a leg over. Most of the factories also put vintage race bikes on display, many with significant race histories. Honda even ran the engines of a few of theirs so fans could hear the 18,000 rpm scream of Grand Prix past.

The grounds were also alive with motocross and street bike stunt and jump demonstrations, a live performance by Smashmouth, screenings of the MotoGP movie "Faster", and autograph signings by motorcycle racing legends and current stars. Some of the spectator's bikes parked inside the grounds provided reason enough to drool, with a number of rare and eclectic machines making appearances.

With a sellout crowd of enthusiastic bikers setting attendance records at the track, it's no surprise dates have already been confirmed for the 2006 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Laguna-Seca Raceway. You might want to make your reservations now. Just remember to keep an eye out for the boars.

For more information, please visit www.motogp.com, www.redbullusgrandprix.com, and www.laguna-seca.com. AMA info is available at www.amasuperbike.com.