Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

JULY 19, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 10 "T he difference between this year and last year, is that last year we didn't have a clue and this year we know what we're heading into and it's scarier than hell." That's how Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca's energetic CEO Gill Campbell described the second running of the Red Bull United States Grand Prix. Very few would disagree with Campbell's assessment that they weren't clued in last year. The racing was great, the fan experience the exact opposite. Traffic was horrific, as were the lines at the con- cession and food stands, and the pedestrian bridges, and the conditions of the portable toilets were Third World. All of those prob- lems, and many more, have been addressed in advance of the July 23 running of round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship. "The magnitude on the preparation of an event like this is enormous," Campbell said. "We're doing as much as we can to improve the spectator experience, every- thing from increasing our number of con- cession areas to... we've got this mega sou- venir store - it's absolutely huge. And porta-potties and pumper trucks and the traffic plan. Our fans were very good in giv- ing us input from last year so we tried to address all those issues and working hard to make sure everybody has a good time." First and foremost was getting the record crowd in and out of the Monterey circuit. Twelve agencies contributed to a traffic plan that should ease the congestion. (http://www.laguna- seca.com/index.cfm/USGP_Traffic.htm) "We had some of these ideas last year, but we were prevented from doing them," Campbell said. "The biggest hurdle for us is making South Boundary Road two lane [road], one way. And that was one or our biggest hurdles, because there's no shoul- der on that road. So if there is an emer- gency situation the challenge is how do we get emergency equipment there? So we're staging emergency equipment along that road for emergency response. And we're keeping life flight later. "And the other challenge was where do we run shuttle buses from. There are not too many [places]. We're fortunate enough that CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay), which is the university here, has enabled us to replicate the same area that is used for the AT&T (Pebble Beach National Pro-Am) golf tournament. So we're running shuttles from there. The thing is too, psychologically; if somebody is sitting in a bus, they already feel as if they are at the event. Whereas, if they were sit- ting behind the wheel of a car, they're con- stantly aware that they're sitting in traffic. So by keeping as many cars off of the roads that we can and getting people onto buses, it's going to cut down the time drastically. People are going to have to plan their time better. They need to plan to get to the parking area, get on the bus, bring the bus in." Campbell explained that the crowd arrives over a four-hour period in the morning, but wants to leave within half an hour at the end of racing. To ease the outflow, the track will have entertain- ment for each night of the race week- end. Friday night is the fan party, Saturday night is a concert, and Sunday night their having what Campbell is call- ing an "afterglow, and these entertain- ment elements are designed to keep the mass exodus from happening, so that people have something they can enjoy while they're waiting. So we're trying many different ways of relieving that mass congestion. We're not bringing as many cars into the facility so that the perimeter roads won't be as congested. The shuttle buses will help - having a motorcycle-only road in, which was again a huge issue last year." The vendor tents are 85-percent com- pleted and there are more of them. In the process of track enhancements, the track has filled in part of the lake, which is where the mega-souvenir store will be located. Because the track doesn't have its own septic system, all the toilets, whether chem- ical or flush, have to be serviced and every- thing goes to one holding tank. Campbell said that pumper trucks will have better access to the portable toilets. And plans are in the works for the track to build its own septic system. "We'll always have to bring in additional chemical toilets, because you certainly can't build enough for just one event," she said. "It's going to be great to get that done. And we're working with the county on that [get- ting a septic system] and a couple of other interested parties. I'm hoping that we'll have that done: It may not be in time for next year's event, but hopefully, it'll be some time in 2007." The pedestrian-bridge problem has been alleviated thanks to Dorna, the series organ- izers. Dorna has agreed to allow pedestrian traffic across the racetrack at both the start- finish and tire bridges twice a day. Campbell is trying to find the $1.8 million needed to put in a wider start-finish bridge "and we were hoping to have been able to accomplish that this year. I just didn't make it on the funding. So this year we're compensating," she said, adding that "by next year, hopefully, we'll a have new start-finish bridge that'll be much wider and that'll be really good." Selling less tickets is one of the ways the track plans to limit congestion. Last Sunday's crowd of 53,000 was the most ever for the Monterey circuit. This year they're going to cap it at 48,000. "That's my goal," Campbell said. "We may shut down advance-ticket sales and just have a few available at the gate to take care of emergency situations. People who come with friends, we're not going to turn them away, obviously, if they've came here and made the trip and gotten here. The manage- ment of that number is a very fine line. Depending on how we're doing with it, I may shut down advance-ticket sales and have a limited number at the gates. But if we reach our 48,000 in advance, then we'll have a sell- out in advance." Maybe the greatest fan incentive is access to the MotoGP paddock. The track is unique in on the MotoGP calendar for being allowed to sell pit passes "It's just that sense of being somewhere where truly no other fans in the world are able to be," Campbell said. "You don't really get to see a whole lot because the MotoGP teams work in such closed spaces, but nonetheless, again, you're in that area - that is a privilege." And Campbell stresses that the fan is the focus, "and what's really so cool, is everybody else has shared that vision. When Yamaha and I had first started talking about this series, when they put up the money originally for the track to be done, that was what their intent was. They want- ed the fan to see this form of racing in America. And that sense has continued. Without the fans, we're nobody. And it always breaks my heart - truly, I take it very personally - when a fan has a less than enjoyable experience. I'm not stupid enough to think I can please everybody all the time. But we work our butts off here, my staff particularly, to do everything they can to make sure the fan is taken care off. Again, there's always going to be the time when circumstances go the opposite way, but we certainly make every effort." So upset was Campbell after the negative reaction to last year's race that she skipped a Monday staff meeting. "We have to tear down and this year is even a lot more intense than last year and I couldn't even go and join my staff for lunch I was so devastated," she said. "The e-mails of fans who'd been stuck in traffic. And the horrible experiences they had waiting or running out of gas, or not being able to get to a porta-porty or whatever it was. I take those things very personally. It's very hard. And it's hard on my staff. They feel the same way. Because, again, our intent is we're in the entertainment business, we entertain." The entertainment is on the track, as well, and $7 million has been spent to upgrade the track to the specifications of the MotoGP Rider Safety Commission. FIM safety boss Claude Danis inspected the track on July 4 and gave his homologation two days later. The homologation is condi- tional and multiyear, Campbell said, but any further changes are minor. "He does his report. He sits down and says you need to tweak this curb here two inches, as long as you have got your air fence up, as long as you've got the convey- or belt that covers these tires here [the homologation will be approved]," she said. The track was closed for 45 days to make all the changes, then opened to the Skip Barber Driving School and other car activities. Doug Chandler was the first motorcyclist to ride on the track, taking a few laps on his Kawasaki ZX-10R Superbike on Thursday night, July 6. "The two weeks prior to the event is when we actually prep the track for motor- cycles," Campbell said. "All the work that's gone on, the paving, the enhanced run-off areas that we've been working on this spring, the track just got completed in that stage last week. But now two weeks prior is when we actually go in there and get race ready. So that's when all the hay bales are put out. The things are put out there just for the MotoGP event." Last year's event attracted several members of the Hollywood A list, led by Brad Pitt. Campbell said that several stars had expressed interest, but wouldn't know for sure who would show up. But, she added, "It'll be like spending time on Hollywood Boulevard." Henny Ray Abrams The Red Bull U.S. GP: Ready To Roll PHOTO BY GOLD & GOOSE Nicky Hayden negotiates the Corkscrew in last year's U.S. Grand Prix. "And it always breaks my heart - truly, I take it very personally - when a fan has a less than enjoyable experience." - Gill Campbell

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