Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1546134
Laguna Woes "Hell" is the only way to describe possibly the last time I will attend a race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. I've attended at least 10 races there, and I attended the MotoGP last year. I am a motorcycle enthusiast who will put up with almost anything to see a great race. I read everything I can get my hands on about bikes. I own five and ride every chance I get. I've been attending races as a competitor or spectator for over 30 years. But Sunday, July 23, was both one of the best and worst days I've ever spent at a track. This year's Red Bull U.S. MotoGP races at Laguna were great right up until we tried to leave on Sunday. It was a page right out of Dante's Inferno - in a word, Hell! I estimate there were 20-30,000 souls trying to leave, and we were all standing or squat- ting - many on the side of a hill - for three hours awaiting buses. The same buses that were supposed to relieve the traffic night- mares from last year's race. People were passing out from the 100- plus-degree heat, standing shoulder to shoulder with nowhere to move for relief. The line was actually a broad swath of peo- ple roughly 30 to 40 wide where there was room to cram them in between fences. Pregnant women and babies in strollers were draped with wet towels over their heads - their faces as red as the red on the Red Bull logo - husbands and sons cussing and yelling at the police and anyone with a SCRAMP T-shirt on who came within earshot. This did nothing. We could not go anywhere. Many people began begging track work- ers to show them a direction so they could walk the 10 miles back to their cars. Cases of bottled water were passed out to the crowd around me, the bottles disappearing into the crowd almost as fast as they appeared. This happened many times dur- ing our wait, and there was never enough water to stop the demand for more. Once they did decide to let us move toward the buses, there was no plan for loading everyone. At first we were run down the fence line 300 yards to the buses instead of moving them up to us. Then, once we got halfway there, they decided to move the buses up to the front. They stopped the line behind us and let them start boarding. Then they opened the fence a 100 yards in front of us and let them across the track, and left the ones in the middle without buses to board. We were left frustrated, hot and ill-tem- pered. Finally they sent us back up the track to buses we should have already been on. Confused by this? Well, so were we. But don't forget we had been at the track all day and had tried to leave early to avoid the rush (ha, ha). We left before the Supersport race start- ed, right after the MotoGP race had fin- ished. We had tried to leave the track at 3 p.m. and finally got back to Monterey at 7:30 p.m. Our car drive back to the Portola Plaza in Monterey took about 20 minutes. I would never ever go back to Laguna Seca without a helicopter or a motorcycle. I live in Florida, so both of these options may be hard to come by next year. Sorry... I've had enough fun at the dry lake, thanks to SCRAMP! Regan Shaw Tampa, FL Stop The Insanity While reader complaints are a common occurrence on this page of Cycle News, the crabfest within Issue #29 was more than I could stand. First, there was the jackass who asked, regarding James Stewart, "Can he win a title? No." Hello! What do you call all those season- ending trophies Stewart's collected since his professional debut? No, he hasn't won the big one(s) yet, but neither has anyone else since a certain Mr. Carmichael burst onto the scene. And with RC's imminent retirement from full-time racing, only a meltdown of Pastrana-like proportions (sorry, Travis) will prevent that from being the next logical step in Stewart's career. And the criticism of Cycle News for stating that he "salvaged 11th place" was unfound- ed since, by lapping all but 10 riders in the premier Motocross class, that is exactly what Stewart did on that day. Of course there are other young riders that deserve to be hyped, and from what I can tell, Cycle News does just that. Next there was the all-too-common Nicky Hayden-bashing letter. Excuse me, but what exactly has John Hopkins accom- plished that would merit placing him on the equipment on which Hayden is headed toward the first American World Championship in that class since Kenny Jr. did the deed six years ago? For the record, I cheer for all the American riders in MotoGP or any other World Championship series, but Nicky's consistent enthusiasm combined with Hopkins' unwarranted trash-talking has made it easy for me to decide which one I prefer. And one more thing on this topic: Hardly anyone seems to be saying much about the fact that Dani Pedrosa (a fabulous talent) has been given the proven, older version of the Honda, while Nicky has been saddled with the task of trying to develop a brand-new bike while at the same time remaining consistent enough to lead the series. And finally (!) there was the whining about Speed Channel. Yes, Mr. Flynn, Speed has to run commercials during its broad- cast! Unfortunately, racing isn't like other sports that have natural breaks. Maybe you didn't notice, but it seems to be Speed's strategy to have more [but] shorter com- mercial breaks than during broadcasts of other, more edited programming, so as not to miss too much at once. And guess what? If we were waiting for another network to broadcast MotoGP (along with AMA Supercross, World Superbike, and AMA road racing), we'd more than likely be watching "Survivor" reruns or billiards. Thank your lucky stars that we have a Speed Channel to give us our favorite sport. With sources like Cycle News (online and in print), Speed Channel, and others, we have better coverage of motorcycling than ever before. I hope it continues to improve, but I'm thankful for what we have, and appreciative of the talented young people who risk their safety to provide us with great entertainment. Steve Farenell Saratoga Springs, NY Nicky Hayden: Streak Buster Nicky Hayden in 2002 busted one of the greatest streaks in motorcycle racing, Chris "The Prince of Peoria" Carr's 12 consecu- tive Peoria TTs. (Carr skipped '97 and '98 to go road racing.) Carr has dominated flat track and is clearly the best TT racer of all time. For years, Scott Parker, Ricky Graham, and all flat-track racing's best couldn't stop Carr, but Nicky did. In 2002, Nicky also won the Springfield TT and the Springfield short track - twice. Mat Mladin is the AMA's greatest Superbike Champion. He won his first three years in the series, until Nicky busted him, and then Mat won the last three years. Which brings us to Valentino Rossi, the reigning five-time MotoGP/500 World Champion. He's tied for second in MotoGP/500 Championships with Mick Doohan at five (behind Giacomo Agostini's eight), but many, myself includ- ed, think Vale is the best ever. Nicky's gonna bust him. For any given race, I'll take Rossi. For any given lap, I'll take Melandri, Pedrosa, Stoner, or maybe Hopkins. But for this championship, I'll take the "Kentucky Kid" who has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with, and beaten, America's and the worlds' all-time best. Roger McKenzie Freeport, IL C Y C L E N E W S • AUGUST 16, 2006 7 "I'm thankful for what we have, and appreciative of the talented young people who risk their safety to provide us with great entertainment." 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