MotoGP 2008 – Round 11 – Laguna Seca (USA)
Durable Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) aims to ride this weekend despite suffering from a high-speed crash last weekend while leading the German Grand Prix. The Spanish star fell and injured himself in treacherous conditions, and after consultation with his doctor, this gritty competitor has decided to try and ride.
Pedrosa sustained fractures to the left wrist and index finger. He is also nursing a sprained right ankle. But the tough Honda man will mount his RC212V on Friday morning for the first free practice session then assess his condition after attacking the demanding and physical Laguna Seca circuit.
Championship challenger Dani had finished every race so far this season until last weekend, scoring two wins and notching six podium finishes. But despite his non-score at The Sachsenring, he remains very much in contention for the biggest prize in motorcycle sport.
The 2008 World Championship is very finely balanced after ten rounds and with eight to go. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) heads the points standings with 187, Dani, despite his fall last weekend lies second on 171 points and Casey Stoner (Ducati) is now back in contention after his German win with 167 points.
Dani’s team-mate the 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) has won twice here, in 2005 and in his World Championship winning year. The genial American will be riding harder than ever to try and make it three wins here at one of his ‘home’ tracks.
Hayden will again be riding the pneumatic-valve-engined RC212V which has proved very much to the Kentucky Kid’s liking. And Nicky knows the crowd will be behind him as he bids to get the development bike on the podium here in California.
In contrast to the experienced Repsol pairing, class rookies and 250cc graduates Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) will have their work cut our learning this notoriously tricky and demanding circuit.
Both riders have had to get used to using extra-grippy qualifying tyres this year and it seems Dovizioso has adapted quicker to the super-sticky rubber. His fourth place on the grid in Germany last weekend was testament to that.
De Angelis shone in the race though, despite only qualifying in tenth position. He came through the field to finish a strong fourth, only just missing out on a podium after an enthralling battle with Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen. Dovi finished fifth.
These rookies have been the revelation of 2008, both applying themselves to the task of riding the heavier, faster 800cc machines with gusto when many predicted they would struggle to adapt to the different requirements of the premier class.
Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) and Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) have both ridden Laguna before, De Puniet managing a sixth place last year while Nakano admits he has never quite got the measure of this track so far. Something he aims to correct this weekend.
Built in 1957 near Monterey, California, Laguna Seca ticks all the boxes for a track in terms of rider involvement. There’s gradient aplenty and long, sweeping curves through which adventurous riders carve radical lines. It’s a track that rewards momentum everywhere except the Andretti Hairpin and the infamous Corkscrew.
If ever a turn defined a track it’s Laguna’s Corkscrew. Variously described as ‘riding off the end of the earth’, ‘surfing a 30ft wave’ and ‘dropping down a lift shaft’, this is one of the great corners in MotoGP. The track was fully resurfaced in 2006 so there will be few new variables in terms of tyres and set-up.
The longest straight is just 996m long on a 3.610km track that winds around a compact footprint and turns back on itself providing four right-hand turns and seven lefts. Set-up requires a bike that turns-in accurately and yet remains stable for the two main braking points, the Hairpin and that critical Corkscrew, vital to get right for a fast lap time.
Dani said: “In agreement with my doctor we’ve decided I’ll fly to the US and do my best to ride this weekend. We know it won’t be easy and we won’t know my exact situation until I get on the bike on Friday morning. This is a difficult time for me, of course, but my will is strong and if it’s possible for me to ride the bike properly then I really want to ride. Laguna is a physically demanding track when you are 100 per cent, so it will be tough with my injuries. Laguna is what I call an ‘old school’ circuit, with a lot of steep uphill and downhill sections. The fans are great there, very respectful of all the riders, so I would like to do my best for them. We will see what we can do.”
Nicky said: “Laguna certainly has a special place in my heart. The track itself is like one big lap, it’s not like all different sections, a lot of the turns lead into one another, so you’ve really got to put it all together. Like if you screw up the Corkscrew you miss the next three or four corners. It’s a very technical track and I love it. Racing your home race is always a special deal and something I don’t take lightly. I wouldn’t say it’s my home track as far as knowing it goes because the MotoGP guys have had three years there, so I don’t think it has any advantage for me anymore.”
Dovi said: “I’ve only seen Laguna Seca once from the outside, which was last year while I was on vacation in San Francisco, so I’m keen to see how it feels to ride. It’s certainly a track which is technically very different from all of those in Europe, with many different corners and some points that are both challenging and evocative – like the famous ‘Corkscrew’. I like learning new tracks and never normally encounter any major problems. I see the race open to every possible result and – although difficult – It would be nice to go on the summer vacation gaining a position in the Championship.”
De Puniet said: “Things have been going better for me mid-season and my qualifying performances are becoming more consistent. I was unlucky at Assen and in Germany the conditions caught everyone out to some extent. I finished sixth here last year and I like the challenges this track throws at you. And let’s not forget there was an all-Honda podium here in 2006, so we have the potential to do well here I think.”
De Angelis said: “I’ll be racing at Laguna Seca for the first time but in a way I already know the track because I went there last year to watch the MotoGP race and I did a few laps on a scooter. I’m so excited by the prospect of this new experience because everybody talks so highly of the Corkscrew, probably the most famous corner on the whole calendar. We’ll start the weekend with the base-settings from 2007 – the team was really competitive here last season. Unfortunately I expect us to struggle again in qualifying. Anyway, in certain aspects the circuit is similar to Sachsenring so it should be well-suited to my riding style.”
Nakano said: “I like Laguna Seca in general – the first year we raced there I was really shocked with how you have to take the Corkscrew but then year after year I’ve got used to it. Without doubt the riders who are fastest through that corner notice a big difference to their lap time.
The secret is to brake as deep as possible into the corner and then make a really fast change in direction, but keeping it smooth at the same time. My result last year wasn’t great so I want to make up for that.”
After six races in eight weekends and a long haul flight to the US, riders will be feeling the strain before the summer break. This race will be the last before the season’s summer break. Racing resumes at Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday August 17.
