They’re trying to get Flatrock done but it won’t be finished in time for this season. I’d like to see it on the schedule for next season though

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
How about Donington Park?

Dude, I’d pay money to have it replace Silverstone. One of the best motorcycle tracks in the world. Same issue as Laguna. They don’t have the infrastructure nor seating necessary.

I hope they do a better job with the foundation of Flatrock than the asphalt than they did with COTA. COTA is fucked. Flatrock is yet another Tilke designed track. Will definitely ride it at some point though.

Day 1 of Sepang testing is in the books. Looks like Yamaha and Honda have finally improved. Both bikes being noticeably quicker down the straights. Martin was fastest but the rat was 2nd and the rookie is already looking like a threat, already having done 3 days of testing here (shakedown test where only test riders from Ducati, Aprilia and KTM could participate, but concessions mean Honda and Yamaha factory riders could participate, as well as all rookies to the class).

And the award for most ridiculous looking aero device attached to a motorcycle goes to Aprilia!

It must be some data retrieving apparatus designed to help them build even more effective aero crap they can hang off the back of the bike. Right? Either that or perhaps a radio tower prototype of some sort….

^ Aero rake, lots of little pitot tubes collecting air pressure readings.

Very common in F1 practice & testing, along with flo-vis paint.

Repsol Honda Livery for 2024

Will MotoGP ever race at Laguna Seca again?

quote:

Originally posted by redstone:
Will MotoGP ever race at Laguna Seca again?

Not unless SCRAMP invests millions into infrastructure. Lack of garages, media space, etc.

If I had a Time Machine one of the first events I would go back to witness after I had enjoyed the 2019 British GP (my favorite race) would be the MotoGP races at Laguna Seca along with the entire two stroke era.


On a totally different subject congrats to track house racing (satellite Aprilia) for acquiring one of the ABSOLUTE best.
Brivio joins trackhouse Honda put down that bong…WTF?!?! Why didn’t you sign him? Is your garage that toxic/retarded?!!?

I love how this could potentially assist Aprilia during an era of total domination from Ducati. Give the competition an architect capable of winning championships with multiple manufacturers. But can he do it yet again?

Ok yeah I’m all in for 2024.

Let’s go Aprilia!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: stickman428,

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

quote:

Originally posted by redstone:
Will MotoGP ever race at Laguna Seca again?

Not unless SCRAMP invests millions into infrastructure. Lack of garages, media space, etc.

Looks like SCRAMP is out and LSVA is managing it now. "The Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public charity that raises funds for capital improvements, which has included the digital scoring trylon, electronic flagging system and Turn 4 grandstands."

Link

But now they are being sued by rich neighbors complaining about the noise. This is why we cant have nice things.

quote:

Originally posted by redstone:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

quote:

Originally posted by redstone:
Will MotoGP ever race at Laguna Seca again?

Not unless SCRAMP invests millions into infrastructure. Lack of garages, media space, etc.

Looks like SCRAMP is out and LSVA is managing it now. "The Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public charity that raises funds for capital improvements, which has included the digital scoring trylon, electronic flagging system and Turn 4 grandstands."

Link

But now they are being sued by rich neighbors complaining about the noise. This is why we cant have nice things.

Know the place well. Went every year from 2000 until 2012. Didn’t know SCRAMP was out but not surprised. Haven’t flown out there in a decade. It was SCRAMP until 2020 from what I just looked up. Damn shame. I broke my wrist, badly in 2008. I had surgery the day before I flew out for MotoGP. This was the year Rossi ran his M1 onto the dirt at the corkscrew to ultimately beat Stoner for the win and regain the championship that year. SCRAMP gave me an extra pass so that anytime I needed to move around the track they had an official go cart me around the place. I had a cast on, and multiple pins fused to my bones to hold the wrist together. Out of all the organizations I’ve ridden or driven on track with, they are tops. And unlike COTA, they were so cool. Letting you bring in folding chairs, coolers, etc, where COTA only allows you to bring in 2 bottled waters. The vibe during a WSBK or MotoGP event was unrivaled. It was the favorite circuit on the calendar for all the MotoGP riders. They absolutely loved coming to California. The weather there is outstanding. And while Monterey is small it has a certain charm, unique, and I can’t tell you how much I look back on all my time there. My favorite vacations of my life. Getting a rider pass every year where I could go back to the motor homes. Go to the Monterey Aquarium every year. Bubba Gump, seeing all the bikes on Cannery Row on Fri/Sat nights. Walking 5 minutes to the beach. Even the house we rented every year in Carmel was something else. I understood the first year why Clint Eastwood and the rest of the celebrities liked Carmel so much. They even had this Denny’s like mom and pop place called Big Bear? It was at the bottom of the hill from Carmel. Food was so damn good you could eat breakfast or dinner there. Had ham steak for breakfast. Then there is the 17 mile scenic drive and seeing Pebble Beach. We’d drive it every year. Some of the homes up there are physically built into the rock of the cliffs of the ocean. COTA is just another Herman Tilke track and the track, the area, the vibe, is not the same at all.

Laguna is basically in Fort Ord. For decades no substantial amount of homes around it. I mean Wayne Rainey’s place is up there but it was few homes. Basically people who had homes were just fine with a track being there because most of the year you got the benefit of no traffic unless there was a major event. Over the past 15 years, yup, people started building homes around it, a fucking racetrack. Then they go to the county and complain about noise. Laguna has restrictions. For trackdays you can’t even run an aftermarket exhaust. They have db meters on the track. You go by the meter too loud, you are flagged. Even stock exhausts are tripping the meter so people go through there and chop the throttle. It’s ridiculous. Trackday folks force you to leave too. It’s turned into a 3 ring circus. It’s like building a home next to a major airport then crying about the noise from the planes.

This is happening at other noteworthy tracks around the world. As sprawl comes in the new neighbors bitch and whine about the noise from a race track. Infuriating. Last time I talked to Dan Kyle (RIP) he schooled me up on all this bs there. COTA also, sprawl is hitting. There are homes popping up all around it. Homeowners already crying about noise and traffic when there is an event all weekend.

Laguna Seca is a historical site. It is almost 70 years old and part of Salinas/Monterey.

A guy (old, retired) in my mens group was bitching and moaning about the evils of his house that is 1/4 mile from the local airport.

When did you buy the house? "five years ago"
So the airport was there when you built the house, 'yes.'

(our university has one of the most successful aviation degree programs in the country)
"And those dang college planes are flying overhead all day long, everyday!!!"

Why would you build of the end of a runway if you dont like being . . . off the end of a runway? I do not understand.

quote:

Originally posted by redstone:
A guy (old, retired) in my mens group was bitching and moaning about the evils of his house that is 1/4 mile from the local airport.

When did you buy the house? "five years ago"
So the airport was there when you built the house, 'yes.'

(our university has one of the most successful aviation degree programs in the country)
"And those dang college planes are flying overhead all day long, everyday!!!"

Why would you build of the end of a runway if you dont like being . . . off the end of a runway? I do not understand.

I know. SMH. Laguna is Laguna. IIRC, 3 years shy of 70 years old. Don’t like tracks, noise, then don’t move there, it’s that simple. Same as your acquaintance. Don’t like plane noise, don’t move next to a got damn airport! Quit bitching. List house for sale, and buy another house away from the airport. It’s not rocket science!

Monterey, Salinas, Carmel, are tourist areas for the most part. I mean Silicon Valley and a bunch of corps for jobs are not there. So the region needs tourism. What brings in tourism? Pebble Beach and Laguna Seca!

Aprilia unveiled their 2024 bike today. There are even more aerodynamic bits hanging off the bike.

Bags topped the timesheets today. This is the final preseason test (Qatar) in advance of the first race of the season at Qatar March 8-10th. Good news is we have a Honda and a Yamaha in the top 10.

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Prev
1 1 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 1'52.040
2 89 Jorge Martin Ducati 1'52.260 0.220 0.220
3 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1'52.332 0.292 0.072
4 33 Brad Binder KTM 1'52.336 0.296 0.004
5 49 Fabio Di Giannantonio Ducati 1'52.467 0.427 0.131
6 12 Maverick Viñales Aprilia 1'52.495 0.455 0.028
7 73 Alex Marquez Ducati 1'52.556 0.516 0.061
8 23 Enea Bastianini Ducati 1'52.589 0.549 0.033
9 5 Johann Zarco Honda 1'52.632 0.592 0.043
10 20 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 1'52.637 0.597 0.005
11 72 Marco Bezzecchi Ducati 1'52.799 0.759 0.162
12 25 Raul Fernandez Aprilia 1'52.814 0.774 0.015
13 36 Joan Mir Honda 1'52.823 0.783 0.009
14 43 Jack Miller KTM 1'52.896 0.856 0.073
15 31 Pedro Acosta KTM 1'52.938 0.898 0.042
16 93 Marc Marquez Ducati 1'52.959 0.919 0.021
17 30 Takaaki Nakagami Honda 1'53.208 1.168 0.249
18 10 Luca Marini Honda 1'53.433 1.393 0.225
19 42 Alex Rins Yamaha 1'53.642 1.602 0.209
20 37 Augusto Fernandez KTM 1'53.755 1.715 0.113
21 88 Miguel Oliveira Aprilia 1'53.943 1.903 0.188
22 51 Michele Pirro Ducati 1'54.509 2.469 0.566
23 35 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 1'54.511 2.471 0.002
Lap records:

Year No Rider Bike Session Time
2023 10 Luca Marini Ducati GP22 Pole 1'51.762
2023 89 Jorge Martin Ducati GP23 Sprint 1'53.355
2023 23 Enea Bastianini Ducati GP23 Race 1'52.978

Crazy that Aleix and Mav are not too far from the top and yet Oliveria is all the way down at 21st!

Is Trackhouse Racing using the 2023 Ape?


Look how much the Aprilia has changed since 2015. Unfortunately MotoGP bikes are not nearly as easy on the eyes as they used to be. Faster yes but uglier too. Compared to how they used to look the current GP bikes are hideous.

The 2015 Aprilia actually resembled a bike you could buy and ride on the street.

Definitely a more 'cluttered' look.
Seems like that Aprilia has a lot of gap between the front wheel & fairing?

Also: I just realized that I canceled YouTubeTV, and picked up F1TV, but won't have GP coverage.
Might need to finally look at grabbing the GP season pass as well.

That’s it, final day of preseason testing. Season starts in 2 weeks.

Day 2 Times (all riders improved on Day 2):

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Prev
1 1 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 1'50.952
2 23 Enea Bastianini Ducati 1'51.072 0.120 0.120
3 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1'51.260 0.308 0.188
4 93 Marc Marquez Ducati 1'51.335 0.383 0.075
5 25 Raul Fernandez Aprilia 1'51.341 0.389 0.006
6 12 Maverick Viñales Aprilia 1'51.387 0.435 0.046
7 89 Jorge Martin Ducati 1'51.466 0.514 0.079
8 49 Fabio Di Giannantonio Ducati 1'51.489 0.537 0.023
9 33 Brad Binder KTM 1'51.583 0.631 0.094
10 72 Marco Bezzecchi Ducati 1'51.678 0.726 0.095
11 43 Jack Miller KTM 1'51.720 0.768 0.042
12 88 Miguel Oliveira Aprilia 1'51.836 0.884 0.116
13 73 Alex Marquez Ducati 1'51.944 0.992 0.108
14 20 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 1'51.965 1.013 0.021
15 31 Pedro Acosta KTM 1'52.046 1.094 0.081
16 42 Alex Rins Yamaha 1'52.103 1.151 0.057
17 5 Johann Zarco Honda 1'52.162 1.210 0.059
18 30 Takaaki Nakagami Honda 1'52.384 1.432 0.222
19 36 Joan Mir Honda 1'52.457 1.505 0.073
20 10 Luca Marini Honda 1'52.677 1.725 0.220
21 37 Augusto Fernandez KTM 1'52.770 1.818 0.093
22 35 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 1'53.012 2.060 0.242
23 51 Michele Pirro Ducati 1'53.655 2.703 0.643
24 32 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia 2'01.400 10.448 7.745

Good to see the Aprilias & KTMs in the top half.
Not looking good for the Japanese bikes, depending on how much any of the teams sandbag testing.

I renewed my videopass.
tick tock tick tock