From AMA news:
With its numerous blind corners, undulating nature, and the infamous corkscrew to contend with, the MotoGP stars that came to Laguna Seca for the first time this weekend were in for a shock.
A look at the leaderboards throughout the MotoGP free practices on Friday and Saturday made it abundantly clear that prior track knowledge was (unsurprisingly) playing a significant role, at least early in the weekend. The top of the charts were largely dominated by former AMA racers Nicky Hayden, Troy Bayliss, John Hopkins, and Colin Edwards, along with Alex Barros, a veteran racer who was already a Grand Prix ace during previous USGPs at Laguna Seca.
However, perhaps even more enlightening is the fact that after three hours of circulating the Laguna Seca circuit on Friday, Valentino Rossi, arguably the greatest motorcycle racer of all-time, aboard his World Championship winning M1 Yamaha MotoGP racer, had yet to eclipse Ben Bostrom’s ’04 AMA Superbike lap record (a 1:24.969 to Bostrom’s 1:24.90
OH, AND MLADIN SET A NEW RECORD WITH HIS POLE TIME. GO FIGURE.
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With its numerous blind corners, undulating nature, and the infamous corkscrew to contend with, the MotoGP stars that came to Laguna Seca for the first time this weekend were in for a shock.
A look at the leaderboards throughout the MotoGP free practices on Friday and Saturday made it abundantly clear that prior track knowledge was (unsurprisingly) playing a significant role, at least early in the weekend. The top of the charts were largely dominated by former AMA racers Nicky Hayden, Troy Bayliss, John Hopkins, and Colin Edwards, along with Alex Barros, a veteran racer who was already a Grand Prix ace during previous USGPs at Laguna Seca.
However, perhaps even more enlightening is the fact that after three hours of circulating the Laguna Seca circuit on Friday, Valentino Rossi, arguably the greatest motorcycle racer of all-time, aboard his World Championship winning M1 Yamaha MotoGP racer, had yet to eclipse Ben Bostrom’s ’04 AMA Superbike lap record (a 1:24.969 to Bostrom’s 1:24.90
OH, AND MLADIN SET A NEW RECORD WITH HIS POLE TIME. GO FIGURE.
<!--EDIT|Busa_05
Reason for Edit: "Mladin news..."|1121001617 -->