Laguna Seca 2008 Ama / motoGP Race Weekend July 17th - July 20th 2008
Track info: www.laguna-seca.com
Having been given the chance to attend the 2008 Laguna Seca event hosted by Yamaha last year (2007), I could hardly wait to get off of the 5 hour plane ride this year!
As I sat on the plane chilling with Scott Russell and a few industry friends many things danced through my head like: Would Valentino take Stoner this year? What kind of surgery would THE DOCTOR put on the competition! Would I get a change to hang out with past Yamaha Racing Champions again this year and make some LEGENDARY stories with some RACING legends? These things and much more were running through my mind in my anticipation (Umbrella girls, exotic race bikes, the legendary Yamaha market place, my new bike's release with Colin Edwards
, umbrella girls and so MUCH more).
I decided with this year's story to break things down in this annual article by my schedule each day. This will help everyone get a true feel for this event. If you ever ask yourself if you should attend this event there should be NO DOUBT if you have the ability to make it, YOU SHOULD!
Thursday
We spent most on the day in airports and on the planes or rental cars but we got to the track in time to get the seat on our new show bike that would be released the next day (by none other than the TEXAS Tornado himself Colin Edwards!). We had been working on my TURBO 07 R1 for quite a while and like always the build came down to the wire! The seat couldn't get on the bike in time so we had to bring it with us. We finished assembly of the bike at 4:00 am in the morning on the previous Friday and Yamaha?s semi truck was in the driveway for a Saturday morning leave out.
We spent the rest of the day journeying around the pits, talking to good friends and taking the opportunity to grab some gratuitous pictures of the Yamaha Factory Racing Team bikes! It was great to see Aaron Gobert (past Yamaha Superstock Champion) doing well on his new team.
After touring the whole complex including some practice watching we headed to the hotel to clean up and meet long time friend and Yamaha tuning legend Chuck Graves (congrats on the win Chuck, Ben did an incredible job putting the win down).
Friday
The day started off like any other, the 3 hour West Coast time difference woke me up early and we got on our way to the track! I got a call about 5 minutes away from the track that we had a 15 minutes buffer to get to the track ASAP as Colin was waiting for us to release the new BIKE! We kicked it up a notch errrrrrrr two or three and rolled into the track with seconds to spare.
SIDE NOTE: For those of you who have never met Colin Edwards he is a true professional and one of the most humbled and gracious racers you can ever meet. Colin genuinely goes out of his way to accommodate his fans and his success is truly deserved! Colin was fresh off his recent contract renewal with the Tech 3 Yamaha Team and they could not have picked a better rider. Here?s to the remaining season and to 2009 Colin!
Here is the official Press release on Colin?s new contract signing:
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USGP Laguna Seca, Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Tech 3 Yamaha team is delighted to announce that a new contract has been signed with Colin Edwards. The announcement comes on the eve of his home race at Laguna Seca.
Texan Edwards has agreed a new one-year contract for the 2009 MotoGP world championship after enjoying the best spell of his premier class career with Herve Poncharal's Tech 3 Yamaha squad. The 34-year-old has already scored two podium finishes, four top five finishes and one pole position in 2008. He has also been on the front row another four times and is currently challenging for a top four position in the overall world championship standings.
Next year will be Edwards' fifth season with Yamaha in MotoGP, during which time he has been one of the most consistent performers in the championship, scoring points in all but ten of his 94 MotoGP races. And he has scored eight out of his ten career podium finishes with Yamaha.
Edwards' renowned development skills proved invaluable during the 2008 pre-season, as he played a key role in the development of the latest generation YZR-M1 machine, which has already won four races in the opening 10 races.
The signing of Edwards completes the Tech 3 line-up for 2009, with Briton James Toseland having penned an extended deal at the third round in Estoril, Portugal.
Colin Edwards
"I am very happy to renew my contract with the Tech 3 team and Yamaha for 2009. It is also extra special for me to be able to announce it at my home race in Laguna Seca. I have always had a fantastic rapport with the American fans, and a great relationship with many people at Yamaha US. It is no secret that I had agreed with Yamaha to finish my MotoGP career at the end of 2008 and continue my racing career with them in America. But as soon as I began working with the Tech 3 team I instantly formed a great relationship with my guys. A big part of me wanting to stay is down to them, particularly Herve Poncharal and my crew chief Gary Reynders, but it has been a real team effort. With the amazing amount of work and dedication shown by Yamaha staff throughout last winter, I knew I wasn't ready to leave MotoGP before the season had even started. The fact that I have been able to produce the best form of my MotoGP career this season speaks volumes for the effort and commitment the Tech 3 team has put in. I am also thankful to Yamaha for continuing to give me their full support, and giving me the chance to continue our long and successful relationship, which I have always valued very highly. I started my career with Yamaha and first and foremost I have always considered myself part of the Yamaha family and I?d like to say a big personal thanks to Masao Furusawa, Lin Jarvis and Bob Starr. Across Japan, Europe and America, their support has been essential in securing this new deal. I believe I still have a lot to offer MotoGP, and I can assure the staff and management at Tech 3 and Yamaha that I will be giving it my all to produce the results all of us deserve, starting this weekend at Laguna Seca."
Herve Poncharal - Team Manager
"It is a great pleasure to be able to announce that Colin has renewed his contract with the Tech 3 team for 2009. It has been a privilege to work with him and I am delighted that he has decided to stay for at least one more season. Tech 3 has been back on the podium and back in pole position for the first time in a long time in 2008 and that is thanks to Colin. I am happy that he has been able to produce the best results of his MotoGP career so far with Tech 3, which is also testament to the hard work and effort Yamaha made in the last few months. Although he has only been with us for ten races, the relationship is so great that it feels like he has been part of the team for many years. He has been a great asset to the team and Yamaha both on and off the track, and he was an incredibly important figure during last winter to develop the bike and Michelin tyres to a highly competitive level. With his unique personality, Colin has brought a great atmosphere to the garage, and together with James, we are proud to have two such dedicated riders. To have both Colin and James signed already, and a two-year deal in place with Yamaha until the end of 2010, the future has never looked brighter for Tech 3. It is also significant and satisfying for us to announce this new contract at the American Grand Prix, because it is a hugely important market for Yamaha, and a race where Colin has huge support."
Lin Jarvis - Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing
"We are very happy to have been able to secure Colin as a Yamaha rider for 2009. We have been working to improve the quality of the total Yamaha package in the MotoGP class and in 2008 we have achieved the best combined results to date for many a year. This comes down to the fact that we currently have with the Yamaha Factory Team and the Tech 3 Yamaha Team two excellent teams, with first class technical partners, a great bike and four top class riders. Colin's contribution to the improvement of results of the Tech 3 Team has been very important for the team and for the total Yamaha results. Colin has also played a very important role in the pre-season bike development for 2008 and we are very happy to have retained his skills and experience for the 2009 campaign. I hope Colin can celebrate this new contract this weekend with a top result here in front of his home fans in Laguna Seca!"
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NOW onto my NEW show bike's release! I gave everyone a QUICK rundown on the new bike and went over some of the COOL features that were in the bike's development. Pop's and Jerry came up with some stunning ideas on this bike. It?s a turbo 2007 Yamaha R1 with a unique setup. The turbo is actually in the tail section, the turbo is fed via a Graves Motorsports exhaust system and from the tail section you will see the turbo exhaust coming out of one side and the pointed air filter coming out the other side! The bike features my all new "signature" 3D cad cam wheels and has a full air ride system from TRICKY Air as well. The coolest thing about the bike is it's got as much race technology dumped into it as it does "BLING." I'll save the rest of the info for everyone to check out in the upcoming Super Streetbike cover issue about the bike. Look for the "INSANE SHANE" soon!
Colin said a few kinds words to the crowds along with Yamaha's Communications manager and good friend Bob Starr (thank you Bob) as well. From there with the help of Colin we unveiled the bike to the crowds and it was an instant HIT!
From there on out it was Q and A time about the new bike and a quick stop to the Yamaha chalet for some fajitas and QUALFYING action.
Casey Stoner was setting a blistering pace from the start smashing track records just about once an hour. Valentino was keeping him close bye but every time other riders advanced Stoner would up the ante considerably. We knew that team Yamaha had its work cut out for them this weekend!
After the racing "COOLED" down it was back to the hotel for a quick shower and onto the magnificent Yamaha Aquarium Party! Laguna is what Yamaha considers it's "home" event and they go all out to the fans, bike contest winners and friends of the Yamaha Family like no other manufacturer!
On the menu is just about anything you can imagine! From fresh bay area fish, oysters and sea foods to carved meats and potatoes just about every corner you turn is a new taste to try and incredible sea life setting.
For more information on the Monterey Aquarium go to:
www.montereybayaquarium.org
In past years Yamaha brings to Laguna Seca THE most impressive lineup of past racing champions that you will ever see in one place and this year was no different. Every past Yamaha champion from off-road to road racing was mingling amongst the crowds. Each of these champions was also on hand DAILY to sign autographs in the Yamaha pavilion at the race track. All of these racers were on hand at the dinner. If you have ever wanted an opportunity to meet one of your Yamaha Racing heroes this is it!
As the night progressed around 8:45 Bob Starr took the microphone and began introducing the racing legends and thanking each and every one of the incredible staff and management that make this event happen. When it came time to introduce Valentino Rossi it was revealed "HOT" off the press that Vale had recently signed on for another two years with Yamaha! This incredible turn of events happened at the race track that afternoon and those in attendance were the first to know!
NOTE, for more info on Valentino's signing check out below
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USGP Laguna Seca, Friday, July 18, 2008
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd is delighted to announce that it has signed a new two-year agreement with Valentino Rossi. The seven-time world champion will continue to race with the Yamaha Factory Racing Team for the 2009 and 2010 MotoGP World Championships.
The 29-year-old Italian joined Yamaha in 2004 and since then he has won two world championships, 32 races and taken 20 pole positions for the Japanese factory. He is currently leading the 2008 rider championship, having taken three wins and a further five podiums in the first ten races this year. Rossi will continue to race alongside Spanish youngster Jorge Lorenzo in 2009.
Rossi and Masao Furusawa, Executive Officer, Engineering Operations of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd, signed the contract today at the Laguna Seca circuit and made the public announcement at Yamaha US?s traditional Laguna Seca party at the Monterey Bay Aquarium this evening.
Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis commented, - We are obviously delighted to have secured Valentino for a further two years. I think this news will be very welcome for MotoGP fans and for Yamaha fans around the world.
Valentino is an icon in this sport and he is on top form right now as he challenges to win his eighth world championship and his third title together with Yamaha.
This signing confirms Yamaha's four-rider line-up for 2009 so now we can concentrate our full efforts on bike development and team organization to make sure that we are in the best possible shape for next year.
-In the meantime we have many races to go this season and I hope that Valentino can win in Laguna Seca for the first time this Sunday to extend his championship lead before the well-deserved summer break - Forza Vale!
Valentino Rossi added, "After so many years spent in racing, fortunately with so many victories, I needed a special motivation to take the decision to sign for two more years. The best place to find this motivation is Yamaha, since I have a great relationship with Yamaha's directors, which comes from a mutual trust and loyalty. In our team there is a special atmosphere and with this new deal I can continue to work with my crew, where I am part of the project and part of the development of my M1. I had other opportunities but due to Yamaha's efforts to give me the best bike in the best environment, I have decided to stay with Yamaha for two more years. This contract means that Yamaha is the manufacturer I will have spent most of my career with. This means more than a thousand words.
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When the introductions were completed there was an air of excitement as Tech 3 Yamaha motoGP racer James Toseland took charge of the Yamaha music piano and went to town! Check out a quick youtube search for ?James Toseland Band? sometime to hear some of his singing prowess.
Rider info:
www.jamestoseland.com
The rest on the night Friday was spent hanging out with good friends and participating in a few adult beverages!
Saturday
This day for the first half was full of warm-up, practice and qualifying sessions in the morning. Yamaha was sure to mix in autograph session with its past and current riders to keep it interesting.
To quickly go over the sessions, Casey Stoner broke a few more track records and notable rides are put in by Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, James Toseland and Nicky Hayden also was in the mix!
The Redbull Rookie's cup was a pleasure to watch as the micro mini champions to be rolled on and off the throttle. Some bar banging action was being done! These guys are serious and props to Redbull for setting it up!
The big race that I had been waiting for Saturday was the Supersport race featuring Yamaha hired guns Ben Bostrom and Josh Herrin. I?d been given fair warning to watch out for the Graves Motorsports newest ?YOUNG GUN? Tommy Aquino as well and to expect some big things from this rider in his first few races!
Check out the rundown of the race from the AMASuperbike.com review:
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Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Ben Bostrom underlined his position as the preeminent force in the 2008 Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship, utterly dominating the Laguna Seca contest after starting from pole.
The Californian broke free early and pulled clear to a convincing 7.888-second margin of victory in the 17-lap contest. Bostrom added the Supersport win to his earlier triumphs at Monterey in World Superbike, AMA Superbike, and Formula Xtreme.
Bostrom is working to rebuild his title lead that took a serious hit when he finished 21st following a troublesome race in Utah. But his five wins and four poles in seven rounds have allowed him to construct a 10-point advantage over his closest competitor, Erion Honda's Jake Zemke, who finished second for the fourth time on the season today.
Afterwards he said, "The bike was just incredible. I knew we had the best bike after we tested here recently. I knew what the bike was capable of. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was hoping I didn't get the holeshot because I knew that would be the end of the race, and we got the holeshot.
"We kind of split and that's not really usual in the Supersport class. It's usually the best race of the weekend but that one didn't pan out. I'm sure the race at Mid-Ohio is going to be on."
Runner-up Zemke said, "There isn't much to tell -- Ben just rode off into the sunset and that was all she wrote," Zemke admitted. "I got up into second right when the first lap ended and I was trying to put my head down. I was close enough to Ben that he shouldn't have been able to pull away but his pace was just too quick."
Zemke had another nine seconds worth of real estate behind him, but the fight for third-place gave the massive crowd something to keep them interested until the checkered flag.
A three-way fight for the final spot on the podium developed featuring Attack Kawasaki's Steve Rapp (whose teammate Chaz Davies crashed early when the two came together), Matsushima Suzuki's Danny Eslick, and Safety First Suzuki's Bobby Fong.
Previously scrapping for fourth, their battle became all the more important when Zemke's teammate, Josh Hayes, was forced in for a ride through penalty, dropping him out of third.
Rapp held the spot over the race's second half but Eslick reclaimed third momentarily as they navigated Turn 11 for the final time. Sideways-riding Eslick got in the corner extremely deep but Rapp smoothly rode through with a cleaner line and got the better drive on exit.
The experienced Kawasaki ace just managed to steal back the position at the flag, nipping past by 0.017 seconds at the flag.
Rapp commented, "That was the same thing as always -- if someone comes off the inside it kind of messes up their exit. I set up a little bit wider knowing he had my line blocked. He ran wide -- he had a little too much lean angle and the bike looked like it stepped out. I knew at that point that as long as I got a good drive I knew that I'd be able to pass him on the straightaway."
Fong picked up an impressive fifth right in their shadow, while Hayes charged all the way back up to sixth.
Team M4 EMGO Suzuki's Martin Cardenas picked up seventh in his return to Supersport duty with the Graves-supported trio of Tommy Aquino, Michael Beck, and Josh Herrin rounding out the top ten.
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Results:
- Ben Bostrom - YAM
- Jake Zemke
- Steve Rapp
- Danny Eslick
- Bobby Fong
- Josh Hayes
- Martin Cardenas
- Tommy Aquino - YAM
- Michael Beck - YAM
- Josh Herrin - YAM
Congrats to all of the Yamaha riders and BIG props to my good friend Chuck Graves and Graves Motorsports Racing for the incredible showing!
Sunday
Sunday started off in race mode with motoGP and AMA front runners dropping respectable times from the start of the day.
The Final Qualifying for the motoGP racers ended up like this:
- Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 1'20.700
- Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'21.147
- Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'21.430
- Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 1'21.636
- James Toseland Yamaha GBR 1'21.848
- Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 1'21.921
- Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'21.947
- Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'21.971
- Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 1'21.974
- Toni Elias Ducati ESP 1'21.999
- Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 1'22.039
- Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 1'22.092
- Ben Spies Suzuki USA 1'22.127
- Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 1'22.719
- Marco Melandri Ducati ITA 1'22.957
The AMA Superbike Qualifying:
- Ben Spies 1:23.128
- Mat Mladin 1:23.145
- Eric Bostrom - YAM 1:23.848
- Tommy Hayden 1:24.244
- Jamie Hacking 1:24.247
- Roger Lee Hayden 1:24.388
- Jason DiSalvo - YAM 1:24.429
- Neil Hodgson 1:24.637
- Aaron Yates 1:24.703
- Geoff May 1:25.162
You can see from the results that Casey Stoner had upped the ante by 4 tenths of a second. SOMEBODY call a DOCTOR quick! Not to mention Spies and Mladin were putting down some major lap times almost tipping the scales a tenth of a second from Marco Melandri?s 15th place qualifying time!
After lunch another round of the Red Bull Rookies cup was in full effect this micro sized racing can get addictive! I was hanging with Jerry McCoy, Crankshaft, Killercurves and Slowmike and at that point we made an executive decision, mainly being: LEAVE the Yamaha chalet and head for the world famous cork screw it?s time to legitimize this outing and BOY did it PAY OFF!
The tip off of the race saw Rossi, Stoner and Hayden rolling three deep into the corkscrew with the rest of the pack to follow, it was amazing the speed that Stoner and Rossi were carrying compared to the rest of the field and throughout the following laps it was a dice festival! One corner Rossi would role and the next Stoner. At one point the battling was so intense that Rossi while leading overshoot the turn went into the dirt and re-entered with the lead it was THAT INSANE! All of this happened about 20 feet from us as we watched in near disbelief at the level Rossi and Stoner were putting down. To say this was one of the greatest races ever would be a stretch and it was hands DOWN the most incredible race that I?ve ever seen in person. The battling continued until a few laps from the end Stoner has a small slide into the dirt handing the battle to and conceding to the DOCTOR! Hands down the Valentino showed his skills in a major way and congrats on his first win at Laguna Seca! Stoner ended up remounting and handing himself the second place honors followed by Chris Vermeulen for third. Congrats to AMA riders Ben Spies and Jamie Hacking for their rides to fight up to 8th and 11th in GP race!
This leads us to the final event of the day, the AMA Superbike racing. Yamaha?s Jason Disalvo put in a hard charge at the beginning of the race and ran 3rd place for a long time but slowly faded back by the races end. Expect to see Jason and Eric running strong at the next event! GO YAMAHA!
Final Superbike Results:
- Mat Mladin
- Ben Spies
- Aaron Yates
- Jamie Hacking
- Tommy Hayden
- Roger Lee Hayden
- Neil Hodgson
- Jason DiSalvo - YAM
- Eric Bostrom - YAM
- Miguel Duhamel
That was the close of an incredible weekend. We topped it off with a few ice cold Corona?s and some GOOD PIZZA before journeying back home Monday with a day spent on airplanes!
Let's sum up what Laguna Seca / Yamaha's AMA and motoGP weekend has come to be known by me for:
Absolutely the greatest time that can be had for ANY MOTORCYCLE enthusiast on this planet! Special thanks to Yamaha Motors Corporation this event wouldn't be possible without you!
Hope you enjoyed the article and we look forward to seeing more people there next year!
-
Shane McCoy
www.tobefast.com
www.r1-forum.com
www.r6-forum.com
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