MotoGP Blog

Circuit map: here.
Circuit web page: Laguna Seca Raceway.

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Quick Guide
Laguna Seca is built around an almost dry lake bed. Originally built for car racing in 1957, after races in nearby Pebble Beach ended with a driver hitting a tree and killing himself. Seen as a challenge to drive well and therefore a driver’s track, it is unlike any other MotoGP circuit. Elevation changes are frequent, and frequently severe. Many corners are therefore entered blind, and the course is as much a test of bravery as skill. The unusual nature of the track means local riders familiar with the track do well, and this is one case where familiarity does not breed contempt. Get contemptuous of Laguna and it will bite back. Hard. Local riders’ knoweldge of the bumps and unusual lines to take can shave half a second a lap, if not more, off their time. Expect the wild cards, Hayden and Edwards to do particularly well.

Check the MotoGPBlog Google map of the circuit for some embedded video of the key corners, including, of course, the Corkscrew.

Circuit length: 3.610 km.
Circuit width: 15m.
Corners: 11, 4 right-handers and 7 left-handers.
MotoGP race distance: 32 laps.

Recent winners
2008: Valentino Rossi, 44m, 04.311s
2007: Casey Stoner, 44m 20.325s
2006: Nicky Hayden, 45m 04.867s
2005: Nicky Hayden, 45m 15.374s