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MotoGP to return to Laguna Seca?

I’d been under the impression that there being no MotoGP races there was due to community pressure to limit the number of races there, over concerns of noise pollution. That, and the aggressive way Indy and COTA courted Dorna for the opportunity to host the races. Both facilities have much greater seating capacity and are spitting distance from major cities with full-on airports close by. Laguna is such an iconic track. Very old school American style place, sort of like a super glorified club racing track. If they do go back, I will be there. Tho, it’d be kind of weird being there knowing there’d be no sightings of Nicky.
 
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I'm pumped at the thought of it being there, but hopefully not at the expense of ruining the track.
 
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#22 said:
I'm pumped at the thought of it being there, but hopefully not at the expense of ruining the track.
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Longer straight would be okay, make a turn or two faster. Just don't .... with the corkscrew.

My home track for years was Loudon, then new money came in and the "upgraded it" and it just killed the whole spirit of the track.
 
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I hope so, its a great track, maybe upgrade the facilities a little.

It probably wont happen as we 'mericans only care for oval racing.
 
Keshav said:
Longer straight would be okay, make a turn or two faster. Just don't .... with the corkscrew.
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They already made the track longer, at the expense of the dangerous kink in the “straight” that used to be longer. I loved the old layout. But there is only so much usable real estate at Laguna. Without spending a ton of cash, that is.

Laguna has become a fabled venue and I think the Carmel crowd has gotten used to there being a race track there, so hopefully it will continue. Sure the facilities are cramped and lodging is a little far away but that’s not unlike other tracks.

If the USGP come back to Laguna, I’ll be there!
 
Bern1 said:
They already made the track longer, at the expense of the dangerous kink in the “straight” that used to be longer. I loved the old layout. But there is only so much usable real estate at Laguna. Without spending a ton of cash, that is.

Laguna has become a fabled venue and I think the Carmel crowd has gotten used to there being a race track there, so hopefully it will continue. Sure the facilities are cramped and lodging is a little far away but that’s not unlike other tracks.

If the USGP come back to Laguna, I’ll be there!
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Where in Cali are you? Me and a friend are heading out to SF mid January and riding bikes from there to LA.
 
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I live 10 miles north of San Francisco. Great time of year to come and ride south!
 
We will be in SF for two days if you want to meet up, get some eats.

I will be meeting up with long-time forum member California Kid in LA. Going to eat street tacos till we keel over.
 
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Ok, it’s going to work. I’m playing a gig on the 14th and leaving for SoCal on the 17th so meeting up with you guys on Saturday Jan 15th in the city would be perfect.
 
Keshav said:
I’d been under the impression that there being no MotoGP races there was due to community pressure to limit the number of races there, over concerns of noise pollution. That, and the aggressive way Indy and COTA courted Dorna for the opportunity to host the races. Both facilities have much greater seating capacity and are spitting distance from major cities with full-on airports close by. Laguna is such an iconic track. Very old school American style place, sort of like a super glorified club racing track. If they do go back, I will be there. Tho, it’d be kind of weird being there knowing there’d be no sightings of Nicky.
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I too have heard MotoGP won’t return to Laguna Seca due to noise. Very Californian of them! It is a race track after all…
 
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When we were riding down from SF to Los Angeles last month, we were passing by the track and they have a schedule of races happening there this year, so it must be more than just the issue of noise. Monterey is a very wealthy, snooty community and while the merchants there must love the trade, I’m guessing there’s a lot of bourgeois twats whose hair gets curled at the thought of having the community invaded by hundreds of thousands of partied up motorcycle guys for 3 days.

I’ve read somewhere that a big issue is that Dorna wants too big a fee/bribe for having them host the race. It really is a shame that there are no longer two events in the US. I think with ..... restrictions phasing out they would get a good crowd.

2022 Season Schedule
April 22-24 – Trans Am Speedfest
April 29 - May 1 – Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship, presented by Motul
July 8-10 –GEICO Motorcycle MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest at Monterey (TBC)
July 15-17 –AHRMA Classic MotoFest of Monterey
August 13-14 –Monterey Pre-Reunion
August 17-20 – Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
September 9-11 – Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
October 14-16 – Velocity Invitational (TBC)
 
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I think its more about money then anything... the costs to put on just one big race just once a year is not worth it for the facility. COTA makes motogp work because its hosts every major racing series in North America, in addition to all types of other events.
 
Keshav said:
I’ve read somewhere that a big issue is that Dorna wants too big a fee/bribe for having them host the race. It really is a shame that there are no longer two events in the US. I think with ..... restrictions phasing out they would get a good crowd.
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I've always found it ridiculous the business model that F1 and MotoGP etc get away with.

Say you own a bottling company (Racetrack). And Coca Cola approach you about making bottles for their drink.

"Great! They make so much Cola that it will be a lucrative deal for me"

"No no, you don't understand. We want to use your bottling facility, but YOU have to pay US for the honor of bottling our product"

"Well how am I supposed to make money?"

"You can give tours of the facility and charge people for it"

"I could also get people to pay for advertising right?"

"No, all advertising space in your facility will be owned by and sold by us, you wont get a penny"

How many circuits have been built in the world that cost hundreds of millions then only used by F1 a few times? Buddh circuit in India, Istanbul Park. Valencia street circuit, Korea International circuit to name a few. Until ..... the track in Instabul was being used as a giant car park for rental cars!

What pisses me off is many of these circuits cough up to pay, then the club racer gets whacked with the exorbitant entry fees to cover it.
 
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Living in California and having watched racing at Laguna for virtually my entire life, there are several issues in play, apart from what has been mentioned above.

While I think that some issues could be solved, it’s possible that they won’t, due to the Dorna issues mentioned.

The community is used to racing and the $$ it brings. The track is in a bowl away from the city so the noise issue is reduced. There is plenty of racing there and there has been for years. Rainey’s organization is doing ok there.

There is room to expand the track and make it safer. It could be done. With good design, there is no reason the track would have to suffer. The expense of doing so would be the issue. Who is going to pony up for that?

The other major issue I see is twofold. One, a major airport is quite far away.
Two, there is really not much lodging in the Monterey area to accommodate many more visitors.

Carmel and Pebble Beach are snooty. Monterey is actually pretty down to earth for a tourist town. Neighboring Salinas and surrounding areas are all agriculture.

Conclusion: much as I would like to see improvements at every level for that track, I don’t see much of a chance for it happening unless Penske or Haas or some other really wealthy racing enthusiast organization gets involved.
 
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Bern1 said:
Living in California and having watched racing at Laguna for virtually my entire life, there are several issues in play, apart from what has been mentioned above.

While I think that some issues could be solved, it’s possible that they won’t, due to the Dorna issues mentioned.

The community is used to racing and the $$ it brings. The track is in a bowl away from the city so the noise issue is reduced. There is plenty of racing there and there has been for years. Rainey’s organization is doing ok there.

There is room to expand the track and make it safer. It could be done. With good design, there is no reason the track would have to suffer. The expense of doing so would be the issue. Who is going to pony up for that?

The other major issue I see is twofold. One, a major airport is quite far away.
Two, there is really not much lodging in the Monterey area to accommodate many more visitors.

Carmel and Pebble Beach are snooty. Monterey is actually pretty down to earth for a tourist town. Neighboring Salinas and surrounding areas are all agriculture.

Conclusion: much as I would like to see improvements at every level for that track, I don’t see much of a chance for it happening unless Penske or Haas or some other really wealthy racing enthusiast organization gets involved.
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I stand corrected. I always get Monterey and Camel mixed up. I've been to both. I kind of like Salinas. Just miles and miles of farmland; real middle America and laid back.
 

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