#LagunaSeca

Companies that go racing love to promote how the lessons learned at the racetrack trickle down to the products we use on the street. Besides being great marketing fodder, the idea behind racing is to develop products that will benefit the everyday consumer. We generally think of sportbikes (and liter-class sportbikes in particular) as being direct translations of racetrack development trickling down to production models, but we sometimes forget about the only part of the motorcycle in continuous contact with the road: its tires.

This is merely my subjective list of 10 good things, but there are really no bad things about riding those few hundred miles from MO’s SoCal headquarters to the Monterey peninsula; blasting over a few mountain ranges, making time up the spine, toasting the coast. Mother Nature pulled out all the stops in the scenery department, the weather’s perfect, we wangled six great bikes (more on them next week). The fact that it’s a World Superbike and MotoAmerica race weekend is really just a bonus.

We’ve dedicated a couple stories this week to Nicky Hayden, The Kentucky Kid  and his World Superbike-spec Honda CBR1000RR competing this weekend at Laguna Seca. From Tom’s Top 10 reasons to visit Laguna Seca this weekend to this poll on Nicky’s chances this weekend, you’ll forgive us if we’re pouring out some love for the 2006 MotoGP champion. So for this weekend’s Church feature we’re keeping the love pouring, with this interview with Hayden shortly after he announced he was moving to the Ducati MotoGP squad. History will tell us that the move ultimately didn’t bear the fruit Hayden was hoping for, but ever the professional, he’s always been optimistic about his chances.   

World Superbike and MotoAmerica are both underway this weekend at one of America’s most famous race courses, Laguna Seca. From KTM RC Cup, Superstock, Supersport, and Superpole to Superbike, the combined racing event is so packed with action there should be nothing further compelling you to attend. But, if you’re in need of extra enticement, or maybe a reminder of what you use to love about going, let us spell it out for ya.

Chainsaw Productions recently shot a series of videos at Laguna Seca featuring Magura-sponsored riders Aaron Colton and Danny MacAskill. The first two videos released – Aaron Colton Uncorked, and Danny MacAskill and Aaron Colton shred the Laguna Seca Corkscrew – are presented below for your viewing pleasure. More of this kind of badassery can be found at Magura’s Facebook page.

Journalists are trained to avoid hyperbole, but it’s a fact that sportbike enthusiasts have never had a better choice of amazingly fast and competent superbikes than those available this year – no hyperbole necessary!

Tom Sykes entered the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca round of World Superbike as the defending 2013 champion (after only missing out on the honor in 2012 by half a point) and the current series leader with a 41-point advantage. Add that to the attention the Ninja 30th Anniversary celebration that Kawasaki kicked off at Laguna Seca has attracted, and Sykes has a lot to be smiling about.

No one can deny the special place that Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca holds in the international racing world. The fans like the track because of the multiple viewing positions – many of which are quite close to the action. And that’s before we even consider the five story drop of the Corkscrew. While some racers love and others fear the course’s 11 turns, none take the track for granted. The tight 2.238 mile course offers no places for the rider to relax and provides multiple prime passing locations. Races here are frequently closely fought, exciting cut and parry affairs.

The new millennium was a big occasion around the world. While some were worried the world’s computers would revert back to 1900 once Y2K struck, in the moto world, there was much buzz in the world of racing. Ducati were owning World Superbike with the 996, and Honda wanted a piece of the pie. Since the rules allowed liter-class twins to compete with 750cc fours, after a moderately successful run with the ultra exclusive RC-30 and RC-45, Honda adopted the “if you can’t beat’em, join’em” mantra, and Soichiro’s boys set out to create a Ducati-beating V-Twin. The result? The RC-51. With retrospect on our side, we now know how special this bike became in the hands of Colin Edwards. In this week’s Church of MO, we take you back to 2000, and our first ride review of Honda’s Ducati killer.

Once the “marine layer”, the stuff you and I call fog, burned off at the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway on Sunday morning, it became obvious it was going to be a great day for Honda Racing Corporation. Having placed three bikes on the front row of the qualifying grid, the only impediment left would have been the weather; the RC213V likes it hot. And hot it was, as Repsol rookie Marc Marquez continued his amazing first season by becoming the first rookie ever to win the U.S. Grand Prix.

For defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo, the approach of the U.S. Grand Prix at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit in Monterey is fraught with peril. Fate, and the powerful Repsol Honda duo of Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, have conspired to put the bright star of Yamaha Racing in an incredible bind. Having injured his left collarbone twice in two weeks, a crash in Monterey could jeopardize the rest of Lorenzo’s career. But by sitting out, he effectively surrenders the 2013 title to one of his rivals.