92,000 Plus Us Migrate to MontereyBy: Kurt von Ahnen

Even with the tuning forks in the rear window… this is no R1!!

Laguna Seca, I couldn’t wait. This was an awesome excuse to log 4,000 miles on the R1, and try out the new luggage from Oxford. Well, go back to the article titled “An Editor’s Holiday” and you’ll see that I am relegated to “cage driving”. Truthfully, the trip had its ups and downs. I don’t know where this dread came from, but realistically the actual trip was a success. My wife and I packed the car to cover the World Superbike event, at Mazda-Laguna Seca Raceway. We hit the road.

The “racecar” in the picture? That’s our Ford Focus ZX3, possibly the most under-rated car I have ever owned. Acceptable performance, reasonable comfort, and great economy make this car a winner. We got alloy wheels, AC, ABS, Power everything, Cruise control and a sunroof for about $13,000.00. Enough with the Ford commercial, and I’ll get to the story at hand.

We blazed out of Denver, and headed north to Laramie, Wy. Eastward toward Salt Lake City, where everything seems to be owned by some guy named Zion, the views began to get better. The east side of Salt Lake City is spectacular! It’s all lush, green, and fun to drive in the twisties. The west side is long, hot, and boring with patches of salt everywhere. Then, in the form of a fake mirage… what the heck is that?! The Utah Tree – a statue located in the middle of nowhere, yet surrounded by graffiti and broken beer bottles.

So, some fool built this

monstrosity, so idiots like me can stop and get our pictures taken? I’m 5’8” – how

tall is this thing?

A rural excuse for graffiti…

On to Reno, after an impromptu little nap… the search was on for a decent room at a decent price. We settled on the Silver Legacy, on the 29th floor – what a view. The room was great and the buffet was even better. The service and friendliness at this hotel was unbelievable considering the fiasco I endured on my

last trip to Vegas. If I had to find a flaw, it would be that there was no in-room coffee pot. They do, of course, have two coffee shops on site to help lighten the wallet. The wife (Heidi) and I had a good time here. The weather was temperate, so we decided to stretch our legs and take in the main drag. A good nights sleep, and we were ready to finish the journey to California.

Upon nearing our final destination, the Travelodge in Santa Cruz, I continued my luck streak with the men in blue. I got pulled over as soon as we got into town. “Do you know why I pulled you over?” “Because I’m lost as hell, and you wanted to help me?” – breaking the ice. The officer was quick to point out that California is very similar “to the other 49 states of the union”, and that one must wear their seatbelt – or suffer a huge fine. The officer was nice enough to let us go with a warning, and directions to the better places to eat while in town.

The Travelodge

Let me state from the beginning. If you ever plan on attending the World Superbike weekend at Laguna, do not wait until the last minute to make your reservations. Our room was so dated, small and uncomfortable that we even tried

other locations, for the duration of the trip. The Holiday Inn Express in Monterey was referring people to San Francisco, for God’s sake! I certainly didn’t want to commute from the Golden Gate Bridge every day, so we stayed put… but A) The town of Santa Cruz is a pricey place for sub-standard atmosphere B) The corrosion and warped walls in the bathroom screamed horror film C) The bustling view out of our room, at the back of a liquor

store was alarming D) Always take your “Expedia” paperwork with you for check out… maybe they can get the price almost right.

In perspective, I was late in making reservations and I am lucky I got what I got, considering Laguna is saying that 92,000 people showed up.

“We settled on the Silver Legacy, on

the 29th floor – what a view.”

We still got to see awesome things on the visit. We saw Sea Lions, Dolphins, a Sea Otter, Pelicans and what I have dubbed the original Monster House – a small home modified to resemble a castle.

The view from the top of the Corkscrew – looking down on the paddock

To the Track

Heidi and I took off to the Embassy Suites Hotel, in Seaside Ca. to retrieve our press credentials. The road was beginning to “pack in” with bikes. Now I’ve heard of this lane splitting thing… but to see it in action is something completely different. A sea of bikes kept creeping past our “racecar” and filling the gaps in front of me that I never knew were there. Since I have this gentleman quality that precludes me from tailgating motorcyclists, I felt conflicted over the new definition of “safe following distance”. Again with my Colorado favoritism… I only saw one attempted wheelstand the whole 55 miles to the track. Come on… sea level… all the ponies, but no balls?

Just so you folks in cyberspace don’t think this editor thing is all glamour… it took almost 2 hours of persuasion, to get just one of the two media passes we were promised. After purchasing a ticket for my lovely bride, we continued on to the track. When we asked for

directions from the hotel to the track, they were nice enough to offer me a program for $8.00 that had a map in it. See, it’s not all glam and glitter.

We parked the racecar ¾ way up the hillOnce we got to the track, we were constantly sent in the wrong direction. Turns out that the gate folks, that check you parking credentials had no training for the motorcycle event. They kept cycling me back to a motorcycle only parking lot. Every time I stopped the car, out of everyone’s way, Johnny Law would rudely demand that I not park there. Even with a media pass and hazard flashers, photography was out of the question. So… we snuck ‘em anyway.

Finally, we found where we were supposed to be parked. I couldn’t feel shortchanged, as the Speed TV guys pulled in next to me on the first day. It still looked like a hell of a hike, carrying the gear down the hill to the media tent.

How huge is this place?

As we strolled down the hill to the event area, the sheer number of bikes consumed me. Traffic was a mess, and bikes were stacked up around the whole circuit. People weren’t only in “designated areas”, but on the hillside, in campgrounds, and wandering through the vendor areas. It took a full 45 minutes to walk from the car to the media tent. Another 45 minutes to circle the paddock area, and get a feel for where the teams were pitted. The whole first day at the raceway, we never got to the other side of the bridge – where vendor row, Ducati Coral and Supermoto were.

By Saturday, we figured it was time to venture to the other side. That’s where we met up with some friends: Jenny Leffert with Mad Maps, Mark Pfenning with Avon Tires, Don and Wendy from Iconoclast Motorcycle in Denver, Doug Chandler, Kevin Schwantz, Mark Shellinger, and Mike Metzger. When you work for a magazine, this is a good thing. We even got a chance to meet with Thomas Stevens, who will hopefully fulfill our request to contribute to our little rag. What does all this mean? It means that we missed the Superbike races. NOC Media, Inc. was only granted two media passes, and actually only got one of those… so, it became impossible to cover the whole event – with the AMA scheduling things at the same time. We did however see a new vehicle that will be hitting your Chevy dealers this year… possibly my wife’s new truck – the Chevy Colorado.

Cannery Row

After Saturday’s hard work, we treated ourselves to a romantic walk on the beach… no not Santa Cruz again! We went to Monterey. Then we took in the sites on Cannery Row. How cool to see so many bikes together. Denverites would liken it to Larimer Square, only twice as packed with bikes. The number of gray-market bikes was astounding as well. We saw lots of two-strokes there, as well as 400’s.

It made for a nice evening, as well as a decent work out to walk in the warm sand, after a long day at the track.

Sunday – How About Some Roadracing?

On Sunday, Heidi and I decided that no matter what distractions came our way, we were going to get some Superbike coverage. I got to tell you… World Superbike is awesome! For the first race of the Laguna Round, I perched myself at the outside of turns four and five. I was close to the loudspeaker, keeping me well informed. I was also in a great place for photos. After showing my credentials to 5 different people and being moved 3 times, I finally had my vantage points staked out. The race was so good, I’ll put full coverage in another column… but here I’ll tell you – the fans at Laguna are very European in their responses. There was cheering and clapping, and all-around good fun behind me in the stands. Stands that by the way, cost extra to sit in.

Mladin Leads Xaus through turn four

Pierre Francesco Chile in turn four after his Race 1 win.

PicturesqueMonterey Bay

At twilight.

Corser even had fun with the turn four crowds, after

race 1, on the

Petronas Superbike.

For race two coverage, I hiked the hill to the top of the corkscrew. I wished I had been here before. There were about 35 professional photographers up there, as well many freelancers over the fence. It is like a national park up there. The temperature was about ten to fifteen degrees cooler, with a steady breeze near the top of the turn entrance. The Corkscrew fans have it together. There was a whole different energy up there.

I walked the entire Corkscrew before the event, checking in with all the officials, so they knew I was there. The officials at this location were so much different than the rest of the track. They were very helpful,

pointing out the best places for photos, stressing that we could basically go anywhere on the outside of the retaining wall. How cool is that? One guy even pointed me up over the hill for pictures. I thought he was full of it until I saw the guys coming up the hill toward the Corkscrew. Damn! They really fly up that darn hill!

I started at the entrance to the Corkscrew and worked my way down the hill lap after lap. I missed some of the great shots, like Toseland tossing the #52 Ducati, or Xaus’s burn out… but in all, a great

experience. For the long drive home, we took a southerly coastal cruise… where my bride’s sun poisoning got the best of her, forcing us to stop in Barstow. There’s that dread thing again.

Juan Borja at the Cork Bottom

Bussei on the Ducati formerly rode by Gobert.**I like Gobie, but it doesn’t look good when Bussei keeps finishing races and finishing well, on a bike Gobie said was unridable.**

Dust flies at the top of the Corkscrew, and the Petronas bike is down.

The second pack over the rise, toward the Corkscrew, in race #2

Yates, the American Hero, until he crashed out – leading a quartet of world-talent through the Cork.

Bring your enthusiast butt to the next event 2004!! What a kick!