A LAP OF LAGUNA SECA WITH NICKY HAYDEN
Nicky Hayden is preparing for his most important race of
the year, on home soil in front of his fans. The Repsol Honda
Team rider does a mental lap of Laguna Seca.
Main straight
"This is called the right-hand straight because it is
not really straight, in fact it has a slight curve that takes
you what is probably the most frightening zone in MotoGP.
It is definitely the strangest..."
Corner one
"This curve is a drop that you take in fifth gear. The
bike almost wants to fly and there is a moment when both tyres
lose contact with the ground, so you only have to wait for
it to regain stability during the drop to accelerate again."
Corners two and three
"Here you have to drop down to 2nd gear. You have to
try and take it with a lot of power - almost giving it too
much throttle – and then you take the bike to the inside,
control it and drop the power level as much as possible."
Corner four
"You have to be careful here, above all on the first
lap, amd make sure that the front tyre is hot. This is a a
very flat corner and you cannot gain a lot of time here; you
just have to take it well so that you are ready for the next
one."
Corner five
"This is a really fast one, faster than it looks, and
it is quite important because it brings you into a straight."
Corner six
"Braking just before taking this corner is where you
can overtake, it is one that goes up which means that you
can take it quite fast. It is very important to do it well
since it prepares you for the next one which is a blind climb."
Corner seven
"When you brake to enter this one the bikes displaces
the weight and it gets a bit unstable. There is a small slope
in the centre and you have to wait for the bike to settle
down, go down the slope and then you accelerate to take the
climb. It is an important climb with a drop that takes you
to the best corner in the world: the "Corkscrew".
Corners eight and nine ("The Corkscrew ")
"There is nothing elsde in the world like this and from
here on to the finishing line things happen very fasst. The
ground really disappears in front of you and you have to hope
that you reach it right by keeping a good eye on your speed.
You use a lot of strength here as the bike wants to go to
the left and you have to use all your strength to make it
go towards the right."
Rainey Corner (ten)
"I enjoy the challenge of the Corkscrew a lot but this
is probably my favourite at this circuit. It is downhill but
it is a bit snakey, so you have to get a good line that allows
you to take advantage of the power and make the most of the
curves."
Corner eleven
"This is a very important one because it take you to
the final corner, the best place to overtake, so you have
to take it well so that you can get to the fork in the right
way."
Corner twelve
"Here all you have to do is brake, brake, brake and try
to keep the back tyre on the ground. It is probably the corner
where it is most likely to see falls, because it is also bumpy
and you take it when you have been braking hard for a long
time. Some riders are caught out by this corner – I
have been quite a few times. Then all you do is get the bike
straight trying to keep the front tyre on the ground while
accelerating all you can up the slope towards corner 1."
Technical data
Length: 3.61km.
Pole position: Left hand side
Right handers: 4
Left handers: 7
Longest straight: 0.966km.
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