Finally the first day of the World Superbikes has arrived and I am up early to get myself sorted.  I am really looking forward to the event given the hot temperatures back in 2017 made it a survival test and not that enjoyable.  The weather forecast for this event is much cooler so the heat should not be an issue.

I never worried about buying a ticket online as I was just after general admission.  I arrive at the track and ride along the entrance road until I get to the ticket station;

$110 gets you a 3 day pass and includes free parking in the areas outside of the track.  If you go online you can purchase tickets that include parking inside the track but you don’t really gain a whole lot.  General admission gets you everywhere apart from the corporate boxes – the grandstands are first come first serve but they don’t get full during this event.  If you want to go to the corkscrew you will need to have your own chair or something to sit on as there are no grandstands.

The actual viewing areas are limited and nothing like Phillip Island where you are close to the track and can view it all of the way around.  The other negative is the high wire fence that surrounds the track which makes taking photos really difficult.

I pull Stan up under a tree and take my gear over to a free check in tent (all they ask is a donation);

Once checked in I catch a golf cart to the track entrance gate – the golf carts are everywhere and are driven by volunteer service veterans to raise money for their charities (again it is a donation).

I head straight over to the pit area as I wanted to see if I could have a chat with some of the riders – the time to do this is always early on Friday before practice starts because once things get serious they have no time.

First rider I spot is Jordie Torres who is a real eccentric character but always has time for a chat;

What was really funny is that there was no-one around us that I could hand the camera to take our photo – Jordie was laughing and called to one of his mechanics to come and do it.

After Jordie I only took a couple of steps and ran into the champ himself, Johnny Rea;

Rea is married to an Aussie girl so as far as I am concerned he is an honorary Australian (the fact he is 4 x world champion and leading this years championship has nothing to do with it).  Back in February I was lucky enough to have a chat with him and get one of my photos signed – I also reminded him that during the last 4 years I have wished him luck and he has gone on to win the championship.  On track now for No.5.

I wander around the pits and get a photo with Lowes and Razgatlioglu;

I thought I had better head off from the paddock area before I got arrested for being a stalker.  I head over to the grandstand and try to take a few photos of the FP1;

Once the practice finished I had a look around the paddock where all of the support riders/teams were holed up.  I was lucky enough to meet the legend himself, Wayne Rainey;

Rainey is a 3 time MotoGP world champion and was leading the Championship in 1993 when he had a horrific crash that left him paralyzed.  He is a top bloke and is currently running the American Superbike Championship.   We had a laugh when I told him he was one of my hero’s but he did come behind Doohan and Gardner!  I must own up to being so starstruck that when I asked for a photo I called him Mr Rainey.

I still had time to kill so I made my way up the hill (more like mountain) to take a few photo’s of the corkscrew sign – I used one of them as the the header for this blog post.  I then made my way back and checked out the display area;

The next photo is of a Ford Shelby GT500 due for release in April 2020 – 5.21 V8 producing 760hp.  I would expect my boss back at work would be lining up to order one;

The next photo’s are of an original 1982 Suzuki Katana (restored) and the new retro version.  I think I like the original more;

I make my way over and sit in the grandstand located opposite the pit area for FP2;

Practice ends with Chaz Davies (Ducati) on top.  I head off and pick up Stan to make my home.  The ride is interesting as there is a bit of fog coming in from the Ocean and heavy traffic makes it slow going.  It has been a great day and the weather could not have been better – sunny with a cool breeze.

Day 2 arrives and I ride to the track and park Stan in the same spot.  It seems weird that there is so much fog around and I am convinced that there would be a delay in activity until it lifted;

I could not believe it when the support bikes took off in qualifying as I could hardly see them!  

The horn blows to signal the start of Superbike FP3 – all of the riders do a lap but then come in and wait 10 mins for the fog to lift;

Later we have qualifying and Rea grabs pole position from Davies and Bautista – its 2.5 hours until Race 1 but the local AMA Superbikes keep the fans entertained.  Its great how they are set up right next to the track;

Race 1 gets underway and I am devastated as Bautista (Ducati) crashes out which makes it a romp home for Rea and further increases his championship lead.  Oh well there is always tomorrow.

Day 3 arrives and it is the final day of the event.  I head out on Stan and the fog is so heavy visibility is down and the mist makes it wet.  I have been riding along the ocean for the last 3 days but yet to see it.

I rode around to the back entrance to the track as I knew from the 2 days previously it would be a lot quicker and less traffic than trying to come in from the front.  The only issue I had was once I started to climb up the hill road I could hardly see more than 10 metres in front of me.  Thankfully the officials had flashing lights so you knew where to stop.

Stan is parked and as I am getting my gear sorted when 2 locals pull up next to me.  Straight away they are into the beer and are setting themselves up for a big day.  I have a laugh with them and move off;

I walk around to the grandstand and take up position straight opposite the pits.  It was funny as the 2 guys drinking beer in the carpark ended up behind me.  To be on your second can before 9 am is impressive;

The fog is gone by the start time and I watch the Superbikes do a 20 min warm up;

After warm up I am making my way to the paddock when I put my head into the timekeeping box and they let me stay and watch the AMA Superbikes;

I then go and catch a golf cart up to the top of the corkscrew where you get a great view;

I take up a position under a tree to watch the 10 lap Superpole race;

The race starts but only gets to the first corner before being red flagged – Bautista is off again!  Good grief.  There is about a 30 minute wait before the bikes get back out on the grid for a restart and Bautista is not one of them.  The race is reduced to 8 Laps and again Rea dominates;

To kill time I walk the long way down from the corkscrew back to the paddock.  

The final race comes around and although Bautista lines up he retires after one lap and is clearly not up to it after his crash.  The race turns out to be a Davies masterclass and he gets the better of Rea who comes in second.

This time around Laguna Seca has been great given the perfect weather conditions and I had a lot of fun.

Back at home Mike has made corn bread and chilli for dinner.  These guys have been great during my stay and are very generous hosts.  I know they intend coming out to Australia so I look forward to repaying same.

Tomorrow morning I ride up to Santa Rosa to catch up with Bill – a retired San Francisco detective who I met in 2017.  On the way I hope to call into Alice’s Restaurant which is a very popular motorcycle hangout. 

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