This past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting one of my fabulous blogger friends from the Fox of old, RA6AN. Although she had been to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on other occasions, I found out that she had never been to the Corkscrew Turn (I think it's turn 8 a, and maybe b, lol). Anyway, this turn at the top of a very lengthy hill, is worth seeing especially when race cars are diving through it during racing conditions. On the approach to the turn, drivers are on an uphill straight, going pretty darn fast. When they get to the breaking points for the turn, all they see is sky. Entering the left hand turn, drivers then proceed to drop off something like a six story building, and turn right at the same time. It's like a roller coaster! As I said to RA6AN, you just haven't been to Laguna Seca till you see it.
As for the race it's self, I thought it was amazing that 3 GT cars would finish within 3 seconds of each other after six hours of endurance racing. Bergmeister/Long won the GT class in the Flying Lizard Porsche 911, followed closely by Muller/Joey Hand in BMW, and a Corvette ZR1 in third. The LMP class was dominated by the trio of Brabham/Pagenaud/Franchitti in the Patron Highcroft Acura. Winning by 7 laps over the nearest competitor.
Last year's ALMS LMP1 champion David Brabham. David is the son of 3 time F1 world champion Sir Jack Brabham. David has 16 career starts at LeMans, with 3 straight class victories from 2007-2009, including an overall win in 2009. Now that Monterey is in the can, his team will join others from the ALMS in the cross Atlantic trip to the 24 hours of LeMans. I wonder if there's a way I could stowaway? All in all, I had a great time. If any are interested in seeing this race, CBS is telecasting a special edited 90 minute replay this Sunday at 1:30 EST. Also, if you feel up to it, you can watch the full 6 hours at americanlemans.com/live. Live streaming once you register, and it's totally free.
Thanks for showing up M, and till next time, stay cool! Cord
BTW, he's the one with the mustache!
ReplyDeleteHey you! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHey CR!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good time was had by all! (except the drivers and teams that didn't win...)
Any more talk of a NASCAR track being built up there in the Northwest?
Thanks man!
Great job Cord! See its not that hard...
ReplyDeleteLove the pics and sounds like a great time at the races - the access to the pits and drivers is amazing.
How about we make a deal - next year I'll do ALMS race and you do Sonoma??!!
Kiss the puppy for me...
Dwindy- I haven't heard anything, other than rumor. Speaking of building tracks, did you hear that Austin TX has been "awarded" an F1 venue starting in 2012? The promoter doesn't even have land for atrack, let alone all the permits and red tape. I'll believe it when I see it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan K... I'd have to do both though, because choosing between the two, I'd have a tough time saying no to Monterey. ...and another race I've been wanting to see, is Indy Car @ Sonoma. So many events, and not enough cash! ;0...
ReplyDeleteIt was great that you were able to catch up with an old blogging friend. Plus it looks like a great time was had by all. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteMax