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Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 1:34 pm
by mobonic
I have been dreaming of driving Laguna Seca for a long time and this week, the dream was made into reality!

The RennTrack team made the 450 mile trip to laguna Seca from San Diego.

Left San Diego at 5:00am on wednesday and arrived at Laguna Seca at 6:00pm (damn LA traffic!)

It was off and on rain through the last 200 miles!.. nothing like pulling a trailer in the rain by yourself.. ha ha

Well it was worth every second and every $.

Pictures tell a better story, I'll let them do the talking!


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Mobonic tackling the corkscrew!

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Mobonic, Ryan, and Burt all in a line down the screw!

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Here is a video of my fastest lap of the weekend.

It was my first time there and the track was a bit wet... had to stay off the rumble strips or you would spin : o !!

1:44 in traffic.... I know I can knock at least 4 seconds off this time with drier conditions and now that I have been to the track.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H4DMfxm26o



[video=youtube;4H4DMfxm26o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H4DMfxm26o[/video]


More info and pictures on http://www.RennTrack.com

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 4:14 pm
by Michael Dolphin
Congratulations. You'll get lots of "amens" that driving Laguna for the first iteme is indeed living a dream.

So were you surprised to find out that the Corkscrew was NOT the challenge you orginally thought it was -- and that the challenge lies in ________?

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:14 pm
by Jad
Everyone should drive Laguna at least once. When you get use to it, the corkscrew isn't bad, but the first few time :shock:

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:21 pm
by 993Panzer
The corkscrew is like a roller coaster ride, after the first time it's just fun. I think the corkscrew followed by turns 9 and 10 are my favorite series of turns. I can catch a lot of GT3's through there. :D

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:51 am
by ttweed
Michael Dolphin wrote:Congratulations. You'll get lots of "amens" that driving Laguna for the first time is indeed living a dream.

AMEN!
So were you surprised to find out that the Corkscrew was NOT the challenge you originally thought it was -- and that the challenge lies in ________?

Turn 9, the Rainey Curve, is the most challenging, IMHO. It is too easy to apex early there and run out of track on the exit. If the big oak tree you aim at when going over the ledge at the Corkscrew ever falls down in a storm, then turn 8 may become more difficult. :D

TT

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:35 am
by pdy
The corkscrew is like jumping off a building at first, then it becomes pretty routine.

Agreed; turn 9 is an enigma - I always feel like I could make up a second there, and yet I sometimes catch others...
Turn 3 is another one I never quite feel like I get just right.

It's very nice to have a perfect surface and progressive gators to work with. Very nice.

Laguna Seca is not a great track because it's famous, it's a famous track because it's great. :rockon:

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:48 am
by Otto
"Agreed; turn 9 is an enigma - I always feel like I could make up a second there"

Well put! That's the tough one.

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:55 am
by richard
Dont forget turn 6. You blow that one and you are into the wall.

I like BW better, as the turns are linked closer-better for a Porsche. At Laguna, turns 2,3,4,5,6,7 are too far apart except for a really fast car. But Laguna has the history.

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:11 am
by martinreinhardt
richard wrote:At Laguna, turns 2,3,4,5,6,7 are too far apart except for a really fast car. But Laguna has the history.


Laguna Seca is one of my favorite tracks, but it's also the track which made me buy a faster car. I ran in the 1:41's all weekend on RA1's with the Porsche, but with more power it would have been more fun to drive. It seemed I had time to make a coffee on the front straight, add cream going up hill next to the sound meter and drink it while going up to the cork screw. :D

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:43 am
by ronaldtrotter
Martin you would have gone faster if you'd left the coffee maker in the pit. All that added weight.

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:07 am
by ChuckS
Martin - sounds like it took too long for the caffeine to kick in! :roflmao:

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:22 am
by kleggo
pdy wrote:The corkscrew is like jumping off a building at first, then it becomes pretty routine.


hey, what do you know about jumping off a building?

:D

Craig

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:26 am
by kleggo
Jad wrote: the corkscrew isn't bad, but the first few time :shock:


AMEN
and
Agreed.

I'd never seen the CS from driver perspective prior to last August @ a DE.
My first trip through the corkscrew was THROUGH the corkscrew, as in THROUGH the "non-track" section.
I think my instructor was as surprised as I was since he assumed i knew what i was doing. Silly boy.

Craig

Re: Pilgrimage to Laguna Seca!

PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:27 am
by kleggo
richard wrote:Dont forget turn 6. You blow that one and you are into the wall.


ok last post on this thread.

Did you see my lap where i was sliding backwards towards the inside wall? I learned a lot in that 15 seconds of near carnage.

cheers

Craig