Repsol YPF
Ruta
The most famous turn in the World Championship
This weekend, the World Championship travels to the Californian circuit of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In this difficult race, the riders will have to tackle, among others, the fearsome turn 8, known as the Corkscrew, as it is a downhill chicane with a blind entry. The characteristics of this circuit mean that only the top categories in motorcycling and motor racing compete on this track.
Built in 1957 in Monterrey (California), the Laguna Seca circuit has a different setup from the other circuits in the World Championship, which it joined in 1988. Six years later, the American Grand Prix moved to other circuits to allow the necessary changes to be made to the track in order to adapt to the development of the machines and to the demands of the FIM and the FIA.
From 2004, the Californian circuit has undergone major changes, increasing track safety. These modifications included expanding the exit lane, widening the main straight, and replacement of the kerbs to create bigger run-off areas. However, these changes did not affect the track design or its main features: 3.6 km of track with 11 turns.
The most famous section of the track is turn 8, known as the Corkscrew. It is a spectacular chicane with a 91 metre change in level, which riders pass at 60 km/h. Many historic moments have arisen on this turn, such as the Italian rider Zanardi overtaking the American rider Herta on the inside of the turn during the last lap of the CART race in 1996.
Other sections to bear in mind are the straight to the finish, which is very short and has two slight changes of direction, where maximum speeds of around 270 km/h are reached, and the sections before and after the Corkscrew. Just before this turn there is a change in level, where riders take off the ground, and after coming out of turn 8, there are two rapid changes of direction taken at 135 km/h and that go on to a steep downhill.
26/06/2009
