Flying low-level with Nicky Hayden over the most famous corner of the world.
Nicky Hayden tells us all the secrets of Laguna Seca, especially of the famous downhill corner, the Corkscrew.
Nicky Hayden will arrive at his home circuit for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix leading the World Championship and ready once again to challenge the best riders in the world in front of his fervent home fans. Having taken pole position and stormed to his first Grand Prix win at the circuit last year, theres no rider better placed to describe the demands and delights of this unique track.
- Laguna Seca
- Circuit Length: 3.610 Km.
- Pole Position: Left
- Right corners: 4
- Left corners: 7
- Longest straight: 0.966 Km.
- Start/Finish straight
‘They call it the front straightaway but its not really very straight, you know its actually got quite a little bend in it and it leads to what I think is probably the most hairy place in MotoGP. Its definitely the loosest’. - Turn One
‘You take this in fifth gear up over the hill. The bike wants to wheelie and both wheels come off the ground a bit, so you just wait for it to settle back down on the back side of the hill before opening the throttle.’ - Turn Two
‘For turn two you backshift down into second gear. You try to get in a little too hot overcook it a little bit and then bring the bike back in, square it up and try and get the power down as much as possible.’ - Turn Three
‘Here youve sometimes got to be careful on the first lap and make sure theres some heat in the front tyre. Its a really flat corner and you cant really make up a lot of time there youve really just got to be smooth and get your drive down to turn four. ‘ - Turn Four
‘This is a really fast corner faster than it looks and its pretty important because it leads onto a straightaway.’ - Turn five
‘Braking for turn five is a good place to pass its an uphill corner which means you can carry a lot of speed. Its really important to get a good drive up here because it sets you up for next bend which is uphill and blind.’ - Turn six
‘When you hit the brakes for Turn Six the bike gets unweighted and quite loose. Theres a dip right in the middle and youve got to wait for the bike to settle down, hit the dip and then open up the throttle and carry your speed up the hill. Its a big blind hill that leads you up to what I thinks the best corner in the world The Corkscrew.’ - The Corkscrew
‘Theres nowhere else in the world quite like this and it just all happens really quick from here to the finish line. Theyve made some changes this year and Im looking forward to seeing what theyve done whether theyve made it better or worse. Youve got to get the bike stopped, turn left and then flip it right. The ground really drops away so youve got to wait for it to load up and youve got to build the speed carefully. It takes a lot of effort because the bike wants to pull to the left and youve really got to muscle it back to the right for’ - Rainey corner
‘I like the challenge of the Corkscrew but this is probably my favourite corner on the track. Its downhill but its got a bit of bank and theres definitely a good line that allows you to best get the power down and use the camber to your advantage. ‘ - Turn 10
‘This corner is so important because it leads you into the final corner, which is the best place to pass, so youve got to get through here cleanly and get a run down into the hairpin.’ - Turn 11
‘This last corner is all about just braking, braking, braking and trying to keep the rear wheel on the ground. Its probably the easiest corner on the circuit to crash at because its quite bumpy and you trail the brake a long time. A lot of guys get caught out here and Ive done it too many times. Then you just get the bike lifted up and try to keep the front wheel down and accelerate as hard as you can up the hill for another bite at Turn One.’
