On July 25, 2006, Alex wrote an opinion piece regarding his experience at this year’s USGP held at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. He voiced some strong opinions regarding the water situation, as well as what he thought about the improvements made to the parking accomodations at the event.
As has become the norm for our ezine, readers from all over responded — this time without being asked. I thought it only right to publish these responses in order to present a fair and well balanced picture of the weekend’s happenings. What follows below are the opinions of our readers in their original, unedited form:
- My wife and I were at the races too, and our experience with the water was different from yours. The $1 bottles that we bought (by the Buell tent) were the same size as the $4 bottles. On Sunday, they were giving away water for free by the turn 5 bridge, including even larger (32 oz?) bottles. We stayed well lubed all day. Go Nicky!
- I think it’s important to be fair to Laguna – which is one track that clearly listens to its spectators and particpants.
The USGP took place during one of the hottest weekends ever. Some MotoGP riders claimed it was as hot as they’d EVER seen it for a race – worldwide.
Granted – water should have been available. But to not mention that Laguna themselves were caught out by the weather does a disservice to them. It sounds as if they don’t care – and that’s not true. Had the weather been more normal – the water would likely have not been a problem.
- Just read your article about the USGP. While I can
understand the frustration you felt in not being able
to find any water, I believe that was a problem of the
vendors, not the track, correct? And if you didn’t
like the price, complain to the vendors, or vote with
your feet – don’t bash the track. I recenty went to
Sea World in Orlando. Did I cringe when lunch, which
was pretty much McDonald’s/Taco Bell quality, cost us
almost $40? Yes. Would I whine about Sea World on a
web page? No. I understand that’s the price you pay
at these type of things, including when I go to races
at Mid-Ohio. I’ve never seen water under $3, so four
is not outrageous, and to say they lowered it to $1,
but cut the size in half still means they took a 50%
price cut, yet you still cry about it. It makes you
look very foolish.
- I rode my motorcycle in on both days and while there was an improvement, it could be better still: need more direct access between the hill and
Corkscrew and the M/C parking lot without having to wait in line to get over
the main straight.
Hey here’s a thought, there is a bridge over the track at the corkscrew but
you can’t use it unless you are a camper…
Then there is the ridicules line to load up the buses – I heard many people
waited several HOURS to get on a bus. I know when I left on Sunday the line
of people waiting to get on the buses was approaching a 1/2 mile in length
as was the line of empty buses waiting to pick up passengers.
There has to be a better way!
As to the water issue, what is wrong with the track simply making sure that
the drinking fountains work and that there are plenty of drinking fountains
available… simple, cheap for the fans, I am sure reduced the track’s costs
and insurance as you know the track had to pay for all the EMT treatment of
heat stroked out fans!
I think Laguna needs some REAL experienced operators running this event or
at least advising them how to run it.
- We were camped in RV spaces across from Turn 5…..and had brought our own water, luckily.
As we watched the ambulances pick up two poor foolish souls who had
collapsed from the heat, our entire entourage concluded that in a public
situation such as Laguna, they should be providing fans with water at no
charge, for god’s sakes.
Water fountains would have been fine…it does not have to be
bottled….just good old fashioned water spigots. The fact that Lagnua
management had to have an emergency situation, before they acted,
illustrates just how little they think about the “true” fans of racing and
motorcycles in general.
There is more evidence of this type of thinking: there was signage and
tents all over the place that obstructed the best views of turns 5 and two,
three, etc. If you go to Laguna thinking you can get “cheap seats” with a
view, then you will be very unhappy. Order those VIP seats now and take
out a loan to do it as it is not cheap! Our camping and three tickets
cost us over $1000 when you add the fuel and other costs.
I have been attending races there since the 70’s and at no time in its
history has Laguna/Scramp made these races an elitist event… with your
one-day ticket holders being set aside in favor of the VIP’s who could
afford the camping and three day passes. Don’t forget the Parts Unlimited
Oasis at turn 5 which has pretty white tables all set up to block one of the
best turns in racing.
My pals and I are part of this elite, but it saddens me to witness the
changes that have occurred. If we had not had an RV spot, which requires
early sign-up in January, and “reserved” for those who have been buying
their spaces for many years (we like this but I am sure it is frustrating
for those who did not have a space in past years), then we would have been a
part of the huddled masses spending their time looking for a view and trying
to quench their thirsts.
Scramp has become arrogant and they need to get back to their roots with a
better, more reasonable treatment of their fan base. Oh, and by the way,
those same fans are the ones who rode their motorcycles to the track.
Parts Unlimited sells wholesale parts to the same base of dealers that we
all need to keep our bikes in a ride-able condition.
- Just thought I’d share the USGP from a motorist’s perspective. I drove down Sunday morning with family (total of 2 kids and 3 adults) and parked in the designated lot. Getting to Laguna Seca was smooth as silk; the shuttle buses were lined up and running for us at 8am when we arrived. The parking lot and queues were well organized and it felt like a different experience than last year.
That is – getting to the race…..
Leaving was a different experience. Clearly NO ONE at the track had been tasked with figuring out how people would line up to go home. There were no queue ropes set up and I saw literally NO ONE managing 10’s of thousands of people trying to line up until the very end. We tromped around like cattle for 2.5 hours while buses came and went – often waiting for people to help load them up. There was no water for most of that time until the police finally came and brought water (and stopped some fights erupting over people cutting lines.) It was miserable – and inexcusable. I can’t believe no one even tried to figure out a reasonable plan to get people on the buses for the trip home. The police were clearly frustrated with SCRAMP officals lack of forsight and manpower and it amazes me that more people didn’t collapse in the heat while waiting for the buses out. Not enough manpower but primarily not enough planning.
Unless I can ride a motorcycle next year to the event – I’m done going until I learn things have changed. The entire race experience was truly spoiled by the torture of getting out to the buses. The USGP needs to contract outside crowd management and transportation people to get this right.
- The reason there were no traffic jams for people in cars or on bikes was
the people who followed the advice of the organizers and took the
shuttles spent hours in line to get a shuttle back to their cars.
We left the Corkscrew for the shuttles after the MotoGP race at around
3:15pm and did not get onto a shuttle until 6:25pm. And I would say that
we were in the front part of the queue for the shuttles, so I can’t
imagine how long the wait was for those behind us.
In essence, they took the traffic jam from the roads and put it in a
standing queue of people waiting for a bus. There were a lot of pissed
of people standing in line for hours and from the sound of it, many of
them won’t be back next year because of the experience, myself included,
and I have been a regular attender with my family for the past 7 years
of racing at Laguna.
That should help ease the congestion for next years race!
- On sunday you must have missed the HUGH barrels of FREE Dasani water thanks to Coca Cola. Also they were handing out free water in the UGLY lines to get on the shuttle busses out. What would have been great was some stations set around various places with misters. That would have helped.
- After reading how a new master traffic control plan had been developed
to relieve last year’s horrible congestion, my friends and I decided to
return to this year’s race at Laguna Seca. Your comments on how
motorcycle access was sped up were in fact true, but the rest of us
relegated to the off-site parking at CSUMB have a much different
viewpoint. Saturday’s shuttle ride lulled us into thinking that SCRAMP
had solved the problem. But Sunday’s departure after the AMA supersport
race proved something else entirely!!!! I stood in line for 2.0 hours
with the mob waiting to get to the shuttle gate on Wolf Hill in that
heat. Water bottles were delivered by the Fire Department, and tossed to
the crowd. Finally reaching the busses, we learned from one apologetic
driver that too few busses were ordered to return fans to their cars,
and the Sheriff’s Dept. took over control to get things moving.
Your comments regarding the heat were right on – except the high temp
on Saturday we heard was 102 degrees. Water was definitely at a premium,
and the ambulances were continuously running.
I believe the MotoGP has become such a large event that this facility
cannot cope with it anymore. Too bad, but I will not attend next year (a
comment I heard repeatedly while standing in line).
- Not the first time. They ran out of water during WSB event in July ’99 (whichever year that B. Bostrom won as AMA rider on Duc) with temperatures hovering in low 100’s in the canyons.
- I enjoyed your article “USGP Not Adequately Prepared to Deal With Heat”. I
have a few comments to add from my perspective. I also rode a motorcycle to
the event so parking was not a problem. I only attended on Sunday so I
can’t speak about Friday or Saturday. I thought that $1 a bottle for water
was very reasonable. I noticed you didn’t mention that they started giving
bottles of water away for free at one of the stands, which was announced
over the loudspeakers. Also, don’t forget that Laguna Seca allows you to
bring your own drinks if you so choose. Although I’m sure that they knew it
would be hot, I don’t think anyone expected it to be as unbearable as it
was. Keep writing and I’ll keep reading.
- Keep giving the heat-prep issue airplay. We had no trouble w/ MST busses out of Carmel so logistics weren’t our problem. Staying alive on the reflector oven bleachers at Turn 4 was another matter. Was glad to see that H2O prices were brought in line mid-day to reflect the situation and we had no availability issues where we went but that was probably because we’d had the foresight/luck to haul a big bottle of water in for our first 1/2 gallon of the day… What an unbelieveable oven…. Great site BTW; I enjoy it daily.
- Your article about the water situation at Laguna Seca was very appropriate.
What you did not mention, however, was the fact that due to water main
breaks most of the drinking fountains and bathroom faucets were not working
(at least in the lake area). When the water ran out at concession stands
there was literally no where to turn for water. Yes, you could climb the
hill to the corkscrew area where the fountains worked but the climb up the
hill was too steep and hot for someone already near heat exhaustion.
You also did not mention that, to their credit, the track eventually
started giving away free water (courtesy of Coca Cola, according to the
track announcer) near the first aid station under the scoring tower.
Unfortunately this only started late Saturday, too late for many who had
already succumbed to the heat, including one in my party.
By the way, the Monterey Herald reported the temp at the track was over 100
deg. on Saturday, not “in the 90’s” as you reported. The track announcer
also gave the air temp as over 100 deg. on Saturday afternoon.
The Monterey Herald qoute is:
“Temperatures hovered around 100 degrees for much of the day, officially
reaching 101 at the start of the 2 p.m. MotoGP qualifying session.
Around the track’s lake-bed area, thermometers routinely hit 103 degrees,
with one hospitality tent reading 105 degrees in the shade.”
Thanks for the great website, I read it every day.
- Yamaha was handing out free water all weekend in cool bottles with their logo on it, I think you should have mentioned that…
- they were at the bottome of the corkscrew by the timing tree/tower and another place down the way. They were handing out water when you were in line for the busses as well. It does not matter. I will be there again next year. But, Im camping like I always have in the past. That way Sunday when its all over you split at 8pm! (I only live 35 min away)
- At the Yamaha tent, they were giving away free water, visors, and stickers..Honestly, I think they should get some love for that… they had water the whole time, I saved a bottle as a souvenier.
- I have a couple of comments on the blurb you wrote on the USGP, and how mgmt wasn’t prepared for the heat. I was there for all three days, and saw quite a few folks suffering from the heat. I also saw that many of these folks didn’t take any common sense precautions to protect themselves from the heat such as accepting the offer for free water (EMT locations near turns 5 and 10 on Sat and Sun), resting in the numerous shaded areas, wearing hats, or refrain from drinking booze at the races. There is also the issue of some (not all) unscrupulous vendors selling 1/2 size bottles of water for a buck instead of the normal size bottles, after mgmt told them to reduce the price. BTW…I only ran into one vendor who ran out of water, and that was only temporary. I don’t know where you ran into 3 vendors without water, but I suspect that, too, was temporary. And kudos to Yamaha for passing out free water during all three days.
While there isn’t anything SCRAMP could have done about the lack of common
sense on the part of the spectators, there may be some action they can take
against the vendors trying the save money by using smaller bottles of water.
And while I somewhat agree with your assertion that mgmt wasn’t fully
prepared (quite frankly, who in California really was prepared for the heat
wave?), from an overall prospective, I think mgmt and others reacted
responsibly and quickly in addressing the water situation. The PA system was
constantly reminding folks to drink water, use sunscreen, and told where
free water was available.
I think that going forward, spectators need to be better prepared and take
prudent precautions against the heat, which includes staying hydrated,
wearing hats, and applying sunscreen. (There were a lot of idiots at the
USGP with major sunburn). Basically, spectators need to take responsibility
for their own well being.
I enjoy reading Motorcycle Daily. Keep up the good work.
- Glad you enjoyed the MotoGP. My son and I traveled from Atlanta, and were lucky enough to have access to the Red Bull site, where we had adequate liquid refreshment, but suffered trying to drive back to San Francisco through hours of waiting for busses, then hours and hours of traffic jams on Hwy 1 and 156, finally getting to SF at 12:30AM! Obviously, they still have some work to do on the traffic issue; Is this the only well attended event at Laguna? How are other events handled?
- I too found several vending stations out of water during the USGP. Although I was frustrated, I don’t think it’s fair to report that water was “sold out.” Rather, it appears they had a distribution problem: I saw cases of water being delivered to other stations. They weren’t able to deliver as fast as water was being sold.
- Regarding your comments concerning the lack of water at the Laguna-Seca Moto GP, I’d like to offer a more realistic, pragmatic and thoughtful commentary:
You whinny little sh**.
Are you trying to tell me that the spectators didn’t know it was going to be hot and that they shouldn’t take responsibility for their own hydration?
I stayed to the end and had no problem finding water.
I was thankful the vendors lowered the price since the bottles were certainly worth more than $4 at that point.
spectators can’t drink Sprite?
perhaps the imbeciles who drank too much beer should have made a better choice?
Grow up, people like you who refuse to take responsibility for themselves and who don’t require others to take responsibility for themselves are ruining this country. By the way, you are not welcome to my house, I’m afraid you will sue me if you slip and break your ankle.
- Two points.
First, two of my friends rode bikes to Salinas and I brought my car. I paid $50 for a 3 day parking pass, although we only attended the races on Saturday and Sunday. Getting in and out of the track was a peice of cake both days; not only compared to last year, but on any scale, it was so easy that we will do the same next year. It’s very convenient to have a car (suv) available to take gear for my friends and leave the race in air conditioned comfort.
Second, and regarding the water issue. We sat in the bleachers in turn four and at the scoring tower, the Salinas Fire Department had a first aid station set up in a trailer. Outside the trailer were three big tubs of ice theat the firemen kept filled with bottled water all day and gave it away free to everyone. Lets hear it for the firemen! Additionally, some of the heat casualties were people with the misconception that beer was the preferred drink to beat the heat.
Cheers! See you next year.
- I take exception to your saying the MotoGp temps were in the 90’s. How about 100’s! I do however agree that the organizers fixed motorcycle traffic and at the same time completely failed at public safety with lack of water. Certainly they saw this heat wave hit all of California. Two years in a row are enough for me- I won’t be back.
- Good article, but no real surprise here.
I’ve been a racer myself for over 35 years, flattrack, roadracing and MX. One of the biggest turnoffs for me is the seedy elements that seem to be embedded in our sport. A gross example of the same occurred back in the late 80’s. I recall being at the only outdoor MX Natl at San Antonio TX (100 degree temps), where the promoter was sending around security thugs to force spectators to take their ice chest back to their vehicles. Reason was given that they were not allowed to drink their own beverages, but had to purchase from concessions at the track. This didn’t occur until the 2nd moto’s when the promoter realized he wasn’t going to bank as much as he thought.
I love the sport of motorcycle racing, but hate taking my own kids to these events because of the way you are treated. Like suckers and cattle. The AMA is one of the biggest abusers IMO. I don’t understand why we can’t do better than the AMA.
Motorcycling needs to police the crooks a little better, clean up it’s image and get some class. Perhaps then the really important corp sponsors would become more involved and guys could actually make a decent living by just making a main event rather than placing top 5.
Sorry for the Rant, but this struck a nerve.
Well, there you have it! Thanks to all the readers who took the time to write. Perhaps our roaming reporter should have ventured a bit further to quench his thirst.
