The entire Laguna Seca race track has been ground down and re-paved recently. The new surface will mean that virtually all of the teams competing in the MotoGP event this weekend will have to develop suspension settings, chassis settings and tire choices from scratch.
What does this mean? The teams known for the ability to quickly analyze these variables will be at a distinct advantage. Most notably, Yamaha has two of the best test riders in the business in Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards who, together with the Jeremy Burgess-led team of mechanics and engineers are renown for developing suspension and chassis settings in short order. Colin Edwards is also a long-time Michelin test rider who is expert at tire choice. Advantage Yamaha.