Among racing fanatics, Laguna Seca is probably one of the most popular tracks to date. This sentiment is felt even stronger by racing drivers.
The fame of the track can be rooted on one of the most demanding corners in racing: the "corkscrew".
Even the most courageous drivers can still have shivers tackling this turn. You approach it flat out going uphill. You don't see the turn immediately and anyone with less than iron guts could easily brake early (just ask Jeremy Clarkson when he took the NSX for a spin). But for those brave enough to hold their nerves and brake where they should, they are greeted with a steep plunge down the left-right chicane before going full-throttle.
Many racers agree that the corkscrew is the ultimate "rush". And now they have to repeat the pattern 30 more times.
That was what Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner did during the 2008 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. And they weren't just going through the corkscrew. They were taking it in the absolute limit setting consistently blistering lap times in the high 01:21 s mark. Exchanging leads and making daring passess (including Rossi's overtaking maneuver in the corkscrew it self that caused his prototype Yamaha to wobble more than he would have liked), the race was truly epic: one that fans would no doubt remember.
Stoner was the clear favorite to win the race since his Ducati seemed untouchable during practice and qualifying. But out of the blue, Rossi, riding the Yamaha, was challenging the status quo. The Italian took the lead as early as lap one to everyone's surprise.
Stoner, the reigning MotoGP world champion naturally fought back. But before he had a chance to pull away, Rossi, 7 times champion (5 for the premier class, 1 for 250cc, and 1 for 125cc), would find a way passed Stoner again.
Displaying great defensive driving, Rossi would disrupt Stoner's rhythm time and time again. Stoner would record slightly faster lap times, but he just couldn't find a way through. The two were literally driving nose-to-tail with only a-tenth of a second seperating the two riders. It was a true nail-biter of a show.
If ever there was one disappointment, it was a rare mistake from Stoner that caused him to run wide to the gravel trap and fall with nine laps to go. Stoner however was able to keep his bike running. He picked his 325 pound Ducati up by himself and started going. Talk about the amount adrenaline pumping in his body for him to bring his bike upright after a fall.
The pace of Rossi and Stoner opened an insurmountable gap between them and third placed rider Vermeulen. As a result, Stoner was still able to drive back still in second place. Unfortunately for him, Rossi was already 16 seconds ahead of him. With eight laps remaining, the victory of Rossi was sealed and a climactic last lap duel wasn't to be.
But even then, the race between the two champions throughout most of the race was still too good to be true. And it was a race that happened in the ever famous Laguna Seca.
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