LAGUNA SECA REWIND (Part 1)

So much to talk about, and all the time in the world in which to do it. First let me say how glad I was watching from home. No hassles to speak of. No endless lines, no water shortages during triple digit heat in a treeless landscape. Just some delicious snacks and a clear view of the race.

Now to the dark side. Having to watch this thing on American T.V. is a miserable experience. Sure, they aired qualifying, which is remarkable for Speedvision, but I'd have to say that we got to see about one third of qualifying action due to the absurd amount of commercials and the useless Greg White "insider" features. I've recorded it on my DVR and if I'm bored, I'm going to keep track of how much time was used up due to advertising. It was not pretty. Speaking of qualifying...
A major thumbs up the arse to Kurtis Roberts for his "I'm just going to ride around at about 30mph on the racing line and hope that nobody hits me". Oops! Marco Melandri, apparently not used to American unprofessionalism, caught his handle bar while attempting to avoid completely smashing into Roberts. Who was just cruising around the track during green flag qualifying. Luckily Melandri wasn't hurt too bad considering the runoff area is a big as a shoe box in most areas. He was able to do quite well in the race and was one of the fastest all weekend. Well done Marco.

Another notable event in qualifying was the Carlos Checa/John Hopkins incident on the uphill out of turn six. Checa was supposedly slowing for a waving yellow flag and Hopper came right up his tailpipe at full pace and decided that offering a karate kick, instead of trying to avoid him and continuing on, would be the best thing to do. Regardless it screwed Hopkins out of good hot lap during the waning seconds of qualifying. Who's fault? I'm not sure. Ultimately, it wouldn't matter.

Speaking of incidents...
This month's Dani Pedrosa award must go to Sylvain Guintoli for nearly killing Alex Hoffman in the first free practice. Guintoli forgot to look at his track map ahead of time and went straight at the corkscrew. Unfortunately Hoffman didn't and he paid a heavy price. His hand is messed up and he was completely knocked unconscious. Lucky to be walking around I hear.