ALMS Laguna Seca

[Alan Green]

Any of the TTenthers doing the Laguna Seca race this year, I know there were a few last year? I've decided to get a late deal and head out there to spectate, so anyone around?

Any tips for camping out there (I think the general camping is around turn 11 area, after the corkscrew). Any advice welcome.

Al.

[racerkeke]

Racegypsy and I will be there Friday to Sunday. Not quite sure where yet... but we're not likely to be together (that's usually how it works). Try asking at the nearest post -- someone will probably know one or both of us.

keke

[Steve Tarrant]

I was there for last year's race, sadly I can't make it back for this year's.

I was staying in a hotel 20 minutes away, but saw RV's from post 6 past the Corkscrew at post 8 and through to post 11, so guess there is lots of points available, so seemed like there are lots of spots and spaces. Saying that, the best ones will go first!!!

Have fun there, and tell Barbara (F&C) I will be returning there in 2009!!!!!

[Alan Green]

Thanks for the comments Steve, and Keke I'll look out for Bob while I'm there - if you get a chance post when you know where you're playing.

Al.

[racerkeke]

Well, Bob and I are travelling together, but we rarely end up at the same spot when we get there! If you see him he'll know where I am.

cheers
keke

PS. Steve, I'll give Barbara your regards and let her know about '09. I know she'll be pleased to have you back.

[gwar]

Originally Posted by Alan Green

Any of the TTenthers doing the Laguna Seca race this year, I know there were a few last year? I've decided to get a late deal and head out there to spectate, so anyone around?

Any tips for camping out there (I think the general camping is around turn 11 area, after the corkscrew). Any advice welcome.

Al.

AL...is there no way you can volunteer to marshal even at this late stage, we did moto gp in july, and there was a marshals campsite down at the frog pond (down the hill behind turns 1/2) with the usual benefits of a toilet/showerblock and fantastic hospitality our american marshals are good at.
Could help with your expenses of no camp site fees, and you will proberly be fed and watered ect....
Steve T also used this site when he went over(its a very steep hill to the frog pond...), and i,m sure racerkeke has the contacts to marshal at laguna.
Have fun...you lucky lucky sod

[Alan Green]

Cheers guys, I'm just back from a great day at the F3/GT @ Donington and looking into contacts now.
Al.

[Alan Green]

Originally Posted by Alan Green

Cheers guys, I'm just back from a great day at the F3/GT @ Donington and looking into contacts now.
Al.

Quick update, I've traded a few emails and am now going to be flagging on Friday & Saturday (racing is on Sunday as well, but I fly back Sunday afternoon, and it's the ALMS race on Saturday pm that I'm really interested in). Now I'm really excited!

And thanks to MotorsTV delaying the coverage until Monday night, I'll be home in time to watch it all again

Al.

[Steve Tarrant]

Originally Posted by Alan Green

Quick update, I've traded a few emails and am now going to be flagging on Friday & Saturday (racing is on Sunday as well, but I fly back Sunday afternoon, and it's the ALMS race on Saturday pm that I'm really interested in). Now I'm really excited!

And thanks to MotorsTV delaying the coverage until Monday night, I'll be home in time to watch it all again

Al.

All I can say is I'm jealous as hell, so go out there and enjoy the experience. And ask for a course car ride - they like to please visitors, especially on the Friday when there is time!!!!! You then get a unique view of the Corkscrew!!!!

[gwar]

Originally Posted by Steve Tarrant

All I can say is I'm jealous as hell, so go out there and enjoy the experience. And ask for a course car ride - they like to please visitors, especially on the Friday when there is time!!!!! You then get a unique view of the Corkscrew!!!!

AL.... if you see my avitar its myself and wendy flagging at the corkscrew...awesome....so we expect your avitar to have changed by tuesday night....have fun

[racerkeke]

Originally Posted by Alan Green

Quick update (snip) Now I'm really excited!

Al, listen to me and keep this in mind -- you are going to WATCH the race. You are not working, you are not flagging, you are not volunteering. You have never been to Laguna Seca before and the opportunity presented itself for a wonderful vacation.

Remember we "privileged spectators" wear white (T-shirts/sweatshirts and white jeans/painter pants) and there's no need for steel toes (which would put you over the weight limit on the flight anyway).

Homeland Security thanks you... and the rest of us will see you there.
keke

[Alan Green]

Thanks Keke, I did have a quick panic about footwear but after checking a few photos I saw trainers were in order & the white overalls have been dusted off (just a couple of 10/10ths badges to sew).

I get wheels down at San Francisco at 1300ish on Thursday, so all being well I'll be there to watch Thursday evenings ALMS practice and get some photos before signing-on.

Again, thanks.
Al.

[racerkeke]

Well, Alan made it -- not quite as he'd anticipated but he's here. And has a plum "spectating" location at the Corkscrew to boot! San Francisco Region always goes out of their way to give visitors a good time.

From a dusty and somewhat messy Turn 3
keke

[Alan Green]

A quick update, to let you know I'm back, it was amazing, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has the chance.

Full report to follow later, it was interesting!

Al.

[Steve Tarrant]

Originally Posted by Alan Green

A quick update, to let you know I'm back, it was amazing, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has the chance.

Full report to follow later, it was interesting!

Al.

I look forward to comparing notes with my own trip last year!!!!

[Woolley]

Just watching it on Motors right now. Were you in a white hat on the inside of the corkscrew?

[Alan Green]

No Woolley, I was the larger of the two flaggers on the inside of the corkscrew (my colleague Peter was in the white hat), but that was where I was! And I've missed it on Motors so far (thought it was on at 2pm today, but turns out it was at noon, so Sky+ set for overnight Thursday now)

So the plan was, Heathrow - San Francisco to arrive Thursday early afternoon, pick up the hire car I'd booked, drive to Laguna Seca via a camping store to pick up a tent in time for the evening ALMS free practice session, get registered (signed-on) at the track on Thursday night and then marshal Friday & Saturday before flying back Sunday afternoon to be back in London mid-morning on Monday.

Flight out with Virgin was fine in economy, noticed Tiff Needell and some Lola bods in the departure lounge (strangely enough not flying economy!). A quick check through immigration and bags just coming round the carousel as I walked up, then off on the airport monorail to the car hire building.

Then the plan fell apart. I don't have credit cards, but had got a prepay Visa card which you load up with money beforehand then can use wherever Visa is accepted. Unfortunately it seems that this doesn't apply to car hire companies, who couldn't take the hold amount ($500) from the card (despite me making sure there was enough on there). The guy at the hire desk did check with another local company who would take cash, but they wanted $500 cash deposit and another $60 a day, which I didn't have & couldn't get easily, so I went back to the airport terminal to think things through over a coffee.

I talked to the information desk and found out that there was a shuttle bus from the airport to Monterey, which is the nearest town to Laguna Seca, every couple of hours, so I rang them and reserved a place on the next bus which would get me to Monterey at about 7pm, and the price was $45 which wasn't bad for a two hour ride. From there I took a cab to the Holiday Inn for a bed and a shower, and replanned to sign-on at the next-door Embassy Suites, which looked like a big posh hotel (compared to the Holiday Inn), where the next signing on session would be on Friday morning. So the benefits were I was in town, showered, and had a bed & TV, down sides were I had to pay for a hotel room on a race weekend (and you all know there's no discounts around then!), I still had no tent, and still wasn't at the circuit or signed-on.

Friday morning, track meeting (briefing) was at 7.15 with first track action at 8.00, and registration was open at the Embassy Suites from 6.30, so I got there early but then there were delays getting signed-on because I needed a SCCA number which meant signing up to the club on the internet, and the wi-fi connection wasn't working, then the wired connection wouldn't accept my details, so someone made a phone call & I got a registration number over the phone, and by this time it was past 7.30. The front desk at the Embassy called for a cab for me, and by the time that got there and took me to the circuit it was closer to 8.30 (it's only 20 minutes from Monterey to the circuit, but the cab took forever to turn up). Got as far in as I could by cab using my vehicle pass, which turned out to be the main paddock. A quick check at the race admin office pointed me in the direction of the SCCA Marquee area on the outside of the circuit at the last corner (turn 11), which meant a walk over the start/finish straight footbridge and along the back of the main straight grandstands - by the way it was early morning but it was already warming up nicely. By this time the first session of the day was drawing to a close.

Fortunately from there, all started going very well. Mike, the chief flag who I had traded emails with, met me and arranged transport round to my post. Turn 8, the Corkscrew, the signature corner(s) of the track, and instantly recognisable to motorsport enthusiasts everywhere. Warmly welcomed by Liz & Lisa, my colleagues for the weekend up there, and given a brief introduction on what to expect and some of the subtle differences between 'us & them'. Fortunately the weekend was running with FIA flag rules (more or less), but there were more hand signals used than we have in the UK, which took some learning & getting used to. After watching Liz flag a couple of sessions to get used to things (and to stop my head spinning from the morning so far), I joined in and things settled into a normal marshalling day.

Lunchtime, & the trucks turned up to take us all back to turn 11 for sandwiches, snacks & drinks. Just before we left post though, Tiff and a film crew turned up to do a piece to camera at the corkscrew. He saw the Union Flag on my overalls and we had a quick word before I headed for lunch. Met up with the Racegypsy and Kiki, who had spread the word that I had problems after I posted in the race thread on the sportscar forum. After a good lunch it was transport back to post for the afternoon.

Friday afternoons session was on the outside lead post (approach) to turn 8, as there is a crest that the drivers come up and over before turning down the Corkscrew, so this post gives the blue flagger on the turn advance warning of what's approaching. Unfortunately, the lead post is also affected by a crest, so has to rely on the flagger on post 7 before to let them know what's coming, so very much the blind leading the blind when it comes to blue flagging, but blues are definately needed on the turn in to the Corkscrew (especially with the speed differences of the LM Prototypes & GT classes). I think the heat of the day must have been getting to the drivers as we had several red flags in most sessions, but fortunately in both the practices and qualifying sessions the clock kept running, so we weren't losing time. The problem seemed to be that the gravel traps that were put in for the MotoGP were too deep to drive out of, so once cars were in, they were stuck there (a similar problem to Donington, but it's a bit more compacted there so there are more drive-outs).

End of the day and back to turn 11 for a super evening meal (a Thai dinner with rice, noodles, and several meat & veg dishes, drinks, giveaways and a workers prize draw). One of the guys kindly agreed to drive me to a supermarket in Monterey to pick up a tent (a grand sum of $30 / £15ish for a very reasonable sized 2-3 man dome tent), and then I managed to put it up on the workers campsite in the dark without having seen it before, which I was very impressed with (both at my work, and the simplicity of the tent )

Saturday was an early start, and after a cold night the low cloud and fog was hanging over the circuit, especially up the top of the hill at turn 8. Coffee and pastries were provided at the morning meeting before going out on post. I spent most of the day on the lead post, before moving down to the corner for the four hour ALMS race. The support races were the Star Mazda, IMSA Lights (sportscars), IMSA Challenge (Porsches), MX-5s (which have the same reputation there as they do here) and Superkarts (again the same as here, fast but fragile). Fortunately we only had one visitor to deal with, a superkart with a snapped axle which spun him unexpectedly as he hit the brakes approaching the corkscrew, and then we settled down for the big race, which I'm sure if you've seen Motors or read the reviews already, you'll know was a bit of a caution-fest. Over 2hrs of caution in a 4hr race, but the green flag periods when they came produced some spectacular racing, and being stood on the wall at Turn 8 was incredible as the LMs worked their way through the GTs. The race ran into darkness for the last 30 minutes or so, making blue flagging very difficult, basically picking out the different coloured headlights, then the side marker lights for the class leaders within the second or so available before the cars were at the corner. It was frantic and brilliant.

After the race it was back to the marquee, and I had a wander down to the podium for the ceremonies. Then a very nice stew (just what was needed today as it never got close to being as warm as it had been on Thursday & Friday), and back to the campsite.

So Sunday, and even though I wasn't marshalling I went to the morning meeting to say thanks to everyone who'd helped me out. It was a bit of a later start today so I had a chance to get the case packed & tent down before the meeting (and despite the plan being to ditch the tent, it was an ideal size when packed down to fit in my case, so it's come back with me). One the workers had been dropped round to post one of the guys gave me a lift into Monterey where I had time to get a coffee before catching the bus back to SFO. Got to the airport just as the check in desk was opening so managed to get a window seat, spotted lots of Zytec shirts, and Tiff in the departure lounge again and asked him if he got his filming done ok (there were some fast laps going round not long after we got clear of the track for lunch, so I guessed they didn't have much time to film up there). A good flight back to Heathrow, and a train ride back to Sheffield with a guy in a Renault jacket who I'd spotted at San Francisco, which turned out to be Clio Cup driver Phil Glew, who'd been at the race with sponsors so we had a brief chat.

So now I'm back with loads of memories, and photos just being loaded to my Flickr site. I'm planning to go back again as soon as I can, but will take someone with a good Credit Card next time!

To everyone who helped me before and during, thank you so much.

To anyone else who has the chance to do it, go for it. It is such a great marshalling experience you will not regret it.

Al.

[Woolley]

What a great read, Al, sounds like a very good time was had. Shame about the start, but it does help the story along!

[gwar]

Alan sounds like you had a fantastic time once you got there, i think you have to agree that the tv pictures really dont do the corkscrew, angles and decline any justice at all.
I was on blues flags all weekend and loved it up there.....but like you say the time you actually see them coming at you and then into your post is no time at all.......
A very difficult blue flag post, but if your sad like me i get to know each rider number, colour of helmets ect....bit of a spotter.... (i,ll get a life one day)
However i didnt have to deal with day-to- night situation.
Glad you got the best post on circuit... (you allways get the british tv crews turn up there aswell) well done
We found that credit card was king over there, (couldnt book rooms in advance with out it)
I would love to go back.....it just cost so much for the flights.

But have to say (again) a massive thankyou to people on ten tenths for putting us in touch with the right people for marshaling over in the states.....People like racerkeke....racegypsie.....blueflagger......
This site you can marshal anywhere in the world i,m sure.......

[thebear]

Laguna Seca is a great track. I was a communications marshal as well as a starter for the 30th anniversary of the Monterey Historic Races in 2003.

Pix HERE.

[racerkeke]

Well, Alan, we were sure glad you visited! May we tempt you with Long Beach next year? I love going to Southern California in April to get my summer started, altho these days I end up in Race Control the whole time, which doesn't do my tan any good at all.

Or if you like the old swoopy tracks like Laguna (but without the devilish gravel traps), may I recommend Mosport in August? Canadian -- which means even cheaper dollars -- just as friendly, and Turn 5 (Moss corner) is just as interesting in its own way as the Corkscrew. Road America in early August is also fun.

Hope to see you again over here, or maybe I'll surprise you and turn up at an English track one of these days.

cheers
keke

[Alan Green]

Thanks Keke, will have to see how the holiday days are looking for next year, but I know most of them are already taken up with other things Long Beach is tempting though...

[greenbean]

i can recomend mosport did it this year and it was fantastic turns 2a and 5 are some of the best corners i have every worked . if they do the same next year as they did this year you could work mosport one weekend and detroit the next just watch out for customs crossing over from canda to the us