Brainerd -- Was anybody there?

Both races that I saw (600SS and Superbike) were pretty darn good I think.
The ending of the Superbike race was...interesting...but the race itself was
pretty good. The top pack stayed together really well through the entire
race, without a lot of time between them.

Perhaps someone else knows the Brainerd track layout there better, but boy
did that place look EMPTY. Fontana looks empty because the grandstands are
enormous, and they were also closed, but there were a lot of folks at the
track level. It may well have been less than last year, though.

But Brainerd looked as bad as the WERA Endurance race I went to. It may well
have simply been track layout, camera angles, etc. but it sure gives an
empty impression.

Be interesting to see how Laguna is this year.

Anyone have any idea who might wildcard the WSB races this year in Laguna?
One of the leading privateers I'm assuming. Someone out there is running
Pirellis.

Regards,

Will Hartung
()

 

For what it is worth, There seemed to be more people there than last year.
Part of the reason it looks so empty is where the cameras are placed in
relation to the seats and viewing areas. Also the main grandstand is built
for drag racing and is not a good place tyo watch the race from compared to
the corners at 1, 3, 6, 9, or 10. The bleachers at the bus stop turn were
pretty much full, this despite the lack of a beer stand (which burned down
during the Superbike race last year)

Craig

 

I thought the Superbike race was great. I watched from Turn 1 for the
first half or so then turn 10 for the last half. Zemke and Duhamel rode
into 1, two abreast at least once. Zemke's rear tire stepped out in the
middle of the turn once. And Turn 1 is really fast.

The last lap deal was one of those situations in which there is no good
way out. I was standing there and the timing of the events didn't allow
for anything to be done. Almost immediately after the lead group took
the white flag it started to sprinkle. The inside of 10 has a patch
that looks shiny when dry and I imagine it's quite slick when wet.
About half way into that last lap a mid pack rider went down. Shortly
after the first rider went down, two more guys fell. As the corner
workers were running across to help the last two downed rider the race
leaders came through. There couldn't have been more than 30-40 seconds
between the first crash and the lead riders showing up. So I can't see
how it could have been handled any differently. It was just one of
those circumstances where there wasn't enough time. Sure was exciting
to stand there and watch though.