MotoAmerica’s annual pilgrimage to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is next weekend, and seven score plus fourteen riders’ names are entered to race on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile jewel of a road course on California’s beautiful central coast.
While the track is a favorite of racers and fans worldwide, many focus on one specific section—officially Turns 8 and 8A—or what is more commonly known as “The Corkscrew.”
Let’s take a closer look at the names of the riders who will be racing next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca:
Steel Commander Superbike
This year’s Superbike Speedfest at Monterey will feature three Steel Commander Superbike races, and the tripleheader couldn’t come at a better time in the season. The 2024 MotoAmerica season is now just past the halfway point, and it’s the closest Superbike Championship in the 10-year history of the series. Three races at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca is an opportunity for one of the Superbike riders to go three for three and gain some momentum plus establish himself as the favorite to win the title going into the final three rounds and six races left in the Championship. However, the way the season has gone so far, with a new points leader after almost every race, odds are that the title chase will be just as tight coming out of Laguna Seca as it was going into the round. We shall see.
Supersport
By FIM rule, only 36 riders can compete on a track that is the length of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. As such, the class entries in Supersport will be split into two session groups for practice and qualifying on Friday. Those riders who do not set a lap time within 110% of the leader will not be able to race on Saturday and Sunday. So, for MotoAmerica’s middleweight maulers, they need to go fast on Friday or sit things out for the rest of the weekend.
Stock 1000
The Stock 1000 Championship was reduced to just five rounds for 2024, and next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will be the penultimate round of the season. Also, like Supersport, the class entries in Stock 1000 will be split into two session groups for practice and qualifying on Friday. Those riders who do not set a lap time within 110% of the leader will not be able to race on Saturday and Sunday, so look for intense competition from these lords of the literbikes as they negotiate the tight and twisty Laguna Seca road course.
Mission King Of The Baggers Championship
MotoAmerica’s dancing Clydesdales are back in action again after a one-round hiatus. The Mission King Of The Baggers Championship is a uniquely American “Big Twin” civil war pitting Harley-Davidson against Indian Motorcycle. The field is predominantly riders aboard Harley-Davidson Road Glides racing against riders aboard Indian Challengers. Both motorcycles feature big-cubic-inch V-twin engines, but there are several differences between the two bikes that make King Of The Baggers one of MotoAmerica’s most popular classes. Once you see it, you can’t take your eyes off it.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship
There is just something special about watching riders aboard unfaired motorcycles fighting the slipstream and each other for supremacy. A plethora of motorcycles fit into the formula for Super Hooligan, which makes it MotoAmerica’s most inclusive and brand-diverse race classes. You’ll see KTMs and Ducatis, Suzukis and Yamahas, Harley-Davidsons and Indians, Triumphs and BMWs, and even an Aprilia and an Energica—10 different motorcycle brands—competing in the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship. And, at Laguna Seca, watching these high-handlebar heroes ripping through the Corkscrew is quite a spectacle. Don’t miss it.
For the full 2024 MotoAmerica schedule and to purchase tickets for MotoAmerica events, click HERE
For information on how to watch the MotoAmerica series, click HERE
