Laguna Seca Raceway has been holding motorcycle races since the one-seven was on a green bike. image: scanner

Northern California's Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway has an enormous stake in the AMA Superbike series. With two rounds on the current schedule and a track that is now very motorcycle-centric, Laguna's future is closely-tied to the US national Superbike series.

A Well, I think it's one of those deals where I really don't know what's going on. That's certainly disconcerting. Any time there's change, there's speculation. The unfortunate thing is, this thing is being played out in the press, and nothing has been done to establish a really good foundation.

Q Have you confirmed that you're going to hold a DMG/AMA event in 2009?

Since when you meant Nissan, you said Datsun. And Eddie took the inside line into one (cheater!). image by Big Bill Spencer. Gone but not forgotten.

A No, and the reason for that is, actually, I have a one- year contract for the September event as it is, anyway, and we're still actually in the process of final negotiations on that actual contract. Because of the transition, contracts have been getting to promoters very, very late. So just from the paperwork side of it, I'm in that final stages of that one. And there is no contract signed between DMG and AMA right now. So really, I don't know who I'm going to be negotiating with at this point.

Q You mentioned your September event. At Elkhart Lake, there were rumors that the September Laguna race might not happen ... that there was a chance it was going to be pulled off the schedule.

A It's still on our schedule. We're certainly proceeding with all of our plans for it. We owe this to the fans. I believe that one way or another, if it's the last great American road race known to man, we're going to be holding it here at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. But I don't think that's going to be the case. I think no matter what, we'll get to the point where there'll be road racing to come.

Q At the moment, the motorcycle industry is looking at a potential split in their domestic Superbike racing. DMG may get the AMA series, but the manufacturers, as you well know, are talking about starting their own series, or having some sort of series run through the Motorcycle Industry Council. I think Laguna Seca is in a pretty rare position to comment on something like this, as you hosted an amazingly successful CART event before the IRL/CART split. Can you talk a little bit about what the split did to your event?

Since Luca Cadalora could fit into a set of size 48 leathers. image by dean adams

A Ten years of misery. It doesn't work. You divide something, nobody wins. You're dividing loyalties, you're dividing money, you're dividing talent. Nobody wins. The result of the split between Champ Car and IRL was very pathetic racing. We went from a very strong manufacturer-supported series in 1999, where this facility - it was our anchor event - to almost driving us into the ground in 2002. Unity is definitely the way to go, and I think it would be very sad for the sport if there was a split. But again, we need the manufacturers.

Q Laguna has spent 20 years marketing bike racing, mostly populated by factory bikes. Have you recieved feedback from your fans--beyond the test day--that they want to see factory bikes, or are they interested in seeing the DMG style series?

A The one way ...certainly, motorcycle fans are more vocal than many others. One way the fans vote is by buying a ticket. And we have, over the last couple of weeks, for our September event, seen an increase in our momentum of ticket sales. So I think with the test, with us showing that we are supporting the stars of road racing, that the fans in turn will support those stars also.

Q Rumors in Europe this week have it that the 125s and the 250s will be replacing AMA at Laguna Seca next year. Any comment?

A We've had no such discussions. The cost of bringing the 125s and 250s to the United States is enormous. It was a Dorna decision at the very beginning of our contract not to include that for Monterey, so no, we've had no such discussions.

Q Do you think you'd see a reduction of tickets for your MotoGP event if it didn't include AMA?

A We certainly do have fans that come just for AMA at MotoGP, which was always a big surprise to me, actually, when we first started with MotoGP. And those fans are extremely vocal. They let me know what they want. I think, again, whatever we do, we will be showcasing what road racing is all about, and the best that we can get.

Q With help from Yamaha you've set Laguna Seca up as one of the best motorcycle racing venues in the United States. The track changes have made it much safer. This is a proper motorcycle racing circuit and it's been a serious investment. Thus this is a hell of a gamble for you guys, in that you might not have a Superbike race at Laguna again. It's got to be harrowing on a day-to-day basis.

Since Freddie retired the first time. Or, was Laguna '88 the second time? image by dean adams

A Oh, it is. I feel as if I'm in a real-live soap opera, actually. Wait five minutes and it will change. I'll be happy when everything is settled. I really will. And again, I think right now, everybody is trying to get their opinion across, and the medium that has been selected, whether by design or whether by default, has been in the media. And again, I think the fans need to speak up very loudly.

Q Ideally, what do you want from a Superbike series? Is there something that hasn't been offered on the table as yet by either DMG or the Motorcycle Industry Council people, that you'd like to see included in a domestic Superbike event?

A I would like to see right now - and this is not anything I have not said directly to DMG - I would like to see DMG just hold off on any changes whatsoever for 2009. We're late in the game. Manufacturers don't have time or the budgets this year to make the turnaround necessary. And I think if we just kept everything status quo through 2009, let's all get into bed together and see who our bedfellows are. And then start designing what could be the best in road racing. That would be the ideal. And I believe that would be what everybody would really want to see happen. We just want to all work together, and we haven't had the chance to do that.