We talked to Cristian Gabarrini, Casey Stoner’s engineer in MotoGP, about this weekend's Red Bull US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.
Cristian was Casey Stoner's race engineer at Ducati, including the title-winning 2007 season, and is now with the World Championship leader at Honda, and he details the special requirements of setting up a MotoGP bike for the special demands of Laguna Seca.
“In some parts, yes, it is very different, because at Laguna Seca you find some really tight corners, and it is really important that you can use as much power as possible coming out and that you set the bike up to avoid too much wheelieing. The biggest problem about this is the two left-hand corners before the Corkscrew.
“Then, of course, there is the Corkscrew itself, because the drop down between the left and the right at the bottom causes some problems. When you change direction in the middle, you use a lot of suspension stroke front and rear, and it can happen that you touch the lower part of the fairing on the ground. So it is quite hard on the bike.
'Laguna Seca wasn't so good in the past, but it has improved'
“In some respects, the track is quite a lot like here [at the Sachsenring, where we interviewed Cristian]; there are changes of elevation, the laptime is quite short and the track length is short. At this track and Laguna Seca, you need quite a short gearbox in general. The top speed is around 300kph, maybe a little bit less. The straights are not as long, and also in Laguna the second part of the straight turns and goes over a hill, so you cannot use very high speed.”
There have been improvements to Laguna in recent years, including a better surface prior to the 2006 event, as Cristian explains.
“It wasn't so good in the past, but it has improved. I don't know what the condition will be like this year when we arrive, but in general now it is not too bad, the grip is good.”
Having swapped with Stoner from Ducati to Honda, Gabarrini is going to Laguna and looking at another new track/bike combination.
'We are very confident'
“Sure, I don't have the background with this bike, so some things are new, like the gearbox ratio; you have to be careful, but for the rest it is a normal job, nothing to be worried about.”
The fact that Stoner is in great form and the Honda seems the best machine this year breeds confidence, and not surprisingly Gabarrini has no concerns heading across the Atlantic.
“No, absolutely not, we are very confident.”
Want more?
- Relive MotoGP Sachsenring at our event page
- Check out the official MotoGP site motogp.com
- Action with the Red Bull Rookies Cup
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