Laguna Seca

The Andretti Hairpin is the slowest corner of the opening sector and rewards a patient, late apex. It is a long left — 204 m of corner at a 21 m effective radius — dropping 5 m on the way in. The simulation begins braking 120 m out (108 m for the middleweight twin), arriving at about 97 km/h (60 mph) and compressing to a 56 km/h (35 mph) minimum, the second-slowest point on the lap after Turn 11. Exit speeds in the model reach 133 km/h (83 mph) for the 600 and liter bike, 129 km/h (80 mph) for the twin. These speeds are simulation estimates, not measured data.

Turn 3 opens the right-hand sequence through the infield: 156 m long, 55 m effective radius, and essentially flat, with just 0.1 m of elevation change. The braking zone here is short in the simulation — 39–42 m for the 600 and liter bike, 30 m for the twin — because entry speed is a modest 125 km/h (78 mph). The model reaches a 92 km/h (57 mph) minimum before accelerating out at 122 km/h (76 mph) on the two larger bikes and 119 km/h (74 mph) on the middleweight twin. Notably, all three classes share an identical minimum speed, indicating the corner radius rather than power sets the pace here. Physics-simulation estimates throughout.

The second right, and the faster of the pair: Turn 4's 89 m effective radius (over 153 m of arc, on level ground) lets the simulation carry a 116 km/h (72 mph) minimum — about 25 km/h (16 mph) more than Turn 3. Entry arrives at roughly 154 km/h (96 mph) with a 27–33 m simulated braking zone for the 600 and liter bike, and only 12 m for the twin. The model exits at 131 km/h (81 mph) on the bigger machines versus 129 km/h (80 mph) for the middleweight, one of the first spots on the lap where the power difference between classes shows in the estimated exit speed.

Turn 5 begins the climb: a 180 m left of 39 m effective radius gaining 7 m of elevation. In the simulation the braking zone runs 39 m for the supersport 600 and the liter bike (33 m for the twin), into a 100 km/h (62 mph) entry and a 76 km/h (47 mph) minimum. Because the corner feeds an uphill run, the estimated exit speed of 123 km/h (76 mph) actually exceeds the entry speed for the 600 and liter bike; the twin exits at 119 km/h (74 mph). All values are physics-simulation estimates for an idealized fast rider.

Continuing uphill, Turn 6 is a 204 m left with a 100 m effective radius and 8.3 m of climb. The simulation treats it as a rolling-speed corner: braking starts 57 m out on the 600 (72 m liter bike, 33 m twin) from a 146 km/h (91 mph) entry, the minimum holds at 123 km/h (76 mph), and the exit — 176 km/h (109 mph) for the two larger classes — is faster than the entry. As at Turn 5, the middleweight twin gives up ground on the drive, exiting at a simulated 165 km/h (103 mph). This corner leads directly to the Turn 7 kink at the top of the climb.

A fast right kink at the top of the climb that sets up the Corkscrew entry. Turn 7 is short — 45 m at a 93 m effective radius, still rising 0.3 m — and among the faster corners on the lap in the simulation. The model enters at about 139 km/h (86 mph), one of the highest entry speeds since Turn 1, dips to a 98 km/h (61 mph) minimum, and exits at 94 km/h (58 mph). Class-dependent braking distances (21 m liter bike, 18 m supersport 600, 18 m twin) reflect how much speed each machine built on the climb. The exit speed is deliberately lower than the minimum-to-entry pattern elsewhere: the line is already shedding speed for what comes next. Simulation estimates only.

The Corkscrew: a blind crest into a plunging left-then-right where the braking is done before the entry is visible, letting the bike fall to the second apex. The numbers explain its reputation — a 24 m effective radius at the left-hand element and a 21.7 m (71 ft) drop across the complex's 213 m, the steepest descent on the circuit. The simulation shows a 60–63 m brake application (60 m for the twin) from a 98 km/h (61 mph) entry down to a 60 km/h (37 mph) minimum, then uses the downhill to build back to 93 km/h (58 mph) at the exit — a gain of 33 km/h through the corner itself. These figures are physics-simulation estimates; the model does not account for the crest's vertical curvature.

8A is the right-hand second element of the Corkscrew, modeled in this dataset as part of the same double-apex complex but with its own computed profile: 35 m effective radius, 18.8 m of descent, 147 m of length. In the simulation the minimum speed through this element is 73 km/h (45 mph) — the complex's low of 60 km/h (37 mph) comes in the left-hand first element — and the exit figure of 93 km/h (58 mph) is measured leaving this right-hander as the track continues downhill toward Rainey Curve. The solver resolves the two elements separately, so the per-class numbers here no longer mirror Turn 8. Physics-simulation estimates, not measured data.

Rainey Curve is a long downhill left sweeper where, per the corner note, patience on the throttle pays at the exit. It is the longest corner in the dataset at 210 m, with a 40 m effective radius and a 16.7 m (55 ft) drop — nearly as much descent as the Corkscrew. The simulation shows only a short dedicated braking zone (45 m for all three classes): speed built on the drop, peaking near 93 km/h (58 mph) on entry for all three classes, is shed inside the corner itself down to a 78 km/h (48 mph) minimum. The estimated exit is 129 km/h (80 mph), or 127 km/h (79 mph) on the middleweight twin.

Still descending — 5.3 m of drop across its 165 m length — Turn 10 is a medium-speed right with a 68 m effective radius. The simulated braking zone shrinks to 27 m for the liter bike and the supersport 600, and 18 m for the twin, from a 135 km/h (84 mph) entry. The minimum of 102 km/h (63 mph) is identical across classes, and the model exits at 144 km/h (89 mph) for the larger bikes, 142 km/h (88 mph) for the middleweight. The downhill exit helps the drive, and the estimated exit speed actually exceeds the entry speed. From here the lap has one corner left before the front straight. All numbers are simulation estimates.

The final corner is a tight left hairpin onto the front straight — the classic point-and-shoot where the line sacrifices entry speed for the drive out, since everything gained here compounds down the longest full-throttle stretch of the lap. At a 19 m effective radius it is the tightest corner in the dataset, and the simulation's 54 km/h (34 mph) minimum is the slowest point anywhere on the circuit. Braking begins 54–60 m out for the 600 and the liter bike (39 m twin) from a 132 km/h (82 mph) entry; the estimated exit is 108 km/h (67 mph), well down on entry, as acceleration continues onto the straight toward the lap's top speed at Turn 1. Simulation estimates throughout.