Laguna Seca

A gentle left kink taken over the crest at the end of the front straight, and the fastest corner in the simulation. With a 199 m effective radius over just 54 m of arc, the model barely slows: entry is about 187 km/h (116 mph), the minimum only 174 km/h (108 mph), and the exit 180 km/h (112 mph) for the supersport 600. Braking effort scales with straight-line speed by class — the simulated liter bike rolls off roughly 84 m before the corner, the 600 about 66 m, and the middleweight twin only 30 m. The track falls 1.9 m through the kink, the start of the descent toward the Andretti Hairpin. All figures are physics-simulation estimates.

The Andretti Hairpin is the slowest corner of the opening sector and rewards a patient, late apex. It is a long left — 174 m of corner at a 35 m effective radius — dropping 5 m on the way in. The simulation begins braking 84–90 m out (72 m for the middleweight twin), arriving at about 122 km/h (76 mph) and compressing to a 73 km/h (46 mph) minimum, the second-slowest point on the lap after Turn 11. Exit speeds in the model reach 114 km/h (71 mph) for the 600 and liter bike, 112 km/h (70 mph) for the twin. These speeds are simulation estimates, not measured data.

Turn 3 opens the right-hand sequence through the infield: 138 m long, 45 m effective radius, and essentially flat, with just 0.1 m of elevation change. The braking zone here is short in the simulation — 42 m for the 600 and liter bike, 30 m for the twin — because entry speed is a modest 134 km/h (83 mph). The model reaches an 83 km/h (51 mph) minimum before accelerating out at 126 km/h (78 mph) on the two larger bikes and 123 km/h (76 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 66 m effective radius (over 123 m of arc, on level ground) lets the simulation carry a 100 km/h (62 mph) minimum — about 17 km/h (11 mph) more than Turn 3. Entry arrives at roughly 134 km/h (83 mph) with a 48–51 m simulated braking zone for the 600 and liter bike, and only 30 m for the twin. The model exits at 128 km/h (79 mph) on the bigger machines versus 123 km/h (77 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 159 m left of 48 m effective radius gaining 5.4 m of elevation. In the simulation this is the longest braking zone of the infield — 96 m for the supersport 600 and 111 m for the liter bike (66 m for the twin) — into a 131 km/h (81 mph) entry and an 85 km/h (53 mph) minimum. Because the corner feeds an uphill run, the estimated exit speed of 134 km/h (83 mph) actually exceeds the entry speed for the 600 and liter bike; the twin exits at 130 km/h (81 mph). All values are physics-simulation estimates for an idealized fast rider.

Continuing uphill, Turn 6 is a 114 m left with a 62 m effective radius and 1.8 m of climb. The simulation treats it as a rolling-speed corner: braking starts 75 m out on the 600 (93 m liter bike, 48 m twin) from a 136 km/h (84 mph) entry, the minimum holds at 97 km/h (60 mph), and the exit — 137 km/h (85 mph) for the two larger classes — is marginally faster than the entry. As at Turn 5, the middleweight twin gives up ground on the drive, exiting at a simulated 133 km/h (82 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 — 54 m at a 101 m effective radius, still rising 2.7 m — and the second-fastest corner on the lap in the simulation. The model enters at about 145 km/h (90 mph), the highest entry speed since Turn 1, dips to a 123 km/h (77 mph) minimum, and exits at 132 km/h (82 mph). Class-dependent braking distances (99 m liter bike, 75 m supersport 600, 45 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 25 m effective radius and a 16.4 m (54 ft) drop across 168 m of corner, the steepest descent on the circuit. The simulation shows a short 24 m brake application (identical across all three classes) from a 106 km/h (66 mph) entry down to a 62 km/h (39 mph) minimum, then uses the downhill to build back to 129 km/h (80 mph) at the exit — a gain of 67 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 and sharing its computed profile: 25 m effective radius, 16.4 m of descent, 168 m total length. In the simulation the minimum speed of 62 km/h (39 mph) occurs within the combined left-right sequence, and the exit figure of 129 km/h (80 mph) — 126 km/h (78 mph) for the middleweight twin — is measured leaving this right-hander as the track continues downhill toward Rainey Curve. Because the two elements are geometrically inseparable at the model's ~3 m station resolution, the per-class numbers here mirror Turn 8 exactly. 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 192 m, with a 62 m effective radius and a 17.3 m (57 ft) drop — even more descent than the Corkscrew. The simulation shows essentially no dedicated braking zone (0–3 m depending on class): speed built on the drop, peaking near 154 km/h (96 mph) on entry for the 600 and liter bike (145 km/h / 90 mph for the twin), is shed inside the corner itself down to a 97 km/h (61 mph) minimum. The estimated exit is 134 km/h (84 mph), or 131 km/h (81 mph) on the middleweight twin.

Still descending — 4.3 m of drop across its 123 m length — Turn 10 is a medium-speed right with a 55 m effective radius. The simulated braking zone runs 54 m for the supersport 600 and 60 m for the liter bike (39 m for the twin) from a 127 km/h (79 mph) entry. The minimum of 92 km/h (57 mph) is identical across classes, and the model exits at 129 km/h (80 mph) for the larger bikes, 126 km/h (78 mph) for the middleweight. Like Turn 5, the downhill exit lets estimated exit speed exceed 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 21 m effective radius it is the tightest corner in the dataset, and the simulation's 56 km/h (35 mph) minimum is the slowest point anywhere on the circuit. Braking begins 81 m out for the 600 and 90 m for the liter bike (63 m twin) from a 103 km/h (64 mph) entry; the estimated exit is 102 km/h (63 mph), nearly flat to entry, as acceleration continues onto the straight toward the ~187 km/h (116 mph) peak at Turn 1. Simulation estimates throughout.