Sloan Campi here, adrenaline still pumping after experiencing what it’s like to zoom around WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on a Suzuki GSX 1000R Superbike topping out at around 140 to 150 miles per hour. Luckily I left the driving to former professional superbike racer Chris Ulrich. In 2001, Ulrich started seating journalists on the back of superbikes so they could witness firsthand why his sport matters. It’s an ethos shared by nearly all motorcyclists.
In case you haven’t noticed the flurry of two-wheeled daredevils zipping around Monterey County this weekend, I urge you to look twice. There is an epic experience being had by the humans manning those bikes.
At national motorcycle gear shop Cycle Gear in Seaside, it’s a diverse community. This upcoming Tuesday, July 14, is another one of their monthly bike nights, where motorcycle riders of all shapes and sizes get together to hang out over hot dogs and soda. Safety is a common topic of discussion among the group; it’s no secret that motorcyclists are far more vulnerable on the road than anyone out there. Yet, this group keeps coming back to ride their two-wheeled speed machines.
But the real daredevils are at Laguna Seca this weekend for the MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest. I have to hand it to Matthew Scholtz and his no. 11 Warhorse HSBK Ducati and Sean Dylan Kelly on his no. 40 OrangeCat Racing Honda, because leaning so far over that their knees touch the ground on the corners as they do speeds upwards of 150 mph takes something that only a few people have.
I got to experience something slightly similar, hence the adrenaline rush on Friday, July 10, before Scholtz and Kelly took to the track. Part of the weekend includes an opportunity for a fortunate few bystanders like myself to take a ride on the back of one of these incredible speed machines and get a taste of what it’s like in the racing suit of professionals. It does not disappoint.
Having two wheels under me is familiar—my own 800cc Ducati Scrambler gives me plenty of thrills in the form of fuel-efficient transportation. But I don’t think any amount of street-legal riding could have prepared me for this experience.
It turns out that the scariest part is not accelerating to 140 mph, but braking from it. Walking up to the Suzuki GSX 1000R with a professional racer at the helm comes with butterflies, but once you mount it, something about the world quiets down as you’re whizzing past signs and people at the blink of an eye.
Leaning into turns bests any roller coaster ride that I’ve been on, and the first one barely set the stage. There was a sequence to racing around a classic track like Laguna Seca: brake, turn, lean and accelerate…hard, then repeat. I began to understand it right around turn 5, when I remembered that the Corkscrew was still yet to come. But after Ulrich mastered the quick right, left, then right maneuver, I began to see just how much fun this is.
For me it was just a taste. I’m now a tad envious of Scholtz and Kelly, and wish them both good luck in the days to come.