Sidecar team from New Zealand is part of Classic MotoFest at Laguna Seca.

To successfully navigate a corner, Jo Franzen must be able to see something that’s not visible.

Franzen is the passenger for a motorcycle sidecar racing team, along with rider Tracey Bryan. It’s her job to know where the machine’s center of gravity is at all times—and to know when and where it might zig or zag as the pair barrel into a corner.

“It’s very physical,” Franzen says. “As a passenger you almost go flying.”

The Carl Cox Motor Sports riders and New Zealand F2 series veterans are at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend as part of the AHRMA Classic MotoFest of Monterey, which pits enthusiasts with vintage racers—or in this case champions on a current machine—against the famed 11-turn circuit.

“We never thought we’d be here,” says Bryan, looking around at the facility. For the team that races largely in New Zealand and Australia, Laguna Seca is a bucket list track, one that is faster than they imagined coming in.

“There are parts that are quite challenging,” Bryan adds. “Turn 2—I can’t quite get the lines right.”

Sidecar racing is unique in motorsports. The machines are sleek and powerful, capable of 160 miles an hour in the F2 setup. They have three wheels, rather than two. But what sets it apart is the team on track.

Rider and passenger must work together to transfer weight as the bike maneuvers through corners, then scrunch themselves for aerodynamic pace through the straights. It’s like a high-speed, violent dance.

“It took a season or two to get in sync,” Franzen observes. “You learn to read each other really well.”

The sidecar races are an attraction by themselves, even in a paddock featuring more than 100 motorcycles of all types. Bryan says that at events such as the Classic MotoFest, people crowd around the machines for a close inspection.

Races and family events take place throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, July 15-16.

AHRMA Classic MotoFest of Monterey is at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, 1021 Highway 68, Salinas. 242-8201, weathertechraceway.com.