Whilst trundling around Youtube, I did a search for Toyota F1 and found this little gem. This video is of Ricardo Zonta breaking the official lap record at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterrey, California, USA in 2006. The previous record had been held by Helio Castroneves in 2002 in a turbo-powered Champ Car. But, even on medium compound tyres, Zonta managed to haul the TF106 round in 1′06.309 at an average speed of 121.504mph. Now, this has got me thinking - how awesome would it be for the US GP not only to return to the calender, but to return at what must be simply one of the best circuits in America today.
Now some people can argue that it’s not long enough a circuit to hold an F1 event. Apparently the laptime has to be at least 70 seconds, and either chicanes or an extension would have to be installed in order to qualify. Why? Because it’s not a Tilkedrome with a wierd looking layout and no elevation changes (apart from Istanbul)? This circuit truly is a great one. Watching that onboard, you can see the awesome elevation changes – steep hills, slightly banked corners and of course, the Corkscrew, possibly the best corner in th whole of America. The camber and steepness of the Corkscrew has to be experienced to be believed. This track is kind of like the Osterreichring of North America, only with more flowing corners and it’s not so steep. When the new A1 Ring was brought in, it lost the original character that the old layout had. Changing any part of Laguna Seca would be like changing a part of the Nordschleife. You just can’t mess with something that’s so perfect and well laid out. It’s almost as if the circuit is at one with nature. The landscape around it and the general feeling of the course itself is something which must be absolutely astonishing in a modern-day F1 car. To get 22 of them at race pace going around at once would be an ultimate experience. Don’t you think?
Although, I guess we can ask Ricardo how it feels, eh? Oh, and for the record, Sebastien Bourdais broke that record a year later in testing in 2007 in his Champ Car. Now I’m a fan of Bourdais, but on this occasion I have to say – you absolute bas…..
