What’s so special about the Moto GP at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway? Some events are merely events, and some places are merely places, but at the motorcycle races in Monterey, California, what’s happening and where it’s happening conspire to create a unique life experience.

Incomparable Route 1, a motorcycle street party on Cannery Row, the crash of waves, the sounds of un-muffled 200-horsepower Moto GP prototypes, European women, the secret avenues of Carmel, bratwurst, beach dunes, the semi-famous the basically famous and the way-too famous are all present in central California’s coastal hills for the Moto GP. The place is also colored by its cultural role in our literature and music; the streets of Monterey and Cannery Row are forever alive in John Steinbeck’s books, and on stage here, at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, Jimi Hendrix changed the course of rock & roll. The Moto GP weekend on the coast of Monterey is striking for what it is, for where it is, and for what happens.

With Hollywood and most of America’s motorcycle industry just down the coast from Monterey, the Moto GP is a party for both. Walking the paddock you can run into the best racers from Moto GP and the AMA Superbike series, and famous enthusiasts Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Hoobastank’s Chris Hesse, and John Hensley of ‘Nip/Tuck,’ to name a few

Adding to the party scene at Laguna are a number of bike-related events. One such happening was a beach party at Fisherman’s Wharf, hosted by Aprilia, The Italian manufacturer introduced two new models there, the Mana 850 and 125. Most notable,  the Mana 850 with its automatic transmission. It’s a serious, for-real motorcycle built to entice the broad market of new bikers needing reliable, inexpensive, easy-to-use, very cool wheels. Breaking all the rules, the Mana 850′s fuel tank is in the trunk and the trunk is in the fuel tank, holding a regular full-face helmet if you like. Also highlighting the versatility of this bike utility vehicle (BUV) is the availability of a full complement of hard bags and windscreen.

And the racing? Though heightened levels of action on the track can never be guaranteed, this year’s Moto GP at Laguna was a race for the decades, with the lead officially changing 15 times and unofficially another 15 times. It was crazy, it was a happening, it was history.

RoadRUNNER New & Cool