The newly-repaved racing surface at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is much bumpier than before, according to several AMA riders polled by Roadracingworld.com immediately after the first practice for Superbike and Formula Xtreme. “I know some pavers that live about an hour and a half from here who pave parking lots smoother than this,” said American Honda’s Jake Zemke. “There’s bumps where there weren’t bumps before. I don’t understand how they can create bumps. There are bumps in the middle of the straightaway. It’s unbelievable.” “The surface of the racetrack is much rougher than before, much, much rougher, everywhere,” said six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin. “A couple of the corners are better, but most of the corners are actually worse. It’ll be interesting to see what these guys (MotoGP riders) say. “For a racetrack that’s supposed to be repaved and new and all the rest of it, it’s pretty bad. I read a lot of stuff about the racetrack and that they made more run-off in turn six, which actually hasn’t happened. They made more on the inside of the corner. There’s no more run-off in turn four. I read some stuff saying turn four would have more run-off. That’s exactly the same. Exiting the Corkscrew is exactly the same. “I’m glad I’ve got another half an hour (qualifying session), 28 laps (race) and then I can leave.” As for the three ground-down and sealer-treated areas of the track, only the “patch” at the entrance of the Corkscrew has proven to be a factor. “That patch, I don’t know why that thing is there,” said Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel. “It’s slippery, for sure. I go in there pretty cautiously, and I couldn’t believe how much slip I could get out of the front. I pushed the front huge on that thing, and a couple of guys went down. I’m a little surprised why they have patches there and going into turn five. Turn five that doesn’t bother us. It’s not really in a braking zone of accelerating zone. It smells like a new re-pave for next year, because I’m sure the owner will be disappointed that the job is not laid down right.” Lap times during the first Superbike practice session were significantly slower for riders compared to 2005. Duhamel led Friday morning’s session with a 1:27.233 compared with the 1:26.592 he turned during last season’s first practice at Laguna Seca. Mat Mladin turned a 1:27.285 Friday morning compared to the 1:25.981 he did last year. “The lap times being as slow as they are, I think, is just the new track surface,” said Duhamel. “Like, Miller we were slower when we first went there. We were quite a bit slower. Even though the grip is good, there’s just something about a new surface that makes the bike feel different. When the bike’s talking to you in a different language you have to slow down and listen to what it’s telling you. The track’s a little dirty, too, but it’ll get better.”