Race Place: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Fifty years of racing at Laguna Seca will be celebrated in 2007. The track’s configuration has changed more than once in those five decades. Most notably for the US Grand Prix Motorcycle Race in 1988 and for the return of the World Championships with the Moto GP bikes in 2005. US riders won both of those races; Eddie Lawson on his two-stroke Yamaha in 1988 and Nicky Hayden on a Honda at the Red Bull US Grand Prix. Both American’s are now among the sport’s World Champions.
The track is located just inland from the scenic Monterey Peninsula and presents travelers with excellent tourist destinations, in addition to the always exciting on track action. The website for Laguna Seca has contact information for area lodging and restaurants. We have had great luck using Monterey Peninsula Reservations.
The track is operated by the non profit Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula. The organization uses volunteers from over 70 charities and civic organizations to staff the events and those agencies in turn benefit from proceeds. This is a great format of operation, which ensures the future financial health of the racing facility and gives back to the local community as well.
The latest innovative fundraising campaign is The Steps to The Corkscrew Program, where corporate and individual contributors are recognized with an inscribed paving stone in view of the historic corner. It is this particular turn which has made Laguna Seca among the world’s most fabled road racing circuits. The Laguna Seca Raceway Fund is an initiative that underwrites ongoing track improvements to the circuit.
Besides witnessing those two historic motorcycle races above, we were lucky enough to be in attendance for some of the Champion Spark Plug 200 bike races in early 80s, which featured Champions like Kenny Roberts, Randy Mamola, Wayne Rainey and Mike Baldwin. The FIA GT race of 1998, with Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta in the beautiful Mercedes CLK was also a memorable highlight.
The track now features five major events in its season. To say that the beautiful setting is anything less than Holy Ground for American Motorsports would indeed be sacrilegious. In fact, The Pope himself made Laguna Seca a destination during a World Tour of appearances. No, we are not referring to Mario Andretti!
Race Place: Infineon Raceway
Known formerly as Sears Point, this Northern California facility has undergone a major renovation. The track is located in Sonoma California at the intersection of Highways 37 and 121. With over 50 million dollars invested, the track is one of North America's premier road racing facilities. The complex includes a quarter mile drag strip and the year round racing facility hosts events sanctioned by a wide variety of racing bodies including, NASCAR, NHRA, AMA, ALMS and the SCCA. The 2.52-mile road racing course was constructed on 720 acres in 1968. Ground was broken in August and paving of the race surface was completed in November. The first official event was an SCCA Enduro, held on December 1, 1968.
In 1996 Skip Berg sold the track to O. Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. In the summer of 2002, Sears Point Raceway became Infineon Raceway. The facility, a property of SMI, which also owns and operates Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, sold naming rights to German based Infineon Technologies. Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless communications markets. Until April 1st, 1999 Infineon Technologies was known as Siemens Semiconductors. The company, which sponsors the Audi ALMS entry, will also be presenting sponsor of the annual ALMS round at the Northern California facility. The event will be known as the Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma.
With growth comes the inevitable growing pains and it is how the facility has reacted to those situations that proves that management is dedicated to maximizing safety and enjoyment for competitors and fans alike. During last summer's Winston Cup event, race day traffic backed up some twelve miles. Those that didn't want to wait in the delay were offered their money back and track president Steve Page was contrite in his apology and promise to rectify the situation. In a proactive plan a consulting firm, that has worked on a variety of traffic management projects for public facilities, has been hired to help develop a new strategy for race-day traffic circulation. A new strategy will be in place for 2003, which will offer genuine relief to race-day congestion.
Also, several top AMA riders were brought to the facility to ask their input on improving rider safety for the annual motorcycle race. Many top AMA riders, along with Ron Barrick, the Road Racing Manager for the AMA, got together at Infineon Raceway, at the request of track President and General Manager Steve Page. Barrick and the riders spent the day with Page, as well as track architect Bob Davis and Jere Starks, vice president of facilities, looking at Turns 1 and 9 on the 12-turn, 2.32-mile road course. The riders offered various options that will both increase rider safety, as well as maintain fan excitement when the series visits the Sonoma Valley in 2003 for the Supercuts Superbike Challenge, presented by Honda of Milpitas (May 2-4). Track officials will incorporate the riders' input when designing alternative track configurations for those two corners. A commitment such as this can only be a harbinger of success because fans and race participants alike feel welcome at Infineon Raceway.
