Laguna Seca: The Corkscrew Circuit That Turned a Dry Lake Into a Racing Legend

Laguna Seca Raceway is a paved road racing circuit near Salinas and Monterey, California, built in 1957 and used for both car and motorcycle racing. It is 2.238 mi (3.602 km) long, has eleven turns and a 180 ft (55 m) elevation change, and it is best known for the Corkscrew, a downhill plunge at turns 8 and 8A. The track is classed as an FIA Grade Two circuit and is branded WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Where is Laguna Seca and what does its name mean?

The name is Spanish for dry lake, a reference to the former lake that covered the site. The course was laid out around the old lake bed, and two artificial ponds were added after a later reconfiguration. Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo games have also featured the track.

The raceway sits in the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, a county park. Its neighbouring ranch, the Laguna Seca Ranch, was founded in 1867 and has operated for about 140 years with grazing and equestrian uses, so the land has a long working history before the track arrived.

A track built on former Army land, where a plunge at the Corkscrew has tested drivers for almost seventy years.

How was the Laguna Seca track built?

The track was built in 1957 on part of Fort Ord, a US Army manoeuvre area and field artillery range. It was created after the Pebble Beach Road Races had been abandoned for being too dangerous. The construction cost 1.5 million dollars, raised from local businesses and individuals, and in 1974 the property was deeded to the Monterey County Parks Department, and it remains in the county park network.

The lead designer was the young architect Wallace Holm, who chaired the site development and maintenance committee for the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula, known as SCRAMP. Holm drew the path out in the dirt and walked around in a circle to show the bulldozers where to go. He later said that the track was created by committee rather than by a single grand plan.

Who designed the original Laguna Seca circuit?

Wallace Holm led the design, and he owned the firm Wallace Holm Associates, later Wallace Holm Architects. Among his buildings are the county courthouse on Aguajito Road and the former library at Monterey Peninsula College.

The first race on the new circuit took place on 9 November 1957, and it was won by Pete Lovely in a Ferrari. Those early events established the raceway as a venue for serious competition from the start, and the track has been adapted many times since then to meet the rules of the sanctioning bodies.

Who runs Laguna Seca today?

Day-to-day operations and the promotion of major events are handled by A and D Narigi Consulting LLC, whose general manager and president is John V. Narigi. Until 1 January 2020 the track was managed by SCRAMP, a nonprofit organisation with a board of local residents, which used the raceway's income to fund local charities.

The economic value of the track is significant. An economic study from 2015, commissioned by SCRAMP and produced at CSU Monterey Bay, found that the raceway generated 62.1 million dollars for the Monterey County economy in 2015 US dollars, along with 5.2 million dollars in state and local taxes.

What is the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca?

The Corkscrew is the combination of turns 8 and 8A, and it is considered one of the most challenging corners in motorsport. It features a drop of 59 ft (18 m), a blind crest and an apex on the uphill approach, so drivers cannot see what lies beyond until they are committed to the descent.

The corner is famous for its drama. In the 1996 CART race Alessandro Zanardi made a final-lap pass on Bryan Herta at the Corkscrew to take the lead, and the move is regarded as one of the most famous in the track's history. Plans call for turns 8 and 8A to take the Zanardi name in 2026, as part of the IndyCar weekend, in tribute to him.

How did Laguna Seca's corners get their names?

Several corners and straights carry the names of racing figures. Turn 2, a technical double-apex, was renamed the Andretti Hairpin in honour of Mario Andretti. Turn 9 became the Rainey Curve, named after the 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle world champion Wayne Rainey, who lives near Salinas.

Bobby Rahal, who took four consecutive CART victories here between 1984 and 1987, gave his name to the straight between turns 6 and 7. The straight is also where a runoff area was installed after the 1999 race, following a fatal crash at the Corkscrew.

How has the track changed since the 1980s?

The track has been reshaped many times to meet the changing homologation rules of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), the FIA and other sanctioning bodies. In 1988 the entire infield was added, creating turns 3, 4 and 5 and removing the straight that once ran from turn 2 to turn 5. That change extended the track from its original length of about 1.9 mi (3.1 km) to meet the FIM minimum for MotoGP events.

Further changes followed in 2006. The original media centre was demolished to make room for extra run-off at turn 1, and the crest at the top of the Rahal Straight was levelled for MotoGP riders. Gravel traps beside turns 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 were enlarged to add run-off, and remnants of the old layout can still be seen from the car park between turns two and five.

Which major series have raced at Laguna Seca?

The track has hosted a remarkable range of series. Its list includes the United States Road Racing Championship, Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA GT, CART, IndyCar, the American Le Mans Series, the Grand American series and the Superbike World Championship. MotoGP has also raced there, although the 125cc and 250cc classes were not admitted.

The Champ Car weekend was a fixture for more than two decades, but in 2004 it moved to the San Jose Grand Prix. Champ Car planned a return in 2008, but the merger with IndyCar cancelled it, and the track did not host the open-wheel series again until 2019.

Why was Laguna Seca not chosen for a Formula One race?

In 1989 the organisers weighed Laguna Seca against Phoenix as the next host for the United States Grand Prix, a year after Detroit's final race. The 1988 improvements had been made partly to attract the Formula One race, but the organisers judged Laguna Seca too remote and too small for a Formula One crowd, so Phoenix was granted the event.

The decision shows how much the track relied on its character as a motorsport venue rather than as a spectacle for the largest crowds. Laguna Seca's fame has come from its corners and its atmosphere, not from hosting the largest Grand Prix.

What were the fatal accidents at Laguna Seca?

Uruguayan driver Gonzalo Rodriguez was killed in practice for the 1999 CART event, crashing at the Corkscrew. The accident led to the installation of runoff at the end of the Rahal Straight. In 2015 two riders, Dani Rivas and Bernat Martinez, died at MotoAmerica superbike meetings held at the track.

What are the lap records at Laguna Seca?

The unofficial lap record was set on 20 August 2006, when Toyota F1 test driver Ricardo Zonta recorded 1:06.309. The record was retaken by a Champ Car at Champ Car Spring Training in 2007, when Sebastien Bourdais lapped in 1:05.880. Marc Gene then posted 1:05.786 in a Ferrari F2003-GA at the 2012 Ferrari Racing Days event.

Christian Lundgaard holds the unofficial qualifying record with a lap time of 1:06.4610. For production cars, the 2019 McLaren Senna holds the current record at 1:27.62, set by Randy Pobst while MotorTrend tested for its 2019 best driver car award. On two wheels the superbike qualifying record is 1:21.811, set by Tom Sykes on a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in 2014.

What is the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion?

Held each August, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion began life as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. It features an eclectic mixture of race cars, and each year highlights a different marque. Many people regard it as one of the two greatest historic racing events, alongside the Goodwood Festival in England.

Attendance at the reunion often rivals or surpasses that of the professional events held at the track, and the camping facilities in the Laguna Seca Recreation Area are available all year as part of the county park.

How is Laguna Seca used outside major racing?

When the major events are not running, the track can be rented. Club races for the San Francisco Region of the SCCA take place roughly twice a year, and various clubs rent the circuit for informal high-performance driving schools that let the public drive their own cars at speed. Nissan used the track for prototype testing of its GT-R in 2007.

The venue has also hosted many non-racing events. The Sea Otter Classic, held in April, is now the biggest cycling festival in the country, drawing more than 10,000 racers and over 100,000 spectators. Bicycles are permitted on the track for two hours several times a year, for a 10 dollar fee per rider, and the track has finished stages of the Amgen Tour of California in 2016 and 2018.

The raceway has also staged concerts and other gatherings. The Grateful Dead performed there five times in 1987, and the band filmed the video for Touch of Grey on the track. On 17 September 1987 Pope John Paul II celebrated mass at the raceway before 72,000 people. In the 1990s the Laguna Seca Daze festival brought acts such as Bob Dylan and Phish to the site.

How did Top Gear test the video game version of the track?

In 2005 Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear tried to beat a Gran Turismo 4 lap of 1:41.148, and he drove the real circuit in a Honda NSX to compare. He found that the game left out some details of the track and let him brake later than was possible in real life. His best on the actual course was only 1:57, although he and the track instructor agreed that a skilled and fearless driver could manage 1:41 in the NSX.