WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Laguna Seca Raceway from between Turns 1 and 2

Mario Andretti at Laguna Seca, 1991

The original layout

The earliest development of the local area occurred in 1867 with the founding of the nearby Laguna Seca Ranch, which has operated continuously for 140 years with grazing and equestrian uses.[4]

The track was built in 1957 at a cost of $1.5 million raised from local businesses and individuals on part of the US Army's Fort Ord (a maneuver area and field artillery target range) after the nearby Pebble Beach Road Races were abandoned for being too dangerous. In 1974 the property was deeded over to the Monterey County Parks Department and continues to be part of the park system.

The first race, held on November 9, 1957, was won by Pete Lovely driving a Ferrari. In the intervening years, the track has hosted USRRC, Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA GT, CART, Indy Car, American Le Mans Series, Grand American, Monterey Historic Automobile Races, Speed World Challenge, AMA (American Motorcyclist Association), WSBK Superbike World Championship and MotoGP motorcycle races (but 125/Moto3 and 250/Moto2 are not admitted).

The day-to-day operations of the track, along with the management and promotion of major racing events, are now handled by A&D Narigi Consulting, LLC. John V. Narigi is the General Manager and President. Until January 1, 2020, it was managed by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP), which is a non-profit organization. With oversight by a board of local residents, SCRAMP operates with a professional staff on-site with the goal of generating income through the operations of the racetrack which is then redistributed to local charities.

The track itself has undergone significant changes over the past two decades to meet evolving safety homologation requirements of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and other sanctioning bodies. Changes include the addition of the entire infield area in 1988 (present day turns 3, 4, and 5, eliminating the straight that started at present day turn 2 and ended at present day turn 5) extending the track from its original 1.9-mile (3.1 km) length to meet the minimum-track-length criteria of the FIM for MotoGP events, plus the more recent relocation of pedestrian bridges and embankments, and the expansion of gravel pits outside turns 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 for additional runoff. The original media center was demolished in 2006 to make way for additional run-off room in Turn 1. Also in 2006, the 'hump' at the top of the Rahal Straight was flattened to accommodate the MotoGP riders, though some claim that this increases the wind effects that can perturb a race motorcycle. Remnants of the old configuration can still be seen from the parking lot between turns two and five. They are found underneath a road leading to the parking area for entrant trailers and RVs.

The "Corkscrew" at Turn 8, with gradient up to 16%

A view of the "Corkscrew" from the bottom

The famous Turn 8 and 8A combination, popularly referred to as 'the Corkscrew', is considered one of the motorsport world's most challenging turns, due to the 18-metre drop in elevation as well as its blind crest and apex on the uphill approach.[5]

Turn 2, with its difficult and technical double-apex, has been renamed the 'Andretti Hairpin', in honor of former Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti, while Turn 9 has been renamed 'Rainey Curve' in honor of 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion Wayne Rainey, a resident of nearby Salinas, California. Also the straight that runs between Turn 6 and Turn 7 has been renamed the 'Rahal Straight' after four-time consecutive Champ Car race winner Bobby Rahal.

A Champ Car World Series weekend had been a prominent event from 1983 through 2004, when its spot on the calendar was shifted to the San Jose Grand Prix. On the last lap of the 1996 CART race, Alex Zanardi passed Bryan Herta on the inside of the Corkscrew to take the victory. Uruguayan driver Gonzalo Rodríguez died during the practice session of the 1999 CART race after crashing at the same corner. Because of the incident, runoff was installed at the end of the Rahal Straight.

Champ Car announced on September 11, 2007 that they would be returning the Northern California race to Laguna Seca from San Jose over the May 16–18 weekend in 2008.[6] But the subsequent merger of Champ Car and IndyCar resulted in the race being canceled. On Jul 17, 2018 IndyCar announced a return of IndyCars to Laguna Seca, with the event to be held the weekend of Sept. 20–22, 2019.

The track is also the site of the annual Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, formerly known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. The event features an extraordinarily eclectic mixture of race cars on the course. Each year features a different marque. Considered one of the two greatest historic racing events (along with the Goodwood Festival in England), attendance often rivals, or surpasses the professional racing events listed above.

There are many permanent dry and hook-up camping facilities located at the raceway, which are available year-round as part of the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, the county park in which the racetrack is set.

The track's primary corporate sponsor is WeatherTech which began April 2018. As part of the sponsorship, the track is now officially referred to as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Previously, the sponsorship belonged to Mazda for 17 years with the track being known as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

A study by California State University, Monterey Bay and commissioned by SCRAMP states that the raceway generates $62.1 million to the Monterey County economy and $5.2 million in state and local taxes.[7]

Major events each year include the US round of the World Superbike Championship (held in conjunction with a round of the MotoAmerica championship), Monterey Sports Car Championships (WeatherTech SportsCar Championship), and the Monterey Historics for classic racecars.

On August 20, 2006, Toyota F1 test driver Ricardo Zonta set an unofficial lap record of 1:06.309.[10] The previous record time was 1:07.722, set by Hélio Castroneves in a Penske Champ Car during qualifying for the 2000 CART Honda Grand Prix of Monterey. The unofficial record was re-taken by a Champ Car on March 10, 2007 by Sébastien Bourdais, who lapped in 1'05.880 during Champ Car Spring Training. The unofficial record was again re-taken by a Formula One car on May 19, 2012 by Marc Gené, who lapped in 1'05.786 in a Ferrari F2003-GA during the 2012 Ferrari Racing Days.[11]

Officially, Castroneves is still the recordholder as the times of Zonta, Bourdais and Gené were set during exhibition and testing sessions, and official records can only be set in race conditions (either in practice, qualifying, or during a race).

At the 2008 Monterey Sports Car Championships, David Brabham set a pole position time of 1:10.103 in a Le Mans Prototype.[12]

The fastest lap at the 2006 A1GP race was 1:17.951, set by Nicolas Lapierre.

At the 2012 United States motorcycle Grand Prix, Jorge Lorenzo set a pole time of 1:20.554 on the Yamaha. During the 2014 Superbike World Championship season, Tom Sykes set a time of 1:21.811 on the Kawasaki.[13]

The 2019 McLaren Senna holds the current production car lap record. Driver Randy Pobst piloted the unmodified McLaren to a 1:27:62 lap time during MotorTrend's 2019 best driver car award testing. [14]

The 2016 Porsche 911 GT2 RS previously held the current unofficial production car lap record with 1:28.30.[15]

The Porsche 918 Spyder held the previous unofficial production car lap record with 1:29.89.[16]

A Tesla Model S Plaid, ridden by Johannes van Overbeek, holds the outright EV lap record with a time of 1:30.3.[17]

A Mission Motors Mission R, ridden by Steve Rapp, previously held the outright EV lap record with a time of 1:31.376. This was set during qualifying for the 2011 FIM e-Power International Championship/TTXGP World Series race.[18]

All-time lap records

Type	Event	Driver	Vehicle	Time	Date
Outright lap record (unofficial)	2012 Ferrari Racing Days	Marc Gené	Ferrari F2003-GA	1:05.786[19]	7 March 2012
All-time lap record (official)	2000 CART Season	Hélio Castroneves	Reynard 2KI	1:07.722[20]	16 March 2000
Motorcycle	2012 United States motorcycle Grand Prix	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha YZR-M1	1:20.554[21]	28 March 2012
Production car	2019 MotorTrend Best Driver Car	Randy Pobst	McLaren Senna	1:27:62[22]	2019
Electric vehicle		Johannes van Overbeek	Tesla Model S Plaid	1:30.3[17]	23 September 2020

"Laguna Seca Raceway: 40 Years Through the Corkscrew: 1957-1997" (David and Mary-Ellen Wright-Rana, 1997) — ISBN 0966024818

• Official website
• Sea Otter Classic
• Trackpedia's guide to driving Laguna Seca
• Steve McQueen raced at Laguna Seca in 1959
• Laguna Seca – A Look Back
• 1963 course map
• Insider tips for visiting Laguna Seca