Final Phase of Construction Starts at Laguna

We spoke on the phone Monday with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Vice President of Marketing Andrew Leisner who, like the rest of the folks there at the Monterey, California, racetrack, is a busy man. The track was fresh off a weekend of hosting the U.S. Sports Car Invitational, and already, bulldozers were beginning the final phase of safety improvements to be concluded before the July 10 Red Bull United States Grand Prix. The weekend’s car race was the first competition to utilize some of the safety improvements, but this final phase includes a couple of the most important updates of the entire project.

“They’re working on the hillside near Rainey Curve, removing part of the hillside to open up visibility,” Leisner said. “They’re also going to be moving the hillside back on the outside of turn one, to allow more runoff. And we’ll be extending the gravel traps as well.”

The circuit will be closed for 45 days while the last phase is completed before the June 15 deadline. Already, runoff has been expanded in several corners, and a two-meter-wide strip of Astroturf was added on turn 11. The turn 9 bridge has been relocated up-track, and telephone poles were removed in preparation for the final phase. Also, an on-site medical facility was donated by Salinas Valley Memorial Health Care Systems.

For more information on the track changes, see “Racerhead” in the current issue of Road Racer X.