Track Guide: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

• 2009-12-28
• NFSDrew
• 1 Comment

  Today's track guide features the very famous Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Built near Monterey, California in 1957 at the then-astronomical cost of $1.5 million, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has hosted everything from American Le Mans Series races to a blessing from Pope John Paul II. Laguna Seca is about 2.2 miles in length and contains 11 turns, is most famed for its nasty ‘corkscrew’ turn that has led many racers astray, with perhaps the most incident taking place in 1996, when CART driver Alex Zanardi overtook Bryan Herta on the final lap and held on for the victory. Zanardi won the Rookie of the Year award for his efforts that season. The turn also claimed the life of CART racer Gonzalo Rodriguez in 1999 when he lost control of his car during a practice lap and careened into a wall, killing him instantly. Currently, the lap record at the track is held by French Formula One driver Sébastien Bourdais, who raced around the track in one minute, 5.880 seconds in 2007, breaking a previous record held by Ricardo Zonta a year earlier. More recently, Laguna Seca has been used for many different events, including MotoGP motorcycle races and the Rolex Sports Car Series, which ran its Verizon Festival of Speed on May 17. You can take Laguna Seca for a ride in SHIFT, but seriously, watch out for that corkscrew. Enjoy!       Tomorrow we'll be featuring the track guide for Silverstone Circuit.- NFSDrew