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The revitalized Laguna Seca Recreation Area, home to the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca road course, concluded one of the most successful seasons in its 66-year history with strong attendance, completion of major construction projects, an abundance of fundraising and community events and a new overall track lap record.
The year started quietly as Granite Construction and WeatherTech Raceway facility teams persevered through record rainfall. Through the support of the County of Monterey Board of Supervisors and County staff, the race surface was completely repaved, and an impressive new start/finish bridge constructed, which thanks to the partnership of Mission Foods, is now named the Mission Foods Start/Finish Bridge (pictured above)
Several professional events were held between May and October, in addition to the daily track rentals, and local community gatherings. There was the Sea Otter Classic, Trans Am, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, MotoAmerica, AHRMA, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, NTT IndyCar Series, Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7, and the season concluding Gridlife Festival of drifting, racing, exhibits and entertainment by two-time Grammy winning performers. Each event brought renewed attendance, new avenues of entertainment, and refined hospitality experiences.
The freshly repaved surface delivered on its high grip promise during qualifying for the IndyCar season finale. Christian Lundgaard raced into Laguna Seca history by eclipsing the 23-year-old track record with a blistering 1m06.461s lap with an average speed of 121.226mph around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit. Lundgaard broke the long-standing record of 1m07.722s that was set by Helio Castroneves during his qualifying run at the 2000 CART GP of Monterey.
Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7 was the largest and most dynamic event of the year, as guests descended on the 550-plus acre park. This year’s Rennsport dwarfed its previous 2018 edition with an impressive collection of historic race cars, legendary drivers, international journalists and greater family activities. If the racing wasn’t enough, scavenger hunts, design workshops, Pixar cars, giant Hasbro Transformers, off-road adventures, an E-Sports arena and collaborative coloring book walls kept fans of all ages entertained. Rennsport guests were also were treated to the 50th anniversary kick-off reunion by the multi-Grammy winning group The Doobie Brothers.