by Martin Gonzales
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Though not right in our backyard this time, the American Le Mans Series came back to our home state of California for its third race of the season this past weekend. Along with the smorgasbord of cars that contend in the American Le Mans Series, the weekend treated race fans to wheel to wheel action from the USF2000, GT3, MX5, Prototype Lites and Star Mazda Series. Oh, and did I forget to mention this all went down at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca!?
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| Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has one of the most beautiful backdrops of any track I've had the pleasure to visit |
Now for those of you who follow ALMS closely you may be asking yourselves, “Wait, this isn't the end of the season already is it?” No need to be alarmed, though the past few years the ALMS season has ended at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca rest assured that this indeed is just the third race of the season. As an avid race fan, I was particularly stoked about this race because it was going to be a six hour enduro. With racing set to start at 2:30pm this would mean the cars would be racing into the night, which takes an already exciting series to the next level of cool.
Before we get into the meat and potatoes of the weekend's event, lets start with a little background. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is located in beautiful Monterey, California and is run by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) – a non-profit organization created in 1957 to manage the raceway. The vision of the raceway was made into reality thanks to the time and funds of many local businesses and individuals. This close relationship the track has with the community has allowed it to continue its growth even as more people move into the area, which usually leads to closures.
