The fate of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca seems to have been at least temporarily settled, as the Monterey County (California) Board of Supervisors yesterday voted to accept County Staff’s recommendation to provide a three-year management agreement to the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula to ensure the track’s 2017 racing season can proceed unimpeded and that planning for the 2018 season may continue. The management agreement confirms that SCRAMP continues as the day-to-day management arm for the Monterey County-owned facility (above, Bob Heathcote photo) that SCRAMP built in 1957.
“We have been working very closely with County Staff over the past several months to develop a plan that builds upon this iconic facility’s heritage of delivering significant economic impact to the Central Coast,” explained Michael Smith, president of the SCRAMP Board of Governors. “We will celebrate this heritage throughout the year with 60th anniversary celebrations, culminating in a Racing Through the Decades feature at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion in August.”
This agreement allows SCRAMP to continue its 60-year mission of bringing world-class events to the Monterey Peninsula to benefit race fans, sponsors, charitable organizations and the community as a whole.
A 2015 study conducted by California State University, Monterey Bay College of Business reported the economic impact of the five major events held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was $62.1 million in direct spending by visitors and produced $5.2 million in state and local taxes. According to the report, “The direct spending included $13.8 million in lodging, incorporating 52,558 room nights in Monterey County; $18.6 million was spent on food and dining; and $12.3 million on retail.” These numbers include spending from non-county attendees only.
The schedule for the circuit’s 60th anniversary season features: Ferrari Challenge, May 12-14; Spring Classic vintage car and motorcycle races, May 19-21; Superbike World Championship, July 7-9; Monterey Pre-Reunion, August 12-13; Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, August 17-20; Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix, September 21-24; and the Pirelli World Challenge, October 12-15. For complete information, please visit www.MazdaRaceway.com.
This place is dead. Scramp’s fault