The Monterey Peninsula’s passion for sports car racing traces back to the inaugural running of the Pebble Beach Road Races in 1950. Those sports car events quickly outgrew the public roads of the Del Monte Forest, thereby paving the way for a permanent and safer road course.

The original Laguna Seca Raceway was built in 1957 at a cost of $1.5 million raised from local businesses and individuals on part of the U.S. Army’s Fort Ord (a maneuver area and field artillery target range) after the nearby Pebble Beach Road Races were abandoned for being too dangerous. 

The 8th Annual Pebble Beach Road Race was the first race and held on November 9, 1957, which was won by Pete Lovely driving a Ferrari 500 TR. In the following years, the track has hosted USRRC, Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA GT, Champ Car, American Le Mans Series, Grand-Am, Superbike World Championship and MotoGP motorcycle races and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

The track itself has undergone significant changes over the past two decades to meet evolving safety homologation requirements. Changes include the addition of the entire infield area in 1988 (present day Turns 3, 4 and 5, eliminating the straight that started at present day Turn 2 and ended at present day Turn 5) extending the track from its original 1.9-mile length to its current 2.238-mile length, plus the relocation of pedestrian bridges and embankments, and the expansion of gravel pits for additional runoff.

The original media center was demolished in 2006 and replaced by the Hospitality Pavilion (formerly known as the Red Bull Energy Center), a modern entertainment facility with commanding views of the facility.

Perhaps one of the most famous moments of racing took place at the Corkscrew when Alex Zanardi passed Bryan Herta on the inside of the Corkscrew on the last lap of the 1996 CART race to take the victory.

In 2023, Laguna Seca underwent a complete track repaving project and christened the all-new Mission Foods Bridge to ensure its long-term future.

Laguna Seca is home to one of the most famous turns in all of motorsports. Officially Turns 8 and 8A, it is simply called The Corkscrew.

The Corkscrew is a one-of-a-kind turn in motorsports. Here’s what makes the hard-left, hard-right combination so spectacular:

At the apex to Turn 8 (the lefthander and entry to The Corkscrew), the elevation change is a 12 percent drop. By the time a race car reaches the apex of Turn 8A (the righthander), the elevation is at its steepest – an 18 percent drop. The Corkscrew drops 59 feet between the entrance of Turn 8 to the exit of Turn 8A—the equivalent of a 5½ story drop—in only 450 feet of track length. From Turn 8 to Turn 9, the elevation falls 109 feet, or just over 10 stories.

Check out the facility map to navigate your way around WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Get to know the track with turn-by-turn details and learn how to navigate the 2.238 miles like a pro.