Laguna Seca raceway under fire as California coalition seeks to shutdown world famous circuit

One of the world’s most famous and celebrated racetracks, Laguna Seca, has found itself victim of a recent lawsuit. If successful, the ‘suit filed in December by a group calling themselves the ‘Highway 68 Coalition’, could spell the end for the circuit’s 67-year history. 

The 2.238-mile track is home to one of the world’s most famous corners, the legendary Corkscrew, whose hard-left to hard-right combo drops an incredible 59 feet from its entrance to exit, carrying an elevation, at its steepest point, of 18%.  

Over the years, Laguna Seca has earned global acclaim in motorcycling circles, hosting MotoGP from 2005 to 2013, and WorldSBK from 2013 to 2019. Racing fans will remember the legendary 2008 dual between Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi in which the two GP stars jostled for pole position in an intense battle, concluding eventually with a victory for Rossi after Stoner crashed out on the final corner of the race. 

The group describes the California racing venue as a “public nuisance”, despite it generating more than 246 million dollars for the local economy in 2022.  

They allege that use has increased “substantially” over the last two years since the County of Monterey took ownership in 2021 and that resultantly, they have “suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable injury”. 

Quoted in a local media outlet, the lawsuit claims: 

“These increases include but are not limited to more racetrack event days, higher permitted noise levels, additional track rental days with intensified noise in excess of 100 dB, increased traffic, inadequate water supply and water quality, inadequate sewage disposal and expansion of the camping grounds”. 

The sound issue is raised despite the fact that the number of permitted event days are limited to just 35 annually, with all being strictly regulated by decibel limits of between 95 –105 DB. 

Alongside environmental factors, the group are questioning zoning laws set out 40 years ago, attempting to attack the legitimacy of the track’s operation with claiming that “motor vehicle racing and race car driving are neither allowed nor permitted uses”.  

With the implication that its current use is illegal, the group are hoping to curtail racing for good at the circuit. 

All of this of course begs the question, given the venue’s long-standing history, why move to the local vicinity of world-famous racing venue, only to complain about its existence?