Night Time in the Switching Yard ... A few words with Laguna Seca’s Gill Campbell Possibly the most anticipated ALMS race of the year has to be this final round upcoming at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Track Honcho Gill Campbell explains how it came to happen along with a few thoughts about next season at the famous Monterey peninsula circuit. |
Kerry Morse |
SCP: Who came up with the idea for a ALMS "it's ends at 8 in the evening" four hour race ? GC: It was a result of a discussion between Scott Atherton and myself regarding |
| how to create a |
"promotional hook" for this event and whether Saturday |
| races would pull better than Sunday. (So far so good!) SCP: Usually the main event is on Sunday, why the format change to Saturday ? And what can be expected for Sunday ? GC: We are promoting this as a "Double Header", Racing into the darkness with the American Le Mans Series on Saturday and then on Sunday the season finale of the Speed World Challenge Series. Obviously, Saturday works better for a later race. SCP: Recent accounts in the news had Laguna Seca in financial trouble and then you were able to turn things around with the return of the FIM championship for next season. Can you give a view of what is planned for the circuit and facilities for the next three seasons ? GC: Just like many other companies, we suffered as a direct result of the failing economy, 9/11 and the pre-bankruptcy decline of Champ Car. As a non-profit organization, this meant a long and tough road to recovery. But, we have turned the corner with new financing and a new series. The MotoGP will be here for the next five years and has enabled us to put Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca back on the map. We will undergo some major track safety improvements in order for the facility to be homologated by the FIM. Thanks to the support of Yamaha, without whom this would not have been possible. This includes expanding the run-off areas, increasing the size of the gravel beds, installing new curbing on every turn and moving the turn 9 bridge to create additional run-off. This does mean that the track will be closed down for 45 days from May 2nd through June 15th SCP: Laguna Seca has always suffered from a limited amount of dates due to restrictions, aside from the Monterey Historics and the Moto GP, are there any major changes ? GC: No, as we are owned by Monterey County Parks with whom we have a Concession Agreement, we are limited to five major events a year. As of now we scheduled the American Le Mans Series, the Red Bull ( Moto ) Grand Prix, the Monterey Historic Automobile Races and the U.S. Sports Car Invitational for next year. SCP: And Champ Car ? GC: That is an ongoing discussion. SCP: Grand Am has been doing well this season in presenting a large field of their version of prototypes while the ALMS field has been shrinking. Both series have their supporters and detractors, has there been any discussion between you and Grand Am on a possible race at Laguna ? GC: We have actually been talking about including Grand Am on the schedule for a couple of years, unfortunately our schedules have had conflicts. SCP: On the recently inked deal with Yamaha, what else will this mean for the future ? GC: It means that we can have MotoGP in 2005 and beyond. SCP: There has been some criticism that while races at Laguna Seca are known throughout the motorsports world, there is not enough support in promoting the events for the locals. Any comment ? GC: It's called golf! While we have one of the most renowned race tracks in the world, we work hard to make our presence known here. We are well supported by our local community especially over the past couple of years. Our major draw is actually from the South Bay area. This Wednesday before the ALMS event we will once again stage a Mini Le Mans with several top race cars in the area around Downtown San Jose's Plaza de Cesar Chavez. A temporary race track is set up for a demonstration during the noon hour. This have proved to be very popular with the public as they get a opportunity to speak with the drivers and crews. SCP: The recent addition of extra fencing near the corkscrew has limited the view for the fans that flock to the hill, what was the reason for the extra fencing and the mandate behind it ? GC: Champ Car safety requirements. Accommodations have been made for photographers since the Champ Car race. There will be a few changes to the fencing for next season. SCP: Several European teams have expressed interest in a possible return of the FIA GT Championship, which was well received in 1997 and 1998... is this a future possibility ? GC: It has not been discussed. Have them call me! |
|
