Fan favourite course WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is set to return to the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule in 2019, IndyCar confirmed on Tuesday. The iconic Northern California course will serve as the site of the series’ championship finale.
IndyCar has not competed at the popular track since 2004, with a planned 2008 return for Champ Car cancelled by the merger between the two racing series. Living up to its legendary reputation, the track will serve as a worthy final stop in the championship.
“I can’t imagine a more attractive destination location for IndyCar’s season finale,” Mark Miles, CEO of IndyCar owners Hulman & Company said in an official release. “Monterey is a place people want to be, and we will bring all of our guests. I think it’s a great choice for us.”
The return is of special interest to IndyCar television rights holder NBC Sports, serving as a fan pleasing addition to an already competitive championship weekend.
“We commend IndyCar for returning to Laguna Seca, a historic track and an inspired place for the 2019 season finale,” NBC Sports president of programming Jon Miller said in a release. “The 2019 season will be our first as the exclusive media rights partner of IndyCar, and we could not be more pleased to broadcast the championship from beautiful Monterrey.”
Laguna Seca is the home of the iconic ‘Corkscrew’, one of the most infamously difficult segments of racetrack in all of motorsports. The tricky blind turn was the site of “The Pass”, in which Alex Zanardi overtook Bryan Herta on the last lap for a victory still fresh in the minds of IndyCar fans despite taking place in 1996.
The addition of Laguna Seca as the series’ finale fuels the rumours that Sonoma Raceway is on its way out of the IndyCar calendar. Serving as the current season-ending race, the series returned to the track in 2005 after a one-off appearance in 1970. With its future already in question, the return of Laguna Seca could spell the end of IndyCar at Sonoma.
The last Monterey Grand Prix was won by Patrick Carpentier in 2004. He also won the race in 2003.
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