Laguna Seca: Pre-race notes, schedule

EVENT:
Monterey Sports Car Championships (Sixth Annual)
American Le Mans Series Round 9 of 9

LOCATION:
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, California
2.238-mile road racing circuit (11 turns)

WHEN:
Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 4:00 p.m. (PDT)

LENGTH:
Four hours (timed event)

CARS:
Four classes of American Le Mans Series sports cars: Le Mans Prototype LMP1; LMP2; Grand Touring Sport (GTS); Grand Touring (GT).

TELEVISION:

NBC Sports (Tape delay)
Airtime: 2:00 p.m. (ET) October 17, 2004

MotorsTV (Live)
Airtime: 24:00 (UK Time), 01:00 (Paris time)

RADIO:
American Le Mans Series Radio Web (Live) www.americanlemans.com

TICKET INFO:
Online: www.laguna-seca.com
Telephone: 1-800-327-7322.

SUPPORT RACES:
Star Mazda, World SuperKarts, SPEED World Challenge, Miata Challenge

SCHEDULE:

Thursday, October 14
2:35 p.m.- 4:05 p.m. Sanctioned ALMS Testing

Friday, October 15
9:15 a.m - 10:15 a.m. ALMS Practice
1:30 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. ALMS Practice
2:40 p.m.- 3:00 p.m. ALMS Qualifying (GTS & GT)
3:05 p.m.- 3:25 p.m. ALMS Qualifying (LMP1 & LMP2)

Saturday, October 16
11:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. ALMS Warm-up
4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Race

QUAL. RECORDS:
LMP1: 1:15.028 (107.384 mph) by Rinaldo Capello, Audi R8, 10/00.
LMP2: 1:16.555 (105.242 mph) by James Weaver, Lola EX257-AER/MG 9/03.
GTS: 1:22.350 (97.836 mph) by Jan Magnussen, Ferrari 550 Maranello, 9/03.
GT: 1:26.182 (93.486 mph) by Sascha Maassen, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 9/03.

NOTES OF INTEREST
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has been a part of the American Le Mans Series since the formation of the series in 1999, but for the first time in series history will host the ALMS season finale with an expanded four-hour timed event. The race will also mark the first-ever night racing event in the track's long history as the event will start at 4 p.m. and run into darkness. Several ALMS championships for 2004 remain to be determined in the event, including the LMP2 driver, team and tire titles, as well as the GT driving title. The track, situated on the Monterey Peninsula of California near the beautiful Monterey Bay, is one of the more popular stops on the ALMS schedule among racers and fans. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is known for the "Corkscrew," a downhill, spiraling series of left and right turns that is among the most famous and unique in the world. The track layout challenges drivers and race teams.

WEBSITES:
The official website of the American Le Mans Series is located at www.americanlemans.com. The website for Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is www.laguna-seca.com.

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