California Superbike School Ends 40-Year Run At Laguna Seca

[DReg350]

Holy crap! :wow

California Superbike School Ends 40-Year Run At Laguna Seca

The iconic California Superbike School has canceled its final event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and says it will not book new events at the track, citing difficulties with the circuit’s new management and a deteriorating track surface.

“I feel terrible,” said Keith Code, former racer and founder of the school, which ran its first event at the track in 1980 and has operated there every year since. “I went to the first race there as a spectator, that was really fantastic. My first Superbike race was there, and I got second place – it was my first podium. I was such a proud kid!

 

[Butch]

We need a Kieth Code BARF event. I could maybe find a parking lot...

 

[budman]

That sucks.

I side with the F Laguna side of this.

Opens the door for other vendors but I see Codes side.
They travel the country and securing specific dates are more important to them than the local vendors.

5K to pick a date for a company doing business with them for 40 years? Sucks.

 

[danate]

It's sad what's happened to Laguna Seca. I've missed working on their medical team after doing it for 7 years straight at MotoGP and WSBK. It seems like it's on its death bed at this point.

 

[banshee01]

Damn I have only attended Reg Pridmore's classes there but I can see him opting out for the same reasons

 

[Butch]

Caddywumpus , SCRAMP dude, needs to comment here.

 

[ejv]

He didn't have much to say about it.

 

[Butch]

He didn't have much to say about it.

Smart

 

[budman]

*Edit to correct info* Mr Hotel guy is the day to day operations boss right??

For now we know Code gave them the bye bye. Agree with him 100%
40 years of patronage should count for something.

 

[Caddywumpus]

Scramp has nothing to do with the track anymore. There was a dirty backroom deal with the county supervisors... Which I'm surprised has not gone to court because it was pretty brazen bribery.

Narigi runs the show

To be clear I'm just a volunteer at the track

 

[DReg350]

Really interesting article that sheds a bit o light on the management change and talks about the financial impact of track rental enabling track improvements...

30 Minutes With Dewayne Woods, Laguna Seca’s Shadow CEO

For more than 60 years, ever since Laguna Seca was first laid out and paved, it was managed by one organization, the Sports Car Racing Association of Monterey County. It is largely thanks to SCRAMP, a non-profit company with a huge volunteer base, that Laguna Seca now has a global reputation as a racing Mecca. But last November, Monterey County — which owns the land the track sits on — fired SCRAMP. The decision sent a shock wave through the auto and motorcycle racing communities.

Dewayne Woods is the Assistant County Administrative Officer in Monterey County. He was the most influential person in the County’s recent decision to remove SCRAMP and install A&D Narigi Consulting, LLC as the new management at Laguna Seca.

 

[danate]

Really interesting article that sheds a bit o light on the management change and talks about the financial impact of track rental enabling track improvements...

30 Minutes With Dewayne Woods, Laguna Seca’s Shadow CEO

Interesting read, but doesn't seem to negate the fact that the new management is nickel-and-diming their long term customers. Making Laguna Seca profitable may make it unobtainable to many.

 

[berth]

But not making it profitable makes it unsustainable.

They way that thing read, the tracks days should be being charged LESS since, apparently, they've been using track rental monies to carry the events (and thus, events charged more).

And their goal is to make each event pay for itself.

 

[fufo47]

all because of that one dude who was ranting about not getting his free lunch for doing some flagger work...

 

[budman]

:laughing

There is some BARF Gold!

 

[Moike]

Level it and build the condos already, we all know that's exactly where this is headed.

 

[Tally Whacker]

Level it and build the condos already, we all know that's exactly where this is headed.

This. Every event I've done in the last few years at LS I've considered to be probably my last before the place gets shut down. Honestly I'm surprised they are even pretending to run a racetrack any more.

 

[budman]

OK. I want the condo at the top of the corkscrew

 

[CDONA]

That is where the water park goes, :teeth

 

[afm199]

I saw this coming years ago. Last year confirmed my bias. I did a track day with an unnamed outfit that used a Laguna employee to brief on flags. He said:"The yellow flag basically means come in." among other gems of wisdom.