We left Thursday, driving, took about 8 hours to get there. We stayed in a Best Western hotel about 2 miles from the ocean. At hour hotel there was a corvette club and a LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype class 2) driver booked at the hotel there as well. We haven't even gotten to the race track yet and I was already enveloped in car crazyness.
First of all though, one of the reasons we went to Monterey was to visit it's famous aquarium. Which has a 1 million gallon tank, currently holding a 100 lb white shark and 500lb tuns. Not to mention all its elaborate jelly fish exhibits and sea otter displays.
That was on Friday, Saturday was the day of the race. Once we got there we saw a dedicated parking lot for all the corvette owners, roughly 150 of them, one for the Ferrari owners, and one for the Porches owners. Apparently there was a parade event for 100 of each car time to go around the track in celebration of the race.
The ticket system at laguna seca is rather interesting, you never let go of your ticket, its more of a badge. In fact they sell ticket holder dongles in the stores there. As long as you have a ticket you can get in anywhere, go anywhere. Which comes to my next point, right when we entered the pavillion area the race car pit areas were right in your face. No closed off areas, just right there for you to take in. You could see all the mechanics working on the open engine bays, hoping up the cars, even whole engines out of the cars.
The best part is that the drivers and crew would talk to you if you asked questions. I was just amazed by this whole open atmosphere.
I have been following the American Le Mans series for several years now, seening the cars in the flesh and in my face like this is what people who meet hollywood stars for the first time feel like. It was a car junkies wet dream. The noises, atmosphere was everything I thought it would be and 100x more.
The race, the race was, I don't want to say life changing, though my ears might say otherwise, but it gave me a whole other perspective on motorsports in general. The starting lap still gives me shivers down my spine when I think about it, as it is the loudest noise I have ever heard in my life. It was amazing.
So here are the pictures, I apologize for the quality of some of the aquarium pics, they didn't allow flash photography in the tank areas.
Pics are stored here, each about a meg each but good quality. Hopefully my server will hold up. :P
http://spiffu.com/monterey/lemans
Trip to Laguna Seca American Lemans series Championship
