Assetto Corsa: 1963 Jaguar E-Type at 60s Laguna Seca

Similar to the origin of Watkins Glen in New York, Laguna Seca was born from the local club racing scene around Pebble Beach immediately after World War 2 ended. The SCCA would set up barriers around public roads and city streets and hope for the best, until the public saw enough death and banned racing on public roads.

A special committee was formed in Monterey in August of 1956 to discuss the location of a purpose built racetrack, deciding on the land adjacent to nearby Fort Ord. The military immediately said no, but the Sports Car Racing Association of Monterey Peninsula ( SCRAMP) ceaselessly lobbied the Defense Department until they agreed to lease the land for a whopping $3,000 in August of 1957. SCRAMP then began campaigning to raise public funds to build the racetrack, hoping to have the track done by November of the same year.

Miraculously, $125,000 was raised to build a 2 mile track inside the property. Using the bowl shape of the dried up lake (Laguna Seca meaning "dry lake" in spanish), no plans or drawings were ever made of the track before paving began, with site developer Wallace Holm simply placing stakes in the ground for the bulldozers to follow. Allegedly, the famous corkscrew was created when a bulldozer driver couldn't find a safe way down from the top of the hill and was told by the foreman to figure it out on his own.

60 days after construction began, the first race at Laguna Seca was held on November 9th, 1957, in front of 35,000 fans. Pete Lovely won in a Ferrari 500 TR.

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