We asked you to mark your calendars and that we would have a surprise for you shortly. Well we do! Here it is:

We have setup a MINI Cooper Corral at the famed Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway for the upcoming Tudor/Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge weekend of May 1-3, 2015. The corral will be located in PRIME Real Estate, on "The Island" in the center of the track. This is the same location where MINI USA launched the first GP back in 2006. Some of you may have been part of the Corral that we put on for the R53 MINI Swansong back in 2013. You know how much fun we all had there. Now after a two-year hiatus MINI USA is returning to competition in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with the MINI John Cooper Works team through a partnership with LAP Motorsports.

We have the BEST Car Club Corral location of anyone. The Island is surrounded by turns 2, 3, and 4 of the race track. Our tenting will have clear panels so that you won't miss a moment. It's close to Vendor's Row and the Food Court and is right next to the foot bridge to the nearby paddock area. All MINI Corral parking will be on asphalt.

There will be numerous courtesy golf cart shuttles that will take you to any part of the track. You can grab one of these free shuttles driven by volunteer US Military veterans and be chauffeured to the famous "corkscrew" at the top of the hill to view what is probably one of the most well-known corners in all of motorsport. From that vantage point you can watch the cars as they drop a few stories in altitude, navigating through multiple turns until they hit the start/finish straight again.


We have arranged for the MINI John Cooper Works Team including drivers to come by the MINI Corral for a "Meet & Greet' session where you can take photos with them (standing by your MINI) and get autographs. Time permitting, the MINI John Cooper Works Team will offer tours of their paddock, transporter, and cars.


We are currently working on getting some "special" MINIs to be on display in our corral.


Tickets:


As some may not be able to come for all 3 days and some may or may not have guests/passengers, Laguna Seca has set up the flexible ticket packages separate from the Corral so you can pick and choose the package that fits you best.
Please note that the MINI John Cooper Works team will have practice & qualifying on Friday. Practice form 9:40am - 10:25am and 2:25pm - 3:10pm and Qualifying 5:35pm - 5:50pm.

Saturday] Pre-Race Fan Walk - Pit Lane 12:00pm - 12:45pm and the race at 1:00pm - 3:30pm (150 minutes)

MINIs will not be on track on Sunday but there will be plenty of exciting racing still going on.


The Corral Passes are $25 per MINI and are valid for all 3 days (Friday-Saturday - Sunday)

Ticket packages are as follows:

3-Day (Fri/Sat/Sun) General Admission and Paddock $75.00 per person

2-Day (/Sat/Sun) General Admission and Paddock $65.00 per person

1-Day (Fri) General Admission and Paddock $35.00 per person

1-Day (Sat) General Admission and Paddock $45.00 per person

1-Day (Sun) General Admission and Paddock $55.00 per person


These prices are a significant savings from the "Gate Prices" so ordering ahead is a wise choice.


Here is the directly Link to purchase tix. Tickets are available now. MINI Corral available to the first 100 Minis. ONLY MINI/Minis with Corral passes are allowed in the corral.


https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/mrl...y/quickbuy/176

Schedule:
http://www.mazdaraceway.com/sites/main/files/file-attachments/continental_tire_monterey_grand_prix_schedule_4.8. 15.pdf
Track and Facilities Map:

http://www.mazdaraceway.com/sites/ma...no_lines_0.pdf



More news & Information to come.


Norman Nelson
West Coast Editor
MotorWerks Magazine