fbpx

MotoGP hits wall, won’t return to Laguna Seca in 2014

Michael James

MotoGP won't return to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2014.

MotoGP, the most prestigious international motorcycle racing series, won’t return to California in 2014 after a nine-year tenure at Mazda Raceway Lagua Seca.

According to a report on the Monterey County Herald website and confirmed by racetrack officials, the hugely popular event held as the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, will stop after a mutual agreement with Laguna Seca and the MotoGP parent company, Dorna Sports.

The absence of the MotoGP on the Monterey Peninsula means the global series in 2014 will have only two stops in the United States — in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Austin, Texas.

MotoGP won't return to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2014.
MotoGP won’t return to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2014. Image courtesy WikiCommons.

“There is, frankly, not enough of everything to go around for three world championships in the United States,” Gill Campbell, general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, told The Herald.

Campbell told the newspaper the licensing fee for the event will increase by $800,000 next year and that the raceway last lost money on the event for the past four years.

Though the international motorcycle race series has steadily drawn weekend crowds of 150,000 to the Peninsula, Campbell said the event has not been profitable for the past four years.

The racetracks in Indiana and Texas, according to Campbell, are subsidized with state revenues.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a nonprofit run by the Sports Car Association of the Monterey Peninsula, which manages the county-owned facility.

Here’s the 2014 MotoGP race series schedule

United States Grand Prix of the Americas, Circuit of the Americas, Austin
Aragon Gran Premio de Aragón, Motorland Aragón, Alcañiz
Argentina Gran Premio de la República Argentina, Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo, Santiago del Estero
Australia Australian Grand Prix, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island
Brazil Grande Prêmio do Brasil, Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, Brasília
United Kingdom British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
Catalonia Gran Premi de Catalunya, Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló
Netherlands TT Assen, TT Circuit Assen, Assen2
Spain Gran Premio de España, Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera
France Grand Prix de France, Le Mans Bugatti
Germany Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal
United States Indianapolis Grand Prix, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis
Italy Gran Premio d’Italia, Mugello Circuit, Mugello
Japan Grand Prix of Japan, Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi
Qatar Grand Prix of Qatar, Losail International Circuit, Doha3
San Marino Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano Adriatico
Valencian Community Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana, Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia

Article Last Updated: October 1, 2013.

Leave a Reply

Share to...