(Monterey, Calif.)- Thermal Motorsports Track & Club and Darren Law, ambassador of
the future western home of motorsports in America, attend the Global Tuner Grand Prix
Launch Inaugural Event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
The Global Tuner Grand Prix (GTGP) presented by Mobil 1 was the season finale for
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and featured the Global Tuner Grand Prix, Challenge
Race, Pirelli Drivers Cup and historic stock car race. Thermal and Track Ambassador
Darren Law partnered with Global Tuner GP for this exclusive event to watch a mix of
racers from various backgrounds set out on track, incorporating makes and models from
every corner of the globe. Continue reading →

Check out the entire issue HERE!

Nov. 3, 2010

Sunday Group Management

This year marked the launch of the Global tuner Grand Prix race at the world renown Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (near the town of Monterey, in California). The race was open to 3 classes of cars; Import, European and Domestic vehicles, which includes Street, Tuner and Unlimited. The Laguna Seca track is unique in that it is the only rack in North America where lap times for production cars are recognized by major manufacturers worldwide and used to measure a car’s performance. The event spanned over three days and included top manufactures, tuners, drivers and teams from around the world. Continue reading →

Written by Andy Pilgrim

MONTEREY, Calif. –  Over the October 22-24th weekend, I was at the inaugural Global Tuner Grand Prix (GTGP) held at Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca in California.

Photo courtesy of Michael Wong, K-PAX

The K-PAX Racing team decided just a couple of weeks before the weekend to support and compete in the GTGP. Our regular World Challenge season finished some weeks earlier Oct. 3rd at Salt Lake, Utah at Miller Motorsports Park. The team figured this event would be a lot of fun, and who doesn’t want to be in beautiful California in the fall?

Well, let me tell you about California on this particular weekend in the fall.  Mother Nature needed a good dose of Comtrex or Claritin-D. The weather would put additional pressure on teams to succeed. You’ll hear more about this as I go on.

We had a nice morning on Friday but rain in the afternoon almost shut things down as nobody wanted to waste time trying to set up for a wet track. Hey, we’re in California, it’s bound to be nice tomorrow right? Continue reading →

(From Renntrack.com. Read the entire post, with pictures and a video HERE)

Mobonic won the Unlimited RWD class of the inaugural Global Tuner Grand Prix at Laguna Seca

RennTrack.com dominates!!!!!

Results and footage from the event will Air on MOBIL 1 THE GRID!!!!!

RennTrack.com members had podium finishes in:

Tuner RWD Class – 2nd Place by Menzer
AWD Unlimited – 3rd place by member WHERESWARDO (behind Andy Pilgrim in the World Challenge K PAX Volvo)

By Joey Leh, Photography by the author

One of the most famous racetracks in the world, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has seen Moto GP, Formula One, IndyCar, and American Le Mans Series (ALMS) machines run across its pavement. Mass marketed in the infamous Gran Turismo video game series and centered around its iconic Corkscrew corner, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a world-class racing facility with the paddock setup, course size, and surroundings to back up its reputation.

But the racetrack remains out of reach for many drivers. Nestled nearby quiet Monterey, the track is surrounded by wineries, high-end homes, and buildings that look like they stepped out of a craft store catalog. Needless to say, it’s an expensive area. The cost of entry, even for a track day, is higher than your “normal” track but the biggest deal breaker is the noise requirement.

Expensive homes need expensive quiet and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca only has a couple weekends a year that aren’t subject to a restrictive 92dB limit. Blame the neighbors for that one. The takers for 2010 on the noise-less weekends include ALMS, Moto GP, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and the Global Tuner Grand Prix (GTGP). Continue reading →

Lorne Leibel has gone through one adrenalin rush after another in his 59 years of life, the latest being learning how to drive Porsches as fast as he can within his capabilities.

That’s where Greg Franz enters the picture. Franz, with the help of Porsche North America, founded the Pirelli Drivers Cup with the idea of helping drivers develop their skills behind the wheel of Porsches with proper coaching and, in the four years since he founded the series, 10 drivers have gone on to the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series he said Saturday. Continue reading →

Monterey, CA (23 October 2010) – It might seem that after another impressive racing season that included a strong debut performance in the Rolex Sports Car Series season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, breakthrough poles and runs in front of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge field with the Sunoco Fuels Camaro, and award-winning performances in this two first Daytona Prototype starts, Matt Bell might be settling in for the off-season and looking forward to next year. But the young Californian isn’t done just yet. Continue reading →