Chris Dyson is as big a fan of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as any driver in the American Le Mans Series paddock. The scenery in Monterey couldn’t be more magnificent and the circuit couldn’t be more challenging. Throw in the added difficulty of a four-hour race into darkness, and it all adds up to a classic. And that’s just how Dyson, who will share the No. 20 Dyson Racing Porsche RS Spyder with Guy Smith, likes it.
Enjoying the scenery:
“I think that it’s become a real classic on the calendar because they’ve done it (as) one of the first races we did where it went from day into night. As a setting there’s nothing quite like the Monterey Peninsula, and you really feel that at that time of the year there are very few places in America that are that beautiful. But at that point in the year it’s really a glorious time to be in California. The fans have been coming out year after year; you really feel like we have a great connection with the place.”
Being successful:
“Laguna is an interesting place because the surface changes a lot. There’s a lot of sand that blows onto the track during the course of every session. One time you can come around and a corner can be one way, and then you come around and it has sand on it - it has completely changed. So you have to have a car that has a balance and that’s not on a razor’s edge. It has to have a fairly good operating window because the track can change at any one point in time. Obviously with the day-into-night thing, the temperature comes into play as well. From a tire and technical standpoint, it’s extremely challenging. From a driving standpoint, it’s a pretty good place to race, too.”
The final round of the 2007 American Le Mans Series is the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The four-hour race is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, October 20.
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