2006 SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA Historic 50th season of racing includes world championships, motorcycles and sports cars MONTEREY, Calif. (September 22, 2005) The 50th season of motorsports at the world-renowned Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will include two World Championship events, North America’s two premier professional sports car series, and the 33rd running of North America’s most prestigious historic automobile race in a schedule announced today by Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The historic season will begin March 17-19 with the debut of a brand new open-wheel series, the A1 Grand Prix. Pitting driver against driver and country against country for the first time in motorsports history, this “winter” series will bring together 25 national teams representing 80 percent of the world’s population to actively compete on a level playing field. The stop at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is round 11 of 12 on the inaugural A1GP schedule and the only such event held in the United States. This event is pending a completion of an agreement between the two parties. The U.S. Sports Car Invitational May 5-7 is headlined by the Daytona Prototypes and GT cars of the rapidly-growing Grand American Road Racing Association’s Rolex Sports Car Series. The Daytona Prototypes and GT cars will do battle in a 250-mile race (with a two-hour, 30-minute time limit) on Sunday, May 7. The Rolex Sports Car Series will be joined by the Grand-Am Cup for high-performance sports cars along with additional support races to be announced soon. The 2006 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix July 21-23 is one of the most anticipated events in motorsports after the 2005 event drew a record weekend attendance of 153,653. American Nicky Hayden will defend his 2005 win against Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards and the rest of the MotoGP World Championship field, who will no longer be strangers to the challenging 11-turn, 2.238-mile racetrack. The MotoGP World Championship will be joined by the most competitive national Superbike series in the world, the American Motorcyclist Association’s (AMA) Superbike Championship. On August 18-20, the Monterey Peninsula takes a step back in time with the 33rd Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Next year’s event celebrates the storied history of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with historic IMSA, Can-Am and Trans-Am race groups, along with a featured marque of Cooper. The 50th season of racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca concludes with the world’s most exotic racing sports cars. The Monterey Sports Car Championships October 20-22 provides a dramatic conclusion to the 2006 season with a Saturday afternoon-into-evening four-hour race featuring the season finale for the prestigious American Le Mans Series. The series features Le Mans prototypes and GT cars, many of which compete and win in the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. The weekend schedule will include IMSA’s Porsche GT3 series and the Star Mazda series. “This is one of the most complete schedules of events ever held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and a wonderful schedule to celebrate our 50th season of racing,” said Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “With new events like the A1GP race, plus two prestigious sports car races, the Rolex Monterey Historic weekend and the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, our schedule captures the traditions of this race track and the future of motorsports all at once.” Tickets for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix are available now. Tickets for the remaining events will go on sale January 9 by calling (800) 327-SECA during normal business hours or logging onto www.laguna-seca.com or www.ticketmaster.com. 2006 Schedule of Events March 17-19 A1Grand Prix of Nations TO BE CONFIRMED (www.a1gp.com) May 5-7 U.S. Sports Car Invitational Featuring the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series (www.grandamerican.com) July 21-23 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Featuring the MotoGP World Championship and AMA Superbike Championship (www.motogp.com, www.amasuperbike.com) August 18-20 Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races Featured Marque: Cooper (www.montereyhistoric.com) October 20-22 Monterey Sports Car Championships Featuring the American Le Mans Series (www.americanlemans.com)