No Laguna Seca MotoGP In 2014

Hosting a MotoGP event is a massively expensive endeavor, one that’s evidently too much for Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. With increased licensing fees from Dorna—up $800,000—and an overall cost of about $9 million, the track has opted out for 2014, leaving Indiana’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the freshly christened Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, as the two U.S. stops for MotoGP next year.

Both COTA and Indianapolis benefit from state funding that helps offset the financial burden of hosting, while Laguna Seca has had to fend for itself. Although the event draws up to 150,000 enthusiasts to California’s Monterey Bay area every July, track officials say the event hasn’t been profitable for several years.

[ Spaniard Marc Marquez gives racing legend Valentino Rossi a taste of his own medicine with a gutsy pass in the Corkscrew at this year’s Laguna Seca MotoGP. Photo by Andrew Wheeler/Automotophoto