There are few stretches of racetrack as instantly recognisable as the Corkscrew at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. For Roadgrip Motorsport USA, preparing the Californian circuit for this year’s INDYCAR season finale also meant helping to commemorate the driver responsible for one of the most famous moments in its history: Alex Zanardi
Our US crew was on site ahead of the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey, installing the sporting lines, pit lane markings, run-off designs and large-scale sponsor branding required for the race weekend.
Among the work was something rather more personal: designing and painting a special Alex Zanardi tribute at the circuit where his name will forever be part of INDYCAR history. WATCH THE VIDEO
Laguna Seca’s 2.238-mile layout is famous for its dramatic elevation changes and, above all, the Corkscrew – a corner complex unlike almost anything else in racing. The 2026 INDYCAR finale brought the championship back to Monterey for 95 laps around the Californian circuit.
Roadgrip’s scope extended across the circuit, from the functional sporting and pit lane lines to large areas of run-off and track branding.
Honda was particularly prominent, with enormous painted logos occupying areas of the circuit that become highly visible from grandstands and broadcast cameras. Mission Foods, title sponsor of the Grand Prix of Monterey, also featured prominently within the track branding.
For the large Honda graphics, our crew used VR technology to transfer the designs accurately from digital artwork onto the track. The system helps our operators establish the position, proportions and key reference points of a graphic across a huge area of pavement before the finished design is painted.
One element of this year’s project meant more than the usual race branding.
Roadgrip was asked to design and paint a special Alex Zanardi logo at the circuit, commemorating the late two-time CART champion and his extraordinary connection with Laguna Seca.
Thirty years earlier, in September 1996, Zanardi arrived at the Corkscrew behind Bryan Herta on the final lap. What happened next became known simply as “The Pass”.
Zanardi made an audacious move into the Corkscrew, running across the inside of the corner before emerging ahead and going on to take victory. It became one of the defining moments of American open-wheel racing and permanently connected the Italian driver with Laguna Seca.
The connection was made permanent during this year’s INDYCAR weekend when Laguna Seca officially dedicated its most famous section as the “Zanardi Corkscrew”, marking the 30th anniversary of that 1996 race.
For our Roadgrip Motorsport USA crew, that’s what made this particular trip to Laguna Seca one to remember.
Contact our renowned team at Roadgrip Motorsport for your motorsport circuit track design, preparation and painting.
