This is the Central Coast Circuit race course and it looks like it was a M Cat 4/5 group.
http://www.strava.com/rides/central-...h-place-300754
Note the number of laps. In a circuit race there is a time set for the race. Depending on the speed of the field, the officials decide how many laps and racers must watch the lap cards. This is all local knowledge so check with your race club for more details.
I like to pre-ride the course days beforehand if possible. The Central Coast Course starts with a climb and there is a fast descent (the Corkscrew) back to the start. In my experience, the field is going to go hard at the start and kill the short climb. So a good warmup is a must. The descent will be fast so practice on the descent is a great idea. One has to know how the speed from the descent is reduced. I think there is a turn so practicing the descent followed by a high speed turn is also a great idea.
Much like Racer Ex said, I treat low priority races much like hard training days. I do like to have a pre-race routine that gets me ready for the race. I do not want to have my legs experience a hard anaerobic effort on race day after two days off. When I trained with the Russians, we motor paced a couple of days before a race to focus on race effort at very high cadence and speed. Good luck.