Inside The 2010 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Historic Races
By OR Staff, Photography by Aaron Kupferman – Motorsportlens.com and the author
Since we have a dedicated motorsports section, you’re probably wondering why this racing event coverage has been filed under “tuned cars” – a place where you’re more likely to see a behind-the-scenes car feature or track test.
Photo by Aaron Kupferman - Motorsportlens.com
The answer is simple, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, formerly known as the Monterey Historics (whew – Ed.), is more than just a road race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It’s a weeklong celebration of all things vintage, auto, and expensive.
Framed around the historic road races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the Monterey Peninsula Reunion Week kicked off with a celebration in downtown Monterey. What followed after was a near endless assault of wine tours, concours, auctions, street cruises, and gatherings.
It’s obvious to say that these events aren’t designed for the young or the poor; our Lancer Evolution X was the only car we saw in the lot with a turbo and for sure the only one with a wing. These happenings are all dressed up with an air of elegance but the events can be deconstructed as simple meets, auctions, and shows.
Photo by Aaron Kupferman – Motorsportlens.com
At their essence, the events that make up the Monterey Peninsula Reunion Week are designed for the relaxing weekend racer and car enthusiast. They’re not very fast paced or intensive, instead relying on an atmosphere of camaraderie and culture.
With million dollar cars on track and in the concours shows, some going for up to four million dollars in the auctions, enthusiasts show up to Monterey in waves. Some come to show off their high-priced machinery, cruising the streets in Ferrari F430s, Porsche 911 GT3s, and BMWs by the handful. But most come simply to watch the atmosphere and catch spectacles like two Ferrari F40s and one F50 in a train down Highway 68, just in front of the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca entrance.
Highlighting the weekend is the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, an invite-only road race with more categories, classes, and cars than your normal club race. Spanning four days, more if you count the Pre-Reunion event the week prior and the familiarization day, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion stretches out practice, qualifying, and two races for nineteen different run groups.
The cars entered fall into categories like 1966-1972 Trans-Am, 1981-1989 FIA Manufacturer Championship & IMSA GTP cars, Bugatti Grand Prix, and 1966-1983 F1. Even more impressive is the fact that each car has been restored, rejuvenated, and rebuilt for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports reunion. This is the annual Mecca for vintage racers and each team present is sure to have their racecars looking good enough for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
With some of the racecars costing more than a million dollars each and boasting some amount of “historical relevance”, i.e. rarity, the race organizers are both careful and strict with the rulebook. Cars and drivers have to apply to race and are selected based on background history, construction, and driving resume. Bring a common Porsche 911 with a reputation for black flags and you’ll be promptly shown the exit.
We don’t blame them either. Some of the cars on hand included a Porsche 962C, Tyrrell P34 Formula One six-wheeler, Porsche 935, 1928 Bugatti, Shelby GT 350, and original Ford Boss 302 Mustang. These are all cars that are legends and rare sights on their own, much less gathered in a group and racing on track with up to thirty other cars at the same time.
The massive difference in driving talent, experience, car year, and model type also leads to a few discrepancies. Even with Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel, a 1976 Shadow F1 car will have trouble going toe-to-toe with a 1983 Williams. And not a lot of drivers on Earth are Hamilton.
Each race group is spread apart by anywhere from 15-seconds to nearly a minute per lap as the cars all follow a different pace. This translates into an action-packed start and a spread that steadily grows as the 10-lap races wear on. Even if the mere engine notes are enough to captivate you, the top five cars in each group are usually evenly matched and put on a good, tight no-contact race.
If you ever had a reason to make the trip out to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, it should be to relive and re-imagine some of the greatest road races in history’s past. Can-Am, Trans-Am, and IMSA GTP battles take place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca once a year and they’re not exactly cars that you can catch on the tube very easily. We’re sure of one thing, after hearing the Formula One cars scream by with 1:24 average laptimes, you’ll be hooked.
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