Rolex Monterey Historic Races

The Rolex Monterey Historic Race is a fantastic event. It brings out the best cars and the displays of the featured marque always have some special cars from manufacturers or track museums. This years feature was Indy Roadsters. Along with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this is one of the premiere automobile events in the world.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1963 Watson Turbo "Racing Associates": What a cool looking racecar. I love the big turbo hanging out the side next to the driver.

Indy Roadsters

There was a great selection of Indy Roadsters from different eras represented at the Rolex Monterey Historic Race

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1959 Christiansen "Travelon Trailer Spl.": This 1959 Christiansen Indy Roadster has an intersting paint scheme and beautiful polished wheels.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1957 Curtis "Roy Brady Spl.": This was one of my favorite Indy Roadsters. It just looks fast.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1957 Kurtis 500G2: Beautiful 1957 Kurtis 500G2 "City of Daytona Spl." with a 4178cc engine.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1951 Schroeder: 1951 Schroeder "Blakely Oil Spl." with a 4,424cc engine.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1959 Watson "Simoniz Special": Driven by Jim Rathman the "Simoniz Special" finished 2nd in the 1959 Indianapolis 500 Race. The car is currently driven by Larry Pfitzenmaier, a lucky man indeed.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1957 Salih Offenhauser: 1957 Indy 500 winner looks as good as it did 50 years ago.

1966 - 1974 Historic Can-Am Cars

This is probably my favorite group. My father took me to my first Can-Am race in 1972, at Laguna Seca.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1971 McLaren Turn 5: 1971 McLaren M8E entering turn 5 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The fuel injected 8,095cc V-8 sounded awesome.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1970 Shadow Mk1: This must be a blast to drive, it looks like a Go-Kart with a huge wing and has an 8,100cc engine. It was great to see this car in action again. Hopefully this was only an oil leak on the headers and not an engine problem.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1971 Lola T-222: 1971 Lola T-222 Can-Am car between turn 4 and 5 at Laguna Seca.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1966 McLaren Mk1: 1966 McLaren Mk1 exit of the Corkscrew.

1970 - 1980 HIstoric IMSA GT Cars

This is one of my favorite groups, probably because I started going to road races in the 1970's and saw many the great drivers race these cars race at Laguna Seca.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1978 Brumos 935 Porsche: It was great to see this Porsche 935 on the track again.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1979 Porsche 935K3: 1979 Porsche 935 K3 vs. 1975 Dekon Monza. The #2 Monza driven by Chad Raynal won the 1970 - 1980 IMSA GT Cars Group 7B race.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1980 Porsche 935K3: This 1980 Porsche 935 K3 finished 1st in the IMSA class and 5th overall at the 1980 24 hour race at Le Mans.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1977 Dekon Monza: This Chevy Monza was a beautiful example of American Muscle in the IMSA GT class.

1947 - 1955 Sports Racing and Prod. Cars under 2000cc

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1955 Ferrari Mondial: Just in case you think guys are putting around in old cars this is a taste of the racing action on the Rolex Monterey Historic Weekend.

1961-1965 Sports Racing Cars

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1961 Lotus 19: 2nd Place finisher in the 1961 - 1965 Sports Racing Car class.

2007 Rolex Monterey Historic Races - 1963 Huffaker Genie: This 1963 Huffaker Genie took 1st place in the 1961-1965 Sports Racing Sunday Group 6B race. This car sports a 5,687cc V-8.

This is a very good spectator event. You experience racing cars and action the way it used to be. The crowd size is small compared to MotoGP Race. You can drive or ride right in and park and don't have to purchase expensive passes for parking and paddock access. August is also a great time to experience the Monterey/Carmel area. There are many car related events including auctions during the Historic Weekend and you can also experience fine dining with your choice of cuisine.

A breathtaking experience

If you have never attended the Rolex Monterey Historic Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, you should plan on attending an upcoming event. It's never too late to start planning for the next one!