/> Ferrari 312 PIn the past Friday was reserved for qualifying sessions, but that changed last year when the day was concluded with two races for the Ferrari Historic Challenge. With all of the Challenge cars also eligible to race one of the races on the regular schedule, it seemed to make little sense to add the Challenge to the program. In fact only very few of the cars that raced on Friday did not make it out on the track again on Saturday or Sunday. However there was one very special Ferrari that came to Laguna Seca specifically for the Historic Challenge, completely blowing the previous argument out of the water. This special Ferrari was Arnold Meier’s freshly restored 312 P, which is one of only two in existence. The other is in a private collection and has not been seen in public for years. Meier entrusted his precious machine to experienced racer David Franklin, who drove the car in spectacular fashion. It could well have been the first time since the 1971 Sebring 12 Hours that the car turned a wheel in anger on American soil, despite being on it for a vast majority of its life. At Laguna it ran in the ‘Disc Brake’ race against no fewer than four 250 GTOs, four 512 BB LMs and an equally spectacular 512 S. The race was won by Todd Morici who beat two similar cars in his 512 BB LM. The victory in the ‘Drum Brake’ race was taken by the oldest car in the field; a freshly restored Alfa Romeo P3, driven skillfully by Peter Giddings.

Today the small single seaters are still very popular and under the guidance of Duncan Rabagliati the Historic Junior championship thrives. (Photo: Pieter Melissen and Wouter Melissen) » More Photos

Toyota Race of Legends
Toyota Race of LegendsAnother recent addition to the proceedings is the Toyota Race of Legends. This year nine racing legends including 1980 World Champion Alan Jones, Eddie Cheever and Danny Sullivan, Toyota’s current Formula 1 driver Timo Glock and charity auction winner Bruce Canepa took the track for a race with competition spec Scion tCs. With most of the drivers not taking the white lines too seriously the race was quite spectacular. The ‘legends’ were quick to discover that the quickest way though the corkscrew was through the dirt on the inside of the entry and straight down through the gravel. Fortunately there were no major accidents unlike last year, but the race left the track absolutely covered in gravel. Much more gravel than the sweepers could ever remove before the precious historic cars went out again. These track conditions really did not fit with an event that punishes any serious accident with a year’s suspension. Perhaps next year the ‘Legends’ should race machinery that they can’t afford to use as bumper cars.

Race of Legends winner Timo Glock was out later in the day to head the Toyota parade in the very successfully Toyota-Eagle Mark III GTP car. Running ground-effects created downforce levels inconceivable today, the Toyota-Eagle dominated the 1992 and 1993 IMSA championship. Glock was followed by a GTO and GTU version of the Celica and a competition spec 2000 GT.

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