Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Motorsports Reunion A Historic Feast
With more than 600 entries, revived event features Bugatti and honors Dan Gurney.
Wouter Melissen  | http://www.ultimatecarpage.com  |  Posted August 27, 2010   Monterey, CA
A highly original Bugatti Type 35 runs in a special class for race cars from the famed marque during the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
During last year's Monterey Historic Automobile Races, big and (according to most) welcome changes were announced for the 2010 edition. For the first time since 1974, the event was not going to be organized by its founder Steve Earle and his company General Racing. Instead Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca owner SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula) would produce the complete event themselves.

A Lotus 81 grand prix car dives into the corkscrew at Mazda Laguna Seca. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
One of the most visible changes was the adoption of a new name for this year's event: the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. A switch of organization and name are often enough to put even the finest event's future in doubt, but as an integral part of the weeklong automotive activities on the Peninsula, the races need not have worried about entrant or spectator interest.

Certainly not in the first year, with its 600-strong entry list spread over 19 racing groups. To accommodate the record number of cars, Thursday was added to the roster. Thursday and Friday were used for a practice and a qualifying session for each group. As usual, the A groups raced on Saturday and the B groups on Sunday. What did change were the race-day morning sessions, which were upgraded from warm-ups to qualifying races.

Celebrated during this year's Reunion were Dan Gurney and the many great cars he raced and/or developed over the past five decades.

Our photographers were at the track for the better part of three days and have managed to capture all 19 groups in action. This has resulted in an exclusive and spectacular 260-shot gallery.

The first Bugatti Grand Prix was organized in 1928 by Ettore Bugatti. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
One of the 19 classes was reserved exclusively to Bugatti competition cars. The first race of this kind was organized back in 1928 by Ettore Bugatti and held at the Le Mans circuit. Known as the Bugatti Grand Prix, the event was intended for the company's gentleman drivers and no professionals were allowed to compete. The winner was awarded a brand-new Type 35 racing car.

There were no awards of that magnitude when the first US Bugatti Grand Prix was held at Laguna Seca in 1995. That race was won by the great Phil Hill in one of the ferocious Type 54 Grand Prix cars.

Most of the 34 Bugattis entered this year were of the slightly more modest, Type 35, 37 and 51 variety. Quite a few owners brought their cars from overseas, including Luc Slijpen from The Netherlands. He thoroughly enjoyed his highly original and beautifully patinated Type 35 at the swooping track for the very first time.

There was a special section in the paddock for Bugattis, which featured many additional examples of the French marque, including the very latest Veyron Super Sports, which recently set a production-car top-speed record. On Friday, the Bugattis crossed Laureles Grade for the annual Quail Ru'. The Grand Prix on Saturday was won by Charles Dean in a Type 51.

A Boss 302 Mustang battled it out in the Trans Am race with a Challenger and a Camaro. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)
A popular addition to the schedule in recent years has been the group for early Trans-Am cars (1968 - 1972). These brightly liveried Mustangs, Camaros and Javelins were raced by all of the country's great drivers in period for legendary team owners such as Roger Penske and Jim Hall. Fittingly, this year's Trans-Am race featured a three-way battle between a Challenger, a Camaro and a BOSS Mustang. After swapping the lead several times, the race was eventually won by Bruce Canepa in his ex-Dan Gurney Mustang.

Although most vividly remember the 5-litre V8-engine machinery, the very first Trans-Am race was won by Jochen Rindt in a diminutive Alfa Romeo GTA, which ran in the 2-liter class. Shortly after, the smaller cars were campaigned in separate races. In their honor, there was a special group for these 2-litre Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns. Nissan North America brought the famous championship-winning, Peter Brock-developed Datsun 510 for 1971 and 1972 champion John Morton to drive. Brock was also on hand, this time in his current capacity as a photographer.

Another new group and an instant hit was 6B for Grand National Stock Cars built in the 1960s and 1970s. Among the two-dozen roaring examples entered was the actual Ford Galaxie used by Dan Gurney to win the first ever NASCAR road race at Riverside back in 1963.
Page 1 of 3
Prev
123
Next
wouter_melissen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wouter Melissen

UltimateCarPage.com

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.