Monterey Historics – Pulpaddict

MONTEREY CAR WEEK: LET’S RACE.

Legends of Le Mans grab the spotlight at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Our Jim Palam was trackside and brings us highlights of MONTEREY CAR WEEK: LET’S RACE.

There’s no doubt about it – it’s an addiction that overrides the allure of champagne parties on velvet lawns, pageants of coach-building luxury, or hobnobs with motoring’s fast and famous. It’s estimated that more than 15 million speed junkies attend U.S. motorsports events annually, and I just couldn’t wait to get to Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to get my fix.

This four-day racing celebration began on Wednesday, August 17^th and ran through Saturday, August 20^th. It was preceded by two days of the Monterey Pre-Reunion on the 13^th and 14^th. In that my Car Guy Chronicles assignment would afford me just one day at Laguna Seca, my plan was to hit it hard on Friday and run it fast. I hustled to trackside photo-op locations, roamed the paddock lanes for close-ups of the cars, drivers and crews and finally ended up on a small tower at Turn 8 where I grabbed this report’s lead photo of Interscope’s beautiful black, Lola T600 charging out of Turn 7 and down into the infamous Corkscrew. This Lola design was one of the first sports cars to use ground effects – reduced space between the car’s floor and the track’s surface – to create greater downforce.

One of the big draws to this year’s reunion was the Le Mans Centennial Heritage Display presented by Motul. It was curated exclusively for Car Week’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca to honor the historic significance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and to kick-off the year-long celebration of the event’s upcoming 100^th anniversary in 2023.

The Le Mans cars on display were generally overall winners or class winners from private collections and museums. A number of these legends were fired up for exhibition laps and ran at relatively safe speeds behind the Lexus Safety Cars. Together with the cars racing in the four Le Mans-specific run groups, it was arguably the largest such gathering of authentic Le Mans cars ever assembled in America. So, buckle-up gang… Let’s Race!

This ‘51 Fabulous Hudson Hornet was impossible to miss on the paddock side of the WeatherTech Raceway pedestrian bridge. It was strategically parked across from the Hagerty Drivers Club Building which is adorned with the slogan The Track is Calling. Now if the track could indeed talk it might sound like Paul Newman who was the voice for the ‘Doctor Hudson Hornet’ car in the 2006 Pixar animated film, Cars.

The Le Mans Centennial Heritage Display got the red-carpet treatment. It was laid out with the cars carefully presented under a sturdy, high-roof open paddock garage. There was plenty of room to walk around each car – like car No. 36, the silver Porsche 356 Abarth Carrera GTL. Easy viewing of the cars’ histories and specs were provided by the display of large placards that hung from the metal roof beams.

Don’t let its beauty fool you; this ‘65 Iso Bizzarrini A3/c Corsa was a formidable competitor at Le Mans, winning its class and finishing ninth overall in 1965. Currently owned by Bruce Meyer, the A3/c Corsa is described as a “front-mid-engine” design with the engine practically sitting in the driver’s lap. Now forgive me, but that’s a lap dance I’d love to personally experience!

This Porsche 550A Le Mans Coupe is powered by a 1,498-cc air-cooled DOHC flat four. It finished 5th overall and 1st in class at the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans. From 1956 -1960 it racked-up 19 podium finishes including 2nd in class at the 1957 12 hours of Sebring. Among the acclaimed drivers behind its wheel were Ken Miles, Jean Pierre Kunstle and AK Smith.

Who’s the lucky soul riding shotgun in this drop-dead gorgeous Ferrari 250TR? Mechanic? Best friend? Insurance agent? Well, your guess is as good as mine but whoever the passenger and driver are they are no doubt grinning from ear-to-ear. This car raced in the 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans but didn’t finish after being involved in an accident on its 72^nd lap.

It’s immediately recognizable in its powder blue and marigold orange Gulf livery. This is the famous Ford GT40 P/1075 in which Jackie Ickx won the 1969 Le Mans, beating the Porsche he was drafting by two seconds. It was one of the closest competitive finishes in the race’s history and the second win for the car using the same chassis. Ickx would credit the mechanics and the team’s mantra of “Dare to Win” for the victory.

Raced and crashed during practice at Le Mans in 1966, this silver Scuderia Bear GT40 P/1029 was resurrected some time ago and has since been competing in exhibition races like the Goodwood Revival in Sussex, UK and here at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. I captured this staging lane moment with driver and mechanic, laser-focused on directions from the race officials.

The Whittington Brothers Racing Porsche 935 Turbo kisses the paint at the bottom of the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. These American brothers, Don and Bill, along with German co-driver Klaus Ludwig won its class at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans in their 3.0L twin turbo Porsche 930 for Kremer Racing of Germany. Of note in 1979 was the presence of fellow racer Paul Newman who was driving for Dick Barbour Racing.

Don’t forget to add masking tape and brown Kraft paper to your race-prep tool box! It’ll come in handy when you enter your priceless Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta TdF Coupe in an exhibition race at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. This shiny red and mustard yellow example was a crowd pleaser in the Le Mans Centennial Heritage Display area.

She’s drop-dead gorgeous and rather intimidating. No, I’m not talking about Supermodel Bella Hadid; I’m talking about this wicked Peugeot 908 HDi race car, owned and raced by David Porter. Every angle of this storied race winner oozes sexiness, power and unnerving superiority. It was yet another reason I spent so much time drooling over the 40 cars I discovered in the Le Mans Heritage Display area during MONTEREY CAR WEEK: LET’S RACE.

Speaking of sexiness, this Briggs Cunningham fielded 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans racecar has the kind of body only a mother or, in this case, a builder could love! It rides on a Cadillac Series 61 chassis and is powered by a Cadillac V8. Such beauty quickly earned this aluminum bodied endurance racer the nickname, “Le Monstre.” Grumman Aircraft Company assisted with the body design and fabrication.

Belying its age and rising like Melville’s Moby Dick from the crest at Turn 7 is the large and in charge ‘29 Bentley Old Number One. To say this beautiful beast is legendary is an understatement – as it was the first racecar to win at Le Mans twice – winning in 1929 and again 1930. Its final race win was in 1931 at Brooklands.

Back in 1963 advertising Creative Director Bill Backer penned the jingle, Things Go Better with Coke. Perhaps that was the unfair advantage Porsche was looking for with its Coke-liveried 962 GT. As the story goes, “Porsche built a single works 962 for testing and development purposes. It was entered for Mario and Michael Andretti in the 1984 Daytona 24 Hours race. As a sign of things to come, they easily qualified the car on pole with a margin of nearly two seconds over the next fastest car. Sadly, the race ended early for them due to a transmission problem.” Coke did not change its jingle to, “Things Sometimes Go Better with Coke!”

It is about half the weight, horsepower and aerodynamic drag of a typical Le Mans Prototype and in 2012, it thrilled Le Mans racing fans until it was pushed off the road by a Toyota prototype. It unfortunately could not recover to get back to the pits after a hard impact into the wall by the Porsche Curves. The Nissan DeltaWing was designed by Ben Bowlby and developed with the help of Dan Gurney, Chip Ganassi and Duncan Dayton.

WORDS & PHOTOS: Jim Palam, https://www.jimpalamphotos.com/

Many thanks to the thousands of volunteers without who the fabulous Monterey Car Week shows and events, and MONTEREY CAR WEEK: LET’S RACE wouldn’t happen.

For more information about the Reunion, please visit https://hsrrace.com/rolexmontereymotorsportsreunion2022/

Check out information about events at Laguna Seca @ https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/government-links/weathertech-raceway

SALOON GROUP: 2022 ROLEX MONTEREY HISTORICS

Among the many makes and models eligible for the SALOON GROUP: 2022 ROLEX MONTEREY HISTORICS is this ‘67 Alfa Romeo GTA, which Brandon Adrian drove at the 2018 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

Visitors to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 17-20 will see a decidedly European staple rev to life. The historic Saloon (or Touring) car race group is an exciting class that always produces an interesting variety of cars when they race at equally legendary tracks like Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans. Now they’re setting their sights on America and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“The Advisory Council has been discussing new classes of racing for a while to keep each Rolex Reunion fresh for both drivers and visitors,” explained Bruce Canepa, co-chair of the Advisory Council, which also oversees car selection. “The Saloon group perfectly complements the four Le Mans-focused groups, as well as our signature groups like Historic Trans-Am and Formula One. It is going to be a spectacular experience.”

Eligible cars range from the Alfa Romeo 1750 GT Veloce and Lotus Cortina to the MG Magnette and Wolseley Hornet. “The variety of cars that are being submitted for entry consideration is impressive and entertaining,” Canepa added.

Saloon cars are road-going close-bodied models that have been heavily modified for racing. The purpose of adding this group is to begin establishing it as a regular attraction that can be rotated with others from year to year.

The 2022 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion celebrates the start of a yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the world’s most famous sports car race – the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Of the 12 race groups, four are dedicated to cars that raced at Le Mans or were eligible to race in period. The groups span from 1923 all the way through the blindingly fast Le Mans Prototypes seen between 1981 and 2005.

Visitors to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion can expect to see the world’s best authentic and historic cars with period-correct livery in the paddock and on track. The four-day celebration, which begins on Wednesday, August 17, and concludes on Saturday, August 20, is preceded by two days of the Monterey Pre-Reunion, August. 13 and 14, where many of the same cars compete.

For more information on SALOON GROUP: 2022 ROLEX MONTEREY HISTORICS and other events for 2022, please visit https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/government-links/weathertech-raceway

MONTEREY 2021: ROLEX MOTORSPORTS REUNION!

Jim Palam set his GPS and focus on WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as he headed out into a dense morning fog to capture the action and excitement of Monterey Car Week’s largest event – historic car racing at MONTEREY 2021: ROLEX MOTORSPORTS REUNION!

I consider myself a good driver but I was unusually nervous heading into a heavy fog shrouding the long, ridgetop South Boundary Road that leads to the admissions checkpoint at Laguna Seca. The unforgiving fog was one thing, but the realization that I had left my camera backup batteries and charger at the motel I had just checked out of was a foolish mistake – and now there was no turning back. I had just 15 minutes to make it to the Photographer’s Safety Meeting where I’d pick up my wristband and track-issued photographer’s vest. Without these items there would be no trackside shooting or hot pit access.

The good news was that I wasn’t the only media person running a little behind as the fog had slowed the start-up activities for the day’s racing. By 7:45 AM however, I could hear what sounded like the crackle of a twin-turbo running some hot practice laps on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. By 8:15 AM I was on a volunteer shuttle that brought me up to turns 8 and 8A, the famous Laguna Seca Corkscrew. It was now time to shoot and I had to make do with one battery.

Heading down from the Corkscrew I ran into comedian, filmmaker, collector, driver Adam Corolla in the Paddock area. He was kind enough to pose for a photo, above, right, beside one of his Paul Newman racecars – ’74 Porsche 911S. Corolla and his Newman 911S come out of Turn 4, below, in hot pursuit of a mid-field position in a Group 3A race. This is the car that was driven by Newman and Freeman in 1977 at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The Corkscrew is a dive-bombing, roller-coaster series of quick turns featuring a blind crest and a 59-foot drop in elevation beginning in Turn 8 with a quick exit at Turn 8A. In other words, it’s one of motorsports’ most challenging and thrilling turns – and the perfect backdrop for this rare ‘60 Tipo 61 Camoradi Birdcage Maserati.

Stu Hanssen blasts down the Rahall Straight, seconds away from entering the infamous Corkscrew, in his Group 4A ’51 Baldwin Special. Powered by an Ardun-converted Flathead, it’s the same car he’s driven to Cars & Coffee gatherings in the Santa Ynez Valley area. A loose Panhard Bar slowed him down in the turns, but he still finished a very respectable Sixth.

Remember that early morning twin-turbo practice run I heard? Well, here’s the beautiful noise-maker. Turns out driver Zak Brown was giving the viewers of The Racer Channel some helmet-view thrills from inside Car No. 18, as he repeatedly tickled the redline during a spirited run around a foggy Laguna Seca. I caught him blasting the flat nose Porsche 935 JLP-3 later in the day out of Turn 4.

Race Time! A mustachioed Ragtime Racer and his mechanic are all smiles as they get ready to hit the course for Saturday’s Ragtime Racers exhibition for Historic pre-1920 racecars. Fans loved watching the procession from the Paddock area to the track where they huffed and puffed their way over the hills, down the straights and through the 11 turns of Laguna Seca!

There’s no racing on the track until you get your car to the track. Back in the 1940s that may have been accomplished on the back deck of a sturdy Ford COE racecar hauler like this modified beauty on display in the Paddock area.

Racers are passionate about everything related to motorsports, and they often bring more than their enthusiasm to the track; they also tend to bring their “stuff” – like this pricey ‘40 Big Tank Crocker motorcycle.

Motorsports racing is typically a heavily-funded team effort, but the nice thing about the Rolex Reunion is that you can be a privateer and still have a blast. Here a racer makes a last-minute adjustment on his beautiful Jaguar E-Type Competition Coupé.

Donald Anderson’s ‘64 Bobsy SR3 Sports Roadster. Sleek Bobsy lightweight SCCA racecars were originally created by Jerry Mong in collaboration with brothers Alan and Kaye Heir.

POTUS in the Paddock! What a surprise to see President Biden readying his Triumph TR2 at Laguna Seca! OK, this really isn’t Car Guy Joe; I added the Presidential patch just for giggles!

One of my favorite racecar liveries is on the famous Al Unser driven Indy 500 Lola. The bright yellow Johnny Lightning bolts on deep candy blue paint is electrifying. Thrilled to see this legend at the Reunion!

Mechanic Chris Clarke kneels by his racecar “responsibility” – the famous Hans Stuck driven ‘74 March 741 early ’70s tall air-scoop F1 racer. The bright orange Jägermeister livery has adorned Formula 1 and German Touring Cars for decades of championship racing.

This is the interior of the rare Car No. 33 Centurion competition roadster. Its Sting Ray-influenced body was designed by Bud Goodwin and built by Fiberfab Corp. in Sunnyvale, CA in 1964. The original Sting Ray Racer was designed by Peter Brock in 1958, years prior to production ’63 Corvette Sting Rays.

No, this isn’t a motor that would have powered any of the historic cars at Laguna Seca, but it was on trackside display for its historical significance. This is the brutish 2,000 horsepower supercharged Chrysler Hemi that sits forward of the driver in the famous ‘64 Fuller/Roberts Starlite III Top Fuel Dragster. Lots of Golden oldies at MONTEREY 2021: ROLEX MOTORSPORTS REUNION!

Ford delivered an impressive display of style and performance both on the track and in the Paddock viewing areas. The brought a fleet of historic racers – including the legendary Holman & Moody GT40, P/1016 that finished Third at Le Mans in 1966, from the Shelby-American Collection, Boulder, CO. It’s owned by the Miller Family Foundation.

During my limited time at MONTEREY 2021: ROLEX MOTORSPORTS REUNION! I marveled at our rich motorsports history and wondered what its future is going to look like. As I photographed this current Ford GT, I kept thinking: The future might be hybrid, it might be electric, it might be virtual, or it could even be autonomous? Whatever it evolves to I’m pretty sure it will continue to be a shared participant experience, and it will continue to be exciting!

Check out MONTEREY 2021: ROLEX MOTORSPORTS REUNION! and a calendar of events at Laguna Seca @https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/government-links/weathertech-raceway