Latest Vehicles

Most Popular Vehicles

Latest Features

Latest Topics

Featured Galleries

Photo of the Day

2003 Monterey Historic Automobile Races
By: Drew Phillips
Photos by the author
September 18, 2003

Article Images


For thirty years, the Monterey Historic Automobile Races have offered a unique and rare glimpse at vintage automobiles in action. Started as a companion event to the Pebble Beach Concours, the historic races have evolved into a massive gathering of automotive enthusiasts who enjoy seeing the races each and every year. This year's races were unique with Ford celebrating its 100th anniversary and a special race to celebrate Bugatti race cars.

Ford's anniversary was celebrated by a gathering of racing cars, specifically the GT40. A total of eight MkIV GT40's were built, and six of those still survive. For the first time in their history, all of the cars were together in one spot. Several other GT40's were at the races as well including a GT40 roadster prototype, the McLaren/Amon MkII that won the 1966 Le Mans, and the famous Mk1 chassis #1075 that won both the 1968 and 1969 Le Mans. 1075 also competed in the races on Sunday. Fitting in nicely with the original GT40's was a brand new production-version GT painted in Ford racing colors. Another Ford exhibit displayed several other cars of Ford's racing history including vehicles that competed in NASCAR, World Rally, IMSA, drag racing, the Indianapolis 500, TransAm.

Besides the displays from Ford, several other car companies brought their products to entice potential consumers. Chrysler brought a host of concept cars, and Bentley brought their new Continental GT and their Le Mans-winning Speed 8. The controversial styling of the new cars in the BMW stand was also a popular topic of conversation.

While the exhibits tantalized the crowd's senses to see the latest and greatest, watching the races was what everyone really came for. The great thing about Laguna Seca is that there are so many fantastic places to watch the cars on the track, whether you are in the stands watching the cars roar down the short straight after turn 3, on the hill seeing the uphill battles on turn 6, relaxing under a shady tree as the cars maneuver the fabulous corkscrew of turn 8 before your eyes, or in the grandstands watching the the cars exit the last turn and roar down the straight towards the finish line. My favorite spot is near the bottom of the hill after the corkscrew turn. The trees lining the track offer a picturesque background for the cars racing by, and you are as close to the cars as you can get with the exception of the paddock.

I won't really bother getting into all the cars at the races, or which cars won their categories. You can find the entry list and racing results at www.montereyhistoric.com. While that is information that some might find relevant and interesting, I don't feel the need to post results because that wasn't what the race was about to me. I thought instead I would share about just a few of the cars that grabbed my attention.

The class of cars that first got my heart pumping were the 1955-1960 Sports Racing Cars. Some amazing cars competed in that category during the weekend. No less than three Jaguar D-Types were present along with two Maserati T-61 Birdcages, and two Ferrari 250 Testarossas. Knowing the historical significance of these cars and seeing them on the track was simply stunning.

Several other of my favorite cars were in the 1963-1966 Production/GT Car group. Seeing three of the six total Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupes together was a fantastic experience, as well as viewing three rare Shelby GT-350R race cars on the track. Personally significant to me was my first sighting of a real 250 GTO. Seeing the shape of the beautiful Ferrari race car in person and hearing the 3-liter V12 scream down the track was an experience I'll never forget.

The 1963-1969 FIA Manufacturers Championship Cars were probably my favorite due to the overwhelming amount of Ford GT40's present. A total of ten GT40's were registered to race in the category. My favorite was the famous chassis #1075 owned by Rob Walton. Several other extraordinary race cars were in the group as well including a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM and several Shelby 427 Cobras.

Perhaps the most exciting event during the race happened not during a race but during a pace lap. The production version of the 2004 Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron was making its first official U.S. debut, and someone decided that having the Veyron act as the pace car for the Bugatti Grand Prix (Bugatti race cars from 1919-1939) was a good idea. However, something went terribly wrong as the car left turn 1. From my vantage point at the Andretti hairpin, I heard the loud, abrasive screeching of tires against pavement, and the Veyron came spinning backwards into my view. The car spun several (either two or three, I can't recall exactly), and I thought for sure that the car would hit the concrete barrier. The car ended up hitting the dirt and coming to a stop no more than a yard from the wall, facing backwards on the track. I can only imagine the panic the driver was feeling as he nearly smashed a $1.3 million car into worthless metal.

This being my first time at the Historics, I was pleasantly surprised that the races exceeded all of my expectations. It was pure joy to see the cars driven the way they were meant to be driven. You can get up close and personal with the cars in the paddock, and Laguna Seca offers a spectacular view of the cars on the track. These races could easily be considered a car enthusiast's mecca. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Whether you live near or far away, making it to Monterey in mid-August for the Monterey Historic Races and the other events during the weekend is definitely worth it.