Monterey Motorsports Reunion facts for kids
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is an exciting yearly event. It happens at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The main idea is to let old and famous racecars compete. This special event takes place over one weekend in mid-August.
It all started in 1974. A person named Steve Earle created it as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. He wanted his friends to have a place to race their cool cars at Laguna Seca. Until 2010, the event was known as the Monterey Historics. It's now a big part of Monterey Car Week. This week also includes the famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and other car shows. About 550 amazing cars take part in the Reunion each year.
The 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contents
Event Sponsors
Big companies help make the event possible. The first company to sponsor the event was the Chrysler Corporation. Later, Rolex also became a sponsor. After a while, Toyota took over from Chrysler. Toyota sponsored the event from 2006 to 2008.
Awards and Honors
The Reunion is not a professional race. It doesn't give prizes for who finishes first. But there are still special awards!
- Each Saturday and Sunday, a committee chooses a Rolex Award winner from the afternoon races.
- Two morning races each day honor a Bonham's Cup winner.
- There are also awards for the best car display, best Ford-powered car, and great craftsmanship.
- The highest honor is the Rolex Spirit of Monterey Award. This award goes to the person who best shows the spirit of the event. They get a Rolex watch and a painting.
Media Coverage
The Reunion has been featured in many magazines. Autoweek magazine wrote about it several times. Popular Mechanics also covered the event in 2000, 2003, and 2009. Road & Track magazine featured the 2010 event. They also had an article about the 2004 event online.
For many years, the Speed Channel showed the event on TV. Later, Fox Sports 1 took over the coverage. In recent years, Motor Trend magazine has livestreamed the Reunion. You can watch it live on YouTube!
Race Groups and Cars
The Monterey Reunion features many different types of racecars. These cars come from various time periods. Often, cars that raced against each other in the past will race together again.
| Race Group | Year Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sports, racing, and touring cars | 1900–1939 | These are very old cars! |
| Grand touring cars | 1947–1969 | These cars were built for both speed and comfort. |
| Sports racing cars | 1947–1969 | These are special prototype racecars. |
| Trans Am Series | 1966–1972 | Famous American muscle cars raced in this series. |
| Can Am Series | 1966–1974 | Very powerful, open-cockpit sports cars. |
| FIA Manufacturers Championship | 1962–1979 | These were endurance racecars. |
| Formula One | 1966–1984 | The top level of single-seater racing. |
| IMSA GT Championship | 1971–1992 | American sports car racing series. |
| IndyCar | 1963-1978 | Open-wheel cars from American oval racing. |
| Formula Junior | 1958-63 | Smaller, entry-level formula cars. |
| Formula 5000 | 1968-1976 | Powerful open-wheel cars similar to F1. |
| Endurance Legends | 1981-2007 | Modern endurance prototypes. |
Combined Races
Sometimes, different types of cars race at the same time. For example, sports racing cars might race with GT cars. Even though they are on the track together, they don't compete against each other. This is like how it works in professional racing.
Special Race Groups
The Reunion often has special, one-time race groups. These groups are added to make the event even more exciting!
| Event Year | Race Group | Year Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bugatti Grand Prix | 1900–1939 | A special tribute to Bugatti cars. | |
| 2007 | Ferrari | 1956–1971 | Two races for different types of Ferrari brakes. |
| 2008 | Formula Junior | 1958–1963 | Celebrating 50 years of Formula Junior. |
| 2009 | several race groups | Many Porsches were featured this year. | |
| 2010 | Grand National Stock Cars | 1966–1972 | Old-school stock cars. |
| 2010 | Trans Am Series | 1966–1972 | A group for smaller Trans Am cars. |
| 2010 | Formula One | 1966–1984 | A bigger group to celebrate F1's 60th birthday. |
| 2011 | Jaguar E-Type | 1961–1970 | Celebrating the E-Type's 50th anniversary. |
| 2012 | Winston Cup Series | 1974–1990 | More modern stock cars. |
| 2012 | Cobra | 1962–1969 | Celebrating the Cobra's 50th anniversary. |
| 2013 | Porsche 911 | 1964–1974 | Celebrating the 911's 50th anniversary. |
| 2014 | Formula Atlantic | 1974–1980 | |
| 2015 | Formula 5000 | 1968–1976 | |
| 2015 | Shelby GT350 | 1965–1970 | Celebrating the GT350's 50th anniversary. |
| 2016 | Trans Am | 1966-1972 | A larger group for Trans Am's 50th anniversary. |
| 2016 | Grand Touring Cars Under 2500cc | 1961-1966 | Included many smaller Trans Am cars. |
| 2016 | IMSA GT | 1971-1991 | Included newer IMSA cars for BMW's 100th birthday. |
| 2017 | Formula Junior | 1958-1963 | A bigger group for Formula Junior's 60th birthday. |
| 2018 | Formula 5000 | 1968-1976 | |
| 2018 | IMSA GT | 1973-1981 | Many Datsun cars were featured. |
| 2018 | GT Cars under 2500cc | 1961-1966 | Many Datsun 510s were featured. |
| 2019 | Formula Ford | 1967-1981 | Similar to the Formula Jr. group. |
| 2019 | Sports Racers | 1969-1984 | Similar to the FIA Manufacturers Championship groups. |
| 2019 | Formula One | 1966-1985 | Featured cars from a "Masters Championship." |
| 2022 | IMSA GTO & GTP | 1981-1991 | These two groups raced together. |
| 2023 | open wheel racecars | 1927-1955 | Included very old Grand Prix and Indy cars. |
| 2024 | ragtime racers | prewar racecars | A special show race. |
| 2024 | IMSA GTO & GTP | 1981-1991 | These two groups raced together again. |
Featured Marques
Since 1975, the event has honored a "featured marque" each year. A marque is a car brand. This tribute means more cars from that brand are entered. There are also special displays about the brand's history. Sometimes, only cars from that brand will race together.
Sometimes, the event honors a special team or person. For example, the Can Am team Chaparral Cars and racing legend Juan Manuel Fangio have been honored.
| Year | Marque | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | None | ||
| 1975 | Alfa Romeo | Italy | The first featured brand. |
| 1976 | Jaguar | Britain | |
| 1977 | Bugatti | France | |
| 1978 | Mercedes-Benz | Germany | |
| 1979 | Bentley | Britain | Celebrating 60 years. |
| 1980 | MG | Britain | |
| 1981 | Cunningham | United States | The first special brand. |
| 1982 | Porsche | Germany | |
| 1983 | Ford | United States | Celebrating 80 years. |
| 1984 | Ferrari | Italy | Celebrating 45 years. |
| 1985 | Alfa Romeo | Italy | Featured again, celebrating 50 years. |
| 1986 | Mercedes-Benz | Germany | Celebrating 60 years. |
| 1987 | Chevrolet | United States | Celebrating 75 years. |
| 1988 | Maserati | Italy | Celebrating 75 years. |
| 1989 | Aston Martin | Britain | Celebrating 75 years. |
| 1990 | Allard | Britain | |
| 1991 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Argentina | The first person to be honored. |
| 1992 | Jaguar | Britain | Celebrating 70 years. |
| 1993 | Miller | United States | |
| 1994 | Ferrari | Italy | Celebrating 55 years. |
| 1995 | Lotus | Britain | |
| 1996 | BMW | Germany | Celebrating 80 years. |
| 1997 | Shelby | United States | Celebrating 35 years. |
| 1998 | Porsche | Germany | |
| 1999 | Auto Union | Germany | |
| 2000 | Maserati | Italy | |
| 2001 | Bentley | Britain | Honored as Bentley returned to racing. |
| 2002 | Corvette | United States | The first specific car model honored. |
| 2003 | Ford | United States | Celebrating 100 years. |
| 2004 | Ferrari | Italy | Celebrating 65 years. |
| 2005 | Chaparral | United States | The first race team honored. |
| 2006 | Cooper | Britain | Celebrating 60 years. |
| 2007 | Indianapolis 500 roadsters | United States | Honoring a special race group. |
| 2008 | Alfa Romeo | Italy | |
| 2009 | Porsche | Germany | |
| 2010 | Dan Gurney | United States | |
| 2011 | Jaguar | Britain | |
| 2012 | Cobra | United States | Celebrating the Cobra's 50th anniversary. |
| 2013 | Corvette | United States | Celebrating the Corvette's 60th anniversary. |
| 2014 | Maserati | Italy | Celebrating 100 years. |
| 2015 | Shelby GT350 | United States | Celebrating 50 years. |
| 2016 | BMW | Germany | Celebrating BMW's 100th anniversary. |
| 2017 | None | The racetrack's 60th anniversary was celebrated instead. | |
| 2018 | Nissan | Japan | Included cars from Datsun. |
| 2019 | IMSA | United States | The first organization honored. |
| 2020 | none | Event canceled. | |
| 2021 | Ford in Trans Am | United States | Celebrating the 55th Anniversary of the Pony Car Wars. |
| 2022 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | France | Celebrating 100 years of this famous race. |
| 2023 | Corvette | United States | Celebrating 70 years. |
| 2024 | Salute to featured marques from years past | Celebrating the event's 50th anniversary. |
Rules and Racing Style
The cars at the Reunion are very valuable. Because of this, the rules are strict about crashing. If a driver causes a crash on purpose, they might not be allowed to race again.
Unlike some other historic races, the Monterey Reunion races are not about super hard competition. Drivers often wave to each other to signal when it's safe to pass. This helps protect the amazing cars from damage.
Sometimes, a car might be placed in a race group that isn't exactly right for its size. This can happen if the car is a bit bigger than a smaller group, but much smaller than a larger group. Also, some older cars might race with slightly newer ones if they have similar technology.
Before 2022, qualifying races were on Friday, and main races were on Saturday and Sunday. Now, all race groups compete on Saturday.
Modern Race Cars at the Event
Sometimes, even newer race cars join the event. In 2009, a modern American Le Mans Series Porsche 911 raced with older IMSA GT cars. This was because their technology was similar. In 2012, an ALMS Corvette also raced with an IMSA GTO group. In 2016, modern BMW racecars were featured to celebrate BMW's 100th birthday.
Professional Drivers
The Reunion is mostly for amateur racers. But some current and former professional drivers do attend! They often race in the IMSA groups.
Some famous drivers who have been there include:
- The Edelbrock family
- Randy Pobst
- Boris Said
- Bruce Canepa
- Brian Redman
- David Hobbs
- Leh Keen
- David Brabham
- Jim Hall
- Tommy Kendall
- Marshall Teague
Related Events
Before 2010, the Reunion was connected to the Wine Country Classic at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. That event is now called the Sonoma Speed Festival.
In May 2017, a smaller event called the Spring Classic started at WeatherTech Raceway.
Event Changes
After the 2009 event, the original organizers (General Racing Ltd.) and the track managers (SCRAMP) decided to make a change. SCRAMP wanted to organize a new event that would be better for the economy. So, after 2010, the event became the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The old name was still owned by General Racing Ltd.
Even with the new name and organizers, the Reunion is very similar to the original event. It uses the same structure and features the same race groups.
Awards and Recognition
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion has won important awards.
- In 2013, it was nominated for the Motor Sports Event category at the International Historic Motoring Awards.
- In 2017, it won the FIA Founding Members' Heritage Cup for Motorsport Event of the Year. This was a big honor, as it was the first time an American event received this award!
