2022 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
Each year Car Week brings together the automotive tribe from all corners of the United States and far flung corners of the world. It is one of the few automotive spectacles that can scratch the itch of those that have diverse and varied passions in the automotive arena. For some, Car Week is all about seeing the latest seven-figure hypercar cruise down Ocean Avenue in Carmel, or Monterey’s Alvarado Street. For others, it’s a visit to a display of their favorite automotive brand such as Porsche, Ferrari, or McLaren. From classic hot rods and modern sports cars, Car Week has it covered, but many have forgotten, or simply don't know that the origin of this legendary week of car culture was auto racing.
Car Week was born in 1950 in the woods and dirt roads of the Del Monte forest, where people raced within inches of trees and spectators alike, “protected” only by hay bales and minimal amounts of discretion. The birth of Car Week was the Pebble Beach Road Races where drivers competed for the Del Monte Trophy. The Pebble Beach Road Races would lead to the construction of Laguna Seca Raceway in 1957 as a safer venue for racing. Thus, in more modern times was born the Monterey Motorsport Reunion (or more commonly, “the Historics”) considered by us to be one of the must-see events of Car Week.
The Reunion every year has a central theme or featured marquee brand serving as the centerpiece for the weekend of events at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. This year, it was a tribute to the 24 Hours of Le Mans that saw the central line-up of 51 Le Mans-winning cars and selected specials in Le Mans Legends Heritage Display, presented by Motul. The display stretched from the 1929 and 1930 overall winning Bently Speed Six all the way up to the 2005 Audi R8. 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the creation on the 24-hour classic. If you’ve never seen the race, sadly you’ve missed this year’s running. Next year’s race will be held over the 10th and 11th of June.
This year’s Reunion had 400-plus historic race cars to help remind both young and old alike of the glory days of mostly analog racing glory. It is one of the few places to see the history of motorsport from near the turn of the century to the early 2000s all in one place.
A big tent party!
Vintage racing was not the only show at the track. The Reunion always brings together a mix of classic and ultra-modern automotive displays and this year was no different with a display from Audi showing off the new all electric S1 Hoonitron, the Gordon Murray Design T33 & T50 and the Pagani Huayra R. During our visit on Saturday both the Huayra and T50 even took to the track for demonstration laps.
Also worth mentioning was the presentation in front of the Hoonitron display in the Audi garage was one of the most amazing cars we’ve ever seen at the Reunion, the 1987 Audi Sport S1 E2 Quattro. This is Walter Rohrl’s (possibly) 750 horsepower all wheel drive flame throwing Pike’s Peak record-setting car. This was the first car to complete the famed hillclimb in less than 11 minutes. It has more flares, canards, and ducts than you can shake a stick at. We’ve seen it in old videos and magazines a million times, but this thing in person…WaaWeeWaaWaa!!!!
Not to be overshadowed by the advances in internal combustion performance Lucid Motors was on hand with none other than driver Ben Collins, formerly The Stig from British Top Gear, to throw down some hot laps in the new Lucid Air Sapphire powered by three electric motors putting down in excess of 1200 horsepower.
But wait, there’s more…
There’s an old expression, “don’t meet your heroes,” and it’s absolutely based in fact. Sometimes reality doesn’t measure up to expectations. Well, it’s based in fact everywhere but at the Reunion. We’ve been going for a couple of decades and we’ve never been let down. A great time is had by all. It’s always a good time to say hi, get an autograph, or to up your selfie game. This year it wasn’t just The Stig who graced attendees with his presence. We also spotted Grand Marshal (and 9 time Le Mans winner) Tom Kristensen, 6 time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx, 1999 Le Mans winner and driver of everything Jochen Mass, Corvette racing legend Ron Fellows, doer of everything Pete Brock and many many more.
Another feature of the event that we never miss is a stroll over to the lagoon area of the raceway where scores of vendors offer a variety of food and drink options and various (and pricey) swag. It’s also preferred parking, a field for various car clubs to host corrals, and for the last couple of years, a venue for the folks at Bring a Trailer to host an awesome meet-up/show that’s a great event in itself. If you pay attention, a walk around this area can reveal some bona fide awesomeness.
And then there are prizes…
Prizes are presented to individuals based on exceptional performance in their race groups, not based on race results, and are selected by stewards. The 2022 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion prize recipients are:
Peter Giddings Memorial Award – Nathanael Greene: 1925 Bugatti Type 35
Ken Miles Award – David Woodhouse: ex-Ken Miles’ 1961 Dolphin Mk2
Phil Remington Award, presented by Ford – Francois Sicard: 1962 Stanguellini
Henry Ford Trophy – George Krass: Ford-powered Panoz LMP900
Bonhams Passion and Spirit Award – Ernie Spada: 1981 Lola T600
John Fitch Corvette Award – John Goodman: 1971 Chevrolet Corvette
Stellar Performance in Braking Award – Horatio Fitz-Simon: 1964 Lotus 26R
Motul Best of Show – Bruce McCaw: 1952 Mercedes-Benz W194
Rolex Awards
1958-1963 Formula Junior – Phillip Ribbs: 1963 Lotus 27
1974-1979 Formula Atlantic – Laurent Parmentier: 1977 Chevron B39
1955-1966 SCCA Production Cars – Horatio Fitz-Simon: 1964 Lotus 26R
Ragtime Racers – Rob Dyson: 1913 Isotta Frachinni
1923-1955 Le Mans Celebration – Max Jamiesson: 1957 Porsche 356
1956-1971 Le Mans – Gray Gregory: 1969 Chevron B16
1972-1982 Le Mans – Jonathan Feiber: 1974 Porsche RSR
Le Mans Legends Exhibition – Flavien Marcais: 1975 Alpine-Renault A441
1981-2005 Le Mans Prototypes and GT1 – Malcolm Ross: 1985 Porsche 962
1955-1969 Saloon Cars – Don Racine: 1961 Austin Mini Cooper S
1966-1972 Historic Trans-Am – Dennis Singleton: 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
1966-1985 Historic Formula One – Chris Locke: 1976 Lotus 77
1981-1991 IMSA, GTO, Trans Am – Walt Brown: 1987 Chevrolet Camaro
The Spirit of Monterey – Presented to the driver or entrant who excels in the spirit of the weekend was awarded to Martin Lauber who entered his 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI and 1976 Porsche 911 RSR, as well as participating in the Monterey Race Car Show in downtown Monterey Aug. 12
This year was different than Reunions past as the event was shifted this year so that Saturday would be the final day of the Reunion rather than the typical ending on Sunday. Sunday offered something brand new, as for the first time in the 65-year history of WeatherTech Raceway a hill climb event was staged with participants racing counter-course from near the Start-Finish line up through the iconic Corkscrew. We were not able to attend Sunday’s festivities but all reports are that it was a hit.
In conclusion…
We will always maintain that the Reunion is literally a must-see for those trekking to Car Week. One can attend various concours events around the Monterey peninsula during Car Week but few events if any at all display the history of Motorsport on track and driven in anger the way it should be. Not only is it the cars, but the personalities well. Legends of sports car racing, Formula 1, and everything in between show up. It’s one of the few events to meet your heroes whether that hero is a legendary driver or a legendary racing machine. In a nutshell, it’s everything.
As always, and because of our obvious literary deficiencies, we leave you with a super gallery. Please enjoy, and if you’ve never attended the Reunion before, please allow it to inspire your first experience next August.
-The Loud Pedal
