Historic Racing at Laguna Seca during Monterey Car Week 2024 proved to be its best edition yet this year
Words and Photos by Vijay Sankar; press release info from Laguna Seca Raceway
One of the best experiences during Monterey Car Week is to witness historic racecars do what they were built for – race hard on track, all week long at Laguna Seca. You can see historic cars firing up, being worked on, and driven as they were originally intended. The bar was raised further from the previous years, with even more heavy hitters at the paddock and track this year. Elusive legends like the Mazda 787B, Panoz Esperante and the M1 Procar were all going through their paces. This year’s event marked the North American dynamic debut of the Goodwood Hillclimb record holder McMurtry Spéirling.
This year’s Rolex Motorsport Reunion had it all, from pre-war cars to open wheel formula cars, Trans-Am, Can-Am and GTO, to SCCA sports cars doing what they do best. The Corvette anniversary exhibit spanning across the history of the marque with every era and generation of Corvette was featured on the track, in the paddock and in the Corvette corrals. New reveals by Ford with the Mustang GTD, Gordon Murray Automotive with the T.33 Spyder, T.50 Niki Lauda and more made the experience all-encompassing.
Add to this the unique opportunity to interact with these vehicles, and have conversations with eminent personalities from the motorsport world such as Adrian Newey, Zak Brown and Gordon Murray.
From the point of view of a photographer, Laguna Seca’s dynamic geography offers very diverse opportunities to capture the sense of speed of the cars. The Corkscrew corner with its jaw-dropping elevation change, and the sweeping turn 5 are some of the choicest spots to work from.
The third annual Corkscrew Hillclimb took place during the 2024 Monterey Pre-Reunion, setting new records and drawing significant attention from legendary drivers eager to prove their mettle on the iconic turn. This year’s event marked the North American dynamic debut of the McMurtry Spéirling and the return of the 2024 Drako GTE with professional racer Andy Pilgrim behind the wheel, further solidifying the impressive performance of electric vehicles. Fans were also thrilled by the appearance of a new crowd favorite, the brand-new Case IH Steiger 620 Quadtrac tractor, which brought a unique and entertaining twist to the competition.
A new Corkscrew Hillclimb record was clearly inevitable after the McMurtry’s first practice run with Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Max Chilton at the helm. The center-cockpit Spéirling launched toward turn 11 for the hard right-hander with such quickness that spectators stood nearly speechless. While the McMurtry was the clear leader of the group, second and the third was tightly contested.
A tip for those of you who prefer to work with less bustle around you – the Pre-Reunion on the weekend before the Reunion is a wonderful opportunity. Most of the cars will still be present and racing, and you get more time and space to interact with your heroes!
The atmosphere at the racetrack is something to be experienced firsthand, and the Monterey Motorsports Reunion manages to faithfully recreate the nostalgic feel reminiscent of paddocks from the bygones eras of racing. We recommend that you attend it if Car Week is on your schedule in the future!