Report and photos by Dennis Gray
The Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion 2012 was held August 11-12 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, California.
Formerly known as Monterey Pre-Historics, the event is held the weekend before the much, much larger Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The 2012 running of the Monterey Pre-Reunion was again open to the public, allowing spectators to enjoy a more relaxed paddock environment and a glimpse of the following weekend.
The Pre-Reunion is designed to give Monterey Motorsports Reunion entrants — many of whom have never raced on the 11-turn, 2.238 mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca — track time before the green flag officially drops the following weekend. Typically about 50-75% of the cars that race in the Reunion also attend the Pre-Reunion and this year was no different, with approximately 250 historic racing cars on track compared to 550 scheduled for the 2012 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
Among the notable entrants at the 2012 Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion included the 1934 Alfa Romeo P3 of Jon Shirley; Charles Wegner’s 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Tour de France; 1958 Porsche Abarth of Ranson Webster; Michael Malone’s Porsche 908; David Swig in his 1957 Monsterati and Alfa Romeo SZ; Erickson Shirley’s 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial; 1953 Siata 208CS of Jeffery O’Neill; Paul Perry’s Saab Phoenix H-Modified; 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage driven by Jonathan Feiber; 1957 Greg Whitten’s Aston Martin DBR2 and ERA B-Type Romulus; 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Competizione of Mark Colbert; Peter Giddings in his Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3; in addition to a great selection of Cobras, the featured marque of the Reunion.
Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion 2012 – Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)
Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion 2012 – Top Five Sunday Race Results
Group One – 1947-1955 Sports Racing and GT Cars
1. David Swig Sausalito, CA – 1957 Monsterati Special
2. Don Pepperdene Monterey, CA – 1949 Herlinger Baldwin Merc Special
3. Erickson Shirley Vail, CO – 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial
4. Thomas Claridge Los Gatos, CA – 1953 Kurtis 500S
5. Rob Manson Barcelona, SPAIN – 1953 Tatum Special
Group Two – 1955-1962 GT Cars
1. Rob Walton Scottsdale, AZ – 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB
2. Ranson Webster Reno, NV – 1960 Porsche Abarth
3. Max Jamiesson Carmel Valley, CA – 1957 Porsche 356
4. Alec Hugo Mill Valley, CA – 1962 Porsche 356B
5. Leonard Turnbeaugh Markleeville, CA – 1958 Porsche 356A
Group Three – 1961-1966 GT Cars under 2500cc
1. John Hugenholtz Schilde, BEL – 1964 Lotus Elan 26R
2. Dalmo De VasconcelosRio De Janeiro, BRA – 1965 Lotus Elan 26R Spec
3. Thomas Claridge Los Gatos, CA – 1962 Ginetta G4R
4. Gilbert Hakim Carmel Valley, CA – 1967 Porsche 911
5. Alan Terpins Sao Paulo, BRA – 1968 Porsche 911 T/R
Group Four – 1958-1963 Formula Junior Cars
1. Jimmy Domingos Carmel, CA – 1962 Cooper T59 FJ
2. J.G. (Pete) Ball Dallas, TX – 1963 Lola MK 5A
3. Chris Locke San Anselmo, CA – 1963 Lotus 27
4. Douglas Mockett Christiansted, USVI – 1961 Cooper T56
5. Patrick Moran Palo Alto, CA – 1962 Lotus 22
Group Five – 1963-1966 GT Cars over 2500cc
1. Lorne Leibel Willowdale, CAN – 1964 Cobra 289
2. Jim Click Tucson, AZ – 1964 Cobra 289
3. Rob Walton Scottsdale, AZ – 1964 Ferrari 250 LM
4. Jeff Abramson Alamo, CA – 1965 Shelby GT350
5. Donald Lee Portola Valley, CA – 1965 Cobra 427
Group Six – 1955-1961 Sports Racing Cars
1. Chris Orosco Monterey, CA – 1959 Lola Mark I
2. Herbert Wetanson New York, NY – 1960 Lola Mk I
3. Thor Johnson Kirkland, WA – 1959 Lotus 17
4. Erickson Shirley Vail, CO – 1959 Lister Costin
5. Glenn Stephens Alpharetta, GA – 1956 Lotus Eleven
Nice photos, although there are too many of that damn turn 11 with all of the ugly signage in the background. Would love to see more from the rest of the track.
Where are the pre war cars?
Mark, those ugly billboards represent a significant sponsor commitment to keeping open one of the world’s greatest road racing circuits on a beautiful and very expensive piece of real estate.
Thank you, Dennis, for giving those great sponsors additional media exposure.
And for the great pictures.
David – You are exactly right and I do appreciate them supporting Laguna Seca. My complaint, albeit in appreciation of Dennis’ fine photos, is that we don’t see enough of this beautiful piece of real estate, only turn 11 and bits of the Corkscrew. Regardless, I’m quite thankful for the images and everyone’s work in putting this together, SCD, Dennis Gray, Laguna Seca and their sponsors.
There are more images coming. I just plain ran out of time to edit and caption the image. Dennis