The Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion roared to life Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with a full slate of practice and qualifying sessions featuring many of the world’s finest historic race cars ahead of the first two races of Monterey Car Week on Sunday.
Saturday’s action culminated with one of the weekend’s most anticipated traditions: the Corkscrew Hillclimb. Held just once a year, the event sends competitors racing uphill through Laguna Seca’s legendary Corkscrew, reversing the usual direction on one of motorsport’s most iconic sections of pavement.
Defending champion Christine Sloss once again proved quickest, successfully retaining her Corkscrew Hillclimb title with an overall victory in her Ferrari SF90 XX Spider. Sloss stopped the clock at 30.482 seconds to claim the fastest time of the event(see main story image).
While Sloss topped the timing sheets, Andri Musiienko of Ontario, Canada, won over the crowd and earned the People’s Choice Award in his 2015 Porsche Macan. Musiienko attacked the uphill course in full drift, punctuating his run with an unforgettable reverse drift as he powered his way up the Corkscrew.
Richard Spritz captured the Formula Junior Award in his 1960 Huffaker BMC Mk 1, recording a best time of 37.985 seconds from the front straight to the top of Turn 9.
The Hillclimb also produced one of Saturday’s more unusual sights when Ross Merrill and sons Thomas and Jonathan Merrill tackled the course aboard three go-karts in tandem, adding another memorable chapter to the event’s anything-goes atmosphere.
Competition resumes Sunday with the first two races of Monterey Car Week as the Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion draws to a close. The weekend serves as the final competitive tune-up before many of the cars and drivers return to Laguna Seca for next week’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
Race groups, schedules and event information, along with ticket and hospitality options for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, are available at WeatherTechRaceway.com. Original story © 2026 Weathertech Raceway
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Above Photos © 2026 Rex McAfee , @rexmcafee 🏁
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