British race car driver, Formula 1 television commentator, Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee, businessman and all-around unbridled storyteller David Hobbs will share his escapades as the highlighted guest speaker at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion’s annual Picnic in the Park on Saturday, August 20, 2016. The picnic is traditionally a fan favorite of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, which will be held August 18-21, 2016 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Joining Hobbs on stage will be noted motorsports historian Murray Smith, who will bring out some of the best — and maybe unintended — stories about Hobbs’ travel and experiences.
Hobbs’ racing career spanned 30 years, where he exhibited his versatile driving talents in wide-ranging series like sports cars, Indy Cars, Formula 1, Can-Am and NASCAR. While a frequent visitor to Monterey, Hobbs can look back fondly on his win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on his way to the 1971 L&M Continental 5000 Championship in a McLaren M10B. Hobbs’ career with the 2016 featured marque BMW started in the 3.0 CSL for the 1976 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. For these two iconic long-distance races, Hobbs was paired with the late NASCAR legend Benny Parsons. Hobbs then went on to winning the hearts of BMW fans the following year driving the incredibly fast BMW 320 Turbo in IMSA GTO.
Hobbs began his television career in 1976 commenting on all types of racing. He was in the booth for 17 consecutive Daytona 500 broadcasts, including the 1979 race that was the first flag-to-flag live coverage of a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race, which set the stage for what it has become today. Currently, he can be seen on NBC as a racing analyst and color commentator for its Formula 1 coverage.
The Picnic in the Park begins at 1 p.m. in the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca marketplace and provides an opportunity for fans to bring their lunch, listen to stories and ask questions. Past guests have included Sir Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Sir Jackie Stewart, Bob Bondurant, Bobby Unser, Martin Brundle, Bob Tullius, Scott Pruett and Tommy Milner.
BMW is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is this year’s featured marque. BMW of North America’s historical display is expected to feature a wide range of race cars and street models.
A maximum of 550 historic race cars will be accepted for entry in the 15 race groups. Each car will be evaluated for its authenticity, race provenance and documentation that it is period and mechanically correct from when it originally ran.
For more information, call 831-242-8220 or visit MazdaRaceway.com.
[Source: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; photo: Autosports Marketing Assoc.]
