The racecars of John and Charles Cooper will be the featured marque at the 33rd Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, to be held August 18–20, 2006. Honoring the Cooper Car Company will be part of a larger celebration of the 50th anniversary of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, featuring the racecars and champions that have competed there.
“With a long and distinguished automotive history, Cooper Car Company left an indelible mark on the racing world. Their design innovations altered the face of Formula One and the Indianapolis 500 and their sedans excelled in Rallying,” said Monterey Historics organizer and founder Steve Earle. “It is fitting that the 33rd Rolex Monterey Historic should honor the Cooper legacy, which has included some of the greatest names in racing, such as Sir Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Maurice Trintignant and Bruce McLaren.”
As part of its tradition of showcasing and preserving motorsports history, the 33rd Rolex Monterey Historic will not only feature Cooper cars, but will also present historic IMSA, Can-Am and Trans-Am cars which raced at Laguna Seca, as well as a select group of historic Formula One cars.
Founded in 1947 by Charles and John Cooper, the Cooper Car Company started in a small garage in Surrey, England, where the father-son team began building racecars. By the 1950s and 1960s the Cooper Car Company reached its peak as their rear-engine, single-seat cars enjoyed multiple successes in Formula One events, while ushering in the “mid-engine revolution” at the Indianapolis 500.
Some of Cooper’s many successes include Brabham placing 6th in a Cooper Formula 2 car at the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix and Moss winning the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix in a Cooper, while in 1959 and 1960, Coopers won 11 Grands Prix, with Brabham winning two world championships. Cooper and Brabham went on to shock the racing establishment at the Indianapolis 500 when they appeared in 1961 with the revolutionary, rear-engine Kimberly-Cooper-Climax.
