Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2011 – Ferrari 250 GTO Race
The Ferrari 250 GTO class was a featured race at the 2011 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, held August 19-21 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, California.
The Ferrari 250 GTO race group was the obvious fan favorite at the 2011 running of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, as the GTOs were swarmed everywhere they went during race weekend. A field of seven Ferrari 250 GTOs were joined by a Ferrari 330 GTO, the GTO Prototype, three 250 GT SWBs, a 275 GTB/Comp and a 250 GT Lusso.
With less than 40 of the GTOs built between 1962 and 1964 and prices into the stratospher, it’s logical to wonder about the risk of racing such a valuable car, but Tom Price of Larkspur (who finished the race in second position) doesn’t give it much thought. “I’ve owned my GTO since December of 1983 and raced it over 165 times,” he said.
“The fundamental car is all there, so if you damage the car it really doesn’t cost any more to repair it than it would any car of a much less value; it’s strictly a body shop issue. When you start worrying about the value you shouldn’t be racing the car, because that’s when you get into trouble on the track. What has made these cars so collectable is that people do take them out and race them and have a wonderful time with them.”
Lukas Huni from Zurich, Switzerland, raced his Ferrari 250 GT Bertinetta Competition SEFAC, which is a short wheelbase car that is technically one evolution earlier than the GTO but it utilizes the same engine. It was raced by brothers Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez and won the 1000 kilometers of Paris in 1961. “Everyone who races in vintage events love their cars,” said Huni. “The history of the car is appreciated by the owner, ideally for the right reasons, which has nothing to do with the value of the car. It is what it did in its time and why you want to preserve that history that matters. The current owners of vintage race cars actually become a part of the history of their car.”
In the first of several photo galleries dedicated to the 2011 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Tim Scott of Fluid Images offers the following images from the Ferrari 250 GTO race. To see more of Tim’s images, visit fluidimages.co.uk.
Ferrari 250 GTO Race Photos – Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2011
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Ferrari 250 GTO Race Results – Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2011
#2 Carlo Vogele Rapperswil, Switzerland – 1963 Ferrari 330 GTO chassis 4561SA
#20 Tom Price Larkspur, CA – 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO chassis 4757GT
