2009 Featured Marque: Porsche

Also part of the weekend:

• The 1960 Porsche Type 718 Formula 2 racing car, which gave Porsche its first Formula 2 world title and was driven in 1961 by Californian Dan Gurney, is making its North American debut.
• The 1962 Porsche Type 804 Formula 1 racer, which was the car that brought Gurney to his French Grand Prix win that year. This car has not been in North America since the 1960s.
• The 1962 Porsche Type 718 W-RS 8-cylinder Spyder, in which Gurney and Joakim Bonnier finished second at the Targa Florio in 1961, has also not been in North America for more than 40 years. In the 1960s, it was raced in the U.S. by Gurney, Bonnier and Phil Hill.
• The Porsche GT1 98LM, which helped Porsche finish 1-2 at the 1998 24-hours of Le Mans event.

Porsche was last the featured marque in 1998 and they put on an excellent exhibit including many memorable race cars on the track. The event was popular; we recommend that you leave early for the track on the weekend as the crowds and traffic will be significant.

Click Here for ticket information.

Official web site: montereyhistoric.com

There is another difference: A race car, given proper maintenance, can last a lot longer than its human pilots. Which brings up an interesting situation: while the cars can function for a long time, they are not needed because newer designs are much faster and going faster is what it is all about.

But old race cars still have the ability to excite race fans even though time has passed them by. People, still enjoy the sounds, sights and smells older race cars offer. And they offer the same thrills to their drivers and owners.

It was under these circumstances that vintage racing was born. The phenomena started in the mid 1970s, took off in the 80s, and today draws the same crowds as current racing series.

Held on the third weekend in August, the Monterey Historic Races is one of the premier vintage racing events in the world. The crowd it draws is world-class and admission for a car to participate is by invitation only.

Attending the Monterey Historic races: Crowds are huge as they are at all events during the big car weekend. In the case of the Historic races, this will be a significant factor in how you plan things, as access to the racetrack is limited. This means that you MUST get an early start when you leave, especially on Saturday and Sunday.

The featured marque car and their corresponding popularity will affect traffic levels. In 1998 (Porsche) and in 1994 (Ferrari) were the featured cars and the crowds were huge. But in 2001, when it was Bentley's turn, things were more manageable. With Corvette as the featured car in 2002, you can expect things to be very crowded.