Monterey 2009: Vintage racers exude speed even at rest
Monterey Historic Automobile Races paddock - Click above for high-res image gallery
Even though it's essentially run just for fun, the track action at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca can be downright menacing during the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Just ask the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa driver who had a severe pucker moment on Saturday. Sure, the cars survived relatively unscathed, but some drivers may probably going to have second thoughts come Monterey 2010.Given our current economic and environmental attitudes, it is conceivable (if unlikely) that historic racing might not last far into the next decade. What a pity it would be for vintage racing to go away, but quite honestly, this event could easily continue as nothing more then a classic motorsports car show. The cars themselves certainly draw more than flies – and even at rest, they look so amazingly fast and stylish that simply touring the paddock can be enough entertainment for all but the most jaded fan.
Just by strolling around the paddock you can see, feel, taste and hear things that will instantly elicit a smile every time the memory rises in your brain. While working our way around the infield on Saturday we came across dozens of cars, bikes, and people that left us in awe... but even so, we still hope that the racing continues, if only for the noise and added visuals.
Photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ed 5:51PM (8/19/2009)
GT 40!!!!!!!
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Redline 8:48PM (8/19/2009)
EB110!!!
Mayoman 5:54PM (8/19/2009)
it's nice to see those racers in their home turf...in the paddock, under tents, getting read to race. not behind some rope in a museum.
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KA 6:18PM (8/19/2009)
Any chance we can get labels for some of these identifying their year/make?
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Scott S. 7:38PM (8/19/2009)
Yes, I second this! Especially #36 (engine pic #24). I know it's a Ferrari...
sparrk 6:51PM (8/19/2009)
the Dakkar 959 for me , please. i'd take that baby and show her the country side...to Cape Town and back !
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longbowmkii 7:06PM (8/19/2009)
It sad to think that even if i somehow were able to buy/maintain/insure a classic race car i wouldnt be able to race it. theres just something about reading about the exploits of hill, fangio and their ilk in cars that required a steady hand and balls of steel, theres just a type of skill in those races that isnt there in modern motorsports. note i said a type, modern racers have much more sophisticated machines and it takes its own type of skill to pilot.
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JIMBO 7:36PM (8/19/2009)
I really miss being able to save some of the beautiful pictures of automobiles Autoblog provides but ever since you changed the format for doing so my PC just sits there when I click on a scene or picture I want to save while the little black wheel turns & turns & turns some more without ever allowing the picture to open up .
Whats the deal ? What am I doing wrong or what have ya'll changed ?
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innoc3nt 11:47AM (8/20/2009)
The galleries work just fine for me.
Absolutely gorgeous cars, btw. Not in the traditional sense, but in that they're so much about function over form that it becomes a form in itself.
Colin 9:25PM (8/19/2009)
It's stupid to have a car just to let it sit around and drive around slower than your average economy car. Waste of technology. I have a rare great condition car, and I autocross it. I can "cruise" in any other car. Looks are just one aspect, and the main claim to fame of any performance car should be how it acts at the limit... not on public roads.
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