This summer will see the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, nee Monterey Historics, head to Laguna Seca for some vintage racing fun, and part of the show will be a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Formula 1. Among the 38 cars to take the grid will be a 1976 Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler, a pair of Colin Chapman's F1 cars driven by Mario Andretti and Jimmy Clark, and a handful of Ferraris.
The event marks the 60th year since the first F1 race was run at Silverstone in the U.K. Dan Gurney will be on hand to reminisce over his experience in the sport. As the only American to ever win an F1 race in a car of his own construction, his presence makes the occasion a real draw for American F1 fans--that is, if the cars themselves aren't enough.
Among the Ferraris taking to the track August 12-15 for the reunion include the 1969 Ferrari 312 driven by Chris Amon and Pedro Rodriguez, the 1970 Ferrari 312B driven by Jacky Ickx, Ferrari's first F1 car with a flat-12 "boxer" engine, and the Jody Scheckter/Gilles Villeneuve 1980 Ferrari 312T5, which won 27 races, four constructors' championships and three drivers' championships.
The two Lotus cars on the grid are the 1977 Lotus 77 and the 1967 Lotus 49. The 77 was driven by Mario Andretti, who won a race with it at the Japanese Grand Prix. The 49 was the first "double four valve" engine--the engine that launched the Ford-Cosworth partnership--and which won its debut race in Zandvoort with Jimmy Clark at the wheel.
We'll have to wait until August to see the cars on course at Laguna, but that just means we can start saving for tickets and travel now.
