Gurney cars lead record list of entries at Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

The acceptance letters went out this week for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, the vintage racing weekend formerly known as the Monterey Historics, and it looks as if you'll get your money's worth out of this year's event.

While previous years usually featured about 400 or so cars, the 2010 running of the renamed Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, managed now by SCRAMP, will feature 520 vintage entries.

Leading the pack is what promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime collection of 35 cars either designed, built or raced by the great Dan Gurney, this year's honoree. The Gurney Eagle Racing Cars will include those from Formula One, Indy cars, IMSA GTP prototypes, Can-Am and Trans-Am machines. While the list of Gurney cars is currently at 35, that number could change as more cars become available or as some are whittled from the field because of a lack of space. While a main display will be in the paddock, it's possible that a separate showing of more cars could be arranged elsewhere on the grounds of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

"Any of these cars are fabulous," said Gurney, when showed the list of 35 on Tuesday afternoon. "I can't wait; I'm really looking forward to being there in August."

Gurney was genuinely touched to see how many people offered his cars for the event. He was also amused, he said, that so many friends called and asked him to arrange hotel rooms for them.

But there will be 485 other cars jammed into the paddock this year, a paddock that will be significantly rearranged to accommodate the larger field.

"Hey, if we can fit Moto GP in there with AMA, we can do anything," track spokeswoman Jennifer Capasso said.

While the complete list of entries won't be available until about a month before the August races start--so we don't know whether it will include every Bugeye Sprite ever imported to the United States, plus a few Crosley Hotshots--the track did release some of the more interesting entries:

-- The 1964 Ian Walker Racing "Gold Bug" Lotus 26R which Jimmy Clark drove.

-- The 1959 Ferrari Testa Rosa that Phil Hill and Pete Lovely once raced.

-- Besides numerous Eagles, Dan Gurney's Cobra Daytona Coupe, which he raced in 1965 at Le Mans, will be competing, as will Gurney's 1960 Maserati Birdcage. It was in this Camoradi Team car that Stirling Moss, Carroll Shelby and Gurney all won races.

-- The 1960 Arciero Bros. Inc. Lotus 19 with 27 starts and 10 wins with drivers Dan Gurney, Bobby Unser, Jim Clark and Phil Hill.

-- At least one, possibly two 1970 Plymouth Barracudas also driven by Dan Gurney.

-- The 1974 Alfa Romeo FIA prototype which won the 1975 World Championship of Makes.

-- A recently restored 1967 Porsche 910 raced by Hans Herrmann and Jo Siffert.

-- A 1969 Ford Boss 302 Mustang raced by George Follmer.

This year's featured races are F1, celebrating its 60th anniversary; Trans-Am, and for the first time ever, stock cars (with drum brakes) that competed between 1959 and 1975. Additionally, there will be a dedicated grid of Bugatti race cars in the Bugatti Grand Prix, with entries coming from as far away as Australia, France, Germany and Switzerland.

Racing will start Aug. 7 and 8 for the Pre-Reunion, formerly called the Pre-Historics. That event will be open to the public for the first time ever. An extra day has been added to the main weekend, which will now consist of four days from Thursday, Aug. 12 to Sunday, Aug. 15.

Also, while in previous years cars were divided into 14 groups, this year there will be 19. And while classes used to run in order from oldest to newest, the order of groups on the track for 2010 will be mixed.

This year's event is operated by the Sports Car Racing Association of Monterey County (SCRAMP), while the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) is the sanctioning body providing all of the rules, regulations and technical inspection.

Steve Earle, who founded the Monterey Historics 37 years ago, was part of this year's selection committee and will participate throughout the weekend. Earle agreed to help with the transition of the event from his General Racing group to SCRAMP.

For Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion tickets, Pre-Reunion information and additional details, please visit www.mazdaraceway.com or call 800-327-7322.

By Mark Vaughn