Monterey Car Week

“Our visiting friends from Europe exclaimed, “We have nothing like it!”  Two racing weekends, four major concours and a dozen others, six auctions, several rallies, dozens of private parties and all set in one of the most spectacular seaside resorts in the world.  It attracts over 250,000 visitors and nearly 10,000 participants.”

Dan Davis of Victory Lane Magazine gives us a rundown of an intense week of activities centred on burning oil, gas and rubber…

Photo Rolex/Tom O’Neal

It is difficult to say which is the most spectacular:  The cars from all the decades of the automobile, or the fir forested setting of the Monterey Peninsula, bordered by the deep blue Monterey Bay, to the south, and by the wide Carmel Bay on the west.

The annual Car Week traditionally opens with the Pre-Reunion races, this year on Saturday and Sunday 10-11 August with over 350 historic race cars competing on the Laguna Seca circuit in a natural bowl, with its signature dry lake.  Monday is the Porsche Monterey Classic, while on Tuesday the Carmel Concours On The Avenue attracts 200 cars arranged for a half mile down the main and cross streets leading down to the Carmel Bay.  Over 5,000 spectators enjoy the show.  On Wednesday the focus turns to Gordon McCall’s Motorsports Revival with cars and planes at the Monterey Jet Center.  There is also a Carmel Mission Classic, Little Car Show, Prancing Ponies Car Show all on the peninsula.  Meanwhile the rest of the 550 racers entered for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion are arriving for Thursday and Friday practice sessions. Thursday evening the Italian cars are on show for the Italian Stampede Welcome to Monterey.  Friday the Legends of the Autobahn concours is held on The Club at Pasadera’s Golf Course.

The elegant Quail Motorsports Gathering.  Photo Courtesy Kahn Media

On Saturday, while the first of the feature races begin at Laguna Seca, over 1000 Italian Cars are exhibited in the Concorso Italiano at the elegant Black Horse Golf Club.  In a send up to all the elegant shows, The Concours D’Lemons attracts a tongue in cheek crowd to cheer the ugly and beat up cars of the participants in Seaside on Monterey Bay.

During the week there are many more small local marque club gatherings and parties, special rallies, hosted by invitation, parties at very special collections in private estates in Pebble Beach’s Del Monte forest and the many estates in the rolling hills of the peninsula.

Oh, and then there are the auctions – too many to count.  Mecom, Bonhams, RM, Gooding, Russo and Steele and Worldwide are the main ones – estimated sales this year in total:  $245.5 million.

 

 

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

It is probably no coincidence that a Bentley should win Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the British marque’s 100th anniversary year, but that isn’t to say that the car did not deserve to win.   The impressive 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Gurney Nutting Sports Tourer owned by Hong Kong-based Sir Michael Kadoorie was awarded Best of Show.