After spending a relatively relaxing day out on the plush grounds exploring Concorso Italiano, we were ready for an event with a little more grit & grime, and knew just where to find it.
The Rolex Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Laguna Seca takes things to a new level; every year around 500+ vintage vehicles of all shapes and sizes descend on one of the most acclaimed racetracks the United States has to offer, and elevate the average understanding of what makes a true automotive enthusiast. Without a doubt, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion takes things to a new level, and you’ll know it as soon as you hit the parking lot. Seriously.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Motorsports Reunion Mercedes 300SL convertible 
If you’re still questioning the validity of the previous statement, let us present to you the vehicle that welcomed us on our way in after finding parking in the dust bowl. Amongst the many daily drivers and dirty super cars sat one very, very vintage Mercedes 300SL convertible. For many, the 300SL is a pinnacle of automotive artistry – even a unicorn of sorts; so to see one in a completely un-restored original state, driven with purpose by an owner who loves it just the way it is, was a sight to behold.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Mercedes 300SL convertible guts
Even as purveyor of high quality reconditioning, we have come to appreciate the type of patina that can only be obtained by years and years of driven affection. Sometimes the amount of wear that needs to be restored surpasses a point of wanting to retain resale value, and instead becomes a testament to sentimental worth. If the seats of this 300SL could talk, surely they would have some stories to tell.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Shelby Cobra line up
This year also marked the 50th Anniversary of the Shelby Cobra, and supporters & owners alike turned out in full force to commemorate the event properly. Truth be told, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is one of the few places that a person might find themselves around more original Cobras than replicas. The best part is, aside from the few on display in the Shelby pavilion every single one of them is there to be raced, and raced hard.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Cobras
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Cobra and GT40
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion shelby chrombra
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Fiat Shelby Cobra Transporter
Leading the line up of original Cobras was the one and only Fiat Cobra Transporter. Destined to cross the blocks at the RM Auctions that weekend, the Cobra Transporter was poised to bring anywhere from $850,000 to $1.1 million and beyond. What better to haul around a collection of priceless Cobra race cars with than a priceless Cobra race car transporter?
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Shelby Daytona Coupe
Speaking of priceless, it doesn’t get much more rare than a Shelby Daytona Coupe – more importantly, the second example of the Daytona Coupe ever produced. There were probably more people in the Shelby pavilion taking in the majesty of the Daytona Coupe & the other Cobras on display than under any other tent in the paddocks.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion BMW M1 racecar
BMW also had a strong showing out at Laguna Seca. A handful of M Legends sporting the iconic tri- colorway were cooling off after a morning of hot laps including the sleek M1, extra wide 3.5 CSL, and the aggressive E92 M3 GTR.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion BMW 3.5 CSL
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion BMW M3 GTR
There was even one oldschool BMW 700 sporting roundel painted headlamps!
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion BMW 700
We made our way through the rows & rows of vintage race goodness, spying roadsters, sport coupes, open wheel buggies, and everything in between. Makes and models from every heavy hitter in motorsport history was on site in one form or another, either patiently awaiting a turn around & down through the corkscrew, or taking a minute to cool down after an intense heat of wheel to wheel action.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Aston Martin
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Vintage Ferrari
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion grey Porsche
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Vintage Alfa Romeo
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion 300SL Gullwing x lights and fogs
Transportation around the grounds of the track is an important facet of the motorsports lifestyle as well. While we saw a variety of tricked out golf carts, utility carts, scooters & small people movers, the ones that really stuck out were pack of early 90’s Honda EZ90 Cubs lined up in front of a drivers tent. The EZ90 kind of a funky but “futuristic” plastic clad family oriented scooter that just never really got the respect it deserved as much as it probably should have here in the States, so seeing 1 let alone a small pack of Cubs in one place isn’t a very common occurrence. Low powered, easy to ride and safe to putter around on for almost anyone, the Honda Cub would probably be a huge hit with the ever growing scooter and Ruckus crowd if they could be brought up to street legal spec!
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Honda EZ90 Cub
One of the gnarliest competitors we spotted was this rather ratty and well driven #11 Bugatti. While everyone else was sporting vintage racing liveries or era- appropriate graphics on their cars, these guys just went ahead and hand painted the numbers on & slapped an American flag on the driver’s side of the cockpit. No funny business.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion #11 vintage
There seemed to be a lot of love for Jagermeister in the pits as well, and not just in beverage format. We eyed plenty of BMWs, Porches, and a handful of race cars sporting the classic orange and green look with pride.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Jagermeister widebody BMW
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Montrey Motorsports Reunion Jagermeister Porsche
We caught a glimpse of the “Wallys Jeans” sponsored RSR peaking out from under a cover too, and couldn’t help but admire the throwback lettering style and simple stitch design that outlines most of the body panel edges. The “fun” qualities old liveries have really help give the car more personality to their sponsors; a design element that has perhaps been overlooked by the circuit monsters of today.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Wally’s Jeans stitch graphics
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Porsche
Speeding swoops and sharp scallops, crazy color blocking & bold stripes, x-out & black out lights, even a fully hand painted lobster overlay; quite possibly some of the wildest track car styling around can all be found at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Sadly, the flair of racers past have long since been replaced with pixelated rips, tears, and digital carbon fiber. Sure, there are exceptions, and not all modern race car graphics are ugly or poorly executed – but, we doubt we’ll be seeing a cartoon bull painted top down on a RedBull F1 car any time soon.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Red Lobster
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion vintage Porsche mexico
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Camaros
“Wider is better” is always a common theme around these parts. We thought we had something going for us by driving the widest purple Porsche we could find to an Italian car show, but after one stroll around the Reunion and we were thinking otherwise. If it had defined arches, then someone added flares. If it had flares, then surely it needed bigger boxed ones with more venting, and at minimum a single tier wing.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Extra Wide Porsche
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Martini Porsche
Any standard issue splitter, diffuser, or basic aero won’t cut it either – especially not when you’re dealing with the world famous corkscrew. Bigger wings & ducts all around!
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Porsche
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Porsche
After our first pass through the paddocks, we decided to stroll back towards the concessions tent for a couple refreshing beverages. With margaritas in hand & the tarmac heating up, we started to make our way towards the infield hill and eventually, the corkscrew. As per usual, the press couldn’t pass up a chance to interview a well dressed man for a quick spot on the local news. Blake made sure KSBW had their facts in order and gave a bit of insight as to what the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion has to offer; check out the full clip here!
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Blake Siebe interview
Once the flashbulbs had died down, we started to make the epic journey up the infield in search of a better vantage point to catch some racing action. With the sun high in the sky and not a cloud around, we dug our heels into the dusty hillside and trekked onward and upward.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Mazda hill walk
Our timing couldn’t have been better, because almost as soon as we reached the peak of the infield another heat of races had started. No time attack or clock beater business here either, just pure, unadulterated open wheel speedsters jockeying for position with drivers pushing their vehicles to the limits.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion vintage speedster
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion three vintage speedsters
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion down the corkscrew
Taking a modern super car through the corkscrew at speed is no easy task, even in a video game. Taking a nearly all original open wheel Bugatti with the mechanical equivalent of cardboard and sticks for breaks & suspension down the twisties at full bore has got to be a sensation unlike any other!
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion weight transfer
With a few laps under our lenses and the tinge of a growing sunburn on the back of our necks, decided to make our way down the mountain and head back into the paddocks for a couple more passes while the racers trickled back into their respective tents.
As with every event in Monterey during car week, the photographers were everywhere. Just about every camera imaginable came out of a case at one point or another to capture a brief moment of history racing or parked; for some, adjustable camera settings had to be ignored for the quick ease of use that a point and shoot can provide.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion backup camera
For those who prefer the the optics of a portable cookie sheet, there’s an option for that as well. We have heard that the iPad photography craze is on the rise, but Monterey Car Week was one of the first times we were able to experience the phenomenon first hand.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion iPad photographer
There’s so much to take in at an event like this, it’s hard not to be snapping pictures until all the cards are full. Everywhere you look, there’s something original passing by, a team scrambling to get a car prepped for the next heat, or a little piece of history just resting in the shade of an awning.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Signed Morgan
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Tech Crew
“Enthusiast” only begins to define the many participants, crew, and spectators out at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Not even physical injury can keep people from enjoying & taking part in the motorsport festivities.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Tech Crew 
Whether or not you podium, place, or just limp it back to your trailer doesn’t even matter at an event like the Motorsports Reunion. Competition aside, the vibe is incredibly positive even for prying eyes of spectators. We saw many repairs and all types of last minute maintenance happening, and even under the added pressure of hundreds of observers, race teams were friendly & engaging.
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion old man engine start
Monterey Car Weekend Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion jacked up MINI
Monterey Car Weekend Monterey Motorsports Reunion clock tower
With the afternoon sun beating down on us and our memory cards getting close to full for the day, we decided to pack it in and head for some shade. There was a decent vantage point before crossing the bridge out of the grounds to see a few more racers zip by, and we paused for a moment to take in a few more passes.
Monterey Car Weekend Monterey Motorsports Reunion 
Monterey Car Weekend Monterey Motorsports Reunion Vintage Porsche
With only one more day of automotive majesty on our list at Pebble Beach, it was hard to leave the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion behind. It’s an event unlike any other, and we can’t wait to see what turns up next year!