Iron Texan

August is quickly sneaking up and I am all set to head out to Monterey to see the historic car races. I have been to the Brian Redman Challenge at Road America several times but never Monterey.

I was hoping some of you who have been before could help me out with a couple questions.

First, did you also go to the Concours D'Elegance? If so how did you juggle that and the races on Sunday? Also I am on a bit of a budget for this trip, so is it worth the $400 ticket price for 2?

Are there any other good Concours going on that weekend? Other than the Auctions, are there car shows at night?

Any other good advice?

Anyone else going?

Thanks all.

Solid LT1

Look in the Nor Cal regional forum. There is. Vette corral at the historics. Lots of activities that week, one of the car auctions has free previewing. Big driving events on Wedensday/Thursday/Friday before weekend. Great car/avaition show at Monterey airport but, expensive. I wouldt attend Concorso Italiano again, thought it was way overpriced for what it is. Haggerty insurance is sponsoring some events, Autoweek magazine has some events. I plan on going down in our 70 LT-1 roadster for Pacific Grove Auto Rally on Friday afternoon.

Han Solo

On my bucket list.

Iron Texan

It has been on mine for awhile as well. I am going to knock off my cruise down route 66 and this all in one.

Thanks for the response. I will take a look over on the Nor Cal section. With the Concorso Italiano is there a large Ferrari turn out? I looked on their website and was the featured vehicle this year was Fiat 500's. I have no interest in looking at a bunch of "prime examples" of Fiat 500's.

I guess the biggest perk of the races is that concourse or not, there will be no shortage of amazing cars to see.

63Corvette

I have been several times, but only as a participant, so I can only answer from that perspective. First: If you don't already have accommodations, you probably won't find any at this late date (try Salinas, Calif.)
Second, there is SO MUCH to see, and so little time to see it that you will probably find (as I did) that the traffic makes it IMPOSSIBLE to travel from one event venue to another AND BACK on the same day. Try to prioritize. The Historics are on the top of my list, then any car show type events such as The Quail (which was always sold out when I tried to attend), The Concorso, Pebble Beach, the auctions etc. Drive the Pacific Coast Highway (Big Sur) which is FREE, and 17 mile drive (which is not). When Group 6 was picked for the Quail, the organizers had to provide helicopter transfers between The Quail and Laguna Seca for the drivers! Porsche sent us some credentials one year to allow us to drive their new Panamara they were introducing. And it's worth mentioning that the traffic flow is a nightmare. The Laguna Seca entrance is only ONE WAY in after the races start, and ALL traffic is routed out the back way after the end of the race day, so it took us until 9PM to return to Salinas. In spite of this, you will have a fantastic time and see great racing among incredible cars. Enjoy, and report back.

Ol Blue

Hi
I've been to the Monterey Historics several times, (63Corvette is one of my favorite cars to see) and it's a fantastic time to watch, can't imagine what it would be to participate.

I think Pebble Beach is a great show to attend, but tickets are $250 in advance, up from $150 at the gate when I attended.

Carmel has a nice street concours, kinda crowded but still fun to go. I was able to park in public parking lot about 2 blocks from the show.

Many of the cars at the auctions can be viewed without charge and they always have some really great cars inside to look at.

You might be able to find a room in Gilroy CA, about an hour away from the track, or a last minute cancellation at the Laurel Inn Salinas (not fancy but liveable).

Plug this, (Laurel Inn Motel, West Laurel Drive, Salinas, CA) into Googlemaps as your starting point and then (Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, CA) as your destination. Look for South Davis Road running into Reservation Road, turn West and watch for signs to lead you to the track. It's a desolate drive past old barracks but hardly any traffic right up to the entry point close to Turn 11.

I've always gone into the track this back way and never encountered any traffic problems. This approach puts you on the pit side of the track so it's easy in to see the cars quickly.

Takes some walking to get to the corkscrew. Heres a picture of a 63Corvette on the corkscrew.

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Enjoy.

Iron Texan

Thanks for the advice guys. I reserved a hotel a few weeks back in Watsonville CA. which isn't too far away. I am still considering the concours, but I will definitely be trying to make my way over to the RM auction. I looked over their car list for Monterey, and was pretty impressed, to say the least.

If I wanted to see a variety of late model supercars (Veyron's, Enzo's, Mclaren's) what would be my best bet?

63Corvette

One night in Monterey, there were Lamborghini's parked nose to tail the complete length of the main street. Another year, there were supercars, including a Bugatti Veyron, in the parking lot at registration (for the Historics) at the Embassy Suites hotel. There will e "corrals" at the track. Other than that, I guess it's different every year. You are allowed to wander around the paddock free at Monterey, so bring walking shoes and sunscreen

sundiego

Most of the Pebble Beach cars are driven on a tour Thursday. They finish on the main street of Carmel, park the cars, and have lunch. You can see the cars, and watch them run for free. If you do decide to go to Pebble and buy a ticket, go dawn patrol. With first light you can watch them roll the cars out and set up. It is stupid crowded later.

I'll be at Monterey, driving a Chevy powered GTP, that was sponsored by Red Lobster. I used to own and race the Greenwood Sebring '75 car there.

Iron Texan

I look forward to seeing it. I imagine the 75 Greenwood was a handfull around the track. I remember seeing a Greenwood do a rolling burnout out of Canada Corner at Road America on the parade lap after the race. Needless to say, the display of power made an impression on me.