The Monterey Historics Is a Bucket-List Event

While the majority of the weekend at Pebble Beach is spent staring at parked cars as if they were art in a museum, Monterey Historics offers a chance to see these cars demonstrating their raw power in a series of races at Laguna Seca. Crowds walk behind the track getting a chance to look at engines being swapped and cars being prepped and worked on for their next race. Mechanics work together to replace parts and change tires. The sights, sounds, and smells of vintage racecars testing their limits and stretching their muscles carry immense weight.

The favorite car for us this weekend was the BMW 3.0 CSL that took to the track. Behind the wheel was President and CEO of BMW North America, Ludwig Willisch. Although the car wasn’t pushed as far as we’d hoped, seeing it drop down into the corkscrew was a sight not easily forgotten.

There are certain things that stuck with me after a day at the track—the burning oil and the deafening sound of open exhausts and the streaks of Italian red, German white, English green and American blue flying down the straight. These are specific memories automotive enthusiasts don’t forget. Laguna Seca is a track packed with history, so to be able to watch historic cars from across all eras pass by at high speeds was a near-religious experience.

Photography by Andrew Schneider and Otis Blank