minime

I posted on the miataforum:
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=230359

The featured marquis this year is the Indy Roadsters! I will post the schedule as soon as it is available.

I am organizing the club parking @ turn-5 again this year. We have had a "Miata" corral every year since 1990, but ever since Barbara Beach stopped organizing the event with the nice track side tent and catered food attendence has dropped off a bit, so any Mazda is welcome to park in the corral. Note, if you show up in a mini-van or pickup truck expect to be parked in the back row

Perhaps you have never been to the Historics or you have never been to Laguna Seca Raceway. Perhaps you have never even visited Monterey bay, Carmel or Pacific Grove. You may be asking yourself "just what is the big deal about the Historics Race weekend?" Here are 3 reasons:

• The Monterey Historics is considered the most prestigious vintage racing event in the world. The organization that runs the event gets over 10,000 applicants so the cars that are accepted are usually extremely rare and have won historic races and/or were driven by famous racers. Thus the caliber of cars at this event is the best in the world.
• The Concorso Italiano(Friday) is considered the most prestigious Italian sports car gathering in the world.
• The Pebble Beach Concours D'elegance(Sunday) IS the most prestigious car show in the world.

There are a lot of other activities to do and many events going during the week leading up to the races and during the weekend.

Key Activities:

• Sightseeing/driving - highway-1, Pacific Grove, Carmel, 17 mile drive etc.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Beautiful beaches - clean air, clean beaches and tidal pools...
• Carmel - A+ shopping and fine dining

Key Events:

• Wed;
  www.pebblebeachconcours.net 1500 mile tour from Wash. to Monterey, CA
  www.quaillodge.com The Quail Rally
  
• Wed-Sat;
  www.blackhawkcollection.com Blackhawk collection of cars on sale at Black Horse golf course
  
• Thurs;
  www.pebblebeachconcours.net Gravity Racers at Jack's Peak
  www.christies.com The Christies Auction of cars at the Jet Center
  www.pebblebeachconcours.net Tour d'Elegance at the Polo Field in Del Monte Forest
  
• Thurs-Sat;
  www.rmauctions.com RM Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction at the Portola Plaza
  
• Fri;
  www.concorso.com Consorso Italiano at Black Horse Golf Course in Seaside - 300+ Ferraris, 50+ Lamborghinis, DeTomaso Panteras, Lancias, Afas, and a TON of other Italian sports cars, some well known, some very rare.
  www.kruse.com Seaside Kruse Select Auction at Black Horse
  www.quaillodge.com The Quail motor sport gathering
  www.pgautorally.org/ PGA charity rally
  
• Fri-Sat;
  www.russoandsteele.com Russo & Steele sports and muscle at the Marriott
  
• Fri-Sun;
  www.bonhams.com Bonhams & Butterfields Sale at the Quail Lodge
  www.pebblebeachconcours.net Retro Auto display
  www.montereyhistoric.com Historic Automobile Races at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway
  
• Sat;
  www.autoartgallery.com AFAS Exibition on the 18th fairway Pebble Beach
  
• Sun;
  www.goodingco.com Gooding & Co Pebble Beach Auction
  www.pebblebeachconcours.net The Concours d'Elegance

The two events I never miss are the PGA charity auto rally on Friday and the Saturday at the races. The pga rally is a blast - you start out in the quaint town of Pacific Grove and then cruise(at times at a VERY good click) down 17 mile drive, up through Carmel and back to Pacific Grove(note, this is a tax deductible event since your check is made out directly to the non profit charity group, but its only about $65 per car...).

Whether or not you like racecars is usually irrelevant as I have heard many people that go to the Historics for the first time usually are dumbfounded at the beauty of the track and the caliber of the vintage racecars. Again, this is considered the biggest and best historic racing event in the world. There are usually 10,000 applicants to enter their cars in the races, so you can imagine the caliber of cars they get - rare, cars that have won significant racing events at well known venues, driven by famous drivers. That said, you would think the owners would not be driving these cars very hard, but there are usually some pretty fun battles out on the track and they really flog the crap out of their cars. Also, the paddocks are wide open and you can approach and talk to any of the car owners. If you love vintage racing, you will come back to this event every year...

Note, if your significant other absolutely hates cars and racing you can drop her off in Carmel and she can shop till she drops. Carmel is my g/f's favorite town and we always go out to dinner there on Fri/Sat and then walk around and look at all the art galleries(there are about 25 of them). Also, the beaches down in and around Carmel are beautiful. A quick drive down Hwy-1(maybe 15 minutes south of Carmel) and you will see some awesome coastal views. We usually stay through Monday and eat breakfast in Carmel and get some sandwiches for eating at one of the local beaches. The we do a bit of sightseeing and driving down the coast before coming back home later in the day.

I will leave you with some great quotes from John Lamm, a renound automobile photographer:
"Every year, I think, 'Well, he's brought out everything there is to see; there can't be anything new this year', and each year, I'm wrong. The Monterey Historics isn't really a race; everyone there is a spectator, and some of us get to bring our cars. We see friends that we may only see once a year and stand near cars and people we have only been able to admire in print...and all this in one of the most picturesque racetrack settings on earth. What could be better for someone crazy about old sports and racing cars?"

*PRICING*
The deadline for ordering tickets and parking passes with me is JUNE 22nd. I would prefer payment via PayPal, however I would ask that you please add 3% to your order to pay for the PayPal charges, otherwise I have to pay them and that will add up to a lot of green I would have to eat :?. If you do wish to pay by PayPal please email me to arrange payment. If you want to save a few bucks then please send me a check or money order. The prices are as follows:

• 3-Day Super Pass (Fri/Sat/Sun) + Mazda Corral Pass $125 (compared to $145 at the gate)
• 2-Day Weekend Pass (Sat/Sun) + Mazda Corral Pass $95 (compared to $115 at the gate)
• Saturday Only + Mazda Corral Pass $65 (compared to $85 at the gate)
• Sunday Only + General Corral Pass $45 (compared to $55 at the gate)

NOTE, please add $5 to your ticket order for priority mail shipping with delivery confirmation. Tickets and corral passes will be sent to me 2 weeks prior to the weekend and I will promptly send them out to all of you so expect to have them in hand by Friday 8/10. If you need them sooner than this please contact me and I will arrange shipping them Fedex overnight to you.

Please send check or money order to:
Michael Hagerla
523 A Webster St.
Petaluma, CA. 94952

Also, please email me your name and contact information including your full mailing address and a cell phone(if you have one). My email address is mhagerla@comcast dot net