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Many of the cars competing in this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion can trace their roots back to
then-called Laguna Seca Raceway. One car, in particular, has special relevance to Monterey by returning to
where it took the checkered flag to win the second annual Can-Am race.
The McLaren M6A-1 was driven to victory October 15 by its namesake, Bruce McLaren, in the 1967 Monterey
Grand Prix. McLaren drove the car to an impressive victory over Jim Hall’s Chapparal 2G and George
Follmer’s Lola T70, recording a fast lap average speed of 105 mph over the original nine-turn, 1.9-mile racing
circuit.
After the 1967 season, the car was sold to Penske Racing and prepped for Mark Donohue, who then drove it
to victory at the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) race at Laguna Seca on his way to
capturing the 1968 championship. This historic McLaren is now driven by Griot’s Garage founder Richard
Griot.
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Another car that harks back to a Rolex Moment in Time in Monterey is the 1971 Group 44 Triumph TR6 that
competed in the D Production class of the Sports Car Club of America National Championships. Campaigned
by Bob Tullius, the TR6 won in 1975 with John McComb behind the wheel and repeated the feat in 1976 with
actor and racer Paul Newman who had purchased the car from Tullius. The Triumph TR6 is now campaigned
by Bill Warner, founder of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.
The Trans-Am series lost factory participation for the 1975 season and the fields began to diminish, so the
series allowed A, B and C Production cars into the mix. An engine change from carburetors to fuel injection
moved the Group 44 Triumph TR6 from D Production to C Production and, therefore, eligible to compete in
Trans-Am. It went head-to-head with powerhouse teams running Chevrolet Corvettes and Camaros, Porsches,
Ford Mustangs, Jaguars, and a Datsun 260Z. McComb was more than competitive in the TR6 and even
finished third overall in the season finale at what is now known as Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway.
Some say it was the “little car that could.”
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is a rolling museum that revs to life in 15 race groups throughout
the four full days. This year marks a very special occasion: the 100th anniversary of BMW. There are more
than 60 BMW race cars entered in the races and BMW North America is presenting its Living Legends
Garage that tells the magnificent story of this Bavarian company.
Rolex is an avid supporter of the internationally acclaimed Monterey Classic Car Week and has been title
sponsor of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion since it was renamed in 2010. Every year a driver from
each group is selected for their overall excellence in the race and receives a Rolex Award of Excellence. The
event’s top honor of a specially engraved 18-karat yellow gold and stainless steel Oyster Perpetual
Cosmograph Daytona is awarded to the driver who excels in the Spirit of the Weekend. Rolex’s involvement
with motorsports runs deep, having been associated with the famed Goodwood Revival since 2004 and, most
recently, as a Global Partner and Official Timepiece of Formula 1.
Each car that is accepted into the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is evaluated for its authenticity, race
provenance, and documentation that it is period and mechanically correct from when it originally ran. Entries
range from early pre-war cars, like a 1916 National AC and 1927 Bugatti T37A Grand Prix, to GTP and GTO
cars that ran between 1981 and 1991.
The cars can be seen in the follwing races
... Group 1A - Pre 1940 Sports Racing and Touring Cars
... Group 2A - 1955-1961 GT Cars
... Group 3A - 1955 - 1962 Sports Racing over 2000cc
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