Honoree Pete Lovely caps memorable weekend with victory; Derek Bell takes flag at inaugural Race of Legends

MONTEREY, Calif. – Sunny skies prevailed while history repeated itself on Saturday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the 34th Rolex Monterey Historic Races presented by Toyota. The day’s highlights included a win by Pete Lovely, this year’s “Legend of Laguna Seca” honoree, who was victorious 50 years after taking the first-ever win at the track in 1957.

Driving his 1959 Lotus 11 during the 1955-1960 sports racing cars under 2500cc class, Lovely, of Tacoma, Wash. held off Jim Lawrence from Lafayette, Calif. in his 1958 Lotus 15. Lovely was then honored as a “Legend of Laguna Seca” during a 50th Anniversary celebration dinner at Quail Lodge Resort & Golf Club.

The victory added to the legendary theme of the day, as spectators and motorsports fanatics, including Jay Leno, witnessed the first-ever “Race of Legends,” featuring past motorsports stars such as Bobby Rahal, Emerson Fittipaldi and Parnelli Jones.

The Race of Legends was won by Derek Bell, the five-time LeMans champion from Great Britain. Bell edged out 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal as well as Emerson Fittipaldi, a two-time winner at Indy. The legends raced in Toyota Scion tc sport coupes, and several challenged the track by hitting the wall and off-course dirt path. On the final lap, Vic Elford took a sharp turn at 11, which forced him into the dirt and out of the race.

By winning the race, Bell received $25,000, which was donated to his charity of choice. The donation was split between Hope for Tomorrow, a UK-based national cancer charity, helps those with cancer, their families and dependants to cope with the reality of the situation (www.hopefortomorrow.org.uk) and the Florence Fuller Foundation, a Boca, Raton, Florida philanthropic organization designed to provide long-term financial security and endowments to the Florence Fuller Child Development Centers to assist with providing inclusive quality child care and family support services in preparation for a lifetime of positive learning (www.florencefullerfoundation.org).

The Indy Roadsters also came to center stage on Saturday, with a series of celebration laps in the early afternoon. The Indy Roadster is the featured attraction during this year’s race and spectators experienced a historic interactive display featuring a number of Indy winners delivered from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

Along with Lovely’s victorious ride, there were a number of other notable winners on Saturday. In group 1A, the pre-1940 sports and touring cars, Brian Mullin of Los Angeles won in his 1938 Talbot Lago 26 SS. David Morris of Portola Valley, Calif. took victory in group 2A, 1925-1950 racing cars and Indy roadsters. Group 3A winner was Leonard Turnbeaugh from Markleeville, Calif., driving a 1958 Porsche 3. Larry Bowman, the charity auction winner who earlier in the day raced with the Race of Legends, won group 5A, 1955-1960 sports racing cars over 2500cc.

After a series of exhibition laps, the group racing continued with 1963-1966 production sports cars over 2500cc. The race was won by Rob Walton from Paradise Valley, Ariz. in his 1965 Cobra Daytona. The racing concluded with the 1965-1972 FIA manufacturing championship cars, won by Chris MacAllister from Indianapolis, driving a 1972 Mirage M6.


Sunday Preview: Legends of Motorsports, Final Day of Group Races

The final day of racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will feature a number of parade laps in the afternoon, including Toyota 2000 GTs and the “Legends of Motorsports,” where the legendary drivers will take the track in Toyota Tundra trucks. Other Toyota demo laps will take place throughout the afternoon.

After warm-up laps in the morning, the race groups competing throughout the afternoon include sport racing and production cars, formula cars, production sports cars, historic Can-Am cars, sports racing cars and historic IMSA GT cars.

The day and weekend’s events will officially conclude with an award ceremony for all race winners at the Red Bull Center on the track’s concourse.


Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races
Organized by General Racing, Ltd., the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races is an “automotive museum brought to life,” and the largest event, with over 40,000 visitors, of the renowned classic car weekend in Monterey, Calif. With a broad appeal, it attracts a diverse group of visitors and participants – including children, families, collectors, sports enthusiasts and automotive history buffs. The 34th Rolex Monterey Historic Presented by Toyota will be held August 17-19, 2007 at the historic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

General Racing
General Racing stages events across the United States to celebrate classic, historic, and vintage racing cars, where they can be shown and driven as intended. General Racing encourages the restoration of the cars as they once were and helps to preserve and promote and the history of motorsports through these events.
General Racing’s premier event, the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, is located at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California. This event, now in its 34th year, has become one of the worlds greatest vintage race weekends. Other General Racing events are located at Lime Rock Park CT, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma CA, and NAS North Island, Coronado CA. Additional information is available at www.generalracing.com.