ROLEX MAKES MAGIC WITH ROLEX MOMENTS IN TIME
DISPLAY
August
04, 2009
Every
year at the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, attendees look forward
to indulging in Rolex's award-winning Rolex Moments in Time display,
which honors six different historic racing cars and their most significant
achievements. This year, for the 36th edition of the famous Rolex Monterey
Historics, which run from Friday, August 14 through Sunday, August 16 at
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the museum-quality exhibit will be more dramatic
than ever, theatrically staging amazing cars from the 1960s and 1970s within
the context of the history they made.
Perhaps most extraordinary will be the inclusion of the
Gulf Ford GT 40 and the 908LH Porsche that famously exchanged leads in the
1969 24 Hours of Le Mans until the GT-40 prevailed, with only four seconds to
spare, marking the closest margin of victory ever at Le Mans. Porsche had
made an all out effort to win that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with its 917.
However, both 917s retired with clutch problems, and it was the Championship
leading Porsche 908 driven by Hans Herrman and Gerard Larrousse that battled
with the Ford GT-40 driven by Jackie Ickx and Jackie Oliver for the win.
1970 looked to be "The Year of the Titans" as
horsepower and extreme speed became the necessary ingredients to win races.
Porsche and its incredible 917 were to be challenged by Ferrari and its new
512S, both cars putting out over 550 horsepower. While the two cars were very
close in performance, the 917 dominated the Championship. The 512 was always
a threat but never able to rise to the level of the Porsche in the hands of
the John Wyer Gulf Team.
Harkening back to that time, the Gulf 917K that will be
displayed in the Rolex Moments in Time display is the car driven by
Pedro Rodriguez in the 1970 1000 km race at Spa, Belgium, where it led until
it retired. The Gulf's stablemate, driven by Brian Redman and Jo Siffert, won
at the amazing average of 149 mph. The Ferrari 512S that also will be in the
display is the car driven by Jacky Ickx at the opening round at Daytona and
Nino Vaccarella at Monza and Targa Florio where it finished 2nd and 3rd,
respectively.
"The cars were as purposeful as their designers and
drivers were determined and courageous," said Steve Earle of General
Racing, Ltd., which owns and organizes the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile
Races. "The Rolex Moments in Time exhibit brings to life past
eras of racing in a way that lets you feel the presence of these cars and
their achievements."
Rounding out the display will be the 1972 McLaren M20
(on loan from the National Auto Museum, Reno, NV), Team McLaren's last
challenger in the Can-Am Series that the team dominated for seven years, and
the 1976 Porsche 936/81, winner at Le Mans in 1977, second place in 1978 and
12th in 1981. This car was the first of the three Porsche 936 cars built and
the only one to compete in five Le Mans races. It was driven variously by
Jurgen Barth, Reinhold Joest, Hurley Haywood and Vern Schuppan, all of whom
will be at the Rolex Monterey Historics.
Autograph sessions with some of history's greatest names
in automobile racing will be held at the Rolex Moments in Time display
on Friday morning, Saturday morning and afternoon, and Sunday morning.
Instructions for picking up first-come, first-serve tickets to participate
will be announced daily.
Porsche is the Featured Marque for the 2009 Rolex
Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Of the 450 vintage cars that will be
racing at the event, 145 are Porsches.
About Rolex
Internationally recognized as the premier luxury timepiece,
Rolex, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, has an unrivalled
reputation for quality and craftsmanship. Rolex's presence in motorsports
began in the 1930s, and truly solidified its position in the sport in 1959
when the company began an association with the Daytona International Speedway
in Florida, and later became the title sponsor of its preeminent endurance
race, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, in 1992. It was shortly after its initial
affiliation with the race track that Rolex introduced a watch designed for
lovers of speed, the Cosmograph Daytona, which allowed its wearer to clock
elapsed times and calculate average speeds.
Today the company sponsors some of the most prestigious
events in the motorsport industry including endurance races such as the Rolex
24 At Daytona, The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the European Le Mans Series and the
Rolex Sports Car Series. In addition, Rolex has supported the bygone era of
racing by celebrating design, speed, passion and endurance in sponsoring
historic races such as the Goodwood Revival, the Rolex Monterey Historic
Automobile Races and Historic Sportscar Racing as well as concours events
such as The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Pebble Beach Tour
D'Elegance presented by Rolex, and The Quail, a Motorsport Gathering.
The presence of the Rolex brand in automobile racing has
grown steadily over the years and currently two key figures in the sport are
among the Rolex Testimonees: Sir Jackie Stewart of Scotland, and the American
Roger Penske.
Tickets Available Online
Tickets, parking directions and information on Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca are available by visiting
target="_blank" href="http://www.mazdaraceway.com">www.MazdaRaceway.com or calling (800)
327-SECA. For more information on the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile
Races, please visit www.caracingnews.com
and www.montereyhistoric.com or
contact General Racing, Ltd., info@generalracing.com,
+1 (805) 686-9292.
For daily reports and high-resolution images for
editorial use in print media, please register on
target="_blank" href="http://www.caracingnews.com">www.caracingnews.com.
Media Contact:
Media Pro Int'l for General Racing
Barby MacGowan
Phone: +1 (401) 849-0220
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Jennifer Capasso
Email: jennifer@MazdaRaceway.com
Phone: +1 (831) 242-8225
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