I started this trip by not wanting to go. That's right, shame me all you want, the lone automotive enthusiast who was going to skip what many consider to be the Mecca of the car world. Every year, thousands upon thousands of likeminded car junkies flock to the Monterey Peninsula during the 3rd week of August to come see some of the most coveted, legendary, downright gorgeous automobiles from all over the world, and every year I try to go. Yet, I felt a hiatus was in order. Skyrocketing Airbnb prices and a lack of funds on my own end had me deterred me from automotive nirvana. Remarkably, circumstances with a couple good friends of mine led to an open campsite at Laguna Seca, and what joke of a car guy would I be to decline?
THE CAMPING EXPERIENCE AT LAGUNA SECA: INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
I bet some readers may have thought about camping here in the past. I mean, I know I did for many years. The thought of being awoken by the sounds of cars warming up down in the race paddock has always interested me tremendously. The general camping site is simply a dirt lot on the outside of the final hairpin on the track, a short walk from both the bridge that overlooks the corkscrew, and the bridge that overlooks the front straight. It did take some time to set up the tents, as the dirt lot seemed to sit atop a field of rocks, or at least I picked a spot on top of a rock patch per my observation (raging at driving metal stakes into the ground so my tent would not fly away while not at the site). A short walk up the hill from the campsite leads you to the restrooms and shower area, both of which, to my surprise, were kept pretty clean during the weekend. Overall, I was very hopeful for the weekend, and It turned out to be nothing but a really, really good time.
DAY 1:
Our day would start with a 5:00AM Alarm. We wanted to get up to the track as fast as possible, but about halfway through LA, we would digress from taking the 5, which is typically the fastest way, for a mellow cruise up the 101, through Santa Barbara and some gorgeous California wine country. Roughly 7 hours later, we arrived at the track, our home for the weekend.
After me and my buddy assessed the area and set up camp, we walked over to the track just in time for the start of the Historic F1 group, and shortly after, we would hike to the paddock to find Group 13 was loading up for some track action, my favorite group.
After the races, we would join some friends partaking in the Post-Quail Islands yearly ritual for some drinks, then carspot into the wee hours of the night. Day one concluded, bring on Day 2.
DAY 2: WAKING UP TO RACECARS, AS FORETOLD;
7:15AM was the time I saw on my phone when I heard what I would assume to be an old Alfa Romeo revving to the moon in the race paddock. This would prompt me to waltz on over to see what was warming up, and It was no mere Alfa Romeo, rather the majority of group 2 getting ready to shred the track for a morning race session. I had no clue what I was in for until I got down to the pre-grid, where I was met with a Gulf Livery GT40 sitting by itself with the crew and driver, likely deliberating on race strategy or perhaps where they would take a helicopter to dinner. This class had two highlight cars for me, one was a stunning, red white and blue Lola T70, and the other just happened to be a Ferrari 312P, specifically chassis 0872 which was involved in a horrendous crash at Le Mans in 1969 involving one of the early model year Porsche 917's. The Porsche crashed on the first lap, taking the drivers life, and the Ferrari caught fire due to the Porsche's fuel tank getting jammed between the chassis and the road, forcing a very early retirement due to the fire system being deployed. Later, and after being repaired, the car was sold to NART in the USA due to Enzo Ferrari's favor shifting towards the construction of a car with a new powerplant, and 0872 would see great success at Daytona in 1970 with a First place in its class.
The day went on, and it just kept getting better and better. We're talking 90's Trans-Am, followed immediately by 70's and 80's IMSA racing, followed by historic Can-Am, a class I had wanted to see for many many years. As far as favorites go, there honestly may be just too many cars to list off from all these classes, from the Single-Turbo V6 powered Corvette Protofab Trans-AM car, to the endless 935's of all shapes, sizes and colors shooting flames like they ate Taco Bell the night before, to the endless roar of V8's from the Can-Am group (and one very, very special flat 12 Porsche). Ill just let the photos speak for themselves.
Immediately following this, a long lunch at the campsite was in order where we sat throughout a large portion of the day, mercifully in the shade. After our bellies were full and large volumes of sunscreen were applied, it was back out towards the track for more photos, where we would see group 10 tearing up the corkscrew and the following corner.
A rest period in the paddock, mainly spent ogling at both the Schuppan 962CR and the new GMA T50S, would be followed by the running of group 13 again. My favorite group, consisting of some truly insane cars. Two Saleen S7R's, a handful of Porsche 962's and a good amount of early 2000's Riley Prototypes would take to the track for the final race we would see for the day.
With the racing concluded, it was time for a night spent with the boys over a breadbowl filled to the brim with some of Monterey's finest Clam Chowder (Old Fishermans Grotto, thank me later), and some light car spotting, which we had some mild success with.
Sidenote: Always, ALWAYS cruise to the Spanish Bay Inn. Not for the cars, no, but they have an absolutely killer hot chocolate (poor form on my part for not photographing that but you have to trust me).
DAY 3: WAKING UP TO RACECARS, AGAIN, LEISURE, THEN CONCOURS UNLOADING
Me and all the camper's gasoline-fueled alarm clock went off at 7:30 that morning. Not for any standard race day, but rather the Corkscrew Hillclimb invitational. Since last year, on Sunday, the Laguna Seca hosts an exhibition-style event in which cars run the track in reverse from the finish line on the front straight, to the top of the corkscrew. I completely and utterly failed at photographing any of this, as I was instead packing up my campsite, and photographing racecars sitting pretty down in the paddock. Some of these images are favorites throughout the whole trip, and it was really a cool experience to get some one-on-one time with some legendary racecars like that Ferrari 312 I mentioned above, as well as the Porsche 917PA and some neat 70's Trans-AM racers.
Following this, my friend who I camped with had to depart early, and I stuck around Monterey with a few other buddies and ate some sandwiches at Carmel Beach (Bruno's Deli, thank me later{again}). As fun as the Car Week is, its nice to have a little rest and relaxation time, breaking bread over the white sands of one of the most gorgeous beaches I've personally seen, with a distant view of the Concours at Pebble Beach. Hell, we could see the Mclaren F1 LM from where we were. Eventually, back to car spotting, and into Pebble Beach we went. Not necessarily for the Concours show itself, but rather to watch cars leave, with some mild people watching on the side. That wouldn't come without having to navigate the roads of Pebble, seeking parking that was less than a mile away from the lodge. But, I did see some pretty cool things while undertaking this task, including one of my favorite cars I got to see on the whole trip, a gorgeous red Toyota 2000GT.
A hop, skip and a jump down the hill from the Gooding auction where that 2000GT was parked would lead me down to the Ferrari lawn, where some truly insane cars sat atop some pretty Pebble Beach greenery. While I was unable to photograph a majority of the cars that sat still, the main experience is going down the golf cart path where they unload the cars for some photos, not only of the cars from the Ferrari lawn, but the Concours as well. In a way, a shortened, much more personal Tour D' Elegance.
The evening would end not back at the campsite, but a hotel room, which was a mere 500 foot walk from In N Out, where a dinner with the some more friends who remained up in Monterey would gather for some Double-Doubles and some milkshakes.
DAY 4: CANEPA EXCURSION, FISH AND CHIPS AND OTTERS; HOME AT LAST
It went exactly as described above. Had my memory card not been completely full, I would have snapped some photos of the new Canepa showroom that lies across the street from the garage facility, but alas, you'll just have to believe me when I say that the trek to Canepa is pretty much always worth it. While the showroom never really changes a whole lot, I love seeing what the grease monkeys are tinkering with in the garage that you view from above. We must have seen at least 8 959's undergoing restoration, multiple 962's and a flurry of old IMSA cars. Those who remained in Monterey following In N out the prior evening also cruised with, and from there we had a fun drive down the 101, off the 46 into Old Creek Road, which shoots you into Morro Bay where we would stop for some Lil Hut Fish and Chips and some Otter spotting. Tired and beaten from the busy week, we legged it to Santa Barbara for some shakes and to hang out briefly with some friends who live in the area. Then, home at last.
After years of wanting to do the whole camp-at-Laguna-Seca-during-carweek thing, I finally got to cross it off my list. My takeaways? I'm really glad I was able to shower at the track, it would be terrible walking around Carmel and Pebble beach, wallowing in my own sweat; Waking up to the sounds of racecars is the single best alarm clock ever; Getting to do it with friends makes it all so much more worth it. I would absolutely do it again, and I would recommend it to anyone who has not tried it before whom may be interested.