“The biggest thing,” says Dan Gurney about racing, “is to learn to trust in the amount of grip you have. The earlier sports cars were very different to the F1 cars of today. It was different because you had to learn to push through an invisible barrier to get the aerodynamics working. After that it gripped like crazy, but a lot of people who buy sports cars to race at weekend events never get beyond that barrier and end up being constantly scared of it.” At the Monterey Historic races, I am fortunate to meet Bob Bondurant from McLaren/Lola, Dan Gurney from Ferrari and BRM, Jay Leno the late night provocateur and Jesse Alexander who produced some of the most indelible Porsche photography between 1953 and 1962. The Monterey Historic races possess a distinctive sense of camaraderie and the fleeting moment of automotive racing that is lacking from the F1 circuit. Here visitors have full access in the paddock to the racecars, drivers and enthusiastic fans.
Even with the high safety standards of the world-renowned raceway, accidents still happen. Today, three vintage cars were part of a pile up that was caused by a driver missing a shift and slamming into another causing a chain reaction. Subsequently one of the cars flipped over but no injuries took place. Further proof we still can't overcome the rules of physics.
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