A Reunion like no other: Laguna Seca headlines Monterey festivities

Monterey Car Week is the jewel in the crown of global automotive gatherings, featuring a host of shows and stagings around the sun-kissed Californian coast.

While the week showcases the great and good of all things classic, sporting and supercar, two intrinsically linked events should be on everybody’s to-do list – The Monterey Motorsport Reunion and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Laguna Seca and Pebble Beach share an intertwined history, so it’s fitting that the two biggest draws are shared between them.

The 2.2-mile Laguna Seca is one of America’s best-loved venues, and the Monterey Motorsport Reunion stands as its flagship historic event, with over 500 cars exclusively invited to compete each season.

As well as the cream of the crop of classic sports, endurance, touring, Indycars and even Can-Am and Trans-Am specials, the 2026 running will shine a light on Japanese icons. A gathering of legendary cars from Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Honda and Subaru is set to include a Honda-powered Williams FW11, a Mazda 787B, the first Nissan R91CP (chassis 001), plus World Rally legends like Subaru’s Impreza, Toyota’s Celica ST185 and many more.

“This is a massive initial step in creating exciting new activities that celebrate the past, present and future to enhance guests’ overall experience at this annual gathering,” explains Mel Harder, president and general manager of Laguna Seca.

“The history of Japanese motor sports will be celebrated through an incredible collection of more than 40 historic Japanese race cars and motorcycles in the feature display. These rarely seen cars come from museums, private collections, and automakers’ heritage collections for this year’s celebration. This is a whole new level of automotive entertainment.”

For the first time in the event’s 52-year history, motorcycles will also play a major role. The Reunion organisers have pulled off quite the coup by reuniting all six living 500cc World Grand Prix Champions to mark a golden age of American dominance on two wheels. Between 1978 and 2000, American riders won a total of 14 titles: Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Jr will all be in attendance and riding demo laps.

There’s a packed racing programme with 13 different grids and some standout entries. A highlight of recent years has been the Unser Family Cup race for International Race of Champions (IROC) cars, which more than lived up to its name in 2025 with Trans-Am star Tomy Drissi taking glory in his 2006 Pontiac Firebird, ahead of four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti and NASCAR legends Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon. Most of those names return this time around, with added Danny Sullivan, Scott Pruett, Bobby Labonte and Jimmie Johnson to make it a who’s who of American motor sport.

Another driver of note in that race will be McLaren Racing head Zak Brown, who will enjoy an incredibly busy event mixing his outing in the Camaro with a run in a McLaren M8D Can-Am car, Porsche 935 and a Jaguar XJR-9 Group C monster.

Jenson Button is also in action, handling both an Alfa Romeo GT Jr in the Bob Sharp Cup for 1967-1979 tin-tops and a Dodge Viper GTS-R in the Scott Pruett Legends of Endurance race, which is sure to entice modern sportscar fans.

Keep an eye out for the Del Monte Trophy for road-racing cars of 1950-56, because here’s where the link between one of the world’s most famous circuits and the luxury golf resort 15 miles away comes in.

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance pre-dates Laguna Seca’s opening by seven years, but without the famed classic car contest, we may never have had the circuit and its iconic Corkscrew.

In November 1950, the inaugural Pebble Beach Road Race took place, with competitors negotiating a twisting 1.8-mile Tarmac and gravel course around the Del Monte Forest. Phil Hill took home the first-ever Del Monte Trophy in his Jaguar XK120, however, it was a second award that would go on to vastly bigger things.

The races were the brainchild of Sterling Edwards, who raced his Edwards R-26 Special Sport Roadster that day. Even though he lost to Hill, he had the grand idea of showing cars in an adjacent field. The first Pebble Beach Concours was born, and naturally Edwards’ Roadster was named Best in Show.

“In truth, the Pebble Beach Concours owes everything to that first race,” says Concours chair Sandra Button. “The race was clearly the main event, drawing crowds from far and wide. The concours was secondary – a last-minute addition to serve as a social gathering and add a bit of style.”

While the Concours prospered, road racing around Del Monte lasted only six years before the event was halted following the death of Ernie McAfee after his Ferrari hit a tree. The sport needed somewhere more permanent – and more regulated – to call home, and this proved the genesis for a track carved out of a dry lake nearby: Laguna Seca.

The Pebble Beach Concours has forged its own path to become a world-leading event, annually gathering the greatest classic, vintage and exotic automobiles from far and wide on the 18th fairway each year.

This year’s 75th anniversary running will pay homage to those racing roots with sportscars from Pebble Beach’s road racing past on display. One distinguished guest will be the 1927 Sunbeam 1000 HP, which Sir Henry Segrave took to a world record 203.79mph on Daytona Beach in March 1927. The twin 22.4-litre Matabele aero-engined machine has been painstakingly restored by the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu but is scheduled to make the trip back Stateside – it’ll make an eye-catching change from the swathes of Ferrari 250s!

Featured classes this year include competition Ferraris – namely of the Chinetti and NART varieties – the artworks of Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale, Pre-WW2 Speedsters, 1930s Streamliners and Automobiles of Royal India. Many of the Japanese wonders present at Laguna will also make the short trip for a double feature.

Not enough for you? Ok, well there is a third option – A Motorsports Gathering at The Quail.

Now in its 23rd year, the Gathering fuses a bustling automotive show with luxury cuisine, entertainment, and a garden party atmosphere at The Peninsula Hotel. Amidst the displays of hundreds of rare and exotic vehicles, there’s also a Broad Arrow sale expected to contain 175 collector cars.

The event will also feature four main classes, each of which will receive its own celebrations. The centenary of Route 66 is the main feature, exploring the cult car culture sparked by the creation of the 2500-mile-long highway connecting Chicago and Santa Monica.

The Lamborghini Diablo gets a focus, not just for being the Bologna firm’s first supercar capable of topping 200mph, but also for being the model that gave rise to the modern GT3 category of racing when SRO Motorsports Group’s Stéphane Ratel convinced the company to launch its one-make Supertrophy (now Super Trofeo) contest with lightly modified versions.

The Japanese theme carries over here too with some fine examples of high performance from the Far East, plus there’s a category for the ever-alluring Ferrari F40. Famed collector Bruce Meyer will also showcase some of his gems, while classes for Pre- and Post-War racing cars and bikes, great Ferraris and the Evolution of the Supercar are also present.

“Our new featured classes, alongside the debut of the collector series, are propelling The Quail into an exciting new era,” says Gordon McCall, director of motor sport at The Quail. “Collectively, they showcase emerging technologies and design philosophies, while upholding the timeless craftsmanship and heritage that have been at the heart of this event for more than two decades.”

Further information

Aug 12-15, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Weathertechraceway.com

Aug 14, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering

Peninsula.com

Aug 16, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Pebblebeachconcours.net