A full field of rare Bugattis is expected for the Bugatti Grand Prix at next year’s Monterey Historic Automobile Races, held August 12-15, 2010 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The featured Bugatti Grand Prix is the centerpiece for the American Bugatti Club’s 50th anniversary, which will culminate with an International Bugatti Rally following the races.
“The Bugatti Grand Prix that will be held at the prestigious historic races in Monterey allows our owners to share the remarkable Bugatti heritage and to show the lineage that defines who Bugatti is today,” said Alasdair Stewart, director of sales and marketing at Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. “Bugatti has stood for uncompromising performance, luxury and exclusivity, and these attributes are as true today in the Veyron as they were in what was one of the most successful race cars of all time, the Bugatti Type 35.”
“I am looking forward to recreating and repeating the 2003 Grand Prix where we had 44 Bugattis on the grid,” said Mike Cleary, of the American Bugatti Club. “Participant entry forms are still coming in so I would love to see 50 Bugattis winding their way down the Corkscrew. Already, we have entrants from Germany, France, Luxembourg, Australia, Switzerland and Japan.”
Sports Car Digest proposes that all Bugatti drivers slip out of their modern helmets and into leather or linen helmets with WW1 split goggles. Or perhaps blazers with bow ties, string back gloves and slick backed hair? While it may not make sense for the race due to safety concerns, we hope the Bugatti drivers would consider it for a memorable photo op…
Bugatti was founded in Molsheim, France as a manufacturer of high performance automobiles by Ettore Bugatti. The company is legendary for producing some of the most exclusive cars in the world, as well as some of the fastest. Louis Chiron held the most podiums for Bugatti but it is the final racing success at Le Mans that is most remembered. Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron won the 1939 race with just one car and meager resources.
Only a few examples of each of Ettore Bugatti’s vehicles were ever produced, the most famous being the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Royale, the Type 57 Atlantic and the Type 55 sports car.
The International Bugatti Rally will start in Monterey on August 16, go up to San Francisco and then travel down the California coast through Big Sur and traverse down historic route 1 with the finish line in Oxnard on August 22 at the Mullin Automotive Museum. Previously the Otis Chandler museum, the museum displays the Peter Mullin Collection, including numerous Bugattis from the former Schlumpf collection with the highlight being an amazing display of French custom coach work from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
The deadline to submit Participant Entry Forms for both the Monterey Pre-Historics and Monterey Historic Automobile Races is January 31, 2010. The entry forms for both races are available online at www.mazdaraceway.com.
The Monterey Pre-Historics (August 7-8) and Historics (August 12-15) will offer fresh new features that appeal to the local community, visiting fans and seasoned attendees alike.
Tickets are on sale by phone (800) 327-7322 or at www.mazdaraceway.com.
[Source: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; photo credit: Dennis Gray]
