December 2016
• The 26th Tour Auto Optic 2000 will take place from April 24-30, 2017, along a new route devised by Peter Auto for the 230 entrants. After the traditional exhibition under the glass dome of the Grand Palais in Paris, the cars will set off for Brittany for the first time in the history of the event. The new route will take participants along the roads and landscapes of Brittany before heading south. The event’s spotlight will be on French makes that are no longer produced, Please visit https://peterauto.peter.fr/en for further information.
• Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year with the 44th running of the track’s annual vintage racecar festival, known as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, highlighting the season’s schedule on the weekend of August 17-20. Since its construction in 1957 as a replacement for the Pebble Beach Road Races, the track has hosted most of the major American auto and motorcycle racing championships, as well as World Championship motorcycle racing, with much cherished history being written at the undulating 2.238-mile dry lake circuit.
• Goodwood has announced the dates for its three major 2017 vintage racecar events. The first of these is the 75th Members’ Meeting that will take place on the weekend of March 18-19, which is a confirmed date that will not change. The other two events, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, listed on the weekend of June 22-25, and the Goodwood Revival, set for September 8-10, are provisional dates and subject to change.
• A new group, the Del Monte Trophy Group, has been formed to ensure the production-based racecars that were the heart and soul of American road racing in its formative era of the late ’40s and early ’50s remain a prominent feature at major vintage racing events across the U.S. Its focus for 2017 is Monterey’s Rolex Reunion in August, as these are the cars that would have competed at the Pebble Beach Sports Car Road Races that ultimately gave way to the creation of Laguna Seca Raceway. Anyone who has, or has interest in, these cars of the Del Monte Trophy Group can obtain further information by contacting Doug Sallen at doug_sallen@msn.com or Rob Manson at r3teknon@sbcglobal.net
• We are sad to report that well-liked historic Shadow Can-Am racer Fred Cziska passed away on October 5 after having sustained injuries during an incident at Sonoma Raceway while testing his beloved 1971 Shadow Mk3 Can-Am. Our condolences go to Fred’s many friends and family in the historic racing community.
