HISTORY LESSONS : ROLEX MONTEREY MOTORSPORTS REUNION

August 15, 2014 by ROLEX MONTEREY MOTORSPORTS REUNION

For the nearly 550 owners of automobiles racing in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, the histories of their cars are often more important than the joy derived from driving them, and there is no better case in point than Jon Shirley's Alfa Romeo Tipo B (P3). It was driven by Tazio Nuvolari in one of the most extraordinary victories in the history of motorsport: at the 1935 Grand Prix of Germany, held at the famed 14.17 mile Nurburgring.

In front of 300,000 German race fans and the Third Reich's highest ranking officers (and some say Hitler himself), Nuvolari proved that contrary to popular opinion, the Germans' 'Silver Arrows' were indeed beatable. It was a rain-soaked foggy day, and the Germans fielded five Mercedes and four Auto Union machines, against which the outdated Alfa--with only 330 horsepower--had to compete. On the last lap of the race, the German driver Manfred von Brauchitsch, in his 445 horsepower W25 Mercedes Benz, held a 35-second lead over Nuvolari, and with Nuvolari chasing him down, Von Brauchitsch overstressed his tires. When the left rear tire deflated and finally gave out, Nuvolari flew past to take the checkered flag. Members of the Nazi party were stunned and enraged when their premature victory celebrations were dashed by the diminutive Italian in the little red Alfa.

'This car is a bit of a handful,' said Ericson Shirley, standing in to drive (in Group 2A on Saturday) for his father Jon who is unable to be here this weekend. 'Because it is so tall and the center of gravity is so high, it's very difficult to drift the car. The power-to-weight ratio is so amazing; it actually rivals many newer race cars. Even while going in a straight line, if you step on the throttle and the steering wheel is not straight, you can count on the car breaking loose, and even shifting gears in a straight line will cause the rear tires to chirp. It's a 3.2 liter supercharged engine. The car is really fast, but in order to drive it you have to really be on your game.

Shirley drives many different types of vintage race cars but says the most fun he has on the track is with the pre-war race cars. 'I hope some of the younger drivers carry on with this; it's really a blast.'

PRESERVING A LEGACY

Derek Hill is becoming the understated star of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion while here to honor his father, the late, great Phil Hill, another driver who shaped the history of the sport with his passion and desire to win. The elder Hill had ties to this area as the winner of the very first of the Pebble Beach Road Races (1950) held in the Monterey Peninsula's Del Monte Forest (a precursor to circuit racing now held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca). He went on to become, more famously, America's first Formula 1 World Champion (1961), driving for Ferrari.

Derek followed in his dad's racing footsteps and recalls the time they spent together while Derek competed in Europe.

'When it came to my racing, my father and I enjoyed it equally,' said Hill, who is driving the last existing Maserati Tipo 151 here (in Group 6A on Saturday). 'He was never a wheeler dealer negotiator guy, but he did open some doors for me. The first few years of my racing, we traveled to all the races together, and I feel so fortunate to have had that time with him. My father's success never went to his head; he actually enjoyed the grassroots nature of motor racing. Whenever he and I went to an event where he was being honored, I could see the genuine love and respect everyone felt for him, and I am humbled by the legacy he left behind.'

---

Trending News

• PVGP Welcomes The Historic Stock Car Racing Association To 2024 Historics At Pitt Race
• Bonhams|Cars Presents An Unmissable Grid For Its Inaugural Miami Auction At The Formula 1 Crypto.Com Miami Grand Prix
• Carlisle Auctions Concludes First Auction of 2024 – Sells More than 50% of Consignments
• RM Sotheby's Announces Further Incredible Competiton And Rally Greats Coming To Monaco On 10 And 11 May
• BONHAMS|CARS SPRING STAFFORD MOTORCYCLE SALE ACHIEVES £3 MILLION WITH AN INDUSTRY-LEADING 95% SELL THROUGH RATE

---

Phil Hill was behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F at his first Grand Prix (1958 in France). Fifty years later, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Phil took his final laps on a race circuit, in the passenger seat of a magnificent Maserati MC12 Stradale, with Derek driving. Like the Maserati Derek will drive this weekend, only three of the Maserati MC12s were built. 'Being able to drive him around like I did was absolutely fantastic,' said Hill, explaining that four months later his father lost his battle with Parkinson's disease. 'At first I was concerned I might have been scaring him, but I saw he had a smile on his face, so I knew he enjoyed it.'

As far as vintage racing is concerned, Derek Hill says it appears that it is now getting the respect it has always deserved. 'Society has taken a turn to really view these older cars as such objects of beauty. The more we get into our modern technological age, the more people are getting nostalgic about the days of handcrafted machinery. A good example of this is the Maserati Tipo 151; the sound of this car is so incredible and totally unlike anything coming from modern cars. People watching it will be amazed.'

Racing for seven groups begins tomorrow and continues for an additional eight groups on Sunday.Rolex has been involved in Monterey Classic Car Week since 1997, and the event forms a significant part of its association with the cardinal elements of motor sport: endurance, speed and tradition.

Rolex enjoys an historic and privileged bond with motor sport and has been Title Sponsor of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion since it was renamed in 2010. (From 2001-2009, Rolex sponsored the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, which originally began in 1974, at this venue.)

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was established in 1957 by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP), a not-for-profit 501C(4) corporation. Each race season, SCRAMP donates its net proceeds to the volunteer groups that help put on the races.