MONTEREY, Calif., Oct. 21, 2014 — An international panel of experts of the International Historic Motoring Awards released their shortlist today and selected the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion as a finalist for the Motorsport Event of the Year. The winner will be named at the awards gala in London on November 20.

Launched in 2011, the International Historic Motoring Awards, in association with EFG private bank and Octane magazine, recognize and celebrate the skills and achievements of the worldwide historic motoring industry. The Motorsport Event of the Year category is for all competitive historic motorsport events anywhere in the world, from race meetings to trials and road or off-road rallies. The judges looked for a memorable event, not just a spectacular individual race within a meeting or stage within a rally.

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is in prestigious company as one of the six finalists, and is the lone U.S. event. The five other finalists are the Silverstone Classic (United Kingdom), Le Mans Classic (France), Eifel Rallye Festival, Gaisbergrennen (Austria) and Grand Prix de Monaco Historique (Monaco).

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion relives motorsport history by accepting 550 race and sports cars that compete on the iconic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit, scene of America's golden years of sports car racing. Historic racing has been held annually in Monterey since 1974, and this year Maserati officially celebrated its centennial by bringing some rarely-seen cars from its stable.

With 62,008 visitors, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is the largest event of the Monterey Classic Car Week and the only one where race and sports cars are doing what they were originally intended to do…race. The result is a museum springing to life, which makes for an unforgettable experience.

For more information on the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, visit MazdaRaceway.com. To learn more about the International Historic Motoring Awards, visit historicmotoringawards.com.