Michael Satterfield
MONTEREY, California — The 39th Annual Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will showcase the Shelby Cobra and honor its creator, the late Carroll Shelby. The event is slated for August 17-19.
The Monterey Reunion will present the Shelby Cobra as the featured marque. This year is the 50th anniversary of the car. Its creator, Carroll Shelby, will be honored with a celebration of his life.
The reunion will feature other noteworthy moments.
BMW North America Chairman Ludwig Willisch is among the drivers that will compete in the vintage race. The 430-horsepower 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL he will drive was a new model in the early years of the decades-old event.
“I can’t wait to drive the CSL at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca,” Willisch said in a statement. “The 3.0 CSL is a storied car in BMW of North America’s history, as it won the 12 Hours of Sebring just days after the subsidiary was founded in 1975.”
That was one year after the Mazda Raceway event was inaugurated as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races in 1974.
Of the applications received for models of the potent Cobra roadsters produced between 1962 and 1967, 45 authentic CSX 2000 and 3000 cars were accepted.
M&P Speed Apparel will be releasing a special edition Shelby Tribute Shirt that will be released at the Monterey Reunion, designed in conjunction with The Carroll Shelby Foundation in a effort to raise funds and awareness.
The 2012 Reunion will add stock cars to its roster of groups. Entries, limited to 1974-1990 models with disc brakes, include the 1988 Daytona 500-winning Buick of Bobby Allison, a 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Richard Petty during his seventh NASCAR Winston Cup championship season, and a 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Rusty Wallace in his Cup title season.
