Chevrolet Corvette will be the featured marque next August at the 2013 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, where historic race cars annually come to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca track to relive the sights, sounds and smells of racing days gone by
Corvette’s recognition in Monterey, Calif., will come during its 60th anniversary model year, and a large contingent of Corvette racers is expected representing each of the car’s six generations in competition. Corvette also was the featured marque in 2002.
“Corvettes and racing have been inextricably linked since the very moment Zora Arkus-Duntov slipped behind the wheel for the first time,” said Chris Perry, Chevrolet global vice president of marketing. “His spirit is felt in today’s winning Corvette Racing program, which continues a proud legacy and one we’re looking forward to celebrating next summer.”
The Corvette’s racing heritage began in 1956, when a trio of Corvettes engineered under the Duntov’s direction, competed in the 12-hour Sebring endurance racing. By 1960, Corvette was racing at Le Mans – and in its first year at the French 24-hour classic, drivers John Fitch and Bob Grossman drove their Briggs Cunningham-prepared car to a first-place finish in the GT class.
“We look forward to working closely with the Corvette team on making next year’s celebration a monumental one for Corvette racers, owners and automobile enthusiasts,” said Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “The Monterey Peninsula will rumble to life with Corvettes of every era.”
Corvette Racing has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans seven times, most recently in 2011 when the team edged out Ferrari.
Corvette has a winning history at Laguna Seca, too, including a one-two sweep of the six-hour American Le Mans Monterey race earlier this season.
