Celebrity Guests, Enhanced Consumer Expo, Historical Auto Displays and More Make This Year’s Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races an Event for Everyone

 Autograph Sessions with Mario Andretti Officially Scheduled for Friday and

                                  Saturday



    MONTEREY, Calif., Aug. 13 /EMWNews/ -- With an action-packed weekend

of events, activities and races along with a star-studded lineup of

drivers, this year's 35th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races

presented by Toyota is set to be the biggest and most expansive in the

vintage race car event's storied history. The three-day event kicks off

Friday, August 15 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and gates are open 7 a.m. -

5 p.m. each day.



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    "The Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races is great for all fans

because most people have only seen these cars in magazines or static

locations. The event is literally a rolling museum of these historic

vehicles that fans can hear, smell and touch," commented Jay Leno, host of

NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and avid vintage car collector.



    Along with two full days of car races, fans can attend autograph

signings with guest of honor Mario Andretti and legendary F1 drivers, visit

the Rolex "Moments in Time" display, watch current F1 driver Timo Glock

compete against F1 legends in the Toyota "Race of Legends," and explore the

enhanced consumer expo complete with interactive exhibits and a light-sport

aircraft prototype.



    "Monterey Historics is the place if you love cars. All the best racing

cars in the world take part. It's toys for big boys," said Baseball Hall of

Famer and auto enthusiast Reggie Jackson. "This is the premier event for

historical race cars that have so much history and prestige. Car

enthusiasts like me have enjoyed this event for years."



    Autograph Signings



    Guest of Honor Mario Andretti will conduct two autograph signing

sessions during the weekend. Andretti will be at the Rolex tent in the

paddock area to welcome fans, sign autographs and take pictures on Friday

from 11:30 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. -- 12 p.m.



    Also, fans will have a chance to meet legendary F1 drivers Danny

Sullivan, Derek Bell, John Watson, Eddie Cheever, Johnny Herbert,

Jean-Pierre Jarier, Alan Jones, and Patrick Tambay in two separate one hour

autograph sessions from 10 a.m. -- 11 a.m. to be held in the Race of

Legends compound in the expo area.



    Vintage Race Cars Take the Track



    Qualifying practice sessions will be held on Friday along with special

demonstration laps by Mario Andretti. Ferrari Historic Challenge Groups

will race 10 laps to finish the day.



    On Saturday, races will take place throughout the afternoon featuring

1925-1950 Racing Cars, 1950-1960 Sports Racing Cars, 1966-1972 Historic

Trans-Am Cars, 1966-1974 Historic Can-Am Cars, and 1964-1975 FIA Sports

Racing Cars.



    Sunday will begin with a parade of Alfa Romeos followed by individual

races between 1955-1966 Production Sports Cars, 1967-1978 Historic F-1

Cars, and 1972-1983 Historic IMSA Cars. Race winners will be honored at a

sunset prize ceremony Sunday evening.



    Consumer Exposition



    An ongoing main attraction at the Monterey Historics will be the

enhanced consumer expo featuring a variety of activities and displays for

fans to experience. Among the activities are the "Toyota Story: Past,

Present and Future" exhibit in the infield expo area. It will feature the

soon-to-be-released Toyota Venza along with a group of historic Toyota race

cars such as Cristiano da Matta's CART championship car, Scott Dixon's IRL

championship car, one of Ivan Stewart's desert racing trucks and other

significant Toyota racers.



    ICON Aircraft will display its A5 amphibious light-sport aircraft

prototype, which made a successful maiden test flight on July 9. The A5

prototype aircraft is scheduled to undergo several phases of test flights

prior to mass production in 2010.



    Mother's Car Care will host an interactive detail demonstration on a

1960 Corvette while Cobra and Shelby cars from Shelby American and

Superformance will be displayed for fans to view.



    Rolex "Moments in Time" Display A stand out in the paddock is the Rolex

"Moments in Time" display, honoring the singular achievement of a car and

driver in racing history. The award-winning collection features a range of

significant cars with a focus on the early to mid 1900's.



    Highlighting the display is the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C-2900B Mille Miglia

Spyder that Phil Hill drove to first place in the Del Monte Trophy Race in

1951 at Pebble Beach, which is currently part of fashion designer Ralph

Lauren's collection.



    The 1908 Grand Prix Mercedes, a car that remains in original condition

with all its original body panels, engine, transmission, and chassis

components, will also be featured. It is one of the most authentic Grand

Prix race cars in the world and is truly a masterpiece of old-world

craftsmanship.



    Fans will also be able to view Louis Delage's 1.5-litre grand prix cars

of 1926-1927 and the 1960 Kurtis-Epperly KK500-J 119.



    Toyota "Race of Legends"



    On Saturday current Panasonic Toyota F1 driver Timo Glock takes the

challenge of competing against a field of legendary F1 drivers including

Danny Sullivan, Derek Bell, John Watson, Eddie Cheever, Johnny Herbert,

Jean-Pierre Jarier, Alan Jones, and Patrick Tambay in the Toyota "Race of

Legends." Drivers will compete in an eight-lap charity race on Saturday

driving race-prepared Scion tC sport coupes featuring a 2.4-liter,

215-horsepower TRD-supercharged engine.



    One lucky auction winner from the Monterey Historics race participants

will take the 11th seat again this year. The proceeds of the auction will

be donated to a local charity -- the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital

Foundation.



    The race winner will receive $25,000 that will be donated to a charity

of their choosing.



    Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races



    Organized by General Racing, Ltd., the Rolex Monterey Historic

Automobile Races is an "automotive museum brought to life," and the largest

event, with over 40,000 visitors, of the renowned classic car weekend in

Monterey, Calif. With a broad appeal, it attracts a diverse group of

visitors and participants -- including children, families, collectors,

sports enthusiasts and automotive history buffs. The 35th Rolex Monterey

Historic Automobile Races Presented by Toyota will be held August 15-17,

2008 at the historic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Media should visit

http://www.montereyhistoric.com to request credentials for the event.



    General Racing



    General Racing stages events across the United States to celebrate

classic, historic, and vintage racing cars, where they can be shown and

driven as intended. General Racing encourages the restoration of the cars

as they once were and helps to preserve and promote and the history of

motorsports through these events.



    General Racing's premier event, the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile

Races, is located at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California. This event,

now in its 35th year, has become one of the world's greatest vintage race

weekends. Other General Racing events are The Wine Country Classic,

Infineon Raceway, Sonoma CA, May 30-June 1; The Rolex Vintage Festival,

Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, CT, August 29-Sept. 1 and Coronado Speed

Festival, NAS North Island, Coronado, CA, Sept. 27-28.



    Additional information is available at http://www.generalracing.com.