They say you shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. I’m not sure.
Since the Formula 1 season is paused in the annual summer break, my bags are packed and I’m off to California. It’s a vacation destination that probably won’t come as a big surprise. After all, I was born and raised here – and you see the sun much more often on the west coast of the USA than in England. But instead of leaning back on the beach with a cocktail in hand, I’d rather be on the track with my foot on the ground. It’s just as good that Monterey Car Week takes place during F1’s summer break …
It’s a must for me and I’ve been going for over 20 years. I love it. Sure, some might say it sounds like a bus driver’s vacation, but racing has been my life all my life: everything I do is about racing and cars. The Monterey Motorsports Reunion that is part of the event is a celebration of the history of the sport and as someone addicted to cars, I would not want anywhere better.
Monterey Car Week is a great opportunity to meet people and network (pictured here 2018)
As a child I collected model cars. Now I can own the real thing and drive it. I drive my Lancia LC2 / 0005, Porsche 935 / JLP-3 and Williams FW07B / 7 at the Laguna Seca Raceway. All three are fast, very fast and come from great motorsport epochs.
Bob Wollek qualified the LC2 / 0005 in pole position for the 1984 Le Mans 24 Hours and the car won the Kyalami 1,000 km in the hands of Alessandro Nannini and Riccardo Patrese. I was a huge Wollek and Nannini fan when I was growing up, so this car really brings out the kid in me.
The 935 / JLP-3 won the IMSA GT championship in 1982. By 2016, it was the only car to win both the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours in the same year – a record that has stood for 34 years – and won seven unprecedented races at a trot between 1981 and 1982 looks absolutely incredible the end.
The FW07B / 7 was driven by another of my heroes, Alan Jones, en route to the 1980 F1 title – the first for Williams. This particular chassis won the French and British Grand Prix and won a non-championship race in Spain.
They are three very different cars, but they are tons of fun to drive and a privilege to own. Don’t ask me to choose my favorite. It’s like asking me to choose my favorite child. It’s not going to happen.
I’ve been attending this event for more than 20 years – I love it!
Speaking of things that don’t happen, I wanted to drive my Lotus 79 – the F1 car that Mario Andretti won the World Championship in in 1978 – as part of the Historic Cars 70th Anniversary demonstration at the British Grand Prix, but meant a positive Covid-19 test that I had to say goodbye to driving around Silverstone in front of thousands of fans. To be honest, I was probably as upset about not being with the rest of the McLaren F1 team at our home race. Needless to say, I can’t wait to hit the track in Laguna Seca.
But where exactly is the business coming in on my California trip? Well, Monterey Car Week is a great opportunity to meet people and network. Many of McLaren’s F1 and IndyCar partners will be in town along with many McLaren Automotive customers, making it an ideal event to build relationships with existing and future partners and customers.
The last time I was there, two-time F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen and I turned our heads as we drove a few kilometers on the McLaren M8D / 3 – which is really as fast as it sounds. Mika won’t make it this year, but for me that just means longer at the wheel.
Time for the perfect short vacation!
Zak.
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