Gallery: Monterey Motorsports Reunion

This weekend, a putting green in California transformed itself into Pebble Beach Concourse D'Elegance, the world's most exclusive classic car event. But just down the road - away from the brass buttons and botox - there was something a little different at the Laguna Seca Raceway. The very spot Jeremy's leg took on a mind of its own. It's called the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and it's likely to appeal to you if you like seeing cars, y'know, driving...

Like the concourse, there are lots of expensive classics and most of the men have largely theoretical hair. But every one of the 550 historic racers - which range in age from 1911 to 1992 - will race in one of the 16 classes around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit. Cars that, in some cases, pre-date religions, hammering around a track that made our fearless leader's backside pucker.

As with all classic car events, there's some anniversary or other being celebrated, which nobody really pays attention to. This year, the Corvette's turning 60 and the Corvette Grand Sport's celebrating its 50th anniversary.

In recognition of cars ageing to round numbers, the 911s get their own class called the Weissach Cup, and Porsche has also rolled the gorgeous 1972 Martini 2.1 Turbo RSR, 1978 "Moby Dick" 935, 1978 "Baby" 935, and two 911 GT1s on static display in the garage area. You may remember them from our recent gathering of Martini cars (remember to download your own wallpapers if you like what you see).

Domestic heroes, the Corvettes, have also had six of the most significant racing models paired with their street car counterparts. They include the 1960 Cunningham Le Mans class winner, the 1967 170 mph Le Mans class leader, and the 1968 Owens Corning model, which remains the most victorious ‘Vette in history. There's also a sprinkling of the latest ‘Stingray' model, which John Hennessey's already tuned to 700bhp...

Now stop reading and click through for more pics of old cars being spanked in California...

Matthew Jones