Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA

Historic MG reunion at Laguna Seca preview

Historic MG reunion honors marques racing success, pays tribute to legends at Laguna Seca. MONTEREY, Calif. (March 11, 2004) - The Historic Motor Sports Association will honor MG in American racing with a special historic race March 20 and 21 at ...

Historic MG reunion honors marques racing success, pays tribute to legends at Laguna Seca.

MONTEREY, Calif. (March 11, 2004) - The Historic Motor Sports Association will honor MG in American racing with a special historic race March 20 and 21 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The track will open at 9:00 a.m. each day, with activities concluding at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $20 for the weekend and includes access to the Paddock and grandstands. Admission is free for children ages 15 and younger. Tickets may be purchased at the gate.

The celebration, which will include on-track vintage racing, will feature many race-winning MGs from the fifties and sixties, including the 1950 MG TD Von Neumann Special and the famous Ken Miles R1 and R2 Shingles.

The event will also pay tribute to the Kjell Qvale's San Francisco BMCD Sebring team. It will be 40 years ago to the day in 1964 that two MGBs from the three-car team finished 17th and 22nd overall out of a field of 66 starters at the 12 hours of Sebring. Those two cars will be reunited with Qvale; Joe Huffaker, who prepared the cars; surviving drivers Jim Parkinson, Jim Adams and Monterey racing legend Ed Leslie; crew chief Frank Morrill, and other members of the original team.

On track will be a full weekend of historic racing: 200 vintage racecars will compete in eight races, including a special MG-only race. Sunday will also feature vintage motorcycles presented by Vmoto, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts dedicated to the restoration, preservation and racing of historic, classic and vintage road racing motorcycles.

A special paddock display will feature a car corral of more than 100 vintage MGs, including the first MGB out of the factory.

MG sparked public interest in the marque with its racing success, which began in the early 1930s to promote the road cars. MG quickly became synonymous with the term "sports car."

MG stands for Morris Garages, which was the Oxford distributor for Morris cars. In 1922, under the direction of general manager Cecil Kimber, the company started modifying standard Morris Cowleys, lowering the chassis and fitting more sporting bodywork to adhere to Kimber's creed that "a sports car should look fast, even when it is standing still." By 1924, Morris Garages was advertising the MG Special Four-Seater Sports and had incorporated the famous octagonal badge into the copy.

The Historic MG Reunion is produced by the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) whose purpose is to encourage the restoration, preservation and use of historic, sports and racing cars. For more information, contact HMSA at 818-249-3515 or visit www.hmsausa.com. For more information on the 2004 race season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, call (800) 327-SECA or visit www.laguna-seca.com.

-mrls-

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article This Week in Racing History (March 7-13)
Next article Key dates in Goodyear Racing history, March 15-21

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA