Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

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Pebble Beach CA, Aug 14 2014 - The Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex includes a lap around the track at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Tour also traverses the nearby mountains and canyons of Carmel Valley, pauses for a time in charming Carmel-by-the-Sea, and encompasses two of the ten “Top Coastal Drives in North America” as cited by MSN—the famed 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach Resorts and the section of Highway 1 from Carmel to Big Sur.

“The Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex underscores the fact that cars are meant to be driven,” says Concours Chairman Sandra Button. “The Tour is the perfect way to experience the elegance of the automobile in motion.”

The Tour highlights the early history and significance of Pebble Beach, and its ties to the automobile. Even before there was a world-famous golf resort in the area, there was 17-Mile Drive, which people would trace at their leisure. After World War II, the Del Monte Lodge at Pebble Beach played host to the first true postwar road races held on the West Coast—the Pebble Beach Road Races—and paired them with the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the event that has spurred much of the modern concours movement.

When Del Monte Forest proved to be too dangerous, a track was built in Laguna Seca to host the Pebble Beach races, which were renamed the Pebble Beach at Laguna Seca National Championship Sports Car Road Races. The schedule for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and events at the track eventually separated, but since 1973 the Pebble Beach Concours has been paired with historic races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Today, these races—now called the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion—serve as another strong draw for car enthusiasts, and some cars compete in both events.

Source: Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Photos: Randy Berg