I’m really looking forward to the week ahead: it’s the Rolex Motorsport Reunion at Laguna Seca, which is held in combination with Carmel Car Week. This is absolutely one of the most iconic weeks of my racing season, because not only do I get to drive some of the most legendary cars that Mazda ever produced, but the whole atmosphere and eye candy that one witnesses at the track and around town is truly incredible.
With all the historic cars on tap for the week, it makes me think about my own history at Laguna Seca, including some of the greatest races I’ve had and the collection of cars I’ve been fortunate enough to race there.
Laguna Seca has been very good to me. In fact, it might be the track where I’ve had the most professional wins in my career. That goes all the way back to my earlier pro days in Grand-Am Cup with Freedom Autosport, where we not only had a history of winning at Laguna, but doing it over a record-setting number of six consecutive years. That included 1-2 finishes for three of those years!
Shortly after that, another very fond memory comes to mind with the Mazda Prototype era. We had great success locking out the front row for the WeatherTech Series and having some of the most competitive races in that car’s history.
The next time I found myself racing IMSA at Laguna again was in 2018, when I was there in the inaugural year of the TCR class. Not only did we win that race, but we also went on to win the TCR championship.
I also claimed another “first” at Laguna. I had the fun of winning the first race of the 2022 Lamborghini Super Trofeo season with client-turned-co-driver Ashton Harrison.
The Lamborghini isn’t the only high-horsepower car I’ve had the chance to drive at Laguna. I’ve had the rare opportunity to drive the Mazda 787 and 792P Prototypes, too. These historic cars have really shaped Mazda Motorsports history as well as my years growing up in the sport.
Driving the Mazda 787 at the Motorsports Reunion in ’22.
The 787 and 792P were some of the most iconic racecars of their day, and I’m both excited and feeling very fortunate to get the chance to be running them again this week. It’s shaping up to be another spectacular week at Laguna Seca. Be sure to check Mazda’s social media, as well as mine: I’ll even be posting a link so you can watch the racing live online!