Thanks to our friends at BRE for forwarding this information to us.  Sometimes change can be good.  It will be an interesting August with the Monterey Historics going through some big changes.  The BRE Datsun 510 has been invited to the new event at Laguna Seca, so keep these dates saved on your calendar.

RICH TRADITION OF HISTORIC RACING CONTINUES

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Announces New Name for Marquee Event

MONTEREY, Calif., January 20, 2010 – Automobile enthusiasts worldwide have been descending on the Monterey, California peninsula each August for three decades. They come to enjoy the world’s finest pre- and post-war race cars competing as they were originally intended on the challenging road course. This rich tradition continues August 12-15 with a fresh new look and name – the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is the confluence of historic race cars, legendary drivers and motoring enthusiasts. “It’s a new dawn for the event and we are embracing it by honoring the authenticity of the race cars and integrating social and lifestyle elements that present guests with new discoveries to keep it exciting and innovative,” said Barry Toepke, vice president of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “Our new name and branding captures the spirit that has made this event one of the most respected gatherings of its kind worldwide.”

“The Rolex connection to motorsports is significant and we are pleased to formalize a new relationship with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and to become the inaugural sponsor of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. As always, we are proud to maintain a strong presence on the Monterey Peninsula,” commented Peter Nicholson, vice president of Rolex Watch USA, Inc.

Formerly known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races®, the event is now produced exclusively by SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula), a not-for-profit 501(C)4 corporation established in 1957. A professional staff is supported by thousands of community volunteers and a volunteer board of directors who are the backbone of every event.

“Each one of our 27 SCRAMP board members will spend hundreds of hours on this event, just as the board has done for all the historic racing held in Monterey,” explained Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager for Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “Our directors and volunteers are amazing and are completely immersed in every aspect of the event to ensure its success.” In return, SCRAMP donates its net proceeds to the volunteer groups that help put on the races.

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will continue the annual tradition of honoring one marque each year that is chosen for its historical significance and achievements. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will announce the featured marque and new logo in the coming weeks.

Approximately 400 cars will be accepted based on their racing pedigree for the 14 race groups. This year’s featured races are Formula 1, which celebrates its 60^th anniversary this year; Trans-Am; and for the first time ever, stock cars (with drum brakes) that competed between 1966 and 1975. Additionally, the Bugatti Club of America will celebrate its 50^th anniversary with an exclusive Bugatti Grand Prix, with cars entered from as far away as Australia, France, Germany and Switzerland.

For ticket and additional information please visit www.Mazdaraceway.com or call 800-327-7322.

A leader in the Swiss watchmaking industry, Rolex owes this reputation to the pioneering spirit and perpetual quest for perfection and innovation that have distinguished the brand since its creation over a century ago. In 1926 Rolex invented the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch and, in 1931, it created the first self-winding mechanism with a Perpetual rotor. Renowned for its privileged association with the worlds of sport, exploration, and culture, Rolex has had a long-time and deep involvement with both contemporary and historic motorsport – at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, the LeMans 24 Hour Race, the European LeMans Series, the Goodwood Revival, the long-running historic races in Monterey and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. This distinguished timepiece is treasured by individuals in every endeavour.  Sports enthusiasts value its ruggedness, explorers depend on its reliability, and some simply value its elegance. Rolex has become a symbol of life’s crowning achievements.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s world-class 2010 racing schedule includes the American Le Mans Series Monterey presented by Patron May 21-23, the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix featuring MotoGP World Championship July 23-25, the Pre-Reunion August 7-8 and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 12-15.

Z Car Blog owes a big thank you to this young man.  During the last few years, ZCG has been lucky enough to have Forbes spreading the Z car passion (in person and through this blog).  2010 will be a big year in Forbes’s life as he continues his education.  I will do my best to pick up where he left off. And believe me, Forbes will always be part of the ZCG crew. Happy Birthday buddy!!!!

One of ZCG’s oldest customers is back with a bang. This Nismo 370Z comes to us with 400 miles on the clock. During the next few days we will continue to finish the break-in miles. We are chomping at the bit to start modding this bad boy. The next few weeks will include installs of upgraded brake pads with fluid and version 2 of the ZCG oil cooler kit. We have a track day set up for February the 1st at Laguna Seca.We will see how the Nismo stacks up against the ZCG 370Z.  Stay tuned…

• Find more specs on the Nismo 370Z here

The new year is 14 days old and ZCG is back from the holidays with a vengeance. We hope all you Z car fans had a great holiday. The first week of the year was spent prepping for the Silicon Valley International Auto Show. Each year, Z Car Garage has been lucky enough to have a spot in the Tuner tent. The display consisted of Z’s of all generations from early S30s to the new 370Z model.Thanks to all our customers for their support and allowing us to share their Zs with all the San Jose locals.  Stay tuned… a great year lies ahead.

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You all have seen this car here before and I’m sure you are aware of it’s on track antics, if not then see the links below for a refresh.

• Laguna Seca track time Part 1, Part 2
• Thunderhill track video
• Motordyne Exhaust install
• Engine Replacement
  

This car sees tons of track time.  In fact it pretty much only sees track time, and like most track cars, after awhile things need to be refreshed.  In this case the StopTech Big Brake Kit was in need of a few new parts to prepare it for the Norcal UFO trackday the following weekend.

As you can see from the pictures, the hats for the two-piece rotors have seen some massive heat.  Enough in fact to destroy the original black anodizing.  These parts, while discolored, are still perfectly functional.  The rotors on the other hand had seen better days and were replaced with new ones.

The other part of this rebuild comes in the form of replacing the main seals for the four pistons in each caliper.  From the pictures you can see that the old ones were covered in debris and brake dust and were starting to weep, not a good thing when a race car relies on repeatable pedal pressures for optimum performance.

The seals were replaced with the new gray pieces and the entire system was reassembled and given back to the owner just in time to thrash on it at the Thunderhill Raceway.  Pics of the track event are still to come and are well worth the wait.

See all the photos of the entire rebuild after the read more (there are 30 or so)

Merry post-Christmas

ZCG

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