Last week was really fun as well as something a bit different than my usual routine: I got to drive a historic Mazda prototype at Laguna Seca!
It was Monterey Car Week, and as part of that, the Rolex Motorsport Reunion at Laguna Seca was taking place. The featured race cars for this event were ones that have competed at the 24 Hours of LeMans, since this coming year will be the 100th anniversary of that race. There were cars dating from all the way back to the early 1900s up through the 1990s. That means there were almost 100 years of race cars represented there, which goes right along with the centennial of LeMans!
It seemed like everywhere you turned at Laguna Seca, whether you were facing the track or the paddock, there were amazing cars to look at! Some of them were historic cars, while others were the latest cutting-edge cars from manufacturers. It was all there on display for everyone to enjoy.
I was there to help celebrate Mazda’s heritage at LeMans. They had three cars competing at the event, and I drove the 787 prototype from the 1990 and 1991 24 Hours of LeMans. I had the opportunity to drive this car one time before, in 2018, and it was just as exhilarating to get the chance to drive it again, especially getting to do it among other cars that competed at LeMans in that same era, like the Porsche 962 and Jaguar XJR. It was so great to see cars that not only still look great, but are still able to go out on track and perform competitively.
Although these cars are truly irreplaceable, these weren’t just parade laps! The event still had a format of practice, qualifying and races. It was an honor to get to line up two-by-two with all those incredible pieces of machinery from the ‘90s and to put the 787 through its paces. The scream of the 700hp, four-rotor Mazda engine was a crowd favorite, and it was one of the most unique engine noises, both on track as well as during warm-up in the paddock.
Recalibrating myself to heel-toe downshifting and using the clutch to go through the H-pattern gearbox gave me a nostalgic feeling. At the same time, it made me appreciate how quickly newer cars shift with their pneumatic paddle-shift setups. All the switches on the dash of the 787 are a lot more analog than today’s modern race cars, too, despite the car “only” being 30 years old!
The tires on the 787 are huge! They’re both tall and wide, and the grip that the car produced in acceleration and cornering, thanks to those massive slick tires, was something reminiscent of a modern-day car. However, it really took a while for the tires to get up to temperature and into a good operating range.
I was so thankful for the opportunity to drive the 787 again, and I was impressed by how well the Mazda team did with keeping the car running flawlessly. It was a really fun week and a unique opportunity to do some time travel!