At the end of every summer historic racing fans eagerly await the announcement of the next featured marque for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. For over 50 years, European and American cars have dominated the spotlight at the world-renowned historic races held annually at Laguna Seca Raceway. Next year the theme of the famed event will be, for the first time, ‘Icons of Japanese Motorsport’.
In 2018 the tradition of celebrating American or European marques took a bold turn. We diligently covered the event as Nissan became the first-ever Japanese marque to be featured, thus marking a significant shift in the event’s history. Since then, the popularity of vintage Japanese race cars has undeniably left its mark on the vintage racing scene. Today, you cannot even go to a local vintage race without seeing a Datsun 510 or even a Mazda Miata competing.
Much of this growing appeal can be attributed to the way Japanese marques attract a younger demographic, one that could very well be the future of vintage racing.
Eight years later, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion committee is once again turning eastward. This time, rather than spotlighting a single manufacturer, the event will celebrate the collective legacy under the banner of “Icons of Japanese Motorsport”.
We’re eager to see what historic Japanese race cars come out of the woodwork, as it wasn’t just Datsun that dominated both amateur and professional racing through the 70s, 80s and 90s. From Honda to Toyota to Mazda, the depth and variety of Japan’s motorsport history is vast, and we can’t wait to see it represented on the legendary 11-course circuit that is Laguna Seca. The “Icons of Japanese Motorsport” Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will take place Aug 12-15, 2026.
I hope Honda brings it’s original F1 cars from Japan, and hopefully we will see some of the classic Skylines as well.
I have been a fan on Japanese cars since my first one at age 17, a Mazda RX-3. After working as a mechanic on German, Italian and French cars, the simplicity of the Japanese cars was a refreshing change. And compared to American cars, the tumbled parts was a blessing to my wrists and knuckles! Datsun 510’s, RX-7’s, Mitsubishi Arrow’s and more enabled the excitement for performance Japanese cars, and the culture way back when. It is great to see the younger crowd (for the past 25 years or more) finally getting their respect at these fancy events. Glad to see I was on to something back when I was young….
Adam Carolla will have some J-tin there
I am currently resurrecting the Red Roof Inns Racing 1981 Mazda RX-7 GTU car. The Facebook “for sale” link to it was highlighted here some months back, as Gene Hackman had raced the car a couple of times, and I ended up buying the car (well, I bought a shell and piles of old parts original to the car). It has extensive IMSA GTU racing history from 1981 through 1988 (5 Daytona 24 hrs, 4 Sebring 12 hrs, blah, blah, blah). I will be working to get the car done by next spring and also get my vintage racing license (I have raced SCCA and circle track for over 40 years, so I am not new to race cars and race tracks).
I understand this event is invitational. Anyone know who to contact to be considered for the event? I always see lots of real-deal IMSA Datsuns, but almost never genuine older IMSA GTU Mazdas in vintage racing, and the FB rotaries need to be represented!