Monterey/Laguna Seca 2009 (Porsche) ~ Camping

[j_mancini]

Since the featured marque at the 2009 Historics at Laguna Seca is Porsche, I must go - what a great road trip! I'm planning on car-camping from my Targa. Anyone have some advice about camping at Laguna Seca? Anyone else going? There must be...

[MOMO3.2]

John:

I have never camped at the Monterey Historics, but I have attended the event weekend and the "Pre-Historics" the weekend before.

I sure as heck will be attending the official race weekend this year with Porsche as the featured marque.

My question is: how does one sign up for the featured marque parade laps around the circuit? Has anyone participated in this before?

Mike

[joe payne]

I'm in. I alway's wanted to do that. Sort of an old school Le Mans camp out trip.
A bunch of Porsches parked in the camping sections of Laguna Seca with tents next to them. Some good German beer and alot of stories. Sounds good to me.

[wp935]

Hello Guys,
This should be quite a show with a lot to see and do, not only at the track but in Monterey also. Something will be happening every day from the Pre - Historics through the feature weekend. Regarding camping and parade laps; Laguna Seca is an offical park of Monterey County, I would start searching there and start NOW !! It will fill up very fast along with everything else. BEWARE; the local hotel association has perfected the art of "price gouging", they take it to an obscene level. For example. the basic Holiday Inn Express or Motel 6 room that is in the normal $125.00 range will go for $300- $400 +++. So start planning now !!
Regarding the Parade laps etc, have a look at the PCA or San Francisco regions sites. I believe they handle the car corral, laps and other club activities. This event is a combination of the PCA Parade and Rennsport rolled into one. Let me know if I can answer any questions,

Woody

[Cipotifoso]

John,

If it were me, I would stay in a hotel. The camping can be on uneven ground with dusty and dirty conditions. The advantages to camping are that you are always located at the track. Read the following

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=26532

Although it is MotoGP, a lot of the same conditions apply.

Dave

P.S. I am back at the Porsche as the house is almost done. The airbox fix is in progress. It was blown all around the seam. I will follow up with a post to the original thread.

[richemj]

If you are looking for a hotel.. they are all almost completely booked. B&Bs in the adjacent towns still have some vacancies. Pacific Grove most notably. I second the comment on pricing... you will be lucky to find something less than $300 a night.

[PCA7GGR]

Try staying at "Carmel by the Freeway" (AKA Salinas). It's about 8 miles east of the track, right off Hywy 101 and a lot cheaper. Do a search on hotels.com, expedia.com or other booking website and you'll see some great deals (if you hurry).

[BLEW911]

I've camped at Laguna Seca many times. You must buy reserved camping tickets on the Mazda Raceway web site. See this thread for pictures of the view from Grand Prix campground which I recommend. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=420742

Don

[Eric_Shea]

John, I've got your back. Let's look into tickets and caravaning. Whereabouts in SLC are you?

[Zeke]

It sounds adventurous at the outset. Read the link above. That's reality speaking to you. I'd sure like to go on a deal like this, but I'm afraid it would be a lot less fun than just thinking about it.

[Walter_Middie]

I've driven down there and camped a couple of times. Once I stayed in the campground (58 Triumph TR3), and once I just had a parking spot next to the track (current 911s). The campground was the best, with views of the track from my picnic table. The parking spot was paved, and my little Porsche and tent were sandwiched between giant motorhomes. Still good, but not great.

I think it would be great to be in the campground with a group of Pelicans - I'd be looking forward to that. Camping is not for everyone, and getting the equipment and 2 people into the car is a chore. But my wife and I are avid campers and have had a great time at Laguna Seca. About 8:00 am every morning you wake up to the sound of practice and race cars starting up.

My TR3 was painted red with black stripes. I had it loaded to the gills with camping equipment. When I got to the top of the hill entering Laguna Seca, you go right to camp, and left to the pits. The guy directing traffic pointed me into the pits, as he thought I was one of the classic race cars. I spent the first couple of hours touring the pits where I no business being. Great trip!

[j_mancini]

I actually was also thinking it would be kinda cool to have an informal gathering of Pelican folks - nothing serious or "organized" (well, cooler with refreshments, if that's organizing), swap stories, talk cars, etc.

Camping is not an issue for me - dust and dirt are to be expected! Sounds like the the shower facilities are pretty good. Last trip I made to Laguna Seca, we had to stay in Moran Hill, about 50 miles away. It would be nice this time to not have to commute to/from the track on Fri/Sat. Heavy crowds, to be sure.

From what I've read, it sounds like only one car per campsite - is that the case?

I wouldn't mind having company for the trip too - local folks and anyone else from Denver area, or eastward, heading west on I-80. Hmmm....

[Wickd89]

Love to go for the everything.
Coucours d'elegance
Italiano
Historics
parade
historics.........

I can get a place near Moss Landing. Is that close to everthing??

[yo911]

I'm about 60 miles from Laguna Seca. What is the date of this event? Don't have a P yet, but who knows by then? Great place to look too.

[j_mancini]

Originally Posted by yo911

I'm about 60 miles from Laguna Seca. What is the date of this event? Don't have a P yet, but who knows by then? Great place to look too.

Aug 14-16, 2009. Here's the website:

http://www.laguna-seca.com/pages/Rolex_Monterey_Historic_Automobile_Races

[BLEW911]

Originally Posted by j_mancini

I actually was also thinking it would be kinda cool to have an informal gathering of Pelican folks - nothing serious or "organized" (well, cooler with refreshments, if that's organizing), swap stories, talk cars, etc.

Camping is not an issue for me - dust and dirt are to be expected! Sounds like the the shower facilities are pretty good. Last trip I made to Laguna Seca, we had to stay in Moran Hill, about 50 miles away. It would be nice this time to not have to commute to/from the track on Fri/Sat. Heavy crowds, to be sure.

From what I've read, it sounds like only one car per campsite - is that the case?

I wouldn't mind having company for the trip too - local folks and anyone else from Denver area, or eastward, heading west on I-80. Hmmm....

Regarding the number of vehicles allowed.......My tickets always come with one camping vehicle pass and one "support vehicle" pass.

Don

[j_mancini]

Ok friends, we have our camping spot reserved (Grand Prix area)...!

I will post again as August nears (wow that sounds like a long time from now). Anybody with ideas for the trip, or perhaps a get-together of fellow Pelican folks - hit me up.



This is gonna be a fun road trip.

[efhughes3]

I may drive the old girl up for this...

For the record, Salinas can be very expensive too. I paid $200/night at a DUMP a few years ago during this weekend.

[WPOZZZ]

I'll probably be driving in.

[RSBob]

If you don't mind driving 40 mins from Santa Cruz, this is a real comfy place to stay with far more reasonable rates than the Monterey rip offs. It's the Pelican Point Inn owned by my parents http://www.pelicanpointinn-santacruz.com/home.html. I will see if I can get reduced rates for Pelicanheads. Regular rates: Weekdays $130 Weekends $160 - I will see if I can get $20 off per night from those rates. Let me know if there is any interest.