SVRA: Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival preview

This weekend's SportsCar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) Historic Motorsports Festival at Sonoma is labeled a "Gold Medallion" event for good reason. The designation is about rigid standards of authenticity for the restoration and maintenance of historic racecars and this region of the country boasts one of the greatest concentrations of such vehicles in America. The theme of the weekend is a tribute to the classic days of both Trans Am and Can Am.

The event grand marshal, appropriately enough, is George Follmer, the only driver to win the championship of both series in a single season. He "did the double" on the crowns in 1972, driving Roger Penske's Porsche 917/10 in Can Am and the AMC Javelin factory team led by Roy Woods for Trans Am.

Follmer, who won a second Trans Am title in 1976, will lead a weekend featuring the return of the Historic Trans Am organization full of car owners who celebrate the classic era of the sport from 1966 through 1972. They race several times each year with SVRA and last appeared at the March Sebring event where Follmer also attended.

The Historic Trans Am are the actual cars once driven by the legends of that era – Parnelli Jones, Mark Donohue, Dan Gurney, Swede Savage, Peter Gregg, Sam Posey and Peter Revson, plus Follmer himself. All the cars once raced in those early days. Those with greatest history have estimated values exceeding $1.5 million. While the group's members have a strict code about not banging into things or each other, make no mistake – they get up on the wheel.

Further evidence of the incredible machinery celebrated in the region is a pre-war field of 21 entries literally worth, collectively, over $40 million. Four 1930s grand prix Alfa Romeos head the list. Italian great Tazio Nuvolari raced one of the Alfas in the most remarkable drive of his career, the rainy 1935 German Grand Prix where he toppled the juggernaut home country Mercedes and Auto Union teams. It's a diverse field with the famous "Remus" ERA, an Indianapolis-built National from the first Indianapolis 500, a Bugatti T35, a Lagonda LG45 and a 1932 Miller-Scofield/Ford Champ Car among others joining the gathering. All will be at speed.

Some 280 of 300 entries across 12 of the 13 run groups for the weekend fit the Gold Medallion criteria for authenticity and care. Only the Formula Fords of Group 8 are outside the elite designation.

"Sonoma is in the heart of a region of the country where people understand the distinction between historic racecars and vintage racecars," SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella said. "The Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival can grow into the SVRA's premiere Gold Medallion event. A Gold Medallion weekend is where we showcase extremely valuable cars with no aftermarket alterations and especially highlight those with real history."

All the racers will charge around Sonoma's 12-turn, 2.5-mile road course. The layout, with its elevation changes and fast, sweeping turns, provides a spectacular hunting ground for photographers. Can Am Lolas, McLarens, Shadows and Porsches will be in the mix along with names exotic and familiar, such as Huffaker, Elva, Lotus, Brabham, Aston Martin, Merlyn, MG and Zink.

Series sponsor Jaguar is back with the SVRA again at Sonoma and provides one of the best deals for fans found at any racetrack – the offer to drive a supercar free of charge. In this case it is the Jaguar F-Type, the latest in performance engineering from a company with a deep, rich history in sportscar racing, including seven overall victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans dating back to 1951.

Davy Jones, who won at Le Mans in 1996, heads up Jaguar's team of professional drivers who coach customers and guests in the art of driving. Anyone with a valid driver's license can get behind the wheel of one of the impressive F-Types and get a feel for its capabilities on an autocross course Jones and his team put together.

The local community gets their chance to show off their finest wheels with another of the SVRA's "Shine & Show" cars shows on Saturday. That same evening the SVRA racers and crews will venture into the wine country town of Sonoma to do a lap around the town square and then park in the Plaza to display. That should be an attention-grabbing stunt even in a community steeped in collector car culture and with some of the finest examples in the world.