Corkscrew Hillclimb gets Monterey Pre-Reunion started

The Pre-Reunion roared to life Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with a full day of practice and qualifying featuring some of the world’s finest historic race cars, setting the stage for the first two races of Monterey Car Week on Sunday.

The day culminated with one of the weekend’s most anticipated traditions – the Corkscrew Hillclimb, the only time of the year competitors race up the legendary Corkscrew, reversing direction on one of motorsport’s most iconic stretches of pavement.

Defending champion Christine Sloss successfully defended her Corkscrew Hillclimb title, taking the overall victory in her Ferrari SF90XX Spider.

While Sloss claimed the fastest time at 30.482s, Andri Musiienko earned the People’s Choice award in his 2015 Porsche Macan. Musiienko had the crowd roaring as he attacked the uphill course in full drift – including an unforgettable reverse drift on his way up the Corkscrew (pictured above).

Richard Spritz captured the Formula Junior Award behind the wheel of his 1960 Huffaker BMC Mk 1, recording a best time of 37.985 seconds from the front straight to the top of turn 9.

Adding another entertaining twist to this year’s Hillclimb, Ross Merrill, along with sons Thomas Merrill and Jonathen Merrill, took on the course aboard three go-karts in tandem, proving one of the event’s most memorable sights.

The action continues Sunday with the first two races of Monterey Car Week as the Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion concludes and competitors prepare for next weeks Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

Race groups, schedules and event information, along with ticket and hospitality options for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion are available at WeatherTechRaceway.com.