SONOMA, Calif. (March 28, 2016) — The Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) opens its 49th race season at Sonoma Raceway this weekend with the David Love Memorial Vintage Car Road Races, April 1-3.
Guests can expect more than 250 historic and vintage race cars, spanning Formula 1, prototype and production sports cars principally from the 1950s, '60s and '70s, as well as some gems from the 1930s. Names like Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, MG and Corvette will fill the paddock.
This year's race weekend will feature the Triumph marque, the quintessential sports car that won at Le Mans and in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Triumph icon Kas Kastner, who was crucial to the marque's success, will be a featured guest throughout the weekend. In addition, former Formula One driver, Howden Ganley, will be on site throughout the weekend to sign his book, The Road to Monaco: My Life in Motor Racing, at Wine Country Motorsports in the main paddock.
The season opener is named in honor of David Love, a longtime Bay Area resident and CSRG co-founder, who passed away in 2013. Love was a racer like few others. He began racing in the 1950s with a series of Porsches, Morgans and even Formula Junior. He later purchased the car with which he was most often identified, a1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa, which he raced virtually uninterrupted from the '60s through the '90s at West Coast vintage events.
This weekend's event will feature practice and qualifying on Saturday, with main events slated in each of the 10 race groups on the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course on Sunday. Spectators will get full access to the cars and drivers in the paddock.
For the spectator, this is a chance to do some time travel back to the '50s, '60s and early '70s to see the evolution of race car design and development in the wonderful environment of the Sonoma wine country. Fans can also enjoy an array of delicious food, wines and craft beer. New for 2016, select items from Chevys Fresh Mex will also be available for purchase.
Gates open at 8 a.m. each day. Admission is $25 per day or $40 for a weekend pass, which includes parking, as well as access to the paddock and all spectator areas. The David Love Memorial Races is a family-friendly event. Children 12 and under, active and veteran military members, as well as high school and college students with appropriate identification, will be admitted FREE. Kids are invited to sit in some of the race cars and get an up close look at these beautiful, vintage machines.
CSRG will return to Sonoma Raceway, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, for the 13th annual CSRG Charity Challenge, which benefits Speedway Children's Charities. For more information on the Classic Sports Racing Group, visit www.csrgracing.org.
