Autoblog

As the presenting sponsor of this year's Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, Toyota Motor is going all out to bring its motorsports efforts in front of U.S. fans, with the centerpiece of its involvement demonstration runs and paddock displays featuring this year's TF106 Formula 1 car. (Although Toyota isn't talking about it, fans expect the car to set a new lap record for Laguna Seca. Could be challenging on the notoriously dusty track - we'll have to wait and see.)

For the first year of its three-year stint as presenting sponsor of the event, Toyota F1's TF106 racecar will be in attendance with full team support, including team driver Ricardo Zonta, giving fans unprecedented access to a state of the art F1 car as part of Toyota's "Working Paddock Display." Also in attendance will be a full array of Toyota racing machinery, past and present, including the GTO Toyota Celicas developed by Dan Gurney's All American Racers that dominated U.S. sports car racing in the late '80s. More modern machinery will include Rod Millen's Pikes Peak hillclimb Celica, a Lexus Daytona Prototype, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck, and a Nextel Cup Camry.

Lexus is sponsoring an exhibit of motorsports artist Hector Luis Bergandi, well-known for his frequent contributions to Road & Track magazine.

The Monterey Historic is often described as an "automotive museum brought to life," and it's the largest event, with over 40,000 visitors, of the renowned classic car weekend in Monterey, California. The 33rd Rolex Monterey Historic will be held August 18-20, 2006 at the historic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Full info on the event is here.

[Source: Toyota Motor]