The 2012 running of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, held annually at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, took place in the hills near the picturesque seaside town of Monterey. As a company with a near-unrivaled heritage of motorsport success, as well as the only Asian car company to ever win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mazda participated in this year’s event with three significant vehicles from its heritage collection, a 1990 Mazda 787 Group C, a 1991 Mazda RX-7 IMSA GTO and a 1992 Mazda RX-792P IMSA GTP.

The GTP car set the pace for the first day of the event, achieving the fastest time in race groups 6B, GTP, and C. The GTO finished the single on-track session for group 6B in fourth place, behind only three ground-effects GTP cars.

The session presented a little more challenge however for Davis in the 787 Group C car, as he cut the tricky turn six a little tight, bending a suspension component on the left front wheel, and requiring a ride back to the paddock on the back of a tow-truck. Quick work from the support team, as well a helpful local machine shop — Inter-City Manufacturing — that worked overnight to produce a replacement part, will see the car on track for this afternoon’s session.

Of particular note is that all crew members and drivers are employees of Mazda, all volunteering time to support the company’s heritage motorsports efforts.