The 2006 American LeMans Series

The 2006 American LeMans Series

Monterey, CA

October, 2006

I spent the weekend in Monterey, CA at the American LeMans Series races as a guest of watch company JEANRICHARD. What an amazing weekend! When I got in on Friday afternoon and having a few hours to kill, I headed over to world famous Pebble Beach golf course – about 10 minutes from where I was staying in Monterey.

Here’s a shot from the breath taking 18th hole – I never imagined I’d ever stand on the tee at Pebble Beach:

Here’s a couple from the green side of the hole:

I’ve seen the course many times on TV, and even played it virutally in video games, but nothing can adequately capture the beauty of this place…not even these photographs:

Here’s Yours Truly soaking up the atmosphere at one of the greatest golf venues in history:

After I spent some time walking the course and getting some gorgeous photos, I headed up toward the club house:

Of course, as a Rolex fan, I had to get a shot of the famous Rolex clock which adorns the practice green at Pebble Beach:

DAY 2

The next day we headed over to the track. I’ve raced Laguna Seca many times on good ‘ole Xbox, but I NEVER thought I’d have the opportunity actually be in the pitts at Leguna. What a thrill!

The watch company JEANRICHARD (sister company to Girard-Peregaux) is not only a sponsor of IMSA and the American LeMans series, but also sponsors a car in the race – the blue car in front is theirs:

Here’s some shots of the JEANRICHARD car in action:

Here’s a few action shots of the BMW cars and the Ferrari cars (neither team did particularly well as Audi won the event and Team Corvette also had a strong showing – but I love BMW and Ferrari just the same!). Most of my “action shots” were taken from the famous “cork screw” section at Laguna:

Check out the Porsche car who took the turn a bit too sharply and spun out in the sand:

Here’s another of my favorite cars from the race:

I took a break from the race and made my way into the infield area where Ferrari had an entire compound surrounded by a moat with a guarded entrance.  Fortunately, the folks at JEANRICHARD had enough clout to get us past the guard.  Here I am standing in front of the Ferrari compound:

There were Ferrari’s as far as the eye could see!  I’ve never seen so many in one place!

Of course, they had an example of my personal favorite – the Enzo Ferrari!

After dinner, we headed to Carmel, CA to a VERY nice restaurant and I got to hang out with many of the race competitors (if you think those guys are crazy in the cars, you should see them after the race is over….).  In particular, I enjoyed talking with Bill Auberlen – not only becuase he’s one of the most talented drivers out there, but also because he drives for BMW!  Here’s a shot of Bill in his car:

I hope you enjoyed the photos – thanks for looking! Many thanks to my friends at JEANRICHARD for the fantastic weekend!

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