Monterey Car Week (2015) – GT350 is Monterey’s Featured Marque

#289 1966 Shelby GT350 ,Tom Fry #1 1965 Shelby GT350, Thomas Steuer.<br />Photo: Brad Fox
#289 1966 Shelby GT350 ,Tom Fry #1 1965 Shelby GT350, Thomas Steuer.
Photo: Brad Fox

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion has named the Shelby GT350 Mustang as its featured marque for the eventโ€™s 2015 edition, set for next August 13-16. The designation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the carโ€™s creation by Carroll Shelby, and the festivities will feature a paddock display created by Ford to showcase the history of the marque in support of its new 2016 GT350.

โ€œWe couldnโ€™t be more excited to be able to share one of the most iconic performance Mustang nameplatesโ€”the Shelby GT350 Mustangโ€”with all of the Shelby enthusiasts and race fans at next yearโ€™s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,โ€ said Jim Farley, Ford executive vp of Global Marketing, Sales and Service. โ€œThe new GT350 is a true testament to its heritage and builds on Carroll Shelbyโ€™s commitment to performance and racing, and we look forward to celebrating the carโ€™s 50th anniversaryโ€ฆnext summer.โ€

The GT350 anniversary, of course, follows by a year that of the Mustang itself, as Shelby was charged by Ford with building a competition version of the popular pony car. The suitably modified Mustang rewarded his efforts as Jerry Titus, Walt Hane and Freddy van Beuren won consecutive SCCA National Championships in the B Production class in 1965, โ€™66 and โ€™67. The organizers will add a special 1965-โ€™72 Shelby GT350 Mustang class to the program to highlight the marque further. For complete information please visit www.mazdaraceway.com