Bonhams is moving its annual Monterey Car Week sale from The Quail to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, having signed a multi-year agreement with the Californian race track, extending an already existing 15-year partnership.
From this summer onwards, the Bonhams Cars sale will become an integral part of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Historic race festival, which has continued to grow in size and quality since the running of the famous track was taken over by Friends of Laguna Seca in early 2024.
The auction will take place on Thursday August 13, 2026, with the preview beginning during the Pre-Reunion race weekend that kicks off Monterey Car Week on August 11-12.
Since 2003, the Bonhams Monterey Car Week sale had taken place during The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering at Quail Lodge in Carmel, a short shuttle bus ride away from the main event. However, as The Quail has grown in size and popularity, and its demographic changed, the Bonhams sale has increasingly missed out on visitor attention.
Even before the inaugural running of The Quail, the Bonhams (or previously Brooks) sale had been based near Quail Lodge, so this will be the first change in venue for the auction in 29 years.
The new location will ensure a strong audience among the many collectors, racers and enthusiasts already in attendance at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – easily one of the most prestigious events of Monterey Car Week, and named the Motorsports Event of the Year at the 2025 International Historic Motoring Awards. Bonhams’ partnership with the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion dates back to 2011, and it already supports the Drivers’ Lounge and other trackside activation.
Whitney Maxwell, global managing director at Bonhams Cars, said: “I’m delighted to confirm the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as the new home for the Bonhams Cars sale in Monterey Car Week. Monterey is one of our flagship global sales in the calendar, and the location of the auction is hugely important. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is an outstanding venue that has seen significant investment in recent years and gives us almost limitless space to grow and develop our sale as the quality and volume of cars we consign for our Monterey Car Week sale develops.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Bonhams Cars as our official auction partner during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,” said Mel Harder, president and general manager of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. “Bonhams Cars’ unparalleled heritage in the collector car market enhances the experience for our fans and participants, bringing world-class auctions to the iconic setting of Laguna Seca. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to celebrating automotive history and delivering exceptional experiences during one of the most anticipated weeks of the year both here on the Monterey Peninsula and among automotive enthusiasts around the world.”
The new location is one of several changes made by Bonhams in recent times. In September 2025, former McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt joined as global motoring chairman. In January, the auction house’s annual Paris sale took place (successfully) at the prestigious Polo de Paris rather than the regular Grand Palais location, and this year its Goodwood sales will be staged during Members’ Meeting and Revival, but not at Festival of Speed – there will be a line-up of cars there, but no sale.
Bonhams Cars has recently also sold its digital sales platform The Market, recognising that digital sales are now an integrated part of its own brand.
More information on the Bonhams Cars website here.
