Ralph Borelli Talks About How Racing and Business Can Be a High-Octane Mix
The 2nd Annual Spring Classic is a vintage racing event that will be held May 18th – May 20th at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey. The Spring Classic weekend remembers and celebrates the fast and thrilling 1970s, 1980s and 1990s in the world of motorsports.
On Friday through Sunday, you can watch spirited competitions among run groups that include historic open-wheel cars, sports cars, stock cars, and motorcycles. But before the racing begins, you won’t want to miss Saturday’s second annual community celebration, LaGalaSeca — a can’t-miss evening that includes a wine reception, sumptuous dinner, silent and live auction, plus an eye-opening panel discussion featuring racing industry influencers — with all proceeds benefitting the SPCA for Monterey County.
Included in that panel discussion will be our own Ralph Borelli, founder and co-managing member of Monterey Motorsport Park, who will talk about how racing and other track activities can serve as a high-octane mix fueling successful business development efforts.
LaGalaSeca promises to be a fabulous evening, with a wine reception and silent auction at 6, followed by a Polynesian-themed dinner at 7 p.m., the lively and informative panel duscussion at 8, and a no-holds-barred live auction to conclude the festivities. Tickets are going fast — but a few spots remain. To RSVP for this unforgettable event at the hospitality pavilion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, contact Ardelle Lind at (831) 242-8210 or email [email protected].
Golf No Longer Par for the Course
For years, common wisdom has positioned a round of golf as the ideal means to conduct business and close deals. But if you’ve ever spent time waiting and waiting and waiting on some par-3 hole while multiple groups ahead of you spray balls all over the place, you know that isn’t a great time to be chatting with an annoyed customer.
And unless your customer has the patience of a saint, you also might not want to try talking business when he puts his third ball into the lake, or takes another swing that’s more sand than ball as he tries to dig his way out of a deep bunker.
Racing, on the other hand, is a guaranteed adrenaline-producing activity that can get individuals revved up and ready to go for any conversation. As the owner of a vintage stock car, Ralph Borelli has looked to various car- and track-related events to make connections that have led to substantial business for his commercial real estate firm, Borelli Investment Company.
In 1999, Ralph purchased the #22 Maxwell House car — a 1991 Ford Thunderbird that raced on the Winston Cup circuit from 1991 to 1993 and captured the pole position at the Daytona 500 in 1992. Since then, he’s competed in many vintage races, driven the car on just-for-fun track-driving days, and offered rides to numerous individuals to raise money for worthy causes.
Driving Successful Business Deals
The relationships that Ralph has built or nurtured through rides in his race car or enjoyable hours spent on pit row or in hospitality suites or motor coaches on track weekends have driven some of the largest deals Borelli Investment Company has closed. One notable relationship that started with a ride for charity in Ralph’s car in conjunction with the San Jose Grand Prix in 2005 ultimately led to the ongoing development of Market Park San Jose — at 120 acres and $3.5 billion, the largest transit-oriented development and mixed-use community in Silicon Valley.
Racing and a love of motorsports was also a key ingredient in bringing together the development team behind 
Monterey Motorsport Park — an exclusive garage-condo complex and car community just down Highway 68 from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey Regional Airport.
The 84 car and storage condos ranging from under 700 sq. ft. to more than 4,250 sq. ft. are ideal for storing cars, motorcycles and other valuable items, large or small, in a secure environment. Spacious mezzanines in every unit also provide plenty of space to customize an office or leisure retreat above the garage floor — positioning this to be a vibrant car community, not some cold, impersonal storage facility.
