'15 Motorsports Reunion……….AKA Monterey Car Week

[John Z Goriup]

Sorry to be a little tardy with posting my 2015 Grand Opus.

Drove to Laguna Seca Friday evening and stayed in a hotel so I could be standing tall Saturday bright & early AM when the gates opened……..got back yesterday late PM and promptly got busy getting ready to go back down Monday afternoon for the week and will post all the photos of the events I usually attend when I get back after Pebble Beach.

From what I saw yesterday, trust me, I think the wait will be worthwhile. Phenomenal cars, great turnout, great weather promised for the duration ………..I can't wait.

Attached below a small sampling from Saturdays Pre-Reunion, taking advantage of the newly increased limit of 10 images per posting.

I would like to dedicate this entire thread to Tony Adamowicz, who was scheduled to be one of the invited special guests of Honor, but sadly is unable to attend due to serious health problems.

I look forward to presenting my photos in the usual format by the end of next week - See you then.

JZG

[John Z Goriup]

……and a few more.

If you plan on being at the Reunion, perhaps we'll run into each other.

Thanks for looking.

JZG

[John Z Goriup]

What a week !!!

Stayed in Carmel on Monday and just got home yesterday afternoon……to 105 F temperatures.

A couple of the events also had unseasonably hot weather, but all in all, I managed to meet all my personal objectives, attend all the events I had set out to attend, take all the shots I wanted to, and most importantly, see and hear all the cars (and then some ) I went to the Monterey Peninsula to see and hear.

I will resist my usual tendency to pontificate and bloviate about all the changes, perceived failures and annoying changes in ambiance at this or that event and get on with showing photos of the cars.

As always, I welcome inquiries and specific questions about anything you see posted here, and which might require additional information.

I'd like to start with Pre-Reunion coverage, the first event of Monterey Car Week, held at Laguna Seca over the weekend of Aug. 8 & 9. Please bear in mind that the featured marque this year at the Re-Union as well as the Pebble Beach Concours was the original Ford Shelby Mustang GT 350. I've decided to largely refrain from posting 'mood' shots, set-ups and non-essential filler material to provide atmosphere this time around, since this is after all the internet and not a travel magazine, therefore I trust you will find this year's format more direct, with less fluff and more cars than ever before, but I like to start at the beginning and follow a basic story line for each event. I'm fully aware I'm a week plus late in finally continuing my posting, but I believe most of the membership prefers to see carefully processed, sequentially arranged and sorted photos of hopefully interesting subjects of the entire week, as opposed to hastily put up snaps. I'd like to emphasize that I do this as a labor of love and I sincerely hope that at least some portion of the membership derives pleasure from the effort & time I put into this.

No set schedule for posting, since more than 3,000 images from two cameras have yet to be processed, but I promise to do my best to post all the material I have accumulated from all the events I attended & finish with the crown jewel of the entire Week, the final event, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance by sometimes next weekend.

Enjoy, and thanks for looking.

JZG

[John Z Goriup]

Shelby Mustangs were the main featured brand, but there was also an unusually sizable contingent of Formula 1 and Formua 5000 cars present, including the '69 Eagle Mk 5, with Chevrolet 5-liter motor, driven by Tony Adamowicz for Milestone Racing in all the Formula A/5000 races in '69, to win the championship over David Hobbs by onde point. When the car was restored and freshened in '07, Tony A to Z, as he likes to sign his autographs, scored additional multiple vintage championships in this car ( photo #2 ) as well as an ex-Alan Jones '80 Williams FW07/8 ( photo #4 ) and a '71 ex- Stewart 002 Tyrrel ( photo #5 ).

[Chuck Miller]

Wow John.......... I love the 'Birdcage' on the vintage 'ramp-bed hauler'....... PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!

[John Z Goriup]

Thank you, Chuck….that's actually the genuine, old Vasek Polak trailer that the race shop used for transporting cars to local race tracks. Jim King, a northern California CSRG member bought it quite a while ago and uses it to transport his own race car to various meets……he still has the original doors with well patinaed Vasek Polak decals on them - but replaced them with unmarked items from a wrecking yard since they are far too important to be left on the car and exposed to UV and wear and tear.

JZG

[John Z Goriup]

To continue, Porsches were a little thin on the ground, and pretty much remained that way throughout the week, since the Reunion selection Committee didn't extend invitations to a lot of Porsches, what with Rennsport V taking place in a little more than a month. In talking to car owners, drivers, knowledgable friends with connections and officials, I believe this Rennsport is really going to be one for the books………..I can't wait.

What Porsches were at the Re-Union however, were a high-quality lot and put on a very satisfying show in their respective classes.

[John Z Goriup]

One of the Porsche highlights was the Miles Collier / REVS Institute '71 Porsche 908/3.

Studying that car reminded me of listening to an interesting and competent professor delivering an in-depth lecture……..from Porsche's 'golden era'.

[John Z Goriup]

I don't know if it's just me and my enthusiasm for vintage cars, but it seemed to me that the general level of cars was quite high this year. It may be said that there certainly were a lot of the 'usual suspects' in attendance, but after 40+ years of vintage racing at Laguna Seca I am delighted to note that there seems to be sufficient "new blood" entering the sport with new cars that its future is probably in reasonably good shape.

Some shots of various miscellaneous entries, including three of a '54 Jaguar D-Type factory team entry, Ser #. XKD-403, driven by Stirling Moss, Norman Dewis, Duncan Hamilton and many other famous British names ( photos #4, 5 & 6 ).

[John Z Goriup]

I'm trying my damnedest to keep personal passion out of this, but when it comes to Alfa-Romeo that's tough to do. As always, there was a strong Alfa contingent present, with three of the top representativs of the marque under one tent.

Photo #1 shows from L to r: a yellow '62 Alfa Romeo TZ, in the middle, a red '65 TZ-2, and on the right, in red , a '74 Tipo 33 Stradale TT-12. Note how they kept getting smaller and lower……….. and significantly faster.

Photos # 2 through 6, the Stradale, with photos # 7 -10 showing the TZ-2.

Continued in the next set.