CSRG 9th Annual Charity Challenge @ Infineon / Sears Point

[John Z Goriup]

For the second oldest vintage sports car racing organization in the US, this wonderfully professional and prestigious group always manages to pull off what others just don't seem able to accomplish: consistently good and exciting racing weekends with the best cars, driven by gentlemen and the occasional lady, all of whom bring the highest standard and level of dedication of vintage racing to Northern California. So it is this weekend. Perfect weather, grand selection of cars, and a delectable selection of cars was made available in which you could purchase a ride during the lunch-hour "charity ride" session. This organization has raised & donated well over half a million dollars since its inception in '69 and continues to raise significant & important funds with weekends like this.

The first group of 5 shots shows the wide range of race and street cars you're likely to usually encounter at a typical CSRG meeting.

[John Z Goriup]

To continue, there is always a good showing of Porsches at CSRG events. I had not seen the silver / black 356 prior to this weekend, and it was the first visit for the black longhood 911 with the "stinger" exhaust ( car is from the Seattle area )...........also, seeing and hearing the ex-Vic Elford 908 /3 is always a genuine treat. Unfortunately, the schedule was such that there simply was no down-time for maintenance where I could take the dozens of detail shots I would have liked to have taken of this historic car.

[John Z Goriup]

and another group of 5 Porsches

[John Z Goriup]

The Alfa-Romeo marque is always well represented at CSRG meets, probably because many were purchased as daily drivers back in the day when they were new cars, and many owners just relegated them to track duty instead of selling these faithful old friends.

[John Straub]

Cool photos John, that Healey in the first set is just plain bitchin'...

[John Z Goriup]

A world-class local collector and frequent participant in the larger vintage racing scene internationally, also happens to be the founder, owner and CEO of the Price Family Dealership Group which represents some of the most exotic brands available today, including the recently added McLaren account, brought several of his best, most exotic pieces. He has owned the red F1 model for several years, drives it frequently, and has personally taken it on parts runs between heats of his race cars to haul bits and pieces to allow his mechanics to continue working on a crippled car, and exhibits it at various race meets. This weekend he had the car solidly booked for charity rides, using the three seat layout to great effect. The extra weight of two passengers, each along-side and slightly to the rear of the centrally seated driver didn't seem to affect the performance of this remarkable automobile very much at all............still very fast, taking the corners with minimum roll and as silent as a Rolls-Royce.

Lynn St. James was on hand to act as the pace car driver in the silver MP-12.

The final shot in this group shows the differences between the "old" original F1 and the MP-12, McLaren's first mass produced sports car. Personally, I don't think there's any comparison at all, what with the current product appearing downright vulgar when viewed against the refinement and jewel-like quality of the entirely hand-built F! and it's nowadays radical concept of being conceived and executed as an almost totally manual "driver's" car as opposed to the dual turbo-charged, heavily driver's-aid loaded and computer dependent MP-12.

[Nine17]

I have to agree about the new McLaren MP4-12C; it isn't even a shadow of Gordon Murray's singular vision that inspired the F1, and the styling is a joke compared to the simplicity of Peter Stevens perfectly resolved F1 design. The looks of that rat-rod Healey or the silver Ghibli spider are more to my taste than the mushroom-gills of the new Mac, and both are probably more involving to drive on a country two-lane. Interesting that Murray is now designing the T.25 and T27 city cars rather than hyper-performance machines that can never be driven to their full potential on the road.

Hope to see you at Canepa's, which is next weekend. The Moal Gatto is in the shop -- hopefully it will still be there. I know that you would like to see it in detail.

-- David

[John Z Goriup]

See you there, David.

I took a breather from finishing this post to watch the Japanese Grand Prix which I taped last evening, and now conclude with the last tidbit from yesterday's CSRG report. Tom Price, the collector & multiple brand car dealer mentioned above, has owned a Ferrari 250 GTO for years, and recently acquired the entire Ferrari collection of a Dutch car dealer who succumbed to the dreadful European economy and was forced to dispose of his collection, which included a 250 GTO with even better provenance than Tom's previous GTO.

Tom gave several charity rides to some well-heeled enthusiasts who really got their donations worth of pleasure. Sitting there along the pitwall in lone splendor it's really understandable why these unique and magnificent specimens bring the prices they do...........I don't think anyone can credibly put their finger on the precise date when they jumped the gap from mere very collectable rarities to iconic masterpiece of Italian renaissance art & a must-have-in-your-collection-if-you're-gonna-call-yourself-a-world-class-collector item........... and most expensive car ever.

Enjoy, and thanks for looking.

JZG

[Chuck Miller]

Wonderful pics John....

My buddy Hector maintains (and sometimes drives) the pretty little OSCA in your 3rd pic...

Hector mentioned that Lynn St. James was suppose to driving a Formula/Atlantic this weekend.

[Nine17]

Might I inquire, how large a donation might a well-heeled donor have made to obtain a ride in that stunning ex-Count Volpi/Scuderia Serenissima 250 GTO?