'12 Motorsport Re-Union, aka Monterey Car Week

[John Z Goriup]

Just got back this morning and downloaded a few thousand shots from 3 cameras as the first thing after unpacking the car.

Fabulous week all in all, great and interesting cars, friends and good people everywhere, fantastic weather, surprises, incredible soundtrack as a background........it just doesn't get any better than this - although it was quite crowded at every venue ! Makes you wonder if the whole concept of "Car week" hasn't reached its saturation point.

Personally I attended the following events at their respective venues and will be posting many photos of my experiences there in the next few days as time allows...........less the shots of course which will be sent to John Dilger for potential inclusion among other's submissions for the upcoming issue of the ESSES

Saturday, Aug. 11 & 12 Laguna Seca Pre-Historics

Tuesday, Aug 14, Cars-on-the-Avenue

Thursday, Aug. 16, Pebble Beach Tour, on Ocean Ave, Carmel

Friday, Aug. 17, Legends of the Autobahn Concours

Saturday, Aug. 18, Monterey Historics, Laguna Seca

Sunday, Aug 19, 62nd Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Please allow me to start my "trip report" with a small "teaser" compendium of completely random shots of things I saw and found interesting at all of the events I attended. They're presented here in no particular order or theme, without captions or commentary to hopefully capture a little interest & anticipation and make you log on when I post images from specific individual events in the next few days. This year's honored marque was the Shelby Cobra in all its iterations........so be prepared to see a few of them.

Enjoy, and thanks for looking. Your comments, critiques and supporting or contradicting views and or anecdotes are wholeheartedly welcome.

JZG

[John Z Goriup]

..........more

[John Z Goriup]

and another batch..........

[John Z Goriup]

......and more yet.

[mobius911]

Awesome, keep it coming!

I hit the same last 3 events, although I "cheated" on Sunday and just did the free stuff outside of the actual concours. With the Retroauto tent, the car company exhibits, the concept cars, the "rich and famous sightings", and all the mechanical and human eye candy there was enough to keep my son and me busy for hours.

[popowitz]

Look at the gaps on that Woodie. Disgraceful!

[John Straub]

Here's a few I got at Laguna.









John

[John Z Goriup]

Part 1

The Pre - Historics.......or whatever this two-day event held the Saturday & Sunday before the Motorsport Reunion on the following weekend is called these days.

In my view this is as good as vintage racing at Laguna Seca and in the U.S. in general gets. The pre-Historics got their start as an accommodation & safety measure a number of years ago in an attempt to accomplish two things: one, to provide an opportunity for some entrants who weren't included in the "main event", i.e. the Historics to participate in what was thought to be the most prestigious vintage meet in the Western hemisphere, and two, to present a venue for prominent and enthusiastic collectors who rarely drove in anger in a larger field of equally valuable cars to renew their driving skills before the "real" practice, qualifying and racing sessions of the Historics on the following weekend. It was free back then, but attendance was inconsistent, and more than once I made the trip to be there when the gates opened at dawn, only to be turned away because some petulant billionaire didn't want the unwashed aficionados to see them making utter fools of themselves.

Thank God all that's changed nowadays. The pre-Reunion weekend is now an official part of the schedule, you pay your twenty bucks a day and enjoy seeing & hearing fewer cars in the paddock and on the track, but also a Hell of a lot fewer people...........and you get to park in the track compound itself, with a short walk to the gate instead of the long hike from the dusty main parking fields in the hills surrounding Laguna Seca.............one of my favorite events of car week.

Photo 1 - the finishing straight at the top of the picture with Turn 4 at far right, vendors tents being erected and the ubiquitous morning fog rapidly burning away.

Photo 2 - Quasimodo at the races.....saw a trailer with a freshly polished rear gate reflecting my distorted image, and couldn't resist setting the self timer on the camera.

Photo 3 - since this year was the fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of Carroll Shelby's brainchild and he personally was to be a major draw of Car Week, one would expect to see a lot of Cobras everywhere. They were there in huge numbers allright, but it was this red, sinister looking old warhorse staring back at me from its lair in the pits that represented everything Cobras are all about, as I see it.

Photos 4 & 5 - walking a few feet further, one would come upon the Bonham's display, featuring among others, this rare ( one of four made ) Ferrari 365 GTB, aka Daytona, which was re-bodied by Luigi Chinetti ( NART - North American Racing Team and US Ferrari Importer ) and made a lot lighter in the search for more serious performance, which disappointingly never materialized. Expected to fetch $1.5 million, but I don't follow auction results so I don't know what it really sold for - if at all.

[John Z Goriup]

this set of 5 deals with only one remarkable car, a '64 Cobra Daytona Coupe, Serial # -2286, the last of the Coupes, built by Carrozzeria Gransport in Modena, Italy. The car was originally intended to house an alloy 390 cu. in. V-8 motor, therefore required a stretched frame. The car was entered in the '64 24 hours of LeMans, but the truck ferrying it from Italy to the Sarthe crashed en route, heavily damaging the Cobra.

No. 2286 was repaired, but based on findings & experiences gathered during winter testing in '64 / '65 of the GT-40 series of cars and the emergence of the 289 as the motor of choice, the Cobra Coupe was returned to the standard frame configuration with a 289 motor. In the '65 LeMans 24 Hours race, this Coupe, driven by Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant ran as high as 3rd overall, setting a new Class lap record before clutch failure in the 15th hour.

[Nine17]

...but I don't follow auction results so I don't know what it really sold for - if at all.

I attended the Bonham's auction with my good friend who had a bidder's paddle there. The NART 365 GTB/4 was a No-Sale across the block. Given its dated Michelotti looks compared to the original Pininfarina masterpiece and race history of being withdrawn by Chinetti from the 1975 24-hours of Le Mans, it appears to be a tough sell to this year's discerning crowd converting their cash into only the most blue-chip collectibles. The updated restoration is excellent, however.

-- David