September 15, 2001
Registration
Participants arrived at The Charter Resort Hotel in Beaver Creek, about an hour and a
half drive to the west of Denver in the midst of the winter ski resorts, on Monday 10
September to register for the thirteenth Colorado Grand. By the end of the day a total of
eighty seven cars were accounted for, including fourteen Ferraris and five Maseratis.
The Ferrari entry was truly eclectic, as can be seen from the list of participants, whilst
the Maseratis included not only 200 SI and 300 S models, but a Zagato bodied A6 G,
together with a Frua bodied cabriolet example of the same model, bought at auction in
Pebble Beach only weeks before the event.
Other gems and rarities included an Allard K2 roadster, a Pegaso Z103 BT2 coupe
from Mexico, a 1953 Edwards America prototype convertible, one of only five built, a
1928 Bugatti Type 44 Corsica, the one-off Hustler sports racing car built in 1959, a
Jaguar D Type, and a pair of XK SS models from the same stable. Paul Gilpatrick,
President of the FCA, and Ron Jackson CEO of Girard-Perregaux in the USA, one of
the events main sponsors shared a Mercedes saloon. Renowned Ferrari historians
Alan Boe and David Seielstad were present in the former’s Austin Healey 3000 Mk 1
rally replica, whilst FCA master judges, Phil and Martha Bachman, continued their
unbroken run of Colorado Grand entries since its inception, at the wheel of their
faithful 1956 Chevrolet Corvette.
The traditional eve of rally dinner took place in a marquee in Nottingham Park in
nearby Avon, where the accompanying Colorado State Patrol officers warned entrants
in the nicest way possible to observe their signals and traffic regulations. This was
necessary to maintain the good rapport that preceding events had built up with
communities en route, and to ensure its longevity. This is important to numerous
charities, who have benefited to the tune of over $1.35 million since the first running in
1989. With the promise of a mainly fine weather forecast, spirits were high for another
great run.
”Tuesday 11 September”
Nobody at the dinner the night before could have realised how the mood would
change the following morning, with the heinous acts of terrorism in the east of the
country. In fact, those who had made an early start were unaware of the scenes
unfolding in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, until they reached the lunch
stop. Initially the organisers were of a mind to call a halt to proceedings at the end of
the day, but after much heart searching and deliberation, decided to continue. The
reasons for this were many fold, with the FAA ban on air travel, large numbers of the
participants would be stuck in Colorado anyway, the cancellation would not affect what
had already happened, and the charities reliant upon the support of the organisers
would suffer, not only from the direct donations, but a probable reduction of income
from other sources as people focussed on helping victims of the terrorist attack. Thus
the decision to continue was made, albeit with a subdued and shocked group of
travellers.
It was a surreal experience driving through the virtually deserted stunning landscape
of the Colorado back roads, with only mountains and sky for company, with the
subconscious images of what had been witnessed on the television screen that
morning repeatedly returning. The dichotomy was incomprehensible.
At the dinner at the first overnight halt in Estes Park, a one minute silence was held in
memory of the victims, relatives and friends. It was also announced that the end of run
auction would be a silent one, instead of the more raucous live event.
The Route
This year the route threaded a zig-zag course, first heading north-east, as already
mentioned, to Estes Park for the first overnight stop. The venue for the night was the
Stanley Hotel built by the Stanley brothers, who invented the Stanley Steamer in 1897.
The historic hotel also inspired the novel ”The Shining” by Stephen King. It then moved
south to Dillon for lunch the next day, before climbing north-west to Steamboat
Springs for the second overnight halt. Here dinner was taken at the BK Corral at the
top of the mountain, reached by a ”gondola” ride, basically an enclosed chair lift,
certainly easier than trekking up the steep slopes! Thursday saw the caravan head
south-west via Meeker to Grand Junction for the overnight halt. Friday saw the party
heading south into the Grand Mesa with a lunch stop in Paonia, before moving north-
east on the final leg back to The Charter at Beaver Creek. Here the finale dinner and
silent auction were held in the Vilar Centre for the Performing Arts, close to the hotel in
the centre of Beaver Creek. Country singer Jim Salestrom gave a short, but much
appreciated, solo concert prior to dinner, getting a standing ovation for his stirring
rendition of John Denver’s ”Rocky Mountain High”.
Scenic Splendour
Colorado has such a diverse and spectacular landscape, from the granite peaks of
the Rocky Mountains in the north of the state, through the wind and rain formed rich
red rock formations that abound almost everywhere, lush highland plains, barren
escarpments, to the almost lunar landscape of the Mesa in the south, whenever you
turn a bend in the road you are greeted by another picture postcard view. This year
snow capped peaks were an added attraction, as the weekend before the rally there
had been un-seasonal early heavy snowfall.
The best way to enjoy this splendour is definitely in an open car, which I was fortunate
to experience a couple of times courtesy of Bob and David Donner in their 250 GT S1
PF cabriolet, and Phil and Martha Bachman in their Corvette. You really experience
another dimension, as you feel totally at one with the surroundings, it all seems far
more vibrant and immediate. The down side can be if you hit a sudden storm, as did a
number of competitors on the Thursday afternoon, and what a storm! You could see
the black shaft between clouds and ground in the distance, and suddenly you were in
it! The hailstones thrashed down relentlessly with such force that you were deafened
and feared for the implosion of the windscreen. Visibility was virtually nil even with the
wipers on full speed, so the only thing you could do was to pull over and wait for it to
abate. Light aluminium bodies bore the signs of the severity, as did bruised lips for
those in cars without a hood.
Finale
The finale was a ”concours de non elegance” of the cars in as finished the rally
condition, in The Plaza pedestrian shopping area in Beaver Creek on Saturday
morning. They were joined by a contingent of mainly modern Ferraris from Denver
area FCA members, together with contingents of Porsches and Alfa Romeos, with an
Aston Martin DB 6 and De Tomaso Pantera thrown in for good measure. The
participants took the chair lift to the mountain restaurant for a farewell brunch, where it
was announced that the silent auction had netted over $55,000 for charity. The figure
was boosted in no small part by the generosity of Girard-Perregaux , with the pair of
watches that they had donated to the cause. It was then only left for participants to
reflect on a truly bizarre week, be grateful for where they were, and to try and make
travel arrangements to return home.
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