City of Marina Airport, 15 August 2008
With the Black Horse Golf Club complex the subject of redevelopment, Concorso
Italiano was obliged to find a new home for the 2008 gathering. The chosen venue
was the City of Marina Airport, a short distance north on Highway 1. This section of
Monterey Bay can be quite misty, as it was for most of our stay, but the organisers
were fortunate on Friday 15 August, which was a bright and sunny day, although
the wind picked up around lunchtime, but it stayed bright through to the end of the
day’s proceedings.
Airfields can be bleak places, so it was with a degree of trepidation that most
people viewed the new venue, but although it lacked the ambience of the rolling
golf greens and trees, which seemed to draw everything together, it worked
reasonably well, although the flat expanses of tarmac didn’t really set the cars off to
their best advantage. Maybe a few imported large potted plants might have broken
things up a little and provided a more exciting backdrop. The vintage planes on
display did this to a degree, but only the Alfa Romeos benefited from them as a
scene setter. Aside from this everything seemed to work well, with a fine selection
of cars spread around, despite the Lamborghini Owners’ Club not participating this
year, with their always colourful display of “Bulls”, although there were still
examples of the marque in attendance, including a very nice black Miura.
The Ferrari Club of America’s Pacific Region under the guidance of Chief Judge
Tish Thinesen, held their regular concours, and attracted a fine selection of the
marque, including a fair number of older models, including a 500 Testa Rossa, a
250 GT SWB berlinetta, a 250 GT California, a 250 GT coupe and S2 cabriolet, a
250 GT Lusso, 275 GTBs and 330 GTCs. There was also a 342 America and 410
Superamerica displayed on a trade stand. Maserati were also well represented,
with 3500 GTs, Ghiblis, Meraks and Boras on display. There was also a fine
supercar selection, which included a pair of Bugatti Veyrons, a pair of Maserati
MC12s, a Ferrari F50 and a Ferrari Enzo. The show also had its regular mix of
trade stands, a fashion show and musical interludes, plus a Kruse auction, to
provide a broad range of entertainment for visitors and entrants alike.
David O’Neill
08/2008
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