Carmel, CA, 15 August 2008
With access strictly limited for both attendees and media, we were only one of
many who were unable to get tickets for this event in Carmel Valley, where all
tickets were reportedly sold within hours of going on sale earlier in the year. Thus
we could only “pick up the pieces” as the event closed on Friday afternoon, so
apologies in advance for the background to some of the images. Personally I feel
that they could be more accommodating to the media, maybe by clearly demarking
that media credentials did not provide access to the refreshment stands which
provide unlimited sustenance to paying attendees, after all, despite a widely held
belief, not all of us are predatory vultures!
The organisers try to make the event exclusive, which they succeed in doing, by
limiting the numbers as previously mentioned. By doing so, they provide a great
ambience for those fortunate enough to gain access, as I can testify from the one
running that I managed to attend properly two years ago.
The sixth running celebrated the Porsche 959, Porsche’s response to Ferrari’s
GTO, Dan Gurney’s Eagle racing cars, with a spectacular array of cars carrying the
name on the racetracks of the world over the years, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and
renowned Lamborghini test driver, Valentino Balboni’s four decades at
Lamborghini. The Eagle race car display ranged from the beautiful 1967 F1 car, of
the type in which Dan Gurney won the Belgian Grand Prix that year, to a 1991
Gurney Eagle Toyota MKIII GTP, a model which won 21 of the 27 IMSA races that it
was entered in. The 12 Hours of Sebring class ranged from a 1950 Aston Martin
DB2 to a 2003 Ferrari 575 GTC, with a wide variety of models in between,
including a 1959 Deutsch Bonnet HBR-5 Coach, a 1963 Corvette Grand Sport and
a Porsche 962. The Valentino Balboni tribute cars included a 400 GT, Miuras,
Series I and II Espadas, and even a LM002 MPV.
Other classes included pre-war sports and racing cars, post-war sports, post-war
racing, the great Ferraris, sports and racing motorcycles, and supercars. Within
these groups there was an eclectic array of machinery to delight the avid
enthusiast.
The results of the concours are as follows.
Best of Show
1962 Shelby Cobra 289 - Bruce Meyer
12 Hours of Sebring
1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL1 - John Thompson
Gurney Eagles
1967 Gurney Eagle F1 - The Collier Collection
25th Anniversary of the Porsche 959
1985 Porsche 959 Paris Dakar - Bernard Carl
Tribute to Valentino Balboni
1967 Lamborghini Miura - Lammot Du Pont
Pre War Sports and Racing Cars Award
1913 Mercer 35-J Raceabout - The Peterson Automotive Museum
Post War Sports Cars Award
1957 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Roadster - David & Melissa Mohlman
Post War Racing Cars Award
1962 Ford Cobra 289 - Bruce Meyer
Sports and Racing Motorcycles Award
1953 Vincent Black Shadow - Thomas & Elece Leverone
Super Cars Award
2006 Ferrari P 4/5 Pininfarina - James Glickenhaus
The Quail Lodge “Preservation Award”
1959 Ferrari 410 Super America - Tom Shaughnessy
The Road & Track “Editor’s Choice” Award
1972 Eagle Indy - Olsonite - Dan Gurney
Pacific Tweed Couturier “Eye for Style” Award
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB Berlinetta - Issah Karanough
Keith Bluemel
09/2008
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