Monterey 2005 Events

This year I ended up flying down rather than driving a Ferrari.  At first I wasn't going to go at all, but found a package deal with airfare, car rental and hotel at a good price.  Even better, the airfare was into Monterey so I didn't have to drive from and back to San Jose.

Wednesday, I went to the literature show in Seaside.  Tom Shaughnessy was there so that was convenient as I needed to borrow an original pouch.  I also showed him the original 330 GT warranty book he loaned to me a couple of years ago.  Periodically he asks about it to make sure that I still have it.  A month or so ago, after he had asked, I sent him the following picture:

That way he knew that it was alive, but still being held for ransom.

Parker Hall had a booth at the show, so I had a good opportunity to talk to him there.  Anybody that has tried to talk to Parker at Concorso Italiano knows how busy he gets there.

BTW, Parker has a brand new catalog out that he's holding, so contact him about getting a copy.  New stuff, great pictures and of course, some higher prices.

After the literature show, we (Shaughnessy, Peter Sweeney and I) went over to Christie's auction at the Jet Center.  Tom's off-white Europa was in the auction.  Here are a few pictures:

I'm sorry to say that Tom's Europa did not sell (he is too as he has his eye on another expensive Ferrari).

Wednesday night, Tom Yang and I got together for dinner and a long conversation afterwards.  Tom and I have never had the opportunity to just sit down and talk, so I really enjoyed it.

Thursday was the Pebble Beach Tour.  The cars entered in the concours can participate in the tour, a 50 or so mile drive around the Monterey area with a swing through the hills and then down towards Big Sur.  My volunteer job was on the sign crew so we drove the course at the start putting up directional signs and then at the end after the cars had gone through taking them back down.

On the way back from Point Sur, we were able to take some pictures of the cars as they came through.

There were a couple of breakdowns, but we didn't have to push anybody this year (that came later at the Concours).

Thursday evening was Tom Yang's party.  Here are some candid shots.

The only mishap was at the end.  I had a couple of beers left from the six pack that I brought.  It turns out that there was water in the sink.  When I picked up the cardboard case, the bottom fell out just as I exited the kitchen.  Four beer bottles broke leaving glass and beer all over the floor.  So the next while was spent sweeping up glass and mopping up beer.

Friday was Concorso Italiano.  There were only four 330 GTs there along with a couple of GTEs. 

After Concorso, I got together with Tom Yang and Yale Evelev for a couple of beers.

I didn't go to the track on Saturday like I did last year.  I ended up calling my Pebble Beach volunteer contact and asked if they could use a body.  I was told most certainly yes and to get out as soon as possible.  I ended up helping set up the Concept Car area.  The nice part of that duty was that I could walk around the cars and take any pictures I wanted.

That evening was the 250 GTE register party hosted by Len Miller.  A pleasant evening capped by a delicious Italian dinner with friends at a local restaurant.

Sunday was the Pebble Beach Concours.  Nothing more needs to be said.  Here are some pictures.

During the awards ceremony, I ended up running battery chargers out to cars in the field that couldn't be started.  This was the first time I had ever driven a golf cart.  After figuring out that you have to press the accelerator pedal twice to make it go, everything else was fine.  When I got back, one of the fans seated nearby mentioned that I must not play golf.  Then he asked if it had a V-12 in it (he must have seen my Ferrari hat).  I replied no, but that it had a rotary engine!

Among other cars, I helped start one of the Alfa 'BAT' cars (on the left below).  As we were getting the car started, the owner commented that 'Everything is so f***ing hard on these cars'.  The battery is inside the car under the rear quarter window and was very difficult to jump.

I mentioned before about not having to push any cars on the Tour.  During the staging of the award cars, one had a clutch failure.  It wasn't completely gone, but enough that it needed help going up the hill to the award ramp.  Another crank start car couldn't be re-started in the staging area, so I helped push it clear onto the ramp and then off after the award.  So I can now say that I've been over the Pebble Beach Concours ramp with a car.  No pictures of that of course, but maybe I might be on the TV highlights when Speed TV broadcasts this year's event.