7th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique

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On May 1st & 2nd, the streets of Monaco were closed for the 7th Edition of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. I’m a big fan of modern formula one, but nothing beats vintage race cars tearing through the tight, twisting, and undulating streets of Monaco. Racing at Monaco has largely been for Grand Prix Cars, but for a few years in the 1950’s they raced Sports Cars. It’s for this reason, that out of the 8 race groups, one is reserved for Sports Cars from the late 40’s & early 50’s. It should be noted that in 1952, two Allard J2X’s were raced by Anthony Hume and Fernando Mascarenhas, but did not finish.

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The Simeone Foundation Museum

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I recently returned from a business trip to a city that I’ve wanted to visit for a long time…Philadelphia! There are three main reasons I wanted to visit Philly: 1) Pat’s King of Steaks, 2) Geno’s Steaks, and 3) the Simeone Foundation Museum. Once the business portion of my trip was complete, I quickly sampled the original Philly cheese steak sandwiches from 1 & 2 (Pat’s was the best!) before driving over to the museum to meet up with Dr. Frederick Simeone.

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Keels & Wheels, 2010

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Bill Bauder and his J2X, the “Bitch”, drove away with the second place Silver Cup Trophy at the 2010 Keels & Wheels Concourse d’Elegance in the Vintage Race Car class. In the past, Bill’s excellent restoration job has meant that the “Bitch” lacked the patina to convince the judges to award the car. However, after several rallies and a few vintage races, the ‘Bitch’ has collected enough rock scars in to convince the judges otherwise…or perhaps it was the new set of white walls? To learn more about this year’s Keels & Wheels Concourse, visit their web site at www.keels-wheels.com. Congrats Bill!!!

P.S.: To learn why Bill’s J2X is called the “Bitch” click here!

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Breaking News!!! Allards to be showcased at 2011 Amelia Island!

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Please read the exciting announcement below from Bill Warner, Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance...

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Every year at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, we feature various significant marques to showcase the heritage of the cars and the successes experienced.   Andy Picariello and I have been working in concert for the past few years to assemble a definitive display of Allard’s to put on the fairways at the concours. I am pleased to announce that for the 16th Anniversary of The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, March 11, 12, 13, 2011, Allard will be one of three featured marques, the other two being Duesenberg and Kurtis.
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We'd like to thank Andy Picariello for helping to make this a reality. Andy is working tirelesslyin supporting the Allard Marque, and for that we are grateful!

Celebrate the Guv'nors 100th on June 19!

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This June 19th, we'll celebrate Sydney Allard's 100th birthday. If you check your calendars, you'll notice that the 19th is a Saturday. So what's a better way to celebrate Sydney's big day than by taking your Allard out for a nice spirited drive in the country? We hope that you'll celebrate Sydney's birth in style...and if you do, please send us a photo...we'll post every one that's sent to us!

For more info on Sydney's life, click here.

Amelia Island, 2010

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Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, or the buzzards to Hinkley Ohio, March is the time for the faithful to return to Amelia Island. From AC to Zagato, the 15th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance lived up to its history and hype, and once again presented a stunning array of cars and motorcycles to one of the largest crowds on record.

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Mark Your Calendars, the Allard's are Gathering at Watkins Glen!

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Plans are underway for an Allard Gathering at Watkins Glen this September to celebrate Erwin Goldschmidt’s win 60 years earlier. His car, along with many other Allards will be there to celebrate the event. Andy Picariello is organizing the event which will take place during the SVRA’s U.S. Vintage Grand Prix Festival this September 10-13. Many Allard special events will take place throughout the weekend, including a drive on the Old Course and a special display at the track. All Allard owners are encouraged to attend with their cars, whether racing or not. If you are interested in attending, please email Andy at afpic@cape.com with your contact information and if you intend to bring your car for race or show. Andy needs to get the SVRA an initial head count soon (for lodging and track space), so if you are interested, please contact him now (this is not a formal commitment!). Organizing an event like this takes a lot of work, so if you’d like to help Andy, please let him know! We look forward to seeing you there!

Click here if you are interested in attending!

Additional information:
Watkins Glen Web Site
Event Web Site
SVRA Web Site

A Weekend Away, Racing at Spa

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By Tom Walker

Spa was terrific as usual. The sun shone and we had a great time. The Spa Historic 6 Hours meeting is reckoned to be one of the best in Europe for old car racers. There is a great spread of entries , from pre-war sports cars to my favorites…the big bangers, Lola T70, Porsche 917, Matra, Ferrari…and the circuit is acknowledged to be the best fun to drive on. The 6 hours is on the Saturday night, from 5pm till 11. I have never taken part, preferring to chill out on one of the excellent viewing banks with a crate of cold amber nectar, the light slowly fading and the headlights coming on in the dusk. 

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Goodwood Revival 2009

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By Mel Herman

Everyone I had spoken to about the Goodwood Revival says what a great event it is. I have been to many Classic race meetings and expected just another of the same. Wasn't I wrong.

The sheer volume of great cars, the enthusiasm of those attending in period costume, the sideshows and events put on by the organizers all, in my mind, add up to a fantastic, not to be missed spectacle with something for all the family. The Henly and Ascot for Classic Cars.

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2009 Monterey Historics - Review

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This year marked the 36th running of the Monterey Historic Auto Races, and the 3rd time that Porsche was honored as the featured marque. The ‘Monterey Historics’ www.montereyhistoric.com are a special part of many of our lives.

In our case, we just ‘stumbled upon’ them during a 1979 visit to the Monterey Peninsula – the year when Bentley was the featured marque. The image of Phil Hill kicking the tail out on his three-liter blower Bentley as he drifted that behemoth around [what is now] Turn 10 is forever imbedded in my mind. I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven, and this vintage motorsports ‘happening’ has been a focal point of the Warnes family calendar ever since.

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The Pebble Beach Tour, 2009

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For a number of years, the organizers of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance have forced their entrants to drive their beautiful cars 70 miles along the Central California Coast so they can be ogled at for free by the general public as they are parked along Ocean Avenue in Carmel. Not only is this event a test of every entrants cooling system (there are a number of traffic jams), but is also a test of every owners ability to trust Joe Six-Pack not to scratch their million dollar Bugatti's.

Click here to view the Pebble Beach Tour Photo Gallery

Cheers,
Colin

Silverstone Classic 2009, A Driver's Perspective

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(Click here or the photo above to view the Silverstone Classic Photo Gallery)

I have trouble keeping my core (freeze) plugs in and sure enough, hammering down the M1 at 7.45am last Thursday, en route to Silverstone racing circuit, that familiar "Turkish Bath" moment struck again, and I pulled up onto the hard shoulder. Two bits of luck, I had my good friend and co-driver for the weekend behind in his Honda Civic, and I still had my core-plug bodgers repair kit in my tool box. Co-driver went off to look for water while I started mixing the epoxy metal. I wont bore you with the details, but I spent the rest of the week-end running with the radiator cap undone because the bodge had to stay bodged.

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Allards at Pickering

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Click here or the photo above to view the photo gallery

For those not familiar with the UK geography, Pickering, in Yorkshire is an area to the north of England with wonderful scenery and has been a gathering place for northern Allards for a few years now.

Several Allards gather for a tour of the North of England and the Pickering weekend becomes the focal point for others to join them and enjoy a social get together and dinner at a great country Inn where several stay over. This year eleven Allard’s were able to get together for the weekend.

The gathering is very well organized by Peter Wright with help from Barry Ogden. The Saturday night dinner is held at The New Inn, a typical country Inn with its own micro brewery making really good ale that we tend to do justice to over the few days.

More news to follow...

Cheers,

Mel Herman

Allard J2 in AACA Museum Exhibit

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Andy Picariello has shipped his award winning Allard J2 off to the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) museum in Hershey, PA for the next several months. Andy's J2 is a part of an exhibit titled, "Sports Car in America," which details Americans love of the sports car following WWII. The exhibit covers an extensive cross section of sports car including: MG TC, Mercedes 300SL "Gullwing", Ford GT40 MkV, Volvo P1800, Lotus 7, Jaguar XK120, and Datsum 240Z. The 25 car exhibit will continue through October 11. For more information, please visit the AACA web site at www.aacamuseum.org.

Click here to download a pdf of the flier above.