Monterey 2011

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The experience of searching one’s way through Sunday morning pre-dawn fog, curves and pines of Pebble Beach is somewhat surreal. At times the only connection with the real world seemed to be the intermittent signals from random flashlights that eventually directed us to our parking lot. The experience gave us a special appreciation for the diligent efforts of hundreds of employees and volunteers who had been on duty half the night.

Our goal was to arrive at the Del Monte Lodge before the first of the Pebble Beach Concours entrants began to chug, purr or roar their way from the Polo Grounds to their designated spots on Pebble Beach’s 18th fairway overlooking Carmel Bay and Point Lobos. The low overcast sky and moderate temperatures were a photographer’s and spectator’s dream.

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Allards @ Silverstone Classic!

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By Mike Knapman

The organisers of the Silverstone Classic set out to make 2011’s Classic the biggest and best ever.  “Rocking & Racing” were the two keywords.  They succeeded. Over 1100 entrants ensured full 52 car maximum grids for the historic races that went on from dawn to after dusk.  120 Classic car clubs and 7,000 thousand classic cars were on display.  A staggering 800 E-Types paraded on Saturday.   80,000 members of the classic car public paid to come in. The weather was not bad either, cloudy with sunny periods or vice-versa. This was “the biggest race meeting ever staged in international motor racing history”.

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July 23 Demo Day @ Simeone Museum

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On Saturday July 23, The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia will feature their Allard J2 #1975 in one of their monthly Demo Days. The theme of the Demo Day is "American Mega Motor Racers" and will feature the Allard, and the museum's '53 Cunningham C4R, '63 Corvette Grand Sport, and '66 Ford GT40 MkII. If you live in the Northeast, you should make plans to check out the demonstration and the rest of Dr. Simeone's amazing collection. The Museum features a large parking lot, which allows them to put on a good show. You can click here to learn more about the event and museum.

Click hereto read about our visit to the Simeone Foundation Museum last year and view our photo gallery.

Allards Running in the ‘Wet’ at Sonoma

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By Steve Schuler and Cordell Bahn

Two Allard J2’s ran in the 2nd annual Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival at Infineon Raceway (formerly Sears Point) on the weekend of June 4 - 5.

Activities commenced with Wednesday’s practice in the rain. They then took advantage of a 'quick and dirty' practice session on Thursday afternoon after tech. They were glad for it, because it was the only hot period on the track with a completely dry road course.

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H&H Tackle the Mille Miglia Storica– May 2011

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-Simon Hope 

Click here or on any of the photos to view the rest of Simon's photos.

Some time ago I bought a 1950 Allard J2 that was supplied new to Colonel Rupert Larrinaga. An amateur racing driver and personal friend of Sydney Allard, Larrinaga was also a gifted skier who twice represented Great Britain at the Winter Olympics. ‘My’ J2 was one of several models he campaigned in anger during his four decades of stewardship. Though, by the time the two-seater passed to me it had been unregistered for several years was in need of some recommissioning, as well as painting.

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Allards @ Amelia - Friday

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Greetings from sunny Amelia Island! I'm sitting in the courtyard at the Ritz-Carlton watching the waves crash on the beach. So far the weekend has been wonderful. Friday morning started off with the Concours Tour, which was open to the three featured marques - Duesenberg, Kurtis, and Allard. Around 25 cars made the trip...of those 14 were Allards. The driivers reported that the drive was gorgeous, but chilly. The tour wrapped up in downtown Ferdinandia, where the public was invited to check out the cars for a few hours. After that, we proceeded to the Gooding & Co auction for their preview party and to check out the K1/2, which sold for $150,000. We then drove back to the Ritz to preview the RM Auction and their K2. The day wrapped up with a nice dinner at a local Peruvian restaurant recommended by the Rosenblad's.

Click here to enjoy some photos from Friday.

Wish you were here!

Cheers,
Colin Warnes

Allards @ Techno Classica Essen - March 30 to April 4

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The Allard-Owners-Continental Group would like to invite allard Allard Owners and Enthusiasts to come to Techno Classica Car Show in Essen, Germany.
For 5 days, Techno Classica will be the Capital of the vintage Car Universe. This is the year when the automobile celebrates its 125th birthday. In 2010 this event counted for 172,800 visitors, of which 27% were international guests.
The Allard Continental Owners Group will be represented on Techno Classica in hall 3, stand 105 with a clubstand of 63sqm. at the end of the hall before passing to the gallery. Two Allards will be on display. The most interesting Allard will be the Palm Beach (now completed) substantially modified in the spirit of the Red Ram model and based on a big block with an high yield power trim. The second Allard on display will be a M-type Drophead Coupe with a very high quality and finish.
Click here to visit the event web site for more information.
Additinally you are invited to join the Allard Continental Group on Saturday April 2 on their meeting combined with the Allard lunch. We will meet beginning at 12:15h on the clubstand. After getting to know each other we will pass to the restaurant/bistro Schloss Hugenpoet in hall 3 to proceed with the meeting. We offer to have a short meeting running over one and a half hour totally and this break will strengthen you to start again with exploring this big -and someone had titled- monster show.
If you have any questions, please click here to contact Hans-Albert Oppenborn.

Gathering of The Clan, 2011

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Many of us have fond memories of the first Gathering of the Clan in November 2003. That was when 17 Allards and upwards of 50 Allard owners and enthusiasts responded to Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing’s (CVAR) invitation for a weekend of racing and camaraderie at Texas World Speedway - about 100 miles northwest of Houston.

CVAR and Texas World Speedway has extended an invitation to Allard folks to join them at Bryan TX for a reprise this coming November. So, mark your calendars for the weekend of November 4, 5, and 6.

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Amelia Island Update - Party!

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Amelia Island residents and Allard owners Axel & Hanko Rosenblad have graciously offered to host a party for all Allard owners on Saturday night before the main Concours! The cocktail party will have beer, wine, soda/tea/non-alcoholic beverages, a variety of mixed drinks (but not a full bar) and 'heavy hors d'oeuvres.’ We doubt that anyone will leave hungry! The party will start at 6:30pm.

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Allard Dragster ENGINE Reveal AT AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL 2011

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By Brian Taylor, ACAG Chair

Well, sometimes I thought it would never happen, but thanks to the last minute efforts by Booth-Arons, SBS Worldwide, U S Automotive, Aurora Bearing Company, Andy Robinson, Bob Roberts, Doug Hill’s team at the museum and Chris Eames we finally had the car and engine ready for Autosport International. Phew!

Thursday January 13th was the first day of the show, which was only open to the industry. ACAG staff included Stuart Bradbury, Bob Roberts and myself. Everything was set up and ready for the 11:45 am reveal to the attendees and press of our Booth-Arons re-created 354 Chrysler Hemi engine.

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Amelia Island 2011 News

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Event:
The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance; March 11-13, 2011          

Location:            
The Golf Club of Amelia Island
4700/4750 Amelia Island Parkway
Amelia Island, Florida 32034 (45 minutes north of Jacksonville)

Website:             www.ameliaconcours.org

In case you haven’t heard, Allard has been selected as one of the featured marques at the 2011 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, along with Duesenberg and Kurtis. The main Concours will take place Sunday March 13, but several events including lectures, tours, and dinners will occur the preceding Friday and Saturday. Amelia Island is one of the premier Concours events in the world; with a unique emphasis on motor sport design in addition to celebrating more traditional automotive styling. It is an incredible honor for the Allard marque to be featured at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and the event is sure to attract a lot of attention to our beloved cars.

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The Glen in Ten - Recap

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(Click here to view David Hoopers photo gallery)

(Click here to view Peter Bowmans photo gallery)

Twenty-two Allards and upwards of fifty Allard owners, family members, and enthusiasts gathered at Watkins Glen on the 2nd weekend of September. Overseas visitors included Mike and Diana Knapman, David Hooper and Pat Lee from the UK; and Rob and Margie Boult from New Zealand.  

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Allards Rule at Watkins Glen

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By Bill Pollack

On September 10th twenty-two Allards assembled in this small village in upstate New York. They came from all over the United States, Canada and Great Britain with individuals from as far away as New Zealand. The gathering was to celebrate the victory sixty years ago by a J2 Allard driven by Erwin Goldschmidt. Allards have long since been an endangered species. Many of these Allard owners purchased their cars twenty or more years ago and the vehicles had become a part of the family. This exceptional group of people shared the Glen and its magnificent racing machines from vintage Sprites to 600 horsepower McLarens. As a guest of the Allard Owner’s Club I was privileged to experience this grand event. The following are some of my recollections of three exciting days.

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Monterey Reflections – 2010

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Some changes have taken place with the “Monterey Historics” since General Racing turned the reins over to SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Ass’n of the Monterey Peninsula). They include:

  • The official name is now the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
  • Official practice sessions started on Thursday – making this more of a four-day event.
  • The field of entrants has increased by half. More than 700 cars were entered in 19 separate classes – compared with 450 in previous years.
  • Some classes have been re-configured – the two classes of pre-WWII cars have been combined into one.
  • Attendance at the Monterey “Pre-Historic Races” that take place the previous weekend are now open to the public (for a price), and have been re-named the Pre-Reunion.
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Monterey Weekend, 2010

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(Click here or the photo above to view the gallery...)

The Monterey Classic Car Weekend has come and gone...Now it's time to look back at the photos to attempt to recapture the sights, sounds, and smells of a billion dollars worth of gorgeous metal, rubber, electrical bits. Unfortunately family obligations limited me to one day at the track, but that didn't keep me from making the most of it. This gallery contains a bunch of photos from the RM auction (Friday) and first annual Motorsports Reunion (under new ownership). You'll probably notice the photos look a little different... they were all taken on my Iphone 4 with the Hipstamatic camera application.

We'll post a more complete review of the Monterey Weekend in a few days, but for now...enjoy the memories!