Monterey 2011 - will P25 find a McLaren F1?

[Peloton25]

One last funny point before it slips my mind - towards the end of the evening Paul asked me "What color is chassis #040" thinking that it would be something I might not be current on and that he'd be able to stump me. I said, "Do you mean what color was it originally, what color was it a year ago or what color is it today?" At that point I think he already knew his plan was foiled but I told him "The new color is called 'Blu Alfa' or perhaps 'Lord Blu' and it comes from the FIAT/Alfa color palette from the late '80s. Paul turned to another of the McLaren employees laughing and said "How does he know all this stuff?"

I said 'The owner told me...'

Thanks flemke!

>8^)
ER

[Peloton25]

One picture before I head off to the races this morning:

This is my guilty red pleasure...

<-- click

It has taken me 14 years to finally find this car and the wait was terrible, but so very worth it. It's just spectacular. I was standing beside it talking to the gentleman who looks after the owner's collection and the owner walked over and said 'excuse me' to me and asked the guy if now would be a good time to start the car. I interrupted with "If I could get back in this conversation, I think now would be a PERFECT time to start the car." They laughed and two minutes later it was fired up and the owner gave it several good blips of the throttle for the crowd. Totally amazing luck that it happened while I was standing there.

>8^)
ER

[PatrickT82]

damn its awesome; one of the few supercars I still NEED to see!

[svxit]

Originally Posted by Peloton25

One last funny point before it slips my mind - towards the end of the evening Paul asked me "What color is chassis #040" thinking that it would be something I might not be current on and that he'd be able to stump me. I said, "Do you mean what color was it originally, what color was it a year ago or what color is it today?" At that point I think he already knew his plan was foiled but I told him "The new color is called 'Blu Alfa' or perhaps 'Lord Blu' and it comes from the FIAT/Alfa color palette from the late '80s. Paul turned to another of the McLaren employees laughing and said "How does he know all this stuff?"

I said 'The owner told me...'

Thanks flemke!

>8^)
ER

Peloton, this is all really neat and amazing. It seemed like, in the beginning, McLaren were very secretive (and probably still are, to some degree) about the identities of the owners among other things. I have to admit that, when I started reading this account, I wasn't sure you'd make it out of there in one piece. It is great to see that so many of the owners know and think well of you, as I can imagine it would be a tough crowd to get next to. I was only half joking earlier when I said they should hire you but, honestly, now I'm thinking they really should. In any event, I'm attaching a picture I took near St. Paul's Cathedral in London. I guess one of these will be appearing in Beverly Hills soon as well....

[hurstg01]

That's the builders Mclaren [who seem to be popping up everywhere....] not the car manufacturers

[Peloton25]

No F1 at Laguna but plenty of other amazing things. I had not looked at the race schedule beforehand but somehow lucked into seeing the 250 GTOs race and made it up to the Corkscrew before they were done. Just incredible - these owners were really driving them, it was no parade.

Stopped by the transporter where #042 should have been and said hello again to the gentleman who looks after the car. We had met in 2006 and I did not expect him to remember me but when I told him I was Mr McLaren F1 he did. I wear that title loosely btw - usually saying I am Peloton25 is sufficient. I knew he had a lot of other obligations so I didn't stay to chat. Only complimented him on the work they had done to restore the Duckhams Special.

Headed to Gooding and Pebble now.

>8^)
ER

[svxit]

Originally Posted by hurstg01

That's the builders Mclaren [who seem to be popping up everywhere....] not the car manufacturers

Really?!? That's crazy ... the wording looks very similar. Too similar.

[F1FREAKZILLA]

pelton was the F50 GT at laguna

also can u post more pics of it or email me some

[Peloton25]

Originally Posted by F1FREAKZILLA

pelton was the F50 GT at laguna

also can u post more pics of it or email me some

It was actually at Concorso Italiano on Friday.

By the time the weekend is over I'll have well over 1,000 photos of everything I saw to share on Flickr. I'm not like some photographers who only post their best stuff - you will get to see everything that isn't complete garbage if you care to look.

Two bad things happened today - the first was that according to tdc911 I missed Gordon Murray at the top of the Corkscrew at Laguna by about two minutes. Because Tristan is from Australia we didn't bother exchanging phone info when I first met up with him so he had no way to get a hold of me and tell me to come back. Bummer, but I am confident I will find him tomorrow.

I'll have pics of the other thing in a bit.

>8^)
ER

[Peloton25]

Originally Posted by svxit

Peloton, this is all really neat and amazing. It seemed like, in the beginning, McLaren were very secretive (and probably still are, to some degree) about the identities of the owners among other things. I have to admit that, when I started reading this account, I wasn't sure you'd make it out of there in one piece. It is great to see that so many of the owners know and think well of you, as I can imagine it would be a tough crowd to get next to. I was only half joking earlier when I said they should hire you but, honestly, now I'm thinking they really should.

I went in to it with a bit of trepidation as well, not knowing how I would be received. I only knew their US Marketing and Communications Manager from meeting her at Cars & Coffee in Irvine the first time I saw the 12C. She was very nice to me that day and keyed in pretty quick to my level of enthusiasm, but had no knowledge of who I was prior to that. I got a feeling that things would go well when I met her again on Thursday for the TeamSpeed.com exclusive 12C shoot with Stephan. She told me about all the McLaren representatives on their way in from the UK and said that she would have to introduce me.

When I showed up for the discussion I attended, one of the first ones I saw and approached was their UK PR rep, Dan Connell. I didn't even have to introduce myself - perhaps he knew I was coming or simply recognized me from my Facebook photo - but I basically said 'Hello Dan' and he said 'Hello Erik' - that was a bit of a surprise. I now have the business cards of 4 McLaren Automotive UK employees (didn't have to promise not to become a nuisance to any of them to get those - but I won't), then Lynne from NY of course, the Sales Director for McLaren Beverly Hills, the son of the owner of that dealer, and the President of McLaren Philadelphia who was the one who had the question about the top speed variance that I tried to answer.

The last McLaren business card I was handed came today from a man named Frank Stephenson - perhaps you'll recognize the name? He is their Design Director and in the tent discussion had been the one to ask about Andy Wallace's comments on the F1's handling during the top speed run. He was definitely one of the ones I wanted to say hello to, but after the discussion finished on Friday he was talking to customers and then I didn't see him later on to get that chance.

Then this evening I bumped in to him, Paul and Antony outside the Pebble Beach Lodge near the Concept Green. They were coming to have a look at their own car that is up there - a one-off 12C painted in the silver/chrome paint they apply to their F1 cars - but also wanted to check out the other concepts like the SSC Tua-Tara. I was standing next to a flat bed that was delivering the bare chassis for the Aventador as they walked up and I said to Paul, I think Lamborghini are stealing your ideas here. At that point Frank Stephenson looked at me and said "Are you who I think you are?" and I said, "Yes, I am probably who you think I am." He then said something that shocked me - he said "Wonderul - I've been dying to meet you!"

Whaaaaaaa.......? <gasp> I could have been knocked over with a feather at that point, literally. So he started peppering me with questions about how I (read: we) figured all this stuff out and where my passion came from. The man is very enthusiastic about cars himself - he told me "I am exactly like you are." Well, except that he designs incredibly beautiful automobiles for the best car company in the world () and I have a day job.

So Frank had me follow him around the Concept Green while we talked. At one point it looked like he wanted to say hello to Jason Castriota so I paused, and he goes "No, keep talking. I am looking at the cars but I am listening to you."

He was just super excited to chat with me and if anything has taken me by complete surprise this weekend it was those few moments. I was certainly super excited to meet him - he designed the Maserati MC-12 and the Ferrari 612 among other things. Just never expected that response at all. When I told him the part about meeting Gordon at ArtCenter in Pasadena in 2005 he said "I was there with him - we went together for the tour of Jay Leno's collection the night before." When we finally parted company I actually had to go sit down - seriously... and it was the first time I had sat down all day long, not counting my time in the car, but it was not because my feet were tired if you get my drift. Just totally blown away...

So he also insisted that I arrive at Pebble Beach tomorrow SUPER early - like 5:30 AM for what they call "Dawn Patrol" and I guess the small crowd who is crazy enough to get up that early sit at tables on the entrance to the Pebble Beach Lawn sipping coffees and wearing these funny hats they give out while all the cars are rolled in and staged for the show. He said it is like an automotive fashion show and that once you do it one time you will never want to miss it again. I told him I would definitely try, so I need to get to bed here pretty quick so that I can get up at 4 AM -

He also said he will be at the McLaren tent all day tomorrow and that I have to come by so that we can talk more about the F1s. No offense intended to anyone else I have met, but he is easily the most enthusiastic person I have come across in the McLaren organization and I think that it is so, so wonderful to know that someone with his passion for all these great cars is now in charge of McLaren's design direction.

I guess tomorrow will be a pretty great day too...

>8^)
ER


BTW: Apologies for these wall-o-text posts but I think it helps to recount the story accurately by writing it down quite soon after it happens. Hope they aren't a bother. While I am typing all of this I am also emptying my Memory Sticks of all the photos I took each day onto my laptop so I can snap more tomorrow.

[Paulthagerous]

On the contrary, I am finding it a fascinating read so if anything, more please

[Peloton25]

So on to the other 'bad thing'. I arrived at the Polo Fields behind Pebble Beach today so I could go and view the Gooding Auction preview and much to my surprise I came across F1 #036 again with its owner.

Of course normally most would think that was a great thing - and it was for me - but unfortunately for him he was having the car loaded back on the transporter. It has a small issue with the starter that will need to be rectified by a trip to the Service Center on the West Coast near my home. While he told me he had not had any issues with it today, he couldn't chance having the car leave him stranded anywhere on this weekend. Definitely unfortunate for him, especially as he'd just had the basic services done on the car before bringing it up to Monterey. I let him go on his way while they loaded the car and stuck around to see that.

Although I have never had the opportunity to drive an F1 it is a good thing I was still there because I had to explain to the lady from Reliable how to roll down the window so that I could then explain to her how she could drive the car without stalling it. Then also had to show her how to engage reverse gear. Let this be a lesson to all the McLaren F1 owners - when you pass your keys along to the uninitiated, be sure to give them the basics please.

I took several pics with my camera as it was going in, but this pair came off my iPhone.



I guess seeing his F1 twice kind of makes up for not seeing a second car this year but I certainly wish for his sake that I had seen it under much different circumstances.

>8^)
ER


PS: In 3.5 hours at Laguna Seca I took 424 pictures today. That isn't me just holding the shutter down and getting 3 or 4 at a time either. Yikes!!

PPS: Double yikes - I have already taken almost exactly 1,000 images and still have Pebble Beach tomorrow. Now I sleep.

[Le Man]

Very interesting to read your exploits Erik,

Sounds like you are totally blown away allready , you will need another weeks holiday to get over all this excitement .

I have stated before that McLaren read this forum closely, they have eyes everywhere . Seriously its about time McLaren invited you over to Woking for a personal tour of all their F1,s and production facility,s (now that would really blow you away) maybe next year, if you come over to the UK for the Goodwood festival of speed.

Shame #036 has a slight tech problem, quick fix and then back where it should be, out on the open road. That owner is one lucky guy .

[Peloton25]

Yes - interesting indeed. No clue where all this will lead, but I assume it could only lead in a good direction for us all.

And truth be told, a dozen or so years ago when I first started to pay close attention I also had no clue where this journey would take me or that I'd even still care. All this really started for me in a self-serving fashion so that I could locate and view a road car. Once I achieved that I could have given up I guess.

Anyway - Dawn Patrol, here I come!!

>8^)
ER

[Sami Aaltonen]

Erik:

Seems that you have had a fantastic weekend!
F50GT is one of the great classics, great that your hopes came true finally!. Very sad it didn't showed up to FIA GT to challenge McLarens those years.
Longside one F1- with many good discussions with different people the weekend I think was very much perfect. Agreed 100% that it's superb to see those rare historic racers like 250GTO's on the tracks, super rare cars and still the owners drives them. What more you could ask for!

You didn't ask Paul anything about #01R's future?
If I only knew you're going to meet him, I would tryed to get you ask would they bring #01R in to Helsinki some year...

Did you saw any classic Lamborghini's?
Miura, Countach, or older ones?