Monterey 2011 - will P25 find a McLaren F1?

[Nicob]

Great stories!

The 22 GTOs:

<-- Click

[F1GTRUeno]

Again amazing to hear of what you've been upto Erik, a great insight into what Pebble Beach and Monterey and all the rest is like for people who may never get the chance to go. Even more so with what you've been able to accomplish.

I for one find it really uplifting that there are guys like Frank Stephenson out there who are clearly just as much a 'car guy' as any of us, fully willing to listen to the people that absolutely adore his creations and willing to give up even a small amount of time (or in this case, quite a bit) just to chat with mere mortals like ourselves.

Whatever this news is will surely only be the icing on the cake given what you've revealed to us about the recognition (from those in the business) sites like this get and the members (and of course other sources who've helped reveal F1 information over the years) that contribute to it.

Nice to know they aren't seemingly against us having all this information.

[svxit]

Originally Posted by Peloton25

One more comment I should probably have included in the above "Thank You!" post:

I am incapable of predicting the future but will say that all signs seem to point to it looking very bright for "Us".

I was sworn to secrecy for now but more news will surely arrive soon.

>8^)
ER

Peloton, when you have time, I was curious about something. In an earlier post, you mentioned that the seminar/discussion was in regards to past and future values of the F1. Is there anything you can share with us on that? We don't hear what these cars sell for in all the private sales (and rightfully so), just the occasional auctions. Would I be correct in thinking that every time an F1 sells for an unreal amount (like 068 a couple years ago) that it increases the values of all the road cars? Again, something I've always wondered, but I'll understand if the discussion results were not to be publicized. Thanks in advance.

[Peloton25]

Originally Posted by Nicob

The 22 GTOs:

You can actually only see 17 of them in the hires version of that shot - there were five more beyond the flags at the end of that lineup.

Originally Posted by svxit

Peloton, when you have time, I was curious about something. In an earlier post, you mentioned that the seminar/discussion was in regards to past and future values of the F1. Is there anything you can share with us on that? We don't hear what these cars sell for in all the private sales (and rightfully so), just the occasional auctions. Would I be correct in thinking that every time an F1 sells for an unreal amount (like 068 a couple years ago) that it increases the values of all the road cars? Again, something I've always wondered, but I'll understand if the discussion results were not to be publicized. Thanks in advance.

I do have things to share from that discussion beyond what you have heard so far - including a few rather cool images - and will likely start a spin-off thread for it.

Just got home this evening and have a few things to take care of first and then I will get going on Chapter 2.

>8^)
ER

[Peloton25]

Chapter 2...

There were two other people I had a feeling would be in town and I was lucky to have their contact info with me. One was a gentleman who is a broker in the high end car sales biz. He's worked in important places and knows his stuff and the people who can afford a car like the F1. I won't give his name because he prefers to remain under the radar, but he has been a frequent source of excellent info to me, and subsequently this forum when I have been allowed to share. I called him and we made arrangements to meet by the 250 GTOs. He provided me with the name of the new owner who has recently acquired a US car - someone I'd never heard of before. A quick check of his available online bio in the hotel on Sunday night confirmed he is one of those people who should have an F1. Not sure when/if this information will go public but for now it has been shared in confidence with me. (Sorry...) I should mention here that I never like not being able to publish the information that I receive, but I understand and respect that request whenever it is made of me. Integrity is very important - once you lose that you are done.

After leaving him to enjoy the rest of the show I called Morry of CollectorStudio.com from Toronto, Canada who has been reading this forum for many years as he too is an F1 fan. He's been very kind to me over the years and any chance for me to get to Canada soon is pretty slim so I knew Pebble would be the best chance. He had told me to call him in the middle of the day and when I did he was just getting to the Pebble grounds and was in a memorabilia tent that was a good 20 minute walk from where I was standing. If I still had the laptop I'd have declined that invitation, but since my shoulders were starting to recover I headed off in that direction. He told me he was wearing a crazy shirt and a hat and that so was everyone else. Then he said I could find him under a set of signs in one corner which I found once I arrived. I couldn't find him anywhere - went back and forth up and down the aisles with no luck. I was about to give up and call him again when I saw him coming my way. We had a great discussion as well and I was surprised to learn he is just 5 years older than me. This man has one of the most important studios for motorsports memorabilia in the world - he ends up with the most exclusive one-of-a-kind items and manages to connect them with people who will adore them. Several of them are F1 owners and so often when they have stopped by his store he will email me to ask for pics and the chassis numbers of their cars. It would have been nice to spend a bit more time with him but he had business to do there so we were saying our goodbye's when Jim Glickenhaus came walking past behind me. Morry asked if I knew him. I certainly do as I am an avid reader of FChat and had been at Pebble in 2006 when the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina had been shown on the Concept Lawn. When Jim noticed me mention I was coming to Pebble on FChat a few days prior to leaving he said if I was coming to The Quail to stop by and say 'hello'. (Yeah - "Wow" again) I told him I wouldn't make it to that event but would look for him everywhere else. He came and chatted with Morry and I for just a minute but his family had split off in different directions and he had to get going. I didn't get a chance to say all that I wanted about the project he's been doing lately but again - someone I had hoped to get a chance to say hello to at some point during the weekend, and in literally a sea of people managed to get the chance.

I stopped at the McLaren display on the Concept Lawn on my way back to the Pebble grounds and said hello to Simon who was stuck with the 'chrome' 12C all day and he was surprisingly (to me) enjoying every minute of it. He has been with McLaren for 4 years and deeply involved in the development program for the 12C for 3 of them. He's recently joined McLaren North America and will be their technical liaison. I suspect after the thousands of miles he's done all over the world testing 12C mules and prototypes that he'll be the one most people meet when they get their test drive in the next few months here in the States. He's another guy that, like Dick Glover, is engaging to speak with and is well versed in the intricate mechanical aspects of the car. I listened to him explain how the suspension in the car functions and asked a few questions of my own. I also got him to stand with the car for a picture which he was a bit reluctant to do. Thought he would be honored for the request but some Brits just seem very understated and modest about all those sorts of things.

After getting back into the Pebble lawn area I went and had a chat with Michelle Shapiro who is new to the team and taking over the Communications role in McLaren North America. She hadn't yet been acquainted with me but had been paying attention two days earlier when I was there for the events in the tent and was eager to hear the 'story'. I think it catches a lot of people off guard that someone who appears as young as I do could know all this stuff, so for most the first question is the same and it starts with the word "How...?" I typically inform them I'm due to be 36 in just a couple of days. In everyday life I usually get guesses of my age in the 25-28 range - so when I tell someone who has asked about my McLaren F1 interest that I have been at this for a decade or more I guess it has them picturing an abnormally dedicated 15 year old who begins the journey I've been on. Don't I wish I was 25 again?

I'll stick this in here - at some point, and it may not have been this one (the days are a bit of a blur at times) I met up with Dan Connell again and he offered to publish an article that I'd like to write about US F1s on the McLaren Automotive Facebook page. This was another 'knock me over with a feather' moments. An awesome invitation to help educate and promote the F1 to the world of McLaren enthusiasts. I just checked and there are over 11,000 people who have 'd their page - what an audience that will be! I'm eager to get started on that but will need to gather my thoughts and prepare something worthwhile. I have one idea to run with, but if anyone has suggestions on the topic to focus on I'll take them via PM (thanks!).

From there I wandered over to sit with my friend Stephan and his friend who were lounging on the McLaren patio getting a rest and let them share in my good news. Stephan was getting a similar play-by-play to each of my days in Monterey that I have written here and told me to relay some stories to his friend. This was not someone I knew or who knew me but he was instantly interested in the fact that someone with such a wealth of F1 knowledge was there and he was eager to hear what I could say. We must have been chatting about 20 minutes before he said "I've seen one in an owner's garage and sat inside." That kind of statement always generates a request for details from me and he showed me some pics that were still on his camera and they were excellent! I asked him very kindly if he would mind sending them to me and he did within a day of my request before I'd even gotten home. As I like to look out for all of the rest of you as well, once I received them I asked if it would be appropriate for me to share these images and he said it would be great as long as he was given proper credit for them - of course that is not a problem. He also asked for the link to join our forum - he had no idea such a thing existed. Needless to say, I'll have these pics up here in a thread very shortly and you will enjoy them!

Don't ask me what the chances are of that last encounter taking place - but again, another point of the unreal things that happened in succession this past weekend.

I am going to cut Chapter 2 here and begin a final Chapter shortly. This will give folks on the edge of their seat something to read while I keep typing and give your eyes a rest so you don't have to read so much all at once. The final chapter has all the elements of a Grand Finale.

>8^)
ER

[Peloton25]

Chapter 3 - "How P25 got on the podium at Pebble Beach"

Whaaaaaa....?

So I was on the hunt looking for Simon Kidston at this point. I had waited until after 3 PM when all the judging was finalized and then started searching for him. It didn't even cross my mind to phone him or email him (duh...) so I was just wandering all over the place looking for him.

Jay Leno was on the stage at this point giving away the raffle cars. Then he started auctioning off private tours of his garage and tickets for the "Tonight Show" for $1,000 a pop and there were (IIRC) 34 people in the crowd who got up and joined Jay on the stage to take advantage of this. I would have loved to have been #35 because the money that was raised went to support a children's charity but that's a lot of scratch for me at a time when I may be trying to buy a new place to live. I've also heard a "private tour" doesn't always mean that Jay is the one giving them which as far as I am concerned is the only way to see his collection. He knows all these stories about every car and bike that he owns and why it is special to him and also was to its previous owners. I have heard some of them from watching videos on the JayLenosGarage.com site but getting them first hand would be a serious treat. It was cool to see so many people coming out of the crowd for this - the entire Pebble Beach event raised over a million dollars for this charity when all was said and done.

Some of you might be wondering if I ever got to talk to Jay. That answer is 'No' - I didn't even try. I look at Jay Leno as being the ultimate car enthusiast but his celebrity is always getting in the way of his ability to enjoy himself at events like this. He may really enjoy meeting everyone, I don't know, but if it were me and I had his level of knowledge and enthusiasm I'd want to be left alone so I could just enjoy the cars. Instead, what happens to him is he gets this crowd of people around him who want an autograph or a photo or to offer him their super-duper special car that is for sale and so he moves through an event like Pebble at a snails pace because of it. I suspect it is more frustrating than he lets on - afterall where would he be without these adoring fans? Comes with the territory I guess. I still don't know anything about the history of his car before it came to be his, other than it appeared once at the London Motorshow I think. Other than that I have no idea where it came from or who first owned it. Someday I will get my answer but it will be at a much more appropriate time.

So after watching that display of charity and hilarity (Jay makes everything funny) I continued on looking for Simon. Rather than finding him though, I found Richard. Some here will recall that the owner who took me for a ride in 2005 when he'd purchased #068 was named Richard and this was indeed the very same gentleman. I just wanted to say a quick hello because he was in a group of people having a lovely time during the end of the awards ceremony but when he saw me he pulled me into their little circle so I could meet everyone. He had forgotten that I'd already met his wife when I saw them in 2006 at Pebble briefly and she remembered me - "The McLaren F1 guy, right?" Then Richard says "Here's a guy you need to meet!" and he pulls over a member of their group named Peter to say hello. It turns out that Peter is the caretaker of the Herb Chambers car collection and has been with Herb for two dozen years or more which means he has been around since Herb received his car. I am floored yet again of my great luck on this weekend. Richard describes me as 'the guy who knows everything about the McLaren F1' and Peter says 'Oh wow' but it seemed like he wasn't necessarily convinced. Richard told Pete about the framed print that I sent to him after I had received my ride in his car and thanked me once again for it. He said even without the car it is something he has kept and will always treasure.

Then the discussion turned into just Peter and I for a while. Going back a ways, there was a video hosted on YouTube from their Cars & Coffee event at the Herb's BMW dealership about two weekends prior to Pebble. In that video I could hear a guy talking about the F1 and answering people's questions and he was getting everything right. I was so impressed by this that just a day before heading to Pebble I commented on the video with this:

Pleased to see the gentleman sharing info about the car actually knows what he is talking about.

I was now standing on the lawn at Pebble Beach talking to that very same guy. Could this weekend get any crazier?

We had a great conversation - I learned a bit about Herb's F1 that I probably would have struggled to capture from any other source. He has also very generously offered to pull out all the Ameritech parts when he returns home and lay them in front of and along side and behind the car and photograph them in a position similar to where they would have been on the car. He informed me that Herb's car was the first F1 in the USA, that it was probably the only one converted by Dick Fritz to look "ugly" and then he laid a real bomb on me - that on Herb's private jet when they came out to Monterey, Dick Fritz was on the plane with them. Whoa!!!

I told him that if there was any way he could ask Mr Fritz to dig into the archives I'd love to get my hands on any documentation or photos or whatever he was willing to share. It's not that I am in love with the Ameritech F1s - they were done to serve a purpose and I don't think anyone was an admirer - but this is a very important part of the history of the McLaren F1 coming to the USA finally. He was another person who was generally enthused to have met me and gave me his card and seems eager and willing to do whatever he can to help out with the information.

I really can't believe it and I have Richard to thank once again. It turns out the two of them met the same weekend I got my ride. Peter spotted #068 and noticed the travel lugs were still fitted. He approached them to ask how long and how far they had been driving on them because you really aren't supposed to do that and they chatted for a long time about the cars. From then on the two have been friends. What a coincidence and what luck of me to find Richard and meet this overly nice gentleman. While we were talking the Best of Show had been announced on the podium and to be honest he and I were so engaged in our chatter that we didn't even hear which car won and we were kind of on the down slope of the fairway and couldn't see it through the crowd of people. Turns out it was Mr Peter Mullin's Voisin which was one I'd heard a few people predict.

At that point I said my goodbye's to Richard's crowd and went looking for Simon Kidston again as it was getting very late. I felt that if I missed him at Pebble I might have a shot at the Gooding Auction that night which closes out the weekend but time was really running out. I was a bit discouraged but headed towards the McLaren tent scanning every face in the crowd for Simon with no luck. I was going to stop at McLaren for one last goodbye to some people who just in the act of doing their jobs had literally given me moments in my life that will never be forgotten. As I approached the tent I noticed Simon was up on the patio and I was so pleased. Turns out he had met Wouter from UCP.com on the field who told him "Peloton is looking for you - he might be at the McLaren tent." Simon sent me an email then that I would have seen had I not been engrossed in conversation with Peter so I didn't even check my phone when I heard it come in. (I get LOTS of emails).

Simon was just leaving the entry to McLaren's tent as I approached and we came together on the golf cart path. I said "Simon Kidston - I am Erik" and his face lit up. We did the walk-and-talk thing up to the Pebble Beach lodge and he invited me upstairs for a drink. I only rarely drink alcohol and thought that in my weakened state after four days worth of incredibleness that the body would be better off with a Sprite so we shared our drinks and had a nice little 10 minute chat while doing so. Simon is a wealth of information on everything, another man who knows a lot of people, and of course has been involved in a few McLaren F1 transactions over the years. He's also just generally a pretty cool guy. He's another person I would wish that everyone here might have a chance to meet. When we were done he said he needed to go down and see the winners and say hello and that if I were going to Gooding he'd be happy to give me a ride over there if I wished. We went down the stairs and I expected the Best of Show car was going to be down by the water already for it's glamour shots, but it was still on the podium. We walked right up and there I was in the mix of some of the most important folks in the hobby who had all come up to say hello and wish Peter Mullin and his wife all the best.

It was at this point that I noticed Richard coming up onto the podium too. Simon was doing that thing with his camera where you try to hold it out and snap a pic of yourself and others which doesn't work so great at times so Richard offered to take it. I got a picture of the passing of the camera over the Best of Show winner with Simon smiling and reaching out to shake Peter's hand. I hardly ever take candid photos of people that I think are good, but I really like this one and I'll add it in later. Then Richard sees me again and comes over to say hello, deciding at that point that the best thing to do is to introduce me to everyone he knows on the podium. There were a woman and a man who gave me the 'Who is this guy?' look - maybe because I was not dressed like I belonged up there.

Then Richard led me over to Barry Meguiar. For those who do not know, Barry is President of Meguiar's Car Care products does a TV show here called "Car Crazy" and also happens to be one of the nicest guys in the entire car hobby. In fact, earlier in the day as I was passing him I'd given him a proper smile and nod of appreciation which he returned with a smile of his own. He's another that I would never bother intentionally just to say hello so this was yet another treat. Richard tells Barry I know everything about the F1 which could sound like your average car enthusiast to most people. He said "Really?" and I tried to be brief and said that I'd been tracking the cars for nearly a decade and knew the histories of most of them. He seemed impressed and said that was great and then I quickly excused myself so Barry could get back to chatting with people he knew instead.

Simon had moved on now and was talking to a younger guy on the edge of the podium. I didn't recognized this gentleman but Simon later told me he was Tom Hartley. For those who don't know he's an exotics broker in the UK who recently sold Adrian Newey GTR #14R. Had I known who this was before he walked away I might have said hello as well but I guess you can't get lucky every time.

Simon and I continued our chat up through the Lodge and headed for his car. At that point I realized I was leaving my laptop and the signed poster from Frank behind in the Media Center locker. I said he could go on without me because again I try to be respectful of these people's time knowing they have 'business' they could be doing. Simon said it was no trouble to wait for me and so I raced off to get my stuff. Rolls Royce had loaned him a new Ghost for the weekend and so I got to check one of those out. It has been 16 years since I last drove a Rolls and the new car has lost none of its charm. We finally split company when we arrived at the Gooding tent - we'd had at least 20 minutes to discuss all sorts of things. As I said he's a wealth of knowledge and this was another person who I was eager to meet who gave me an abundance of his time when he clearly didn't have to. His emails have always been quite courteous and informative and I've always offered to assist him in any way that I can, but still... I just didn't go into the weekend expecting any of this.

An hour or so into the Gooding auction 5 of the 6 guys I'd started my morning with in the taxi's showed up to complete their photography efforts. We are pretty sure we watched Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerburg, spend close to $3M dollars on a stunning Ferrari 250GT Series-1 Super America. Seemed like a good buy - just an excellent car. There was another sale that got the crowd riled up - a phenomenal looking 1931 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Coupe that went for $10,340,000 with Buyer's Premium tacked on. It was interesting to see this one go back and forth as the bidding climbed higher and higher. It still did not eclipse the price of $16.4M that a 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa had sold for there the night before. If you have never been to a major auction event like Gooding or RM you should really go to watch.

During the auction the President of McLaren Philadelphia came past me on his way out looking somewhat surprised to see me yet again, and said I was rather ubiquitous. Before leaving he had some very kind words for me, echoing something similar that I'd heard from another person earlier in the day. As I generally like to have two sources on every piece of information that comes my way this was a pleasant and welcomed surprise from someone in his position. He's one of the many who I have promised to keep in touch with so I have a lot of emails now to get started on.

There were two more things though... I'll get going on moving photos from laptop to PC because I know a lot of you are waiting for that and it will enhance the experience considerably (I hope).

Look for 'The Lost Chapter' a little later - maybe tomorrow even.

>8^)
ER

[basman007]

Originally Posted by Sami Aaltonen

And then that superb SL Mercedes... You really have there in US very very......much things to look at. UK number 2.

I;ve only known the SLR from pictures and I really liked it, until I saw a tv special about the Mille Miglia some time ago and I heard that thing being driven hard, since then I totally fell in love with it

[basman007]

Originally Posted by Nicob

Great stories!

The 22 GTOs:

<-- Click

The prototype! Do want! Also want the black one, the swedish (count volpi's) one and a series II Did they have a Drogo GTO or LM as well?

[rjanot]

Originally Posted by basman007

The prototype! Do want! Also want the black one, the swedish (count volpi's) one and a series II Did they have a Drogo GTO or LM as well?

22 ? I can count "only" 21 (including 2643GT prototype).
The 21 following chassis numbers :
4293GT, 4561SA, 4757GT, 3387GT, 3223GT, 3445GT, 3765LM, 3909GT, 3729GT, 3705GT, 3413GT, 5571GT, 3943GT, 3607GT, 4153GT, 4219GT, 4091GT, 5575GT, 3505GT, 3647GT, 2643GT.

Did I miss one ?

[Peloton25]

Originally Posted by rjanot

22 ? I can count "only" 21 (including 2643GT prototype).
The 21 following chassis numbers :
4293GT, 4561SA, 4757GT, 3387GT, 3223GT, 3445GT, 3765LM, 3909GT, 3729GT, 3705GT, 3413GT, 5571GT, 3943GT, 3607GT, 4153GT, 4219GT, 4091GT, 5575GT, 3505GT, 3647GT, 2643GT.

Did I miss one ?

22 was the number everyone was throwing around - I never actually counted them myself. I did walk the line and take at least one picture of each car (I think) so once I am done with these things [I did have to sleep for a few hours ] we'll have to see what I end up with. I also have the pocket guide for all the cars that were on the lawn in the office and can check into that later this morning.

>8^)
ER

[rjanot]

Originally Posted by Peloton25

22 was the number everyone was throwing around - I never actually counted them myself. I did walk the line and take at least one picture of each car (I think) so once I am done with these things [I did have to sleep for a few hours ] we'll have to see what I end up with. I also have the pocket guide for all the cars that were on the lawn in the office and can check into that later this morning.

>8^)
ER

Thanks a lot for all the information you give us and your fantastic posts

[Peloton25]

The Lost Chapter...

Going to go back in the story a bit - there was something I was going to keep to myself, but I've decided not to now because it was yet again one of the more special moments of the trip.

While Simon was over chatting with Tom Hartley (man, I wish I'd known... ) I was just standing off to the side on the podium waiting patiently. It was at this point that Barry Meguiar came back past me and stopped to say, "Do you really know all that stuff about the McLaren?" I laughed a bit and I said "Indeed I do sir." and he said "Well you just don't look old enough to be an automotive historian." Laughing again, I let Barry know that I am due to be 36 on the 25th of August (He paused me here to wish me an early 'Happy Birthday' - ) and I added that "I just look young because I've never smoked, don't often drink, have never done drugs, don't drink coffee or sodas very often and it helps that I have good genes." At that point he tells me he has never had a drop of alcohol in his life - he said his parents never did and he was just never exposed to it growing up and said that his wife doesn't drink either but "she has a reason.". I won't share what he told me specifically, but suddenly this conversation was moving beyond pleasant chatter and had become quite real.

I then told Barry that "When you had fallen ill in 2010 that it really touched me because you are just a very special person in the car hobby" and I put my hand on my chest as I said that. I added "I am so pleased to see you back on form and doing what you love out here.". He said it really meant a lot to hear that from me and that "The reason I am here is because I'm lucky to have had so many good friends all over the world who were praying for me.". I told him that "You really deserve all those great friends because in my estimation you are a truly great man."

Think what you want here, but I wasn't just sucking up and there were no motives to my comments - I am an honest person and firmly believe what I told him. If you ever have a chance to meet him (I have briefly a few times in the past) you will see what I mean immediately. We parted company for the second time at that point wishing each other well and with him telling me to "...keep after those McLarens". It was quite a special moment, that second conversation we shared.

Moving on, I got over to Gooding with Simon as mentioned above and was on the lookout still for anyone I knew who I could talk to. It would have been nice to find Jay Leno here or to run into Jim G again but I did not see either one. I was standing with my photographer friends and we were all having a good time when one of them mentioned "Marcel is up there.". He was referring to Marcel Massini - the most recognized Ferrari archivist and historian in the world I believe. Going back to when I joined FChat in January 2004 I can recall being mesmerized by the depth of knowledge he shared in his posts and it was that experience that really brought me to idolize the man quite a bit. Now of course I like Ferraris, but have no interest in even trying to learn 1/10th of the things that Marcel knows about them only because it seems like a massive chore and it is so hard to go back in time and recover knowledge from before you were paying attention. I'm quite happy to have just 106 chassis numbers to focus on really compared to all the ones he does.

What I would love to do is to eventually become the 'Marcel' of the McLaren F1 world. Maybe not have people flying me around the world to examine their cars (though that would be pretty neat) but to have people interested in an F1 using me as a resource of knowledge and to actually have all the answers they need. That happens a bit already, but I am still a long way off of where I would hope this will lead. That goal is my secret (not anymore) motivation in continuing to do what I do.

I had one of the guys point out which person Marcel was as I've never seen a photo that I can recall. When he did, I realized he was speaking with the broker contact I have that I'd met in front of the 250 GTOs earlier in the afternoon. I told one of the guys I was standing with that I've always wanted to meet Marcel because he has been quite an inspiration to me in this journey I am on. I didn't want to interrupt, but also did not want to miss the opportunity so with a bit of encouragement from one friend I headed up there. When they finished talking I pulled my contact aside and gave him a brief on my desire to meet Marcel and asked if he was willing to introduce me. He said "Sure, no problem." and took me over to say hello. My mind was racing and I forget how I was introduced, but Marcel was another who seemed fairly surprised. I told him I was sorry to interrupt but that I was a longtime fan of him and how he has been such an inspiration to me on my own quest for knowledge of a different variety but a similar nature. He seemed very humbled by that and expressed his thanks to me for saying so.

I know a few people here are avid FChatters as well and you'll know that Marcel has stopped posting over there in the past couple of years because he could not take the drama. I told him I also have an interest in Ferraris and have been on FerrariChat for many years, but that we now really miss his posts over there. He said he is a business man and says he is very focused and does not like to waste his time. He said eventually it was just too much over there... What a shame to have lost such a great and knowledgeable contributor on account of what seems like mostly egos and immaturity by some percentage of the users. I'd say there is a lesson in here for a lot of people who post on the internet in forums like these. Seems too late to reel him back in though.

I said my goodbyes to Marcel and walked back to be with my friends. We stuck around till almost the end of the auction and then headed off to dinner. In 2006 a couple of us and two other guys who were not with us on this occasion had a very nice dinner after Pebble Beach in a fine restaurant in downtown Carmel. On this night we were all so drained from the whole experience that we decided McDonald's would suffice.

I had said above that there were two more special things I had wanted to share, but the part about my second conversation with Barry was not one of those. The 'second' thing happened Monday morning just a few minutes after I'd gotten on the 101 in San Jose to head back home.

To paint the picture - my trip to Pebble this year was timed quite conveniently with a trip I volunteered to make for my work to bring some test equipment I'd just finished building up to one of our component suppliers in San Jose. This equipment needed to be moved in a cargo truck, and then we had some other equipment already there that needed to come back on the return trip. My ride to and from San Jose was a 16 foot Penske box van built on a heavy duty truck chassis. This becomes important - I will mention that it has a governor limited top speed of 75 mph.

I had picked up a rental car at the San Jose airport Thursday morning and left the Penske truck in the back parking lot of our supplier for the four days I would be gone - worrying the entire time that someone might come along and siphon out the $90 of gasoline I'd put into it without thinking late Wednesday evening (oops). Thankfully I found it exactly as I'd left it and because it was already full of gas myself and the co-worker who'd come up with me (and had his own separate vacation) were able to make a quick escape from San Jose on Monday morning.

I hadn't been on the highway more than 10 minutes when off in the distance I could see a silver Mercedes 300SL racer on the back of a flatbed coming in our direction on the opposite side of the highway. I was so focused on the car that it wasn't until the last couple of seconds that it was in view that I realized this "flatbed" it was on was actually the 1955 Mercedes Benz Transporter that Mercedes has rebuilt from their archives as an exact replica of the original.

I'm sure many here know what I am talking about - if not Google it! This thing is so super cool - I have had a soft spot for it since the recreation was unveiled and never suspected that I would see it driving down the road with a race car on its back just like it was designed to do. INCREDIBLE!!!! I almost fell out of the cab of our moving truck I was so in awe of what I'd just seen. In fact, if I had been in any other vehicle I would have raced forward to the next off ramp and turned around to chase after the thing. It was either going to the San Jose airport or further up could have taken another path to get to San Francisco's so there would have been plenty of time to catch it, but not in a vehicle that is only limited to 75 mph.

In a sad twist of fate too, this was my second time on the weekend seeing the Transporter for just a brief moment. On my way to see F1 #036 I'd passed it while driving through downtown Carmel and managed to take a pair of terrible photos of it with a crowd surrounding it as I drove past. If I'd been going anywhere else I'd have found parking and then made my way to where it was parked so I could study all the details. It was still Thursday at that point and I'd hoped to find it later in the week - perhaps at Pebble Beach where it has been displayed in the past - but never did which was slightly disappointing. At least I got to see it though since I have such a fondness for it, and recreation or not, I still can't believe they just drive it along the road like any other vehicle.


"...and they all lived happily ever after."


For now this will be the end of the story of my truly amazing, or "EPIC" as has been suggested, weekend. There are a few more things that have come to mind but I won't go back and edit them in. I'll probably add a few more bits to the story once I get some photos up. I'd hoped to do that last night but in the previous 120 hours I'd gotten maybe 20 hours of sleep and it finally caught up with me last night. Thankfully I do feel refreshed this morning so pictures will be tonight's mission. I still have A LOT of emails to send as well. If you are reading this and expecting one - it is coming, I swear!

Thanks again to all of you for reading along and your fine comments in return. I've said it many times that there were so many points that I wish you all could have been there enjoying everything I got to experience. If nothing else, it sounds like my story has strengthened the resolve for a few of you to try and make the trip in this direction on a future year. The town just comes alive for those 5 days (best to be there by Wednesday and not Thursday). I told someone during the trip that you could literally stand in one spot for the entire four/five days and see something amazing at least every 10 minutes. Standing still though is not the best idea - if you take anything away from this thread for advice on attending Monterey it should be to go to as many of the events as you can and try to see absolutely as much as possible. Go back to the point where Frank told me I HAD TO BE at "Dawn Patrol" and he was so very right. Also, those 3.5 hours that I spent at Laguna Seca were short, but well worth my $70 entry fee and though I did not get to spend a whole lot of time soaking it up I think you'll see from my 400+ photos that I got a pretty full experience there.

Cheers guys!!

>8^)
ER

[hurstg01]

About time this thread got a rating

Great stories

[Sami Aaltonen]

Originally Posted by Peloton25

Yes, I did mean nearly half a BILLION dollars worth of 250 and 330 GTOs present at Pebble Beach. Twenty two of them all lined up in one row.

Some of those same GTOs (I think 6 or 7) had been at Laguna Seca the previous day being seriously driven, mostly by their current owners. One of those cars was even an unrestored original that has survived the test of time. Amazing!

>8^)
ER

Oh my, all located to US? Or were those just visiting there?
What a sight.!

[tak43]

The stories have been great to read over the last few days if yo had to mark this out of 10 i would give this 10 star rating. Now awiting to see the photos

tak43