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On the second Tuesday we met in Kernersville for our monthly rendezvous. Attending were John Hauser MG/Healey owner, Jim Clarkson Ferrari Alfa Romeo Owner, Richard Hipwood Maserati owner, Dan and Teri Emmi Alfa Romeo and Ferrari owner, Bill and Kim Dymond Maserati owners, Norman and Patrick Wiginton Alfa Romeo owners, Jon Saylor Healey owner, Jack O’Brien MG owner, Blake Frazier Nissan owner, Steven Jones Ferrari and Mitsubishi owner, Steve Karapetian Ferrari owner, Kevin Harper Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat owner, Don Ferree Alfa Romeo Owner, Lee Davis BMW owner, Byron Dutcher Lamborghini owner.
We sent a letter to Mark and Melissa Brow wishing them a speedy recovery after their shunt in a Healey 3000 in Michigan. Melissa is out of the coma and doing much better. Jack O’Brien organized the weekend drive to the Vintage races at VIR and Lee Davis provided us with $5 off coupons reducing the entrance from 10 to 5 at the gate.
Steve Karapetian showed a film on the engineering of the Ferrari F50, the Porsche 911 Turbo and the Calloway Corvette. Bill and Kim Dymond presented a short video on the Cobra which was featured in Road and Track that belongs to a local musician who did much of the assembly himself.
Dan and Teri Emmi gave us the long and the short from the Ferrari weekend at Virginia International Raceway where they ran both their Ferraris and Teri finished first in her class. Lee Davis gave us the skinny on his and his daughters participation in the VIR driving schools.
In addition to discussing the recent McLaren 1 and 2 with Ferrari’s Reubens Barrichello in 3rd at Spa there was much chatter about the May 2000 Mille Miglia. Sixty years ago Huschke von Hanstein and Walter Baumer won the Mille Miglia in a BMW 328 Touring Coupe. This year Giuliano Cane and his wife Lucia Galliani won the Mille Miglia in an open BMW 328. This was the sixth win of the Mille Miglia for the Italian Giuliano Cane. The Mille Miglia first ran from 1927 to 1957 . Clemente Biondetti won it four times during that period and Stirling Moss and Dennis Jenkinson still hold the record for the fastest time. The Brescia to Rome and back to Brescia road competition was reinstated in 1977 twenty years later as a time speed
distance rally. Locals and Corsa Rossa participants who have competed include Steve Barney of Brown Summit and William Hinkle of Thomasville.
Ciao, John Hauser
On Saturday morning we headed up to VIR at 7:30am leaving Winston Salem. We traveled I40 to Kernersville and then took Main Street and 150 East through beautiful little towns like Oak Ridge, Brown Summit with its horse farms and north east through horse and ostrich farm country. The rural route was dotted with colonial and ante bellum homes and farms. We passed through the Forsyth, Guilford and Rockingham Counties up to Caswell County and to Yanceyville and Amish Horse and Buggy country. In Milton North Carolina we checked out the historic architecture and then crossed the Virginia Line at the town limit and entered the Raceplex. What a tremendous change at VIR!
The first race at VIR was a big bore event. We enjoyed watching the Camaros, Corvettes, Sunbeam Tiger, Jaguars and Mustangs duel it out. Then we watched the Porsches, Jaguars, Lotus, Triumph, and other makes run the full north and south courses totaling 2.75 miles. The MGAs, Healey 100-4, Mini Cooper, Lotus Seven and Elevens, Beach, Jaguar XK120, Elva Couriers, Triumph Spitfires, and more filled the track with excitement. Then came group three and we got to see some of our favorites.
Kevin and Barrie Harper and their friend Jill Masterson, Jack O’Brien, and John Hauser sat up on the hill on the back side and watched as Peter Krause in his Fiat 124 with a 2 Liter engine and single Weber Carb, Dana Loomis in his Alfa Romeo GTV 1750, David Bradyhouse in his white BMW 2002, and Al Taylor in his BMW Bavaria took to the tarmac. The races were great and we had a super time from the small bore to the Formula Vee and Formula One and Endurance Classes to the vintage NASCAR group. On Sunday Jack O’Brien and Lee Davis are heading back with the BMW club. If you have not signed up for September's Driving School at VIR you may want to send Bob Breed your application.
Ciao, John
On Sunday July 16th in Spielberg Austria the Austrian Gran Prix was run. The race lasted 1 hour and twenty eight minutes and 15 seconds over 307.146 kilometers. The average winning speed of Mika Hakkinen was 208.792 kilometers per hour. Michael Schumacher was pushed off at the first corner by Ricardo Zonta in the Williams BMW. "That's Racing", said Schumacher.
Mika Hakkinen of McLaren Mercedes finished first, David Coulthard of McLaren Mercedes second, Reubens Barrichello of Ferrari third, Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR fourth, Jensen Button in the Williams BMW fifth, and Mika Salo in the Sauber sixth.
The Manufactures Championship saw McLaren Mercedes bypass Ferrari. The standings areThe Drivers Championship had a major shift as well with three drivers now within eight points of each other. Michael Schumacher has 56, David Coulthard has 50, Mika Hakkinen has 48 and Reubens Barrichello has 36 points.
In two weeks we will be at the Hochenheim Ring for the German Gran Prix, Der Grosser Preis von Deutschland, which is truly a drivers circuit. Forza Ferrari....
Every month CorsaRossa receives dozens of emails from people who have questions about their Italian cars. The questions are things like parts inquiries, questions about local mechanics, directions to events, and even tips on hot roads and spirited driving in the area. Thor Mirchandani and John Hauser usually end up passing the questions to somebody knowledgable in any given field, but in order to serve Italian car enthusiasts better, we now have a contact list by marque, so a bewildered sports car enthusiast can direct a question straight to the person who has the answer. Check it out and keep those questions coming!
For Specific Marque activities and repairs:
Alfa Romeo
Our festival consists of cars from all over Europe including Ferraris, Maseratis and Lancias from Italy to BMW, Porsche and Mercedes of Germany, to Aston Martin, MG and Lotus from Britain to Saab and Volvo from Sweeden as well as many other marques. There will be both competition and road cars on display. Registration will begin at 10am and end at 12 noon.
All European cars are invited to participate and will be parked according to their country of manufacture. There are twenty manufacturer classes and those cars not fitting into one of these twenty classes will be placed in the special interest or competition classes. Additional classes may be added prior to the show depending on preregistration.
Click here to print out a registration form!
Registration is $10 per car. A dash plaque will be given to each registered car. Awards will be presented to a car in each marque. Admission to Reynolda House will be free to registrants and children under 12 . Admission will be half price to all thers.
This is a unique setting for the festival in that it offers beautiful and historic Reynolda House, the Art Museum, Reynolda Gardens and Reynolda Village. Live music will be performed in Reynolda Village. The Village is the former support buildings and Dairy for the Reynolds Estate. It is set up in the traditional layout of an English country village. The village offers restaurants such as the Blackhorse Cafe, Reynolda Village Soda Shop, the Village Tavern and the Vineyards, all with outdoor seating. The shops contain everything from clothes, sportswear, antiques, books, music, toys, gourmet cookware and fine foods to jewelry and much more. The village has something for everyone.
Ciao! John Hauser