Ferrari 355 and Historic Challenge Races
at Road Atlanta
On Wednesday July29th the Foreign Cars Italia Team headed south to
Georgia for testing and preparation of their 4 cars for the upcomming races
that weekend at Road Atlanta. On the team from Corsa Rossa are Steve Barney,
Greg Dickson, Steve Karapetian and Tom Jones. Heading down at 5am on Saturday
were Jack O'Brien, John Hauser, Blake Frazier and already there were Jim and
Dorothy Clarkson and arriving later on Saturday were Thor, Patrick, Indy and
Victor Mirchandani.
Friday consisted of driver's meetings and practices for both the 355
Challenge Cars and the Historic cars. Practice was interspersed with touring
and technical inspections.
On Friday all the Foreign Cars Italia 355s were running well until a
noise was heard in Tim Robertson's 355. Was it a broken valve spring? Was it
a broken header? First the header was replaced and to no avail the car was
still not running as it should. Off came the valve cover and in went the
scope and sure enough the first diagnosis was right on. Arrangements were
made to use Robert Ball's Italian Sports Car shop at the track for an engine
swap after Tim Robertson purchased a new 355 engine from the NART trailer.
Some may remember Robert Ball who previously worked for Foreign Cars Italia.
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At 6:30 Steve Karapetian started tearing the car down and at 7pm Charlie
Snead jumped in and shortly thereafter Greg Dickson "Dr Ferrari" came and 10
hours later at 6:30am they were testing the car on the skid pad. The car ran
2 seconds a lap faster in practice later that morning and Tim Robertson was
turning some excellent times. Then during the last practice session on
Saturday a slower car was in front of Tim Patterson and he appeared to go off
line and the car went off the road. The car was damaged to the point that it
could not be repaired over the weekend. It was a gallant effort by Robertson,
Dickson, Snead and Karapetian.
On Saturday the first 355 Challenge race saw Chris Cox of Chapel Hill
drive an excellent race. The race was led early on by Dr Steve Earl in his
beautiful Fly Yellow 355 with the Italian colors striped on the bonnet, roof
and boot. At mid race Tom Popadopolus in his white 355 made a brilliant pass
and the race later went under caution and then finished with Tom popadopolus
in 1st, Dr Steve Earl in 2nd and Matt Drendale of Conover NC driving with
Foreign Cars Italia came in 3rd. Popadopoulos finished first with a fast lap
of 1:34.123 or 97.914mph . Dr Steve Earl had a fast lap of 1:34.896 at
97.116mph. Tim Robertson of Foreign Cars Italia was undable race because of
a shunt in practice. The remaining Foreign Cars Italia Team finished with
Matt Drendale in 3rd with a fast lap of 1:34.659 at a speed of 97.359mph,
Marvin Jones in 9th with a fast lap of 1:39.141 or a speed of 92.58 mph, and
Leo Hindry in 14th with a fast lap of 1:40.512 or a speed of 91.69mph.
Then came the Historic Challenge. I was too far away to get the results
but the vantage point was excellent. Before me raced (not paraded) two SWBs,
a P3, several 512 BBLMs, a 1935 Gran Prix Alfa Romeo fromScuderia Ferrari, a
1950 166 Vigale bodied cope, a Daytona and in all about 18 vintage Ferraris.
In first came Chris Cox in Chapel Hill driving the ex Steve Barney Ferrari 512
BBLM.
On Sunday after practice and quiet time for church came the 12:30 buzzer
in the resturant and off go Tom Jackson and several Foreign Cars Italia
mechanics in a hurry to ready their drivers cars for the 355 Challenge race.
The race began with 25 cars on the grid and at the first corner of the 20 lap
race was Dr Steve Earl of Ferrari of Houston closely followed by Tom
Popadopoulos of Wide World of Cars and then Matt Drendale of Foreign Cars
Italia. Close behind was Chis Cox and Carlos Hank Jr. the dicing was
spirited and the cars were in full song. Then half way through the race in
turn 1 up the hill Tom Popadopoulos passed Steve Earl. Much passing took
place and eventually a lapped car nudged the back of Matt Drendale's left
fender and bumber causing the tire to flatten. Drendale lost third and limped
back to the pits after a spirited drive.
Standing at the tower hanging on the railing was a 3 year old boy
wearing a blue cap, blue shorts and yes a Ferrari shirt. Cheering one of the
cars in particular he could be heard above the engines going by. At one point
he looked over at a gentleman standing next to his perch and he said "Hey
Mista, ya eva drive a race car? I have one, well ma Dad does! Ya he goes
fast!" The race finished with Popadopoulos in 1st, Earl in 2nd and Hank Jr of
Mexico City driving for Ferrari of Houston in 3rd.
In Sundays Vintage event my favorite cars were the 1950 166 Vigale bodied
coupe with more patina and passion then wheat in the state of Kansas, the
beautiful and mesmerizing Alfa Romeo Tipo C formerly raced by Nuvolari and
Leslie Davies exquisite red SWB. Finishing first was Chirs Cox in a 512 BBLM
and second was Ed Davies of Florida in a 512 BBLM.
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Then came the one hour endurance race in which Marvin Jones and Leo
Hindrey competed under the Foreign Cars Italia Banner. Marvin Jones came in
5th place and Leo Hindrey was undable to finish as a result of an electrical
problem.
The next Race is Denver Colorado which is Marvin Jones' and Leo Hindrey's
home track!
Scuderia Ferrari at Road Atlanta
At Road Atlanta just off the plane were Englishman Peter Giddings
and his 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo C 8C-35 #50013 just in from a race in
Austrailia. Peter Giddings bought the car from an estate in England 4 years
ago and did a painstaking restoration which involved locating some of the
parts that had been removed while the car was in storage and still a object of
despute in the estate. 50013 is the only complete, original , surviving Tipo
C 8C-35 in the world.
This car was a Scuderia Ferrari works car and was raced at Monza, Modena,
Brno, Tunis, Monaco (twice), Budapest, Nurburgring (three times), the Coppa
Cieno (Livorno, Leghorn), Lucca to mention a few. Sunday morning priorto the
Challenge Races and to the Formula One Race broadcast from the Nurburgring on
Speedvision, 50013 was was featured in a program dedicated to the competition
cars in Enzo Ferrari's life. Peter Giddings who raced the car and Mike his
mechanic were very friendly and spoke with us in detail about the restoration,
the car's history and the pleasure of driving it at speed.
We were told the car's greatest success was when it was driven by the
great Tazio Nuvolari to a miraculous victory at the Coppa Cieno. Nuvolari had
retired his Alfa Romeo Tipo C 12C-36 after only 2 laps with a broken
transaxele. Nuvolari retired and arrived back in the pits on foot and had
Pintacuda in his works 8C-35 (this car) pulled in. By the time Nuvolari got
away in this car which did not fit him he was 7 laps behind the rest of the
field. Driving in the same spirit possessed by Fangio at the Nurburgring in
1957 he caught his team mates and the rest of the field including the entire
Auto Union team and finished with an unbelievable victory.
This car is featured in the Video Racing Red when Nuvolari won the
Vanderbilt Cup in New York. Some may remember this is the race were the cup
was so big Nuvolari sat in it at the awards presentation.
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Other successes of this magnificent Alfa were the Tripoli Grand Prix with
Nuvolari in 1st, the Hungarian Grand Prix with Nuvolari in first, Rio de
Janeiro Grand Prix with Pintacuda in 1st, and the Vanderbilt Cup with Nuvolari
in 1st.
In the autumn of 1936, 50013 was acquired by Swiss privateer, Hans
Ruesch, who raced the car at Shelsley Walsh, and then the Donnington GP with a
first place and a new lap record with co driver Dick Seaman. The car was also
raced at the South Afican Grand Prix taking fastest lap, Chimay with a 1st
place, Finland with a first place and a fastest lap of 110.520 kilometers per
hour, a first at Bucharest, Monaco, Brooklands, Crystal Palace, 1st at the
Sydenham Tropy, 1st at the Bremgarten GP in Switzerland, Milan Italy, the
Eifel GP, and 1st at the GP des Frontieres at 130.90 kph.
In April 1938, Ruesch loaned the car to Buddy Feathersonehaugh to run at
Crystal Place were the car was rolled. The next owner was Robert Arbuthnot
who at Brooklands in the Campbell Trophy set a new class lap record.
After the second world war in 1947 Dennis Poore purchased 50013 and won
the first British post war race at 139 kph at Grandsden Lodge and then at
Bo'Ness for a new record. Poore set new records at Shelsley Walsh, Prescott,
Merston, and came in 2nd at the Brighton Speed Trials and 1st at Ibsley and at
Goodwood.
In 1951 50013 Dennis Poore won the British Hilllclimb Championship and
three VSCC Seaman Trophies. Poore retired the car in 1955.
After 40 years of in activity the car was purchased by Peter Giddings
from the Poore estate and began a lengthy restoration. Today Giddings shares
50013 with enthusiasts from the Pacific to the Atlantic as well as on and
off the track. We were certainly fortunate to be among those to see and hear
this beautiful Alfa and meet Mike and Peter who are the stewards of this
wonderful piece of automobile racing history.
July Event-Jimmy Buffett
Rally in Statesville
Twenty six classic sports cars arrived at the starting line at the three
leg Time Speen Distance rally in Statesville hosted by the Piedmont British
Motor Car Club. The First let was two hours long and the second two legs were
about a half an hour each. The Rally was followed by a Summer Jimmy Buffett
party and Cookout at Bob and Denise Thompson's home. A good time was had by
all and if you did not make it you should definately plan on going next year.
Six cars participated from the Triad Austin Healey Club and one car from Corsa
Rossa.
Corsa Rossa August 11th
At the meeting were John Hauser, Bill Longyard, Blake Frazier, John
Harrell, Robert Yokley, Jim Clarkson, Tom Jones, Jack O'Brien, Steve
Karapetian, Thor and Victor Mirchandani, Denise Burchette. Our attendance went
up from 8 to 12 with the highest this year being 18.
We had a slide show consisting of Thor Mirchandani's pictures from
competition driving in Sweden and Tom Jones' pictures from Road Atlanta,
Lakeland Florida and Rhobling Road Savanah. Photographs were shown of the
Pitsburgh Gran Prix by Jim Clarkson and of the club's outing to the 355
Challenge Races at Road Atlanta by Karapetian, Clarkson and O'Brien.
Cars of interest in the parking lot were Burchette's 72 Fiat Spyder,
Clarkson's Ferrari 328, Karapetian's Ferrari 308GT4, O'Brien's MGA, Yokley's
TR6, Hauser's Healey and Frazier's 3000zx.
Blake Frazier extended an invitation to THE FOURTH ANNUAL Z CAR SHOW
October 3rd in downtown Greensboro from 9 to 2pm. For more information call
Blake at336 414 2774.
Jack O'Brien announced the Classic Motor Cycle Show at Keply's Barn
Sunday September 13th in High point starting at 8am. For more information
call Fred Cecil at 336 882 0926.
In September Blake is putting together a trip to the Beech Mountain
Hillclimb for September 19th and 20th. If you are interested Blake Frazier is
heading this up. For more information call Blake at 336 854 0391.
The Alfa Extravaganza is set for the weekend of September 19th. We are
looking for someone to lead a caravan to the event. John Hauser, Cliff
Hudgins and Jack O'Brien will not be able to do so since they are officers in
the Triad Austin Healey Club which is hosting a regional event and rally at
Little Switzerland.
Our October events will include the Corsa Rossa European Car Show October
17th with the rally at 4pm and dinner at 6:30pm and the Mountain Run from
Balsam Mountain Inn October 2nd and 3rd and 4th. We will spend Friday and
Saturday night at the 100 year old Inn with its beadboard walls, wood floors,
hundred foot high porches and grand fire places. We will drive the mountain
ridges off 276 South of Waynesville Saturday visiting beautiful waterfalls all
the way to Brevard and then back. Sunday we will drive 276 north through the
narrow twisting roads following the river north from Waynesville to Historic
hot springs. Already registered at the Inn for the weekend are John Hauser
and Carol Loree, Steve Karapetian and Miriam Bonds and Jim and Dorothy
Clarkson. We have two Ferraris and a Healey. We need some Fiats and Alfa
Romeos and MGs. If you are interested call Steve Karapetian at 336 766 1785.
To make reservations at the Inn call 704 456 9498.
We need registrations to fund the T shirts for the Car Show. We have 25
cars pre registered. We had an excellent meeting with Tom King of Reynolda
Village and Judith Smith of Reynolda House. Representing Corsa Rossa were
Charles Calkins, Jim Clarkson, Steve Karapetian and John Hauser. There are 20
classes and an award will be presented to a car from each class at 3pm. The
awards will be presented and the cars will be chosen by various sponsors from
Reynolda House and Reynolda Village. The Healey Club will run a rally at 4pm
for all who are interested and the participants in the rally and all the Corsa
Rossa members and the show volunteers are invited to a Greek Dinner following
the rally at 6:30pm at John Hauser's house. Donations for the dinner will be
accepted but not requested or expected.