Ferraris and the Pebble Beach Races with Michael T. Lynch

By Michael T. Lynch

As Monterey’s automotive Holy Week has expanded over the years, the organizers of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance have also enhanced their offerings to include the popular Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, Pebble Beach Retro Auto, the Pebble Beach Classic Car Forums and the two evenings of auctions by David Gooding among others. This year, there was a special treat in that to commemorate Ferrari’s participation in the original races in Pebble Beach, a class for Ferraris that had raced on the public road circuit from 1950-1956 was included.

To add to the celebration, Kandace Hawkinson, the Pebble Beach Concours Director of Marketing and Communications and historian/author Robert Devlin arranged to have the old course opened on Friday morning so the entries in the class could circle the track once more. Robert and Kandace have written books about automotive happenings in Pebble Beach, both singly and together. They are the go-to people when a journalist or researcher wants to know the owner of the Round Door Wombat that won the Cars of the Latvian Royalty Class back in oughty-ought.

When Steve Earle created the Monterey Historic Races in 1974, the de facto honored marque was Ferrari. Steve knew most of those in California who owned old Ferraris and he convinced many of them to enter his races. Pebble Beach had already featured a Ferrari Class in 1973 and also had an enhanced Ferrari entry in the first year of the Historic Races.

A tradition of having Ferrari as the honored marque then continued every ten years through 2004. This resulted in exceptional Ferrari entries in those years at the Historic Races, as well as expanded classes for Ferraris at the Pebble Beach Concours.

Unfortunately, Steve was forced out after the 2009 edition of the Monterey Historic Races, and the new organizers, the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula, have not honored the ten year Ferrari tradition at their Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

This year, Ferraristi were out in force, because the Ferrari Club of America International Meet was also held in Monterey, beginning on the Monday after the Pebble Beach Concours. It was reminiscent of the days where the Concours, Historics and International Meet honored Ferrari concurrently. The tour of the old course got me reminiscing about the contemporaneous establishment of road racing in the U.S, the rise of Pebble Beach as the most prestigious road race in the West and the emergence of Ferrari as the dominant make, all of which took place during the time the Pebble Beach races were held.

When the Pebble Beach races were first organized, U.S. road racing was dominated by English Allards, usually fitted with the new overhead-valve engines recently introduced by Cadillac and Chrysler. However, a Jaguar XK-120 driven by Phil Hill won the first Pebble Beach Road Race in 1950 and there were no Ferraris entered.

1951-52

The next year there was one. Jim Kimberly’s 166 Touring Barchetta had become the first Ferrari to race in California at Palm Springs in April 1951. It won there, defeating the Allards. The Barchetta appeared at Pebble Beach that May. Kimberly was running fourth, when he turned the car over. Upon emerging unhurt from under the car, he was given a kiss by his date for the weekend, Ginger Rogers. Bill Pollack’s Allard was the winner.

The first Ferrari to race at Pebble Beach was Jim Kimberly’s Ferrari 166 Touring Barchetta, here leading Phil Hill’s Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B in 1951. Note the lack of spectator fences, a simple rope suffices. Also the proximity of the pines to the course caused many problems over the years. The car was part of the tour this year, driven by Jon Shirley. Credit: Julian P. Graham, Robert T. Devlin Archive

Jon Shirley takes his Ferrari 166 Barchetta (s/n 0110M) past the lodge at the beginning of the Tour d’Elegance. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

At Pebble in 1952, Phil Hill had a 212 Touring Barchetta that Luigi Chinetti had helped him acquire at an advantageous price. Phil had already committed to drive a Jaguar XK-120 LT for distributor Charles Hornberg, and stuck with the handshake agreement. He turned the Ferrari over to his friend, Arnold Stubbs, who finished second to Pollack’s Allard. Since Stubbs was nowhere near as fast as Hill, the crowd was left wondering what Phil might have done in the Ferrari.

Stubbs in Phil’s 212 in 52, the only Ferrari entered that year. Credit Fergus Peters.

1953

Phil had a new Ferrari for 1953, a 250MM Vignale Spyder. A second Ferrari that year was Bill Spear’s Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale Spyder. The two of them drove the cars up from Los Angeles and finished first and second with Phil leading the way. They then drove back.

In 1953, Phil Hill and Bill Spear drove their Ferraris from Los Angeles to Pebble Beach and finished first and second in the race. The car on the right is Spear’s 340 Mexico Vignale Spyder. It was on the old course tour, brought by Les Wexner. It is now painted red but Wexner has heard many voices calling for it to be returned to its original American racing colors of blue and white. Sitting in Phil’s 250 MM Vignale Spyder is Phil’s date for the weekend who would later marry Ernie McAfee. Credit: Phil Hill.

Les Wexner’s ex-Spear 340 Mexico s/n 0228 AT is the only open car of its type. The other three of this model were coupes. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

1954-55

John McCaw’s 166 MM, s/n 0058 at Pebble Beach. The car was once owned by Ed Gilbertson, who is pictured below. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

In 1954, the Ferrari count was up to three. Dr. Raymond Craycroft finished 2nd in a Novice Race in a 166 MM Touring Barchetta. Stirling Edwards, one of the original race organizers, had a Ferrari 340 America Vignale Spyder which he drove to a win. Screenwriter Randy MacDougall was 5th in his Ferrari 166 Spyder which had an ugly American cycle-fendered body, the residual of rolling the car and putting the original body aside.

Phil Bachman’s s/n 0342M was once owned by the screenwriter, Randy MacDougall, best known for Cleopatra, Mildred Pierce and We’re No Angels. After a crash, it was given an ugly cycle-fender body, but in later years, the original body has been returned to the chassis. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

After a first lap spin, Sterling Edwards (#26) works his way through the field on the way to a win Pebble Beach in 1954 in his Ferrari 340. In 1953, he had used this car for a 1000 mile wedding trip around Italy. When he returned to the U.S., he entered it in eight races, winning four. Credit: Julian P. Graham, Robert Devlin Collection.

Les Wexner’s s/n 0350 AM is the Sterling Edwards 1954 Pebble Beach winner. It is shown on the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance. This car, and Wexner’s Mexico, cry out for their original American blue and white colors. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

1955 was the year of the Ferrari Monza all over the country. Phil Hill won in Allen Guiberson’s 750 Monza with Sterling Edwards following in a 735 Model.

1956

After three wins in a row, Ferraris were out in force for 1956. No less than seven contested the Del Monte Trophy, the main race of the day. Carroll Shelby won in the Monza that had won the previous year. Hill was second in the Sebring-winning 860 Monza and Jack McAfee drove an 857S to 3rd. Edwards was 5th in his Monza and John von Neumann was 10th in a Series 1 500 Pinin Farina Mondial. It had a 3-liter Monza engine in place of the original 2-liter. Unfortunately, Ernie McAfee crashed his 121 LM Scaglietti Spyder with fatal results. The crash ended an era and the Pebble Beach road course was not used again. The races would continue at a new track built in Fort Ord, on land leased by the Chamber of Commerce from the government.

Jack McAfee takes John Edgar’s Ferrari 857 S to a fine third place in the ill-fated 1956 race. This year the car also finished third in the Ferraris in the Pebble Beach Road Races Class at the Concours. Credit: Jim Sitz.

Les Wexner’s Ferrari 857S s/n 0588 goes across the ramp at Pebble Beach as third in the Ferraris in the Pebble Beach Road Races Class. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt .

Thomas Peck’s Mondial s/n 0438 is seen at Santa Barbara driven by John von Neumann. The D indicates the up to three-liter class, so the car is running with the Monza engine it carried at Pebble Beach. Allen Kuhn photo.

Thomas Peck’s Mondial on the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance. The Big Sur scenery is spectacular with the ice plant in bloom. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

2015

Thomas Peck’s 500 Mondial is seen at the Pebble Beach Concours after winning the Ferraris in the Pebble Beach Races Class. This car was brought to America by Dominican Diplomat/Playboy Porfirio Rubirosa. He raced it at Santa Barbara in September 1954, and before the day was out, Los Angeles Porsche/VW distributor, John von Neumann had purchased it. Knowing John, he probably would have preferred to leave the track with Rubirosa’s date, Zsa Zsa Gabor, but that’s another story. By the time the car found its way to Pebble Beach for the last of the road races there, John had installed a 3-liter Monza engine and nicknamed the car the Monzetta. It has been restored to its original 2-liter configuration and Santa Barbara livery. Credit: Steve Burton, Courtesy of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

At the tour of the old course, seven of the 14 Ferraris that originally ran were present, along with a gaggle of automotive personalities. John Lamm was prominent among the photographers and directed the placement of the cars for their portrait before the start. His godson, Derek Hill, son of Phil, is the Chief Announcer for the Concours and he provided the introductory remarks. Your faithful scribe then described an abbreviated history of each car to the crowd. The discussion of how many laps the cars would take had gone on for months. Three was the final arrangement. During the busiest traffic week of the year, roads could only be closed so long.

Pebble Beach historian and author Bob Devlin (red hat) smiles for the camera while Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Chief Judge Emeritus, Ed Gilbertson, chats with Kandace Hawkinson. Devlin and Gilbertson are ready to tour the old course in Phil Bachman’s 166 Vignale Spyder. Derek Hill handles the microphone directly behind Gilbertson. Credit: Carol Seielstad

The final format worked very well. The cars were assembled near the end of the original start/finish straight. Derek’s mother, Alma, dropped the green flag. When the pace car pulled away, John Shirley was at the head of the pack in his 166 Touring Barchetta. He allowed the pace car to get far enough ahead that he could make a racing start and show the car’s full acceleration, allowing the crowd to hear the V-12 at high revs. Each car behind did the same thing. After each lap, the cars stopped, taking on different passengers, then peel outs began again (if Ferraris can be said to have peeled out). When it was over, most in the crowd had experienced their first glimpse of what racing in the forest was like.

Thank you, Kandace Hawkinson and Bob Devlin for arranging a fabulous piece of nostalgia during this busy week. We look forward to seeing what special treats the greatest concours in the world has in store for us next year.

Prizes won by cars in this class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance include:
Ferrari 500 Mondial, Thomas Peck, first in the Ferrari in the Pebble Beach Road Races Class. Ferrari 340 Mexico, Les Wexner, second in the Ferrari in the Pebble Beach Road Races Class, and the Phil Hill Cup. Les Wexner, Ferrari 857S, third in the Ferrari in the Pebble Beach Road Races Class.

At the Ferrari Tour of the old course, yours truly (Nantucket Reds) gives the gathering the stories of the cars. To my left is prize-winning photographer, John Lamm (white cap), Derek Hill, the voice of the Pebble Beach Concours (checkered shirt) and Alma Hill, holding the green flag to send the cars off on their tour. Lamm is Derek’s Godfather. Credit: Victoria Lynch