We lost one of our finest when World Champion Phil Hill left us on August 28. He was enjoying cars and his many friends and admirers right up until the end. Phil won three races at the old Pebble Beach road course and also won the Pebble Beach Concours twice with cars he restored personally. Here, he poses at The Quail with former Ferrari President, Jean Todt, who managed Ferrari’s racing team during the Schumacher era. Credit: Marcel Massini
Michael T. Lynch reports on this year’s Quail Logde happenings.
The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering has now established itself as the hottest ticket of Monterey Peninsula automobile festival week. The tickets sold out back near the beginning of 2008 in a matter of hours. About a week before the festivities began, my good friend, Mark Ketcham, the bon vivant, car dealer and collector, vintner and recent father, called and asked if I’d pick up a couple of Quail tickets he bought through an ad. When I agreed, he said he’d wire funds to my account. I checked my bank balance on the day of the pick up, and saw that Mark had deposited $2000 for two tickets. Out of curiosity, that led me to ebay, where I found another pair, bid at that point to $1620 each.
James Glickenhaus’ Ferrari is a one off, built on an Enzo chassis by Pininfarina. It won the Supercar Class at The Quail. But wait, there’s more Italian car stuff. Model Natalia poses with announcer Richard Charlesworth (hat) and Mathias Doutreleau, Director of Special Events at Quail Lodge. She is wearing jewelry created by the Cayen Collection of Carmel. Michael and Soraya Cayen are local Ferrari enthusiasts. Credit: Steve Burton.
Whatever the final price was, I’m sure the winners had no argument with their Quail experience. It was a vintage year on the spectacular golf course at Quail Lodge, nestled between two ridges of the Santa Lucia mountain range in Carmel Valley.
The Quail always has a remarkable Ferrari class. This year’s winner was Lee Harrington’s 250 GT SWB California.
Yes, The Quail is a concours, but it also provides the best food in a week when it’s easy to pack on five pounds or more. Quail Lodge Executive Chef Jeff Rogers and Chef de Cuisine, Matt Bolton, provided five themed food areas, inspired by the ideal of a Carmel Valley Farmers Market, the Sebring 12 Hour display of cars, Italy, the old Havana sports car Grand Prix and San Tropez. In the interest of our readership, I made the sacrifice of sampling all five. When it came to Best of Show, I chose the long line Swordfish from the San Tropez area, closely followed by the Cuban slow roasted pork shoulder and the mesquite grilled albacore from the Carmel Valley selection. All these were served on linen tablecloths with real metal utensils. Luckily, I had to see the cars and passed on other temptations like gelato, baked goods, and the wildly popular martini and margarita bars. Also, Monterey County has over 70 vineyards and several were offering samples at The Quail.
On the field, there were some fascinating special displays, including Porsche 959s. The class winner was a Rothman’s 959, which took part in the 1985 Paris-Dakar rally.
Dan Gurney made his mark on international racing as both a driver and a builder and there was a fine selection of 14 Eagle racing cars from Grand Prix, Indianapolis and Formula 5000 racing. Dan and his wife, Evi, were there to answer questions about their creations.
While Dan Gurney’s single-seaters may be better known, his sports cars were also successful. This Eagle-Toyota MkIII was one of the 1992-93 Eagle IMSA GTP cars that won 19 of the 23 races they entered, including 14 in a row and the IMSA Championship and Sebring both years. Credit: Steve Burton.
The Sebring entries included big American bangers like Corvettes, Cobras and Vipers, contrasted with cars that contested the smaller classes like DB, MG and Alfa Romeo. There was even an Austin-Healey 100S driven in the Twelve Hours by child star Jackie Cooper. John Thompson’s BF Goodrich Corvette took the class.
Pride of place in the Sebring class went to the 2008 winner of the Twelve Hours, Penske Racing’s Porsche RS Spyder. Credit: David Burton
In honor of Valentino Balboni’s 40 years at Lambroghini, there was a Lambo display that showed the developments he influenced as the factory’s chief test driver since the Miura. This modest man told some great, hair-raising stories about his life on the road.
The strolling mariachis were interrupted mid-morning by the Historics to Quail Run, where race cars from the Monterey Historic Automobile Races drive over Laureles Grade from Laguna Seca to The Quail where the owners have lunch. This tradition was noisier than usual this year, because the cars that took part were the historic Trans Am cars.
Strolling the lawn at The Quail, your intrepid reporter ran across an old high school buddy, Jean Garschagen, whom I had not seen since the 1970s. She and her husband, Harry, were entered with this beautiful Maserati 3500 GT. You see the nicest people at The Quail. The blue is a factory color BTW. Credit: Robert C. Peters
By early afternoon, you realized that you were running behind schedule. Staying too long in the photographer’s tent with Denise McCluggage, Michael Furman and Winston Goodfellow made one miss part of the Bonhams and Butterfields’ series of auctions of fine jewelry and watches, collectors automobilia and exception collector’s motorcars.
Back on the field as the awards ceremonies began, it was time to look again at some of the special automobiles on the field. Mark Miller’s Talbot T 150 C SS was the barn find of the year, not having been seen at any event for almost 60 years. This car’s history included the 1938 Paris Concours and the very earliest postwar California speed events. The Collier Collection brought Dan Gurney’s Belgian Grand Prix winning Eagle V-12, which won the Eagle class. That took us back to 1967 when Dan was our hero, winning at Le Mans and Belgium on consecutive weekends. An American driver in an American car had shown he could beat Europe’s best, on their home ground.
The Spoils of Victory. Bruce Meyer poses with Gordon McCall and Mathias Doutreleau. Meyer’s Cobra was the first production car and was later converted to an FIA car for European competition. It is the only Cobra to have run the Tour de France. At The Quail, it won the Postwar Competition Class and took Best of Show. Credit: Steve Burton.
While we were thinking about the great cars, personalities and events of the past, the event was ending and we realized that many of the artifacts of those memories were with us today. In a busy week, The Quail provides a moment of tranquility to really reflect on what one has seen and heard. That’s what makes The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering one of the most memorable events in the automotive world.