VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Ferrari Club of America National Meet Part 2

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Philip Fecher enjoyed his Best 250 GTE Award winning 1963 250 GTE 2+2 on the track on Saturday as well as displaying at the Concours.

Story and photos by Robert Neary

Part 1, published last week, described some of the show stoppers at this years’s Nationals. In Part 2 Robert Neary discusses some of the 250GTs and 330s that were featured.

The 2010 FCA Annual Meet also celebrated 50 years of the 250 GTE 2+2, Ferrari’s first true production four seater. Unfortunately, due to the weather, only two of these cars came out for the Concorso. Winner of the Best 250 GTE Award was Philip Fecher with his 1963 example (S/N: 4897GT). [Read more…] about Ferrari Club of America National Meet Part 2

Korean Grand Prix, Oct. 24, 2010

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Lewis Hamilton, Chris Dyer, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa

By Pete Vack
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media

It rained and then it got dark, not an auspicious beginning for Korea’s first world championship Formula One event. It looked dismal, the bleachers were only half filled, the rain didn’t let off and the red lights blinked throughout the event. Seven cars were involved in accidents and retired. Dismal and expensive. [Read more…] about Korean Grand Prix, Oct. 24, 2010

This Week, of Interest

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Best of France and Italy to be held November 7th 2010
Get out to Woodley Park, Van Nuys, California for a day with the best of French and Italian motoring machinery. This a non-judged show, from the rough restoration project to the serious concours offering. All are welcome, and our pricing structure is geared toward the collector with more than one vehicle. The intent of this gathering is to provide a meeting place for those marques that get little attention at the fancier concours. The registration fee is the same for both cars and swap meet vendors. A parking area is provided for trailers and tow vehicles. Food will be available or bring a picnic (no alcohol please).
Click here for a map and directions.
Contact us at info@franceanditaly.com or by voice, (626) 797-4221

And now for a question or two.
We know that most of our readers travel a great deal and that many attend automotive events all around the world.
But–where do you go for U.S. non car related vacations? What is your family’s favorite vacation destination? Will you be taking such a vacation in the next year? The reasons for such a question will be revealed in time, but if you send your comments to this post or to pete@velocetoday.com, privacy is assured. Send us a note if you can, it will be of great help!

Alfas on the Track Part II

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Alfas in England but where. Photo by Jeff Allison.

Jeff Allison continues his tribute to Alfa Romeo’s 100th anniversary
with images from races where Alfas competed in 1972 and 1974.

Part I

Words and Photos by Jeff Allison

Alfa hoped for success in endurance racing in 1972 with a new car. Prospects appeared bright as the team had some momentum from winning three manufacturers’ title races in 1971. However, it was not to be. In 1971, Alfa had practiced occasionally but never raced a new model called the 33TT3. A Telaio Tubolare (tubular chassis) replaced the previous aluminum monocoque. It reduced the frontal area for lower drag, and the gearbox was relocated and the driver moved forward for better balance. Alfa intended to introduce a more powerful flat-12 engine for the TT chassis, but it wasn’t ready to race in 1972. This left Alfa (read Autodelta) with a heavier chassis (steel tubes) and a now old, underpowered V-8 to race against Ferrari’s 312 P(B), which would become the dominant car in 1972.


The BOAC 1,000kms on April 16 followed Buenos Aires, Daytona and Sebring in the 1972 manufacturers’ championship, where Alfa placed third overall in each race. When the Alfa team arrived in their transporter full of 33TT3 cars and parts at the 2.65-mile Brands Hatch road racing course, the spirit around the Alfa camp was upbeat. Could they turn the tables and upset Ferrari’s 312 P(B)s, which had won the first three races?

The paddock at Brands Hatch was crowded with the 23 cars that qualified for the BOAC 1,000kms World Championship Sports Car Race. The Alfa paddock area was relatively quiet during the moments before the race as mechanics and spectators mill around the cars. According to the race report in Autosport, the 33TT3s had been lightened by removing the safety fuel tanks for this one race, and the engine was tweaked to around 440-hp. Despite three consecutive third places in the first three races, the 33TT3s were just .3 seconds faster than they had been at Brands a year earlier in 1971, and the 450-hp 312 P(B)s would go on to dominate the 1972 championship.

At the start, the three works Ferrari 312 P(B)s that qualified 1-2-3 have already gone out of the picture as has the fourth place on the grid 33TT3 (#8) of Peter Revson/Rolf Stommelen. Seen here are the Andrea de Adamich and Vic Elford (#6) and Nanni Galli and Helmut Marko (#7) 33TT3s surrounded by two- and three-liter rivals from Lola, Gulf-Mirage and Chevron.

American Peter Revson was driving for Alfa in the manufacturers’ championship for sports cars and for McLaren in F1 and the Can-Am in 1972.

Revson was partnered by German Rolf Stommelen, who had become a regular with Alfa Romeo in sports cars and raced with Team Eifelland Caravans in a March 721 in F1 in 1972.

Revson and Stommelen drove their Autodelta (works) 33TT3 (#8) to third overall and third in the Sports 3000 class. Starting fourth on the grid behind three works Ferrari 312 P(B)s, the pair finished one lap behind the second-place Ferrari and two laps behind the winning Ferrari of Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx. The photo shows Revson (#8) leading the Lola T280s, powered by three-liter Cosworth V-8s, of the Jo Bonner team—Chris Craft and Gerard Larrousse (#3) and Rene Wisell and Bonnier (#4).

Vic Elford (left) speaks with codriver Andrea de Adamich before the start. Elford was picked up by Alfa from the now defunct Martini & Rossi Porsche 917 team. De Adamich, a long-time Alfa sports car driver, also drove a Surtees TS9B-Cosworth Ford for the Ceramica Pagnossin team in F1 in 1972.

The 33TT3s just couldn’t match the speed of the Ferrari 312 P(B)s, and Elford and de Adamich drove the #6 33TT3 to a fourth overall and fourth in the Sports 3000 class. Qualifying eighth on the grid, they completed 231 laps to finish two laps behind the Revson and Stommelen 33TT3 (#8). The photo shows Englishman Elford at the wheel.

The third Autodelta 33TT3 (#7) in the BOAC 1,000kms was driven by Nanni Galli and Helmut Marko. Galli also raced F1 for the Martini Racing Team in a Tecno PA123 and Marko with the Marlboro BRM team in a BRM P153. They qualified ninth on the grid but suffered a loss of brake fluid in the last hour, slowing them to a sixth overall finish. The photo shows Galli exiting Druids Corner with the #34 Chevron B21-Ford of Brian Robinson and Francois Migault behind. At the conclusion of the 11-race series for the manufacturers’ title, Alfa Romeo had raced in only seven of the races with the highest finish of a second in the Targa Florio and no wins. Even so, they finished second, albeit a distant second, to Ferrari but ahead of Porsche, Lola, Chevron, Mirage and Matra for the manufacturers’ title.

Well known enthusiast and long-time California exotic car dealer Otto Zipper entered his T33/4 for Scooter Patrick at the Los Angeles Times 15th Annual Grand Prix on October 29, 1972 at the 2.54-mile Riverside International Raceway. Patrick maneuvers the car around the paddock in the photo.

Riverside was the ninth and final Canadian-American Challenge Cup Series race in 1972. The 4.0-liter V-8 powered Alfa was a standard FIA Group 6 car in all but its engine size, but it didn’t stand a chance against the unbelievable 5.0-liter Porsche 917-10K with its turbocharged flat-12 engine approaching 1,000-hp or the 9.0-liter (565-ci) 800-hp behemoth Denny Hulme had in his McLaren M20 only for Riverside. Patrick, who had driven to a seventh overall finish two weeks earlier at Laguna Seca, did well to qualify ahead of 13 of the more powerful Can-Am cars, including the Bryant Ti22, Lolas, McLarens and the 917PA/K. He finished ninth overall, completing 57 laps to the winner and newly crowned Can-Am champ George Follmer’s Porsche 917-10K (61 laps). In the photo, Patrick is shown alongside the larger, more powerful 8.3-liter McLaren M8FP (#55) of Chuck Parsons as they exit Turn 6 at Riverside.

The Interserie was Europe’s version of the Can-Am. At the Martini International Supersports event, the opening round of the 1974 Interserie Championship at Silverstone, England on May 12, 1974, Richard Pilkington was the entrant and driver of T33/3 (#84). It was reported by Autosport to be the 1971 BOAC 1,000-km winning car of Andrea de Adamich and Henri Pescarolo. Pilkington, the curator of the Totnes Motor Museum in England, was quite slow around the 2.932-mile Silverstone course, qualifying next to last on the grid of 27 qualifiers.

The Martini International Club Trophy event was a long-running event at Silverstone that began in 1961, won by well known drivers such as Chris Amon, Peter Gethin, Denny Hulme, Leo Kinnunen, Arturo Merzario and Michael Parkes. The T33/3 was in the Sport 500 class that was populated mainly with two-liter cars from Chevron and March and some three-liter cars. The photo shows the business end of Pilkington’s T33/3 with its three-liter V-8 engine.

In the 35-lap, 102.45-mile final, Pilkington finished 17th of 21 cars and five laps behind the winning Willi Kauhsen in a 4.5-liter Porsche 917-10K. It was the German Kauhsen who later brought money and sponsors to run Alfa’s racing team, and the cars, now powered by the flat-12 engine, won the manufacturers’ title in 1975 and 1977 for Alfa Romeo.

Jeff Allison is presently the editor of Prancing Horse, the quarterly magazine of the Ferrari Club of America. He’s previously served in editor positions with MG Abingdon Classics and Vintage Motorsport magazines, including editor of “Vintage Stuff” in Automobile magazine. Since 1976, he’s produced almost 400 articles in over 40 magazines and web sites relating to motorsport activities.

Gerelli in Paris, 2010

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Peugeot 601 D Eclipse of 1935.

 Photos and captions by Alessandro Gerelli

Alessandro brought back the exciting, the electric, the eclectic and the elderly from the Paris Auto Show, held between October 2nd and 17th 2010. As usual, there was a large showing of classic and antiques in addition to the latest offerings from around the world. We mixed them up to remind ourselves that somethings change and others don’t, but we like them all.
[Read more…] about Gerelli in Paris, 2010

This Week, of Interest

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Jeff Allison is presently the editor of Prancing Horse, the quarterly magazine of the Ferrari Club of America. He’s previously served in editor positions with MG Abingdon Classics and Vintage Motorsport magazines, including editor of “Vintage Stuff” in Automobile magazine. Since 1976, he’s produced almost 400 articles in over 40 magazines and web sites relating to motorsport activities. We think you’ll enjoy his photo collection of Alfas on the Track, Part 1 this week, and Part 2 next.

Jeroen Ekeler, 41, is a newcomer to VeloceToday from Holland who has been a free lance motoring writer for twenty years. He covered the always impressive concours at the Palace Het Loo for us and we hope to see more of his work in the near future.

Moretti. One of our readers is restoring a very rare Moretti. Although he has checked the usual sources both online and off, he is unable to find anyone who is a Moretti historian or who can help with researching this car which spent a good deal of it’s life in France. Any ideas here? Please let us know. Email us at pete@velocetoday.com.

Alfas on the Track Part I

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Hezemens, de Adamich, Vaccarella? Find out below. Photo by Jeff Allison

Jeff Allison presents the first of a two-part tribute recognizing Alfa Romeo’s 100th anniversary with a selection of images of Alfas on the track at races from 1959 to 1974.

Words and Photos by Jeff Allison

Before I go further, I should disclose I’m the editor of Prancing Horse, the quarterly magazine of the Ferrari Club of America. Okay, give me a break—Ferraris are Italian aren’t they? In writing about Alfa Romeos, I’m exposing a long lingering soft spot in my heart. In Alfa’s 100th year, I wanted to do my part to recognize the cars with the unlikely name in Italian of Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili or A.L.F.A. that later joined forces with Società Anonima Ing. Nicola Romeo & Co. to become Alfa Romeo. [Read more…] about Alfas on the Track Part I

Royal Palace Het Loo Concours d’Elegance

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Winner of the event, the 1954 Fiat 8V Supersonic. Photo courtesy of organizers.

Fiat 8V Supersonic wins Concours at Royal Palace September 4-5th

Story and Photos by Jeroen Ekeler unless otherwise noted

The rainy month of August was quickly forgotten by 20,000 car enthusiasts who spent a very warm and sunny weekend in the vast gardens of Royal Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn, Holland to witness the country’s best classic car event in years. [Read more…] about Royal Palace Het Loo Concours d’Elegance

Japanese Grand Prix, Oct. 10, 2010

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Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Newey, and Fernando Alonso

The Critics Are Quiet, For Now

by Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media

Sebastian Vettel was able to keep his critics at bay for another week when the German was able to convert his pole position to repeat as winner of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. [Read more…] about Japanese Grand Prix, Oct. 10, 2010

This Week, of Interest

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The car was on the rally but photographer Ian Wilson has no information on owner or any details.

From Zagato, Seventy Years in the Fast Lane, Marchiano, 2000.

We’d like to introduce Ian Wilson, who moved from Northern Ireland to France two years ago. “My father introduced me to racing at the early age of 5 at the Dundrod TT,” so he’s got the sport in his blood. He spent the past 15 years involved with Goodwood, most often as an official photographer at the Revivals and Festivals. His first article is a stunning report on this year’s Circuits des Remparts.

Along the way Ian took some photos of an Alfa which he found difficult to identify–as did we. Searching around we found a drawing by Ercole Spada published in the Marchiano Zagato book (Nada, 2000). We don’t know much more though–readers welcome to tell us how this beautiful Zagato came into being.

And now for the Mangusta. We received a lot of comments, both pro and con about our critical look at DeTomaso’s enigma. We thank all of those who sent in their comments. Here are our comments and corrections:
1. There were rocker switches on the dashboards of late Mangustas, see the Euro version featured this week.
2. William Crapo (his given middle name) Durant was not Isabelle’s grandfather but the Durant and Haskell families intermarried in the 19th century. Jonathan Amory Haskell, Isabelle’s grandfather was a VP at Chevrolet. Armory Haskell, Isabelle’s father, was also a VP of GM. The Haskell family had both money and contacts not only in Detroit but in Washington. The reference to Durant in Note 1 has been corrected in the text of Part I.
3. The Federal Exemption: Yes, the standard existed and a lot of cars got through besides the Mangusta. The point is that the author has never seen a car that was permitted to ignore so many standards in the name of the 500-maximum production exemption. We are sure many of our readers remember when, in 1973, at the height of the oil embargo, thousands of gas-saving Fiat 128s were forced to sit on the docks at U.S. ports because their headlights were too low. No such fate befell DeTomaso.

Part II of the Mangusta story is below. We wish to thank readers Steven Liebenow, Mike Drew, Denis Caron and Daryl Adams for their help with the Mangusta articles.

Circuits des Remparts 2010, Angouleme, France

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1907 Berliet D Course of Patrice Coutant at the Elegance evening.

Story and Photos by Ian Wilson

The first motor race around the streets of Angouleme, les Circuits des Remparts, with racers like Jean-Pierre Wimille, Maurice Trintignant and Raymond Sommer taking part, was held in 1939 in this charming piece of French countryside. [Read more…] about Circuits des Remparts 2010, Angouleme, France

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