Ed Godshalk in his Cisitalia D46 Monoposto “barn find” condition. Ex-factory team car, 5th place in 1946 Coppa Brezzi race, 1st place 1947 Mt. Ventoux Hill Climb, Ex-Harry Schell. Renowned Cisitalia restorer, Geert Kistermaker is at right.
Story and photos by Brandes Elitch
Looking back, I have to say that some of the best memories are of the original Concours Italiano (later changed to Concorso Italiano).
At the time I was interviewing for a job with a bank in San Francisco, and my interviewers were my friend Joe and his associate, Willem Oosthoek, now perhaps the pre-eminent Maserati expert in the world.
Joe had just bought a very clean and original Maserati 3500 coupe (Willem has one too, of course) and wanted to get started on the restoration. At that time there was an organization called the Maserati Information Exchange (MIE) outside of Seattle, run by Francis Mandarano. Back then, forty years ago, (the event is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year) there were only two events, the races at Laguna Seca, and the Pebble Beach Concours. [Read more…] about Concorso Italiano and The Paddock 2025