Booked Friday night and waiting to hear about an opening for Saturday. Can't wait, my little baby Stella's first trip to Elkhart!
No kididng??? Holy hell that would be awesome. My first BRIC was back when we called it the Chicago Historics in 1986. The Concours d'Elegance was a bit more mellow back then with Marchetti's Norwood P4 parked on the red carpet. I should really start scanning in all my photos from those pre-digital years. I even have two of the parades into town on VHS somewhere Here are links to photo pages of 2001 and 2002: http://www.erik27.com/races/2001BRIC http://www.erik27.com/races/2002BRIC
I know for sure a P 917/30 in Sunoco colors will be in attendance. Also most of Mark's TA cars and a few of his other Can Am cars are supposed to be there. That and all the other great racing cars will make this a very nice event, as usual. It's supposed to be hot and sunny. Hope you all can make it to Road America this weekend. Tom Tanner/Scale Designs/Ferrari Expo 2011-Chicago April 2011
the doc and i will be there saturday hanging out at the LFSC tent. fabulous track especially on a motorcycle. http://www.roadamerica.com/userfiles/file/2010%20Schedules/KIC%20PUBLIC%20Schedule%20updated%207-9-10.pdf 12:10 PM LUNCH/TOURING will be FUN !! golf cart rentals recommended
Is there a prefered day to go to the track. My family and I will be up are coming up tomorrow morning and we're planning to go to Road America on Sunday, however it looks like rain may be looming. Will Saturday be a good alternative to attend? Edit: Well w/all the racing taking place on Sunday, I guess that's the day to go.
Some pictures from today. An ok turnout of cars. Alot of Mark's old Tran-Am cars and the 917/30. Also nice to see the 917PA at RA again. It has not been up at RA with that bodywork since 1969!! Stopped at Reina to look at all the grey market Alfa's and a Lamborghini 350GT. Tom Tanner/Scale Designs/Ferrari Expo 2011-Chicago April 2011 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
It was parked in the lot just south of the kink. Several Lemans R8's and even a LMP1 2001 Cadillac is there. The F1 cars did not come to the BRIC this year. They should be back next year. TT
I love the announcer's pronunciations. As I should have expected, we had to scrub our plans to attend this year. Family blah blah blah...
So disappointed about the f1 turnout!!! Or turnout in general...every year it goes down and down. Maybe it's the consistant awful temperatures or the sponsorship takeover. There was 1 Ferrari this year. Atleast the can-ams still bring a smile to my face!
No Historic GP and Brian French has sold his Ferraris. But still in attendance were French's Benneton (well followed by junior in a Ralt Atlantic) and a Tyrell. Did anyone else stay around for the 917/30's parade laps? I expected it to be a raucus car but was surprised to see how quiet and docile it sounded. "Walk softly but carry a big stick" comes to mind. While standing at the hot pit wall along the front straight waiting for the 917 to come past none other than Brian Redman walks up and says Hello. When asked if he'd jump in for a quick spin he says "under the right circumstances, not for this". It's hard to imagine being bored with a 917 in any circumstance but this comment illustrates the fantastic experiences these drivers have had.
There's also one (without the stickers) almost always parked at the service station on the corner of 67 and County A. I'll never understand why the 917/30 didn't do a lap or two before the Can-Am race. Why wait until 99% of the crowd left? The passenger kind of killed the photo-op:
Erik, I assume? I believe we met this weekend...Concerning the 'parade lap' that the 917/30 participated in during the end of the weekend... Let me explain a little bit about how this originally unfolded... First off, this was a very 'impromptu' arrangement that actually wasn't even considered until the closing days before the event...It was more a matter of getting clearance to do such from RA/etc. Anyway, like I mentioned in a Rennlist thread, the laps weren't intended to be an all-out example of what the 917/30 was capable of - Rather, it was a respectful 'last lap' for Mark and the Mark Donohue Reunion, as this was the last commemorative event...ever. The passenger, Paul Powell, was the individual that was close friends with Mark and organized/founded the event. So, it was also in respect to Paul who had put a tremendous amount of time, money and effort into the event. The "30" will see the light of day again, so don't think for a minute it won't be blasting around some well known circuits in the future. We're already considering plans to bring another addition from the collection next year...This was one of the most enjoyable vintage weekends we've ever encountered...Hands down!
The white one , always wondered if its for sale(I assume so). No offence to the passenger/friend, but if I stuck around to see the 917/30 do some parade laps and get a picture of it....I'd be a bit upset. They let Vaughn Gittin drift around the track every hour, but couldn't let the 917/30 do a parade lap at lunch?
It was great meeting you guys, and seeing the car in any fashion is awesome. Thanks to the entire crew and everyone involved with the Donahue Reunion, it was an excellent display that easily made this the #1 Vintage for me (haven't miss one since 1986). I just feel for a lot of the fans who just assumed any parade lap would have been tied into the Can-Am race, and left due to the storm assuming there wasn't going to be a showing. Nobody was expecting a hot lap, just a chance to see one of the greatest race cars (definitely the #1 Porsche) of all time back at RA. I stuck around (as I always do) and the three laps gave me enough time to grab my camera, jump the fence (sorry Carson) and snap at least a couple "action" shots. Hearing how he's tied into all of this does make it rather fitting he closed out the tour this way, just icing on the cake to be at Road America (not just the history, it makes for a longer lap.... ) The passenger reminded me of some famous shots over the years of teammates picking each other up after a race. Like I mentioned at the display, it's nice a car of this caliber is in the hands of someone who takes the time to make it available for the fans to see. Thank God the storms were not any worse Saturday night, there was enough drama for you guys getting the car to Sheboygan Wednesday night!!
I met Paul who also introduced me to Matt. Paul was most deserving of the ride even if some feel he ruined their photo. A photog with a long lens standing next to me got a great shot of them coming down the main straight. Paul's face was visible through the visor, his expression and death grip on the roll bar were priceless. I forgot to get the photog's business card but remember him saying he was from Fl. I'd love to see his pics.
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Erik/Paul...Glad you fellows enjoyed everything. We look forward to visiting next year if our schedule permits.