Sat. 8/17

2002 Monterey Trip Itinerary:

Saturday, 8/17
Monterey Historic Races with NCM Corvette Corral and lunch.

7:04 am and we're stopped 1/2 mile from the entrance to Laguna Seca.
The gate opened at 7:00, so we didn't wait long.
(fyi: the camera time stamp is still Eastern time)

Corvette Corral parking... in the fog.

Corvette Island had welcome coffee!

First racers out for practice.

10:11 - The fog was persistent, and jackets were MANDATORY.

11:16 - What a difference an hour made!

Some of the faster cars getting practice time.

Break from the action for lunch, provided on Corvette Island by Chevrolet and the National Corvette Museum.

I took the opportunity to place brochures on the car in the Corral, now that it was dry.

Ollie Gavin takes 2001 & 2002 Le Mans winning C5R on some demonstration laps. Incredible sound!

Early iron is first for their 10 lap races. Note "riding mechanics" in some of them!

From down along the fence, Chip Miller waves!
(video capture, hence low quality)

On to the solid axle Corvettes, including the SR-2.

#77 is Joe Frietas. It bears a Corvettes Conquer Cancer decal he asked me for at the NCRS convention!

Then the mid-years had their chance with the Cobras. This was a hotly contested battle!

The only mishap I saw: a Cobra swapped ends and required the "hook".

End of sensory overload for another day...

Well, almost...

Meanwhile, back at the DoubleTree, exotics and others were assembling for the "World's Largest Sports Car Auction"
to be held that night. I couldn't get into the hotel parking parking garage. It was like another car show!

Wouldn't you think that halfa $million would get you a paint job that wouldn't show the underlying material?
Think again. Evidently Ferrari wants the world to know that the F50 body is no ordinary material: Carbon Fiber!

Finally, dinner. Pelicans lined the roof as I ate; here one looks over.

Sea otter from my table.

Back to the room to pack. Checking out in the morning.

While packing, I could hear the Auction that was going on in the grand ballroom being broadcast throughout the plaza,
and the cars were passing under my window from the lot pictured above to go inside. Another car show... with sound!

The highlight and poster car of the auction was this Ferrari:
It was driven to overall victory at Le Mans in 1962 by Phil Hill.
It was driven up onto the auction podium by Phil Hill!

I heard the bidding:
It sold for $6.2 Million - the second highest price ever paid for a car, and the highest since 1990!

Auction people as seen a couple nights before:

It's a different world. Unreal...

Click to go directly to next day!