RACE REPORT Marcus Bicknell reporting
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Group 12 (1947-1960 front engine sports racing and GT, including the Del Monte Trophy race group from the Pebble Beach Road Races)
You can download this report at http://dmtrg.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/RMMR_Group12_Race1_report_MB-_8Aug2023.pdf with the lists of cars in nice columns and tickety-boo.
To find about a car, check out the details for each attached to http://dmtrg.com/cars_list/
You can watch the livestream video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTpjAcT51ms Rob Manson’s interview is at 5’21.50 and the race at 7’23.
The Reunion now running from Wednesday thru Saturday, our first race was in the afternoon of Friday August 18. The Del Monte Trophy cars are those that raced at Pebble Beach Road Races 1950-1956 and cars of a type that raced there. If you are keen to look up the drivers, cars and results then do have a look at https://www.racingsportscars.com/track/archive/Pebble%20Beach.html. For today’s race we are in the same race group as a bevvy of Lotus 11 sports racers, a Ferrari 250 GT Short-Wheel-Base and a Jaguar Lister Knobbly which were introduced 1959 after the end of Pebble Beach. It makes for great racing and a variety of grids from year to year.
As a fabulous grid of 30 period race cars came out of turn 11 onto the home straightaway, pole sitter #84 Greg Meyer in his blue/white 1959 Sadler Mk4 of 5555cc leads the pack with #6 Al Arcieroin his silver 1958 Lister Knobbly of 5466cc alongside. #42 Brian MacEachern (1956 Lotus Xl) and #25C Blake Tatum (1953 Tatum GMC Special) are ready to slip through when the opportunity presents. Mark Sange’s #164 1956 Le Mans Lotus is being held in the pit lane to join the race after the start and two green flag laps turn into three as tow trucks pull it out of the way. A welcome late entrant is #10 Piers Gormley in his green 1958 Buyers/Volvo Special. Our friend and running mate Jim Alder’s Jaguar stayed in the paddock with mechanical gremlins so we are pleased and honoured to be hearing him in the commentator’s booth providing insight into the live stream which you can watch anytime at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTpjAcT51ms starting at 7’16. Keep on watching for the interviews with Rob Manson about the Pebble Beach Road Race cars still making history on the race track today. You best source of complete results with lap times is in my opinion at https://www.race-monitor.com/Results/Race/136012.
At the 2023 Monterey Motorsports Reunion, William Rooklidge’s 1955 Jaguar D-type XKD 531 was presented in the #54 livery in which it was raced throughout 1956 by its first owner, Hollywood comedy writer Jack Douglas. To see this “multi-hundred-thousand” restoration racing on track was a joy…
At the green flag Greg Meyer jumps into a clear lead in the Sadler with many millions of dollars, and reams of history, dicing warily for second place. Nonetheless they close up on Meyer and finish the first lap in a close pack all the way to 10th position.
84 Greg Meyer 1959 Sadler MK4 blue/white 5555
6 Al Arciero 1958 Lister Knobbly Silver 5466
42 Brian MacEachern 1956 Lotus Xl Silver 1460
25C Blake Tatum 1953 Tatum GMC Special White/Blue 5000
18 Nicholas Colonna 1958 Devin SS Red 5360
3 John Buddenbaum 1949 Jaguar Parkinson White 3800
9C Rob Manson 1953 Kurtis 500S Dodge Red/Black 4523
10 Piers Gormley 1958 Buyers/Volvo Special Green
38 Bruce Miller 1958 Lotus 11 British Racing Green/yellow 1460
272 Nick Grewal 1959 Lotus 17 Green 1488
Greg Meyer is a picture of delight as his ultra-quick Sadler rises over the Corkscrew… I’m sure his wheels are off the ground. Behind him, Brian MacEachern is getting feisty and climbing over the back of Al Arciero less nimble Knobbly for 2nd on the run to the end of lap 2 but the Lotus does not have the grunt to stay with him past the pits. These guys live for this racing. As Jim Alder says from the commentary box “there is nowhere in the world they would like to other than on track right here right now.”
Up the hill in turn 6 Blake Tatum adjusts with small left to right steering wheel movements as Rob Manson’s white and blue Tatum GMC Special twitches under full throttle, the car which his own father Chuck Tatum built back in 1952 from a 1932 Ford front suspension and a 1941Ford live axle in the rear. He’s just ahead of #19 (listed variously as 18 or 19) red 195 Devin SS of Nicholas Colonna, looking for all the world like a Le Mans Maserati…
Keeping in touch are #3 John Buddenbaum in the white 1949 Jaguar Parkinson with #9C Rob Manson in his red 1953 Kurtis 500S Dodge. At the end of lap 3 Bruce Miller in the #38 1958 Lotus 11 in British Racing Green factory colors with the yellow stripe has overtaken #10 Piers Gormley in his green 1958 Buyers/Volvo Special who continues to fade as the race proceeds (19th at the end). Bruce entertains the crowd and the commentators at the Corkscrew on lap 3 when the left hand door of his Lotus pops open. No harm done.
#272 Nick Grewal in his 1959 Lotus 17 is 10th, chased closely by #11 Jeff Abramson, red 1950 MG TD John Von Neuman Special. #183 Lars Mapstead, black 1952 Jaguar XK120 is 12th, yes that’s Lars Mapstead the internet entrepreneur who is standing for the Presidency of the USA with the Libertarian Party.
At the end of lap 3 the #10 Volvo Special stutters at the start of the pit straight – all is not well – and #11 Jeff Abramson in his red 1950 MG TD John Von Neuman Special pops into the top ten. Collona has passed Tatum and Manson has passed Budenbaum who Jaguar Parkinson is suffering from transmission or clutch issues.
End of lap 3
84 Greg Meyer 1959 Sadler MK4 blue/white 5555
6 Al Arciero 1958 Lister Knobbly Silver 5466
42 Brian MacEachern 1956 Lotus Xl Silver 1460
18 Nicholas Colonna 1958 Devin SS Red 5360
25C Blake Tatum 1953 Tatum GMC Special White/Blue 5000
9C Rob Manson 1953 Kurtis 500S Dodge Red/Black 4523
3 John Buddenbaum 1949 Jaguar Parkinson White 3800
38 Bruce Miller 1958 Lotus 11 British Racing Green/yellow 1460
272 Nick Grewal 1959 Lotus 17 Green 1488
11 Jeff Abramson 1950 MG TD John Von Neuman Special, Red 1488
As the race progresses,# 6 Al Arciero challenges for the lead but #84 Greg Meyer appears to have some speed in hand and controls from the front to take the chequered flag at the end of 10 laps.
The race results, for the top ten, were…
84 Greg Meyer 1959 Sadler MK4 blue/white 5555
6 Al Arciero 1958 Lister Knobbly Silver 5466
42 Brian MacEachern 1956 Lotus Xl Silver 1460
18 Nicholas Colonna 1958 Devin SS Red 5360
25C Blake Tatum 1953 Tatum GMC Special White/Blue 5000
9C Rob Manson 1953 Kurtis 500S Dodge Red/Black 4523
38 Bruce Miller 1958 Lotus 11 British Racing Green/yellow 1460
272 Nick Grewal 1959 Lotus 17 Green 1488
11 Jeff Abramson 1950 MG TD John Von Neuman Special, Red 1488
5 Mike Follmer 1958 Lotus 11 Blue 1600
followed by
183 Lars Mapstead 1952 Jaguar XK120 black 3400
17 Steven Lawrence 1959 Lotus 17 Green 1500
155 Kaiden Marouf 1951 MG TD Green 1275
X15 John Sr. Mote 1955 Sorrell Kurtis Special
814 Kevin Adair 1955 Elva Mk I Sport Racer BRG 1092
4 Nick Price 1958 Sadler Meyer Special Blue 5555
85 Stewart Smith 1957 Lotus Eleven Green 1200
3 John Buddenbaum 1949 Jaguar Parkinson White 3800
10 Piers Gormley 1958 Buyers/Volvo Special Green
74 Ned Spieker 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB Red
54(15) William Rooklidge 1955 Jaguar D-Type Yellow 3442
164 Mark Sange 1956 Le Mans Lotus XI
1 Bernard Dervieux 1950 Allard J2 Silver 331
55 Wesley Abendroth 1955 Chevrolet Mistral Red 4785
61 Edward Nigro 1959 Lola Mk1 red 1460
65 Michael Silverman 1959 Echidna Sports Racer Blue 5500
74 Ned Spieker [1] 1957 Maserati 200 Si Red
102 Steve Sanett 1957 Lotus Xl white 1460
111 Timothy Scopes 1959 Lotus XI Series 2 Le Mans, White/Blue Stripe 1490
The Sorrell Kurtis Special GMC inline-6, also known as “Dick Lane’s GMC under Glass” (under glass being a euphemism for the engine located under the fiberglass hood), is an American Special that has not been seen by public for more than 65 years. More at http://dmtrg.com/2023/07/21/john-mote-sorrel-kurtis-special-gmc/ A few years back John Mote recovered and renovated this astonishing machine which raced with us today at the Rolex Monterey Historic Reunion…
Today we had the Barlow Simca and the von Neumann MGTD Specials together in our paddock so there should be some specific coverage generated. Cars were all OK for yesterday’s race but the Parkinson Jaguar’s clutch or transmission seems to have packed it in at the last lap. John B will substitute in the Streets Manning Special (sometimes driven by your esteemed but humble reporter Marcus Bicknell) ride for Saturday’s race 2. Colin Warnes has posted photos on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MontereySportsCarRoadRacers and we thank him for those we have reproduced here.
[1] Ned Spieker is listed in the results as driving both the1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB and the 1957 Maserati 200 Si. If he or anyone else can tell us the drivers’ names and any other details we would be grateful