Ferrari legends return to historic Road Race route after 59 years

Between 1950 and 1956, the Pebble Beach Road Race saw the forest-lined roads of Monterey come alive to the sound of road-legal sports-racers at full song. On the Friday of the 2015 Monterey Car Week, a gaggle of 1950s Ferrari berlinettas retraced what remains of the route…

In the second year of the Pebble Beach Road Race – dubbed the Del Monte Cup due to the company’s ownership of much of the surrounding land – a 166 MM piloted by Jim Kimberly became the first Ferrari to be raced along the serpentine route. Ultimately, Phil Hill would win the event three times (becoming the only man to win both here and at the Pebble Beach Concours), so it was a poignant moment when his widow Alma Hill brought down the green flag on 2015’s celebration race, with the ex-Kimberly 166 leading away a half-dozen Ferrari barchettas that raced there in period.

Although, as you might expect, there have been some changes to the route since the race was shut down almost 60 years ago, it’s remarkably intact considering. Three laps were undertaken, albeit at a slightly more sedate pace than in period – understandable, really, given the value and significance of the cars today.

Among them were two entered by American collector Les Wexner: a 1955 857S and a 1954 340 Mexico Vignale Spider driven by the owner of Copley Motorcars, Stu Carpenter. On Sunday, all six will regroup to battle each other again, this time for class honours in the dedicated category (and perhaps more?) at the Concours.

Although the chequered flag came down with the cars in the same order as they started (it really was more of a parade than a race), the reunion was truly mesmerising – if not for the sight of the colour-matched Ferraris, then for the mental imagery it conjured of Hill battling the likes of Carroll Shelby along the switchbacks.

Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver © 2015

All the news from this year's Monterey and Pebble Beach events can be found in our regularly updated overview.

Yard Built SR400 ‘Stallion’ and ‘Bronco’ by KEDO

The German parts company’s first independent collaborations with Yamaha have resulted in two SR400 Yard Built creations that showcase some similarities but deliver two very different animals. The first, the ‘Stallion’ is dominated by sharp lines and rounded edges, hinting at its vintage genes.



The second, the ‘Bronco’ is a street tough machine designed for everyday urban use with a blended mix of vintage style and current technology topped off with some serious flair. 

Banzai.....

Kajetanowicz stretches ERC lead to 23 points

Kajetan ‘Kajto’ Kajetanowicz has extended his FIA European Rally Championship lead to 23 points, after finishing third on the Barum Czech Rally Zlin.

It was only the four-time Polish rally champion’s second attempt at the classic Czech event, but he and co-driver Jarek Baran were incredibly fast and consistent in their LOTOS Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5 – taking one stage victory, seven runner-up spots and four third places.

Kajto defeated not only all ERC frontrunners, but also many Czech drivers – and some of them have more than dozen outings in the rally under their belts. Only two Czech rally champions and multiple winners of the event beat him to the finish line!

Kajto scored 26 ERC points in Zlin – 15 for the third position in the overall classification, and five and six for the results achieved on day one and two respectively. It means that with three rounds to go, Kajto leads the ERC drivers’ standings with a 23-point advantage over second-placed Craig Breen. Kajto also scored 69 points towards ERC Asphalt Masters classification, reducing Breen’s advantage to 29 points.

This Polish crew have been impressive all seasons, irrespective of surface and conditions, scoring 28 stage wins and 81 top three places on the 95 special stages run so far.

“There is no other rally outside Poland with so many Polish fans, there were thousands of them,” said Kajto. “It was an extremely important event for us, not only from this point of view. Some fans are probably used to our achievements but I want to assure you that we work very hard for every single success. The heart of every LOTOS Rally Team member is filled with passion so for us it is easier to sacrifice a lot in order to achieve more. Only we know how much effort and work each European Championship point costs us but I am very glad that we can share the joy of scoring them with others. This time we moved closer to our ultimate goal although the road can still prove to be very rough.”