Car Week 2024

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Another Car Week in Monterey has come and gone. I’m not sure there’s any car-related event in the world that is so all encompassing - it has racing, auctions, shows, cruises, tours, parties, and - of course - the Concours. The marquee events are quite expensive, but there are plenty of opportunities for the public to see many of the amazing cars for free. Car Week now encompasses 10 days, starting with the “Pre-Historics” vintage races, and ending with the Pebble Beach Concours de’Elegance. Unfortunately, prior commitments (work) meant that for me Car Week didn’t start until Thursday morning.

The highlight of Thursday is the Pebble Beach Concours Tour ‘elegance that allows the public to see the Concours cars for free on public roads. The tour takes the cars out around the hills around Carmel, and then out on scenic Highway 1 for a 60-mile drive that can be quite challenging for these classics. My dad and I drove out and found a nice turnout after Bixby Bridge to watch the cars go by. I didn’t take any pictures or videos, we just enjoyed watching the priceless cars drive by.

Next up, we stopped by the RM Auction to check out two K3’s and one K2 that were on offer. First up was the red K3 #3277. Externally the car looked great. It was mostly original, but the chassis paint was peeling, and the suspension straps had broken. It sold for $75,000 plus premium and it’s likely going to Australia. Next on the list was the red K2 #1846 whose whereabouts were unknown to us until now. The car looked much better in person than the catalog photos presented, and it sold for $70,000 plus premium. Finally, we checked out the navy blue K3 #3175 that set the high bar for K3 pricing back in 2007 when it sold for $181,000. The exterior of the car had gathered some blemishes including a shallow dent on the bonnet and some light rust on the undercarriage. The Chrysler-powered K3 sold for $80,000 plus premium, and it too will likely be going to Australia with the red K3. The Allard prices were weak, but hopefully these cars will be going to new owners that will become active Allard enthusiasts.

With RM checked off the list, we headed out to Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca to catch qualifying for Cunningham Trophy race group. There was no featured marque this year as the event celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The celebration included a display showing one car from every marque that had been featured previously. In 1990, Allard was the featured marque which meant they needed an Allard to put on display. The organizers reached out to me a few months ago asking if I could find a suitable car. I knew right away that Bill Harlan’s J2X #3068 would be perfect. It was an original, unrestored veteran of the first Monterey Historics, and fortunately Mr. Harlan agreed to bring his car down for the week. It was a delight to see that Allard on display between Miles Colliers’ Cunningham and a Le Mans winning Jaguar D-Type.

The only Allard racing in the Cunningham group was John Mote’s K2 #1546, the first K2 exported to America. Al Moss (Allard’s West Coast distributor and founder of Moss Motors) bought it off the stand at the New York Motor Show from Sydney Allard himself, and drove it across the country. The car is now powered by a very healthy Buick ‘nailhead’. This year, John’s son, John Jr. drove the car while John Sr. drove his Sorrel-bodied Kurtis. John Jr. did a great job learning the track and had some great dices on Saturday & Sunday.

A highlight for me was getting to meet Jenson Button who was racing in the Cunningham Trophy race group in his ex-Fangio owned drum brake Jaguar C-Type. It was Jenson’s first-time racing at Laguna Seca, and his only misstep was an off at Turn 11 on his first lap around the track. He recovered nicely and was unsurprisingly the top drum-brake car/driver in the race group throughout the weekend.

Friday and Saturday saw lots of great racing action (see photos). Congratulations go out to Michael Kaleel who won the prestigious Ken Miles award. Michael (owner of J2X #2223) was presented the award for his exceptional driving of his 1962 Lola Mk 1 in the Briggs Cunningham Trophy race. The award recognizes the outstanding performance of a car under 1500cc that is well-prepared, driven expertly, and holds historical significance. Additionally, the Pebble Beach Racing Group gives out the Del Monte Trophy to 1949-1955 front engine drum brake race cars. The under 2L trophy was given to Lee Osborn #72 in his 1955 Shannon Crosley Special and the over 2L trophy went to Lars Mapstead in his black 1952 Jaguar XK120. Well done!

Sunday is all about the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Normally I don’t like car shows, but Pebble Beach is an exception. The organizers always do a great job of gathering the best cars in the world, along with showcasing a number of unique genres. This year the Concours had two classes of wedge cars, a class for the Queen’s Land Rover’s, and a class of homologation road cars and their racing counterparts. My oldest son Jacob and I like to get there early (5:30am) for Dawn Patrol to see the cars drive onto the field. From there we like to walk the field before it gets too crowded, and eavesdrop on judging, and talk with the owners about their unique cars. Sadly, no Allards showed this year.

The highlight for us this year was the wedge cars. Each car was unique and represented a unique take on the wind cutting wedge design that was, ironically, not the best aerodynamic shape…but they looked fast.

It’s also fun to guess which car will win Best of Show. Usually, it’s some shiny pre-war better- than-new Duesenberg or Mercedes beast with an amazing paint job and unique interior - but this year the trophy went to an unrestored 1934 Bugatti Type 59. We were fortunate to spend some time looking at that car. We were drawn by its uniqueness and originality, but at no time did we think it would be considered for Best of Show. This win could signal a sea change in the world of automobile restoration, as we imagine some owners who had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars restoring their cars were upset that they were beaten by an original well-preserved racing car. I imagine some car restoration shop owners were getting nervous as well.

With that, we bid an exhausted farewell to Car Week…we’ll see you again next year!

Bonus Gallery…

Monterey Car Week 2023

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I have attended the Monterey Historic Auto Races for the past 40+ years, and have witnessed the evolution from a three day celebration to its current ten day ‘car week’ commencing with the Pre-Reunion races at Laguna Seca, and concluding with the four day Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (RMMR) on August 20. The span between these two events is interspersed with at least 2 local tours, 5 auctions and countless car shows – including the world famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. In short – a feast of car-related functions that are great to experience, but are more than one could witness in that ten day span of time.

Our celebration commenced with Thursday’s Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance when a couple hundred Concours entrants departed from Pebble Beach on a 70 mile tour along the Pacific coast down Highway 1. Back in the pre-COVID days they would then stop on Carmel’s Ocean Avenue for lunch, which gave us ‘poor folk’ an opportunity to admire these classics up close. As an alternative, we joined Martin Allard in his Allard K3 where we went about 20 miles down Hwy 1 to see the tour on parade. It was no surprise that hundreds of fans and photographers along the way presumed that we were also a part of the tour.

We still have fond 33 year-old memories of 1990 when Allard was the featured marque at the Monterey Historic Auto Races, with more than 60 Allards present. This gave us a chance to meet several Allard celebrities including Tom Lush, Zora Arkus-Duntov, Cyril Wick, Dudley Hume, Tom Carstens, and Bill Pollack. This year two Allards were on the roster at Laguna Seca. John Mote has done a remarkable job of refining his Buick Nailhead powered blue K2 (#1546), but a problem with his timing chain relegated this car to static display for the weekend. Bernard Dervieux again had his very early, original, and historic Cad-powered J2 (#1513) which – after sorting out some brake issues – participated in Saturday’s Race 12.

Three Allards were on the auction block this weekend. Bonham’s featured a well finished and original hemi-powered J2X (#3074) that was once owned by Steve McQueen. It is a very nice car, and we felt that its celebrity history would have had a positive impact on the price. So some of us were surprised that it went for $346,000 (including premium).

The other two Allards were for sale at Gooding auction. A very nice Ford flathead-powered K1 (#595) went for just under $118,000 (including premium), and the beautifully restored Ardun-powered J2 (#2121) did not meet its reserve. Overall, the sell-through rate was down 10% over last year, and many of those that did sell, were for prices substantially lower than the pre-sale estimates.

While there were not any Allards at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, many Allard owners were present including Wayne Carini, John Carlson, Donald Osbourne, Bob Weiner, Martin Allard, Geoff Hacker, and Tom Chandler. One car that grabbed our attention was a 1953 Mercedes-Benz 300 S Cabriolet that received second place in its class of 6 Postwar Luxury cars. This car was the culmination of a six year project by students at McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas. As we and our cars continue to get older, we take some encouragement that auto restoration is a key four year curriculum at McPherson.

-Charles Warnes

Monterey Car Week - 2021

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Words: Chuck Warnes & Rob Manson
Photos: Colin Warnes

RMMR21_CAW_Sat_13.jpg

The 70th Anniversary celebration of the Pebble Beach Road Races and Concours d’Elegance kicked off with a press conference in the Concours Village before the start of the annual Tour d’Elegance. The backdrop was all five of the 50’s era Pebble Beach Road Race winners positioned in front of a 50-foot Celebration Display.

Sandra Button, CEO of the Concours opened this year’s event. Derek Hill, Phil Hill’s son, moderated and spoke of his father’s recollections of the inaugural 1950 race and his win in the Jaguar XK-120. Robert Devlin, motorsport historian, continued with details about the Bill Pollack Allard J2 (’51, ‘52), the Phil Hill Ferrari 250 MM (’53), Sterling Edwards’ Ferrari 375 MM (’54), and the Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby Ferrari 750 Monza (’55,’56) – as well as commentary on the historical importance of those early road races.

The Del Monte Trophy Race Group created two sets of Celebration Displays, the first for the Concours d’Elegance. The second was located in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion exhibit area at Laguna Seca. The Pebble Beach Road Race winners were on display in front of it on Saturday, and they did a few demonstration laps at the lunch break. Bill Pollack’s daughter Mellette was passenger in the #14 Allard.

A traditional highlight of Monterey’s ‘car week’ is the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance when about 150 of the Pebble Beach Concours entrants embark on a 60 mile tour around the Monterey Peninsula and the Big Sur coast before gathering for lunch on Carmel’s Ocean Avenue. Over the years this has become a true crowd pleaser where the general public is able to spend more than an hour mingling among the cars – right up close and personal. While the tour did resume this year, the cars could not gather on Ocean Avenue due to valid COVID concerns.

Out at Laguna Seca Raceway two Allards were again pitted with our friends at the Del Monte Trophy Race Group – a number of post WWII California-engineered hot rods that were built and raced in the spirit of Allard. They were – and still are - fast, and quite able to hold their own on road courses against the sophisticated cars from post-war Europe.

The track sessions were well-fought, exciting racing. Pollack, Hill or Shelby would not have driven those cars any harder when they were new - some 70 years ago. All the racing was done in a respectful, no-contact experience. Fun on a race track in a great old car is what vintage racing is all about. These ‘junkyard dogs’ raced against John Mote’s Buick powered Allard K2 and Bernard Dervieux’s Cad powered J2 in Group 4A at this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. John continued his rivalry with three Jag XK120’s to cross the finish line in 9th place, with Bernard taking the checkered flag in 15th spot.

The auction scene saw three Allards cross the block with no reserve. A J2 sold at R&M Sotheby’s for $224,000, Bonham’s sold a J2 for $207,200, and an interesting J2X at Goodings brought $201,600. These prices, or course, led to some discussion about an apparent ‘softening’ of the market – and whether this is the beginning of a pattern, or a temporary phenomenon. On the bright side, one might speculate that this might signal that more Allards are becoming ‘affordable’ to younger folks who would want to put these cars to their intended purposes.

Sunday morning started off early with a trip to the Pebble Beach Concourse. Our credentials allowed us early entry (we arrived 4:45 am!) to kick-off Dawn Patrol where we got to enjoy donuts, coffee, free commemorative hats, and the best part…watching the cars drive onto the lawn. The best part of the show for us was getting to see the Pebble Beach Road Race winners lined up overlooking the ocean; most prominent (to us) was Tom Carstens and Bill Pollacks #14 J2-1850. It can’t be forgotten that without those five race cars, there would be no Pebble Beach Concours, RMMR, or the myriad of car events that make up the week-long spectacle that is Monterey Car Week.

Monterey, 2019

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Four Allards made up a part of the thirty-car race group 1B for 1947-1955 Sports Racing and GT Cars. The Allards were up against a strong group of California Specials, Jaguars, Mercedes, MG’s, Triumphs, Porsches, and a few flyweight H-Mod specials.

Sunday’s morning race was action packed. As the green flag waived, John Bowe rocketed past the third and second place cars and was challenging Rob Manson’s GMC Tatum Special for the lead by the first corner! After a few laps of trying to get past the Tatum, Bowe dropped back a few places with fading brakes. John Mote in his Buick K2 held his own starting and finishing 11th. Jon LeCarner had a good race in his K2 moving from 21st to 16th. Bernard Dervieux put on a show in J2-1513 (one of the first J2’s built) demonstrating the finer points of Sydney’s divided axle front suspension finishing 26th.

Sunday’s afternoon race was another thriller. While two of the race’s nine laps were run under a full-course yellow, drivers and fans were treated to a tight contest among the five leaders – the Allard J2X against four California specials; the Parkinson Jaguar Special, a Chevy-powered Austin Healey, a Kurtis Dodge, and the Streets Manning Special.

John Bowe of Melbourne Australia was first to take the checkered flag at the wheel of Joe Calleja’s Allard J2X-3146. This is the very same ex-Carroll Shelby Allard that has been a familiar sight at Laguna Seca for the past 20+ years at the hands of Peter Booth and Augie Grassis. Joe has been working diligently to bring this Allard into FIA specs, with plans to race it in Europe and Australia in 2020. Driver John Bowe has some previous racing history in Australia having won the infamous Bathurst 1000 twice; needless to say, Shelby’s old J2X was in good hands. The J2X had a close race with the Parkinson Jaguar, but in the end the John Bowe made it to the checkered flag first - another Allard victory!

John LeCarner finished in 15th spot with his Cad-powered K2, and Bernard Dervieux’s J2 crossed the finish line in 23rd place. John Mote ran strong until lap 5, when his oil pressure gauge suggested that he prudently ‘call it a day’. All three cars will be undergoing refurbishment over the next year and we hope to see them back on track in 2020.

The Allards were pitted among a wide array of cars of similar vintage. Foremost in this group were a number of California-engineered built by names like Hagemann, Tatum, Baldwin, and Kurtis – cars that were not only fast, but quite able to hold their own on road courses against the sophisticated cars from post-war Europe. One could argue that many of the California Specials owe their existence to the production hot rods built by Allard.

The cars of Group 1B have adopted the moniker, Del Monte Trophy Race Group – cars that either raced in the Pebble Beach Road Races in the early ‘50’s, or would have been eligible to have raced there.

The entrance to this paddock area is fittingly decorated with rows of snow fencing and hay bales which were deemed to serve as protection for spectators back in the day, along with several historic black and white race photos from the early ‘50’s. This provided an ideal setting for a gathering after Friday afternoon’s practice, with all 38 cars from Group 1B on display. A more casual affair was held Sunday afternoon where the Del Monte Trophy was awarded to Tim Barnes (over 2L) and his 1951 Jaguar XK120 and to Kaiden Marouf (under 2L) and his 1951 supercharged MG TD.

Monterey’s ‘Car Week’ formally starts with Thursday’s Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, when more than a hundred rare and elegant competitors in Sunday’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance embark on a 70-mile tour on public roads around the Monterey area. This provides a unique opportunity for the general public to witness these show cars mix with Highway 1 traffic down to Big Sur, before returning to gather for along Carmel’s Ocean Avenue for lunch.

We again welcomed the opportunity to join Martin Allard in his biscuit-colored Allard K3 as we enjoyed the show cars along Highway 1. A part of this included a special surprise to see Ted Springstead at the wheel of his green Allard K3. Ted was one of the thirty Concours entrants to participate in the ten-day, 1500-mile Pebble Beach Motoring Classic run from Kirkland Washington to Pebble Beach. Aside from a minor fender-bender along the way, it was a great and memorable trip.

Three Allards were ‘on the block’ at two of the six (yes – 6!) auctions underway during Monterey’s Car Week. The Carroll Shelby J2 from his 1952 racing season was for sale at Mecum’s, and two Allards were consigned to Goodings. One was the red, Chrysler-powered J2X LeMans veteran of the Pebble Beach and Golden Gate races in the early ‘50’s, and the other was a very nice black K2. Neither the J2 nor the J2X LM made their reserve, while K2 was sold for a very reasonable $84,000.

We’re looking forward to 2020 which will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Pebble Beach Road Races. We hope to see you there!

Sunday morning race for Group 1B

Group 1B Sunday afternoon race

2009 Monterey Historics - Review

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This year marked the 36th running of the Monterey Historic Auto Races, and the 3rd time that Porsche was honored as the featured marque. The ‘Monterey Historics’ www.montereyhistoric.com are a special part of many of our lives.

In our case, we just ‘stumbled upon’ them during a 1979 visit to the Monterey Peninsula – the year when Bentley was the featured marque. The image of Phil Hill kicking the tail out on his three-liter blower Bentley as he drifted that behemoth around [what is now] Turn 10 is forever imbedded in my mind. I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven, and this vintage motorsports ‘happening’ has been a focal point of the Warnes family calendar ever since.

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