SUMMER/FALL 2013

Brian K. Joscelyne

Andrea Zagato at Lime Rock

California North/South Meet

Double Issue No. 35/36

$12.50 US / $12.00 CDN

ASTON MARTIN OWNERS CLUBNorth America Quarterly Journal

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from the editor

INSIDE THIS ISSUEBack in the saddle again!

On the cover: Stirling Moss and first wife Katie Molson at the Hotel de France in 1958 with DBR1/3.

Above: Aston sublime: yacht and tender at Monaco hairpin.

T h e V A N T A G e PO I N TT h e V A N T A G e PO I N T

THE VANTAGE POINT aspires to reflect the values and

spirit of Aston Martin: Innovation, Quality, Performance.

We are committed to both inform and entertain our membership,

but moreover to provide context for connection and exploration, and fanning the flames of our

common passion.

www.amoc.org

AmoC NA east Chair & Publisher Tom Smith

editor-in-Chief Richard “Nick” Candee

managing editor—West Guy Simpson

editor—West Coast Kohei Saito

Art director / designer Bruce Crocker / Heather LaPierre

Advertising director Jim Hazen

(617) 515-3695

Copy editors John David, Robert Obie

Mark Ransome, Jane Ransome

Photographers Robert Dennis — West

CJ Gutch — East Tim Cottingham — UK

Aston Martin Owners Club North America Quarterly Journal

Summer/Fall 2013

The Vantage Point (formerly the AMOC Quarterly) is the official publication of the Aston Martin Owners Club—North America, and published by the AMOC-NA Section East. Statements appearing in The Vantage Point are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Aston Martin Owners Club or its officers. We reserve the right to edit all materials as necessary and may refuse content that is not Aston Martin Owners Club related, or otherwise not deemed relevant, at the discretion of the Editor. The Vantage Point is published quarterly for members of the Aston Martin Owners Club, a non-profit corporation.

Submissions to the editor: nickcandee@aol.com

deadlines are 30 days after the start of each calendar quarter, for the next quarter issue.

Alternate headline was “Never Say Never” but that was already SO done by Sean Connery. I served as a “bridge” editor in 1984 of this august journal, between Whit Ball, AMOC Life Member, and Gordon Clement; Gordon was editor for nigh onto a decade. Then I produced 17 editions 2006—2010 before handing off to Dr. Bob Epstein. Bob has passed the reigns back, so “Back in the Saddle Again” seems just right for our Americas magazine—that was the signature song of American cow-boy entertainer Gene Autry.

In this issue we include content from what we hoped would have been two distinct mailings, but between editorial output, art direction and production we got behind. Lucky that never happens in the classic car restoration business! NOT! But The Vantage Point is AMOC Canada and USA’s journal of record, our family yearbook, so we want to fulfill our mission to report on the cars and the characters of the Aston club. “All the news that fits, we print” is a mantra school editors can appreciate, and so too with this car club with a very sophisticated reader base.

Thanks for your reports and photos on area events, concours, tours and race meetings! This is again an internationally derived issue, as we feature the wonderful photos by Brian K. Joscelyne, from the original Braintree (UK!). Text and images reflect your kindness in sharing the Aston experience. This centennial year for the marque has a rich tapestry of events, and in North America, Monterey in August and Lime Rock over Labor Day weekend there will be spectacular marshalings of cars and characters.

Former EAST Chairman Jim Hazen continues to work on our web presence, in partner-ship with WEST Chair George Wood and team, so look for a web presence to compliment this print medium. New EAST Chair Tom Smith, the ebullient man-

about-the-planet from Nashville touring with an Aston or a SIATA, continues our culture of a bunch of delightful people on a motorized movable feast.

Let us also celebrate the quarter-cen-tury that EAST and WEST have co-produced this journal, rather than two separate newsletters, and unite six time zones, Halifax to Honolulu, Canada and USA (and if desired, other Aston aficiana-dos from Argentina north!).

So, as I am back in the saddle again as editor, let’s have a great year, get a couple of issues out, and hope to say hello and goodbye to our Aston pals around the continent! And I thank Bob Epstein, as well as Gerry Hartung, for editing from Fall 2010 until now.

“Happy trails” is a western US expres-sion of goodwill to someone who is trav-eling, and we’ll be doing a good deal of that on both sides of the Atlantic as we PARTAY! “Happy Trails” is the closing theme to the 1950s television program, The Roy Rogers Show.

(By Dale Evans Rogers)Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Happy trails to you, keep smilin’ until then. Who cares about the clouds when we’re together? Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather. Happy trails to you, ‘till we meet again.

—Nick Candee

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TablE of CoNTENTS

1 FROM THE EDITOR

Nick Candee

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BACKFIRE!

5 OUT WEST

George Wood

5 BACK EAST

Tom Smith

6 NEWS OF THE MARQUE

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RACING LINE A Happy Devotion — Tim Fox

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RACING LINE Goodwood — James L. Freeman

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RACING LINE Bahamas Speed Week — Simon Arscott

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INTERVIEW: BRIAN K. JOSCELYNE James W. Hazen

34 GIMME SHELTER Jim W. Hazen

40 A CITRUS SPRING Robert Dennis

44 MAR-A-LAGO CSS PALM BEACH Antoine Crettol

46 AMOC MIDWEST AT ROAD AMERICA Ed Manelis

52 IN MEMORIAM: JON AUERBACH Jim W. Hazen

52 IN MEMORIAM: DOROTHY “DOTTIE” HUDSON Patrick Abbott

52 IN MEMORIAM: DR. IAN CHARLES FURNESS Nick Candee

56 AMOC AWARDS LUNCH 2012 Peter Conover

58 2012 AULT PARK CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE Liz Mannebach

59 AMOC WEST HOLIDAY PARTY Judy Chappel

60 BRITISH CAR FIELD DAY Henry Matson

63 GRAND-AM AT ROAD AMERICA Henry Matson, Eddie Manelis

66 ASTON MARTIN RACING OUT WEST George Wood

68 WASHINGTON DC LOCAL TRACK DAY 2012 Callie McGee

70 BOOK REVIEWS

76 NEW MEMBERS

82 UPCOMING EVENTS

83 HOTWIRE!

83 CLASSIFIEDS

84 CLUB DIRECTORY

Right: Lime Rock “Sunday in the Park”

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To the Editor:

So I dug in to the Skyfall DB5 issue of Octane immediately, of course. As the story unfolded, so did the realization: “Hey, that’s my car!”

Let me explain.Although an American, I used to live in the UK and sometimes

keep a car there for use during my regular visits. When the opportu-nity to buy a nice driver DB5 came along, I took it. I have to admit that one element which made me plunge at that particular time was its chassis number: 2007/R. As it happens, this is the only DB5 with “007” on its frame.

Fast forward to October, 2010. While acting as the RM Auctions car specialist responsible for the care and feeding of the Goldfinger DB5 (FMP 7B), I decided it was an extravagance to keep a car abroad and opted to offer 2007/R at the same sale as the Bond car. So imag-ine my delight when I learned that my driver had become the Skyfall hero car.

So I have totally inadvertently joined the ranks of “former Bond DB5 movie cars!” To me, a weird but fitting epilogue…

—don rose

baCKfIRE!

Please direct all correspondence for publication to the Editor: vantagepointamoc@gmail.com

Photo: My DB5 ‘2007’ with FMP 7B at the Stoke Park Club, June 2010. (I had the keys

to both!).

Ex-Rose COJ483C green DB5/2007/R was recoloured to Silver Birch for its Skyfall star turn.

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AmoC-NA/WeSt

oUT WESTThe centenary continues to roll along out West. We just held our annual North/South meet, with Visalia as the site and the South as hosts for this year’s event. Our thanks to all of the hard work by the Ransomes, Fromms, and Moores, who organized the wonderful event and made sure that all of the members had a grand time.

More events are quickly approaching, with Aston Martin as a featured marque at the Hillsborough Concours in July and at Pebble Beach in August, where a number of our UK members are planning to join us, and we look forward to their company and extending some Section West hospitality. The club dinner that weekend will be held at the world famous Monterey Bay

Aquarium where annual Board election results will be announced. I encourage those of you, who have the time, to be active in

the running of the club. I can definitely say as Board Chairman and as a former Area Rep that being more involved is a reward-ing experience.

One of our local dealers will be hosting a 100th anniversary event that will include test drives of the new Vanquish. I can think of no better wasy to celebrate the centenary, and look for-ward to seeing everyone there.

Happy Motoring!—George Wood, Chairman – Section West

AmoC-NA/eASt

baCK EaSTHello and spring greetings from AMOC NA East! This is my first message to you as Chairman and I’d like to thank you for the confidence you’ve shown in making me your new chair. I have big shoes to fill following in the footsteps of our outgoing chair, Jim Hazen, who has wonderfully led this Club the past six years. We all owe Jim a great big “thank

you” for his hard work and leadership! Fortunately Jim is staying on assisting with the development of our new North American website and The Vantage Point. Thank you, Jim!

2013 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of Aston Martin Lagonda and already this year we’ve seen tremendous activities surrounding this and all aspects of our Club. Our event in January in Palm Beach was a tremendous success and the Club was very well represented at the Amelia Island Concours in March. Be sure to look at the Events Listings as we’ve got a lot more great activi-ties for you to participate in, from driving events to Concours to other social gatherings, 2013 is going to be a banner year for Aston Martin and our Club!

I am also pleased to welcome back Tom Gibb and Brewster Miner as Secretary, and Treasurer, respectively, of the Club. Their hard work and dedication makes my job much easier! Nick Candee, Club Historian continues his active role with The

Vantage Point magazine and for that we are grateful. I am pleased to welcome Charlie Rose as our new Membership & Events Director. Charlie’s enthusiasm for the Club is infectious and he’s already done a great job in coordinating various events and work-ing to ensure your membership experience is all you expect. And of course I am pleased that Don Rose continues as Vice-Chair, his experience and help also makes our Club better!

As always I welcome your input to how we can make AMOC better. Feel free to reach out to me at any time. I plan on attend-ing as many events as I can, from the upcoming Cincinnati Concours in June to Lime Rock later in June and of course Pebble Beach/Monterey in August. I will also be joining a large contingent of our members in July traveling to the UK for the Centenary Celebration in London.

Thank you all for your support of me and of the Aston Martin Owners Club…it’s going to be a great year and I look forward to meeting and seeing many of you “on the road”!

—Tom Smith, Chairman – Section East

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NEWS OF THE MARQUE

aSToN MaRTIN CElEbRaTES ITS fIRST 100 YEaRS17 December 2012, Gaydon: 2013 sees Aston Martin celebrate its centenary with a year-long calendar of exceptional events.

The globally-renowned British luxury sports car maker will mark its first 100 years with a series of UK and international celebrations highlighting the unique suc-cess of the brand worldwide.

Boasting the strongest product line-up in its 99 years to date, Aston Martin has recently introduced its new ultimate GT—the exceptional Vanquish—and timeless new DB9. The new cars have been unveiled to global media acclaim and, in the case of the Vanquish, numerous prestigious awards.

Aston Martin has also played a key role in one of the year’s most hotly-anticipated films, with the iconic DB5 stealing the automotive limelight in the latest James Bond blockbuster, Skyfall.

Centenary launch

15 January 2013 marks the official incor-poration of the company 100 years ago and to commemorate the historic occasion the oldest surviving Aston Martin—A3—and a stunning new Vanquish, the brand’s ulti-mate GT, will take their places at a photo call at Henniker Mews in Chelsea—the original home of Aston Martin—where a commemorative plaque will be unveiled.

In the evening of 15 January the Aston Martin Heritage Trust Walter Hayes Memorial Lecture will take place in central London with A3 and Vanquish again guest starring alongside actor Sir John Standing as Lionel Martin, telling the story of his early days and his experience of making the first Aston Martin in Lionel Martin’s own words.

Centenary week

The centrepiece of the celebrations will be a week-long festival of all things Aston

Martin which is set to take place from 15 July to 21 July next year. Designed to appeal to owners and enthusiasts of the brand, the Centenary Week will include open house activities at Aston Martin’s exclusive Gaydon headquarters, including factory-based events and driving tours.

The week will culminate in a 1,000-guest ‘birthday party’ on Saturday 20 July and a spectacular Centenary Concours event in central London on Sunday 21 July.

This highlight of the centenary cel-ebrations will be held in central London in partnership with the Aston Martin Heritage Trust and the Aston Martin Owners Club. It will feature the 100 most iconic cars in a concours display and up to

1,000 Aston Martins forming the largest gathering in the 100-year history of the great British marque.

Centenary drives

A number of centenary drives will also be held to coincide with the birthday party and the concours event. These will include a James Bond-themed route around England and Wales taking in a number of the iconic Bond film loca-tions, a drive through the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and a rally through six European countries in six days. In America, the Pebble Beach centenary drive programme offers an opportunity to visit some of California’s most scenic

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NEWS OF THE MARQUE

regions before spending the weekend at the legendary Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Centenary logo

To mark its first century in business, Aston Martin has created a special centenary logo: a dynamic spiralling design derived from the nautilus shell, one of the most perfectly pro-portioned and mathematically precise objects found in nature. Ninety nine points arranged in an elegant helix spiral out from the Aston Martin logo and culminate in a red ‘100’ to mark the celebration year. The logo has been designed to express forward motion while also acknowledging the importance of the past.

1913 to 2013

On 15 January 1913, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded a new automo-tive venture.

They called their company Bamford & Martin which later became Aston Martin, acknowledging Robert Bamford’s suc-cess at the Aston Clinton Hillclimb in Buckinghamshire, where he had success-fully raced their very first cars.

Bamford and Martin began their business in Chelsea’s Henniker Mews in London, becoming well known as providers of sporting machines to enthusiastic racers and discerning enthusiasts.

In the century that followed Aston Martin has come to represent many things, from sporting prowess through to tech-nical innovation, beautiful design, fine craftsmanship and superior performance.

In Aston Martin’s first 90 years the company built fewer than 15,000 cars. The open bodied two-seater sports specials of the pre-war years gave way to the David Brown era of the 1950s and beyond which saw the introduction of the legendary DB2/4, DB4, DB5, DB6 and DBS, before the V8 Vantage and Virage led Aston Martin to the DB7, original Vanquish and on into the modern era.

A second celebration sees Aston Martin mark its first decade at Gaydon, in Warwickshire, moving in to its purpose-built premises on 3 January 2003. Since that date Aston Martin, overseen by CEO Dr Ulrich Bez, has produced 45,000 cars to huge critical and commercial acclaim.

The original DB9 and Vantage were joined by the Rapide, DBS, Virage and now the timeless new DB9 and ultimate GT, the Vanquish—Aston Martin’s latest flagship sports car.

Aston Martin is, too, no longer focused on the domestic market but an international player, exporting 75% of its annual production around the world to 146 dealerships in 41 countries.

For further updates view the centenary web page and sign up to receive the news-letter www.astonmartin.com/100.

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I thought I would start with a little history as to how I got myself into this mess.

I have been deeply involved and committed to the Aston Martin brand since my early childhood, probably before I even knew it. I grew up the son of a panel beater in the once recog-nized stainless steel city of Sheffield, England. My father, the late Richard Fox, was a rare craftsman devoted to the restoration of pre-war Astons (Walter Fox and Partners on Suffolk Road in Sheffield, possibly one of our UK readers may have known him). I have pictures of myself as a child with a wire brush in my hand scrubbing down many a chassis. I believe there are laws that exist about that kind of labor today. My father’s business developed and allowed us the luxury to live in the Emirates, Dubai and Qatar, Doha, and finally come to rest in the USA, which is now home to my family. Unfortunately, both my parents passed away when I was 19, but I pulled myself together and took the high road. Many years of school, college, university, family and my professional career filled the following decades. Joyous and generally unevent-ful compared to the drama of the earlier years.

In 2005 the bug resurfaced and I was fortunate enough to buy my first Aston. A 2005 Vanquish S. Black on black, she’s beauti-ful, I cherish it and still own today (It banged out a 0:59 at Lime Rock and then went on to blow its motor, but that’s another story another day). Vanna Vanquish the kids call her. In 2006 I joined the AMOC. Where my beautiful wife and I were welcomed with open arms. Jim Hazen, Chris Greendale and Brewster Miner (and wives) just to name a few. Now lets talk about Greendale. I have him to thank for getting me in this mess, he’s the one to blame! You see he took me under his wing and started showing me how to drive.

rACiNG LiNe

a HappY DEvoTIoNBy Tim Fox

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From the moment I saw that infamous “grin” on his face, I knew it was all over.

A few years passed attending the fan-tastic annual club events (Lime Rock and one particular memorable Christmas in NYC). I continued to really stretch the legs of the old Vanquish, now on her second motor, second set of calipers and rotors. I knew that I could not continue to do that to the old girl nor would she tolerate it for much longer before she sim-ply refused. I began to do some research. I wanted to continue to track an Aston, but what? Then I saw an article on Kermit. What was that an N24? I was sold. In 2008 I contacted AMR/Prodrive and had a powder blue N24 sent over and covered it in the livery similar to Gulf (see previous page for photo of loading N24 038 into nose of 747). The first N24 in the USA!

My amateur racing career had officially begun in an Aston! Unfortunately, at that time the N24 was difficult to classify within SCCA and NASA regulations. It was viewed by tech and officials with a bewildered gaze, as if they had just witnessed a UFO landing. Drills and their bits came out to check the cage in attempts to squelch the confusion of an official FIA cage certifi-cate. There was no direct class or competition. In my continuing quest to satisfy this urge to compete in like traffic, I transitioned into a Porsche Cayman racing series (trophycupracing.com) where I did very well and won the championship. Like most rac-ers, I wanted more.

Towards the end of the Trophy Cup season, I was sat at the end of Turn 1 of Sebring watching the remains of a six hour endurance race (which I had begun but did not finish due to a flywheel sensor issue) when I was moved by this deep growling rumble. It couldn’t be, I know that sound like I know my chil-dren’s voices, it was, it was, it was another N24 driven by Rob Nimkoff. Well that was that, decision made, I’m back in.

Following my passion for Astons and after weeks of due diligence (considering other brands) I decided to purchase my third Aston, a GT4 from Multimatic, (now the official North American AMR

vendor) and enter it into Grand Am. This way I could run the GT4 this year and all being well, convert the N24 to Grand Am specification in 2013 if needed. As it stands today, I am, again, the first official US “customer” to Aston Martin Multimatic in Grand Am. Is that worth a nickel?

Hopes and plans were to take early delivery of the Vanatge GT4 004 and have it set up and tested for the race at Barber. In anticipation, we dusted off the N24038 and took it to a Barber test day to primarily learn the track and “bring back that Vantage feeling”. I learned the track and the team learned general prep and set up of an AM. A good test for all, but as expected the power of the poor little 4.3 did not make the grade.

We took delivery of the GT4 just after Barber test at NJMP and tested and tuned it

during following days. We learned that to be competitive, we defi-nitely had some work to do. We were lucky because we were also gaining valuable intelligence from the kind folks at Multimatic who were concurrently running two GT4s in Grand Am. To this day, we still collaborate and share data.

I write this article on a plane traveling to Laguna Seca to meet my now 2nd season pro coach Kris Wilson. (Sorry Chris G., but I must admit, you did one h_ _ of a job with me. Red Mist huh? For the record, Red Mist is what those old AMOC vets called me when I first showed up at Lime Rock Park in 2006 with Vanna Vanquish. You should have seen their faces. Freeman too! All very highly concerned, rightly so. Love you guys!) I am racing in a Skip Barber Mazda Challenge Race Weekend with goals of learning Laguna before we next show up in the Aston with Grand Am.

We chose not to compete in the past two Grand Am races at The Glenn and The Brickyard for strategic purposes. We made a decision to divert the funds into some more development, tuning and testing. That’s all I will say about that.

I hope you enjoyed this little story of one man’s very brief rac-ing career and his matriculation through the ranks with his AMs. History has to begin at some point. I’ll keep you posted.

“I have been deeply involved and committed to the Aston Martin brand since my early childhood,

probably before I even knew it.”

Top left: Tim with his Aston in the Invisible Glass livery at Daytona International Speedway.

Every year, when I talk to my wife, Laura, about my racing schedule, she interrupts early on and asks “Why don’t we go to Goodwood? That’s fun!” The Goodwood Revival is undoubtedly the greatest vintage race show on earth and it is up there with the Monaco Grand Prix as the best overall.

Goodwood is scripted like a block-buster movie. The setting is meticulously placed in 1940 English country society. The 150,000 live gate dresses up in period clothes and participates in the show. The cast includes past and present world class drivers, but the real stars, the cars, are a fantasy beyond imagination.

The only problem with the event is getting my car over to England, insured, prepped and race supported. It is neither an inexpensive nor tactically easy feat. The event pretty much has the car float-ing around for 3-4 months. On the other hand, I am fortunate because the premier race of the weekend is the RAC Tourist Trophy for coupes from 1960-1965.

In 1960 and 1961, 17TVX participated in the original RAC Tourist Trophy with Innes Ireland taking 3rd and 5th places overall. At the Goodwood Revival of 2012, we were fortunate to have Chris Woodgate support the car. He and his team are simply the best. Aside from my car, 17TVX, Chris had five (5) Astons in the RAC TT including Simon Draper’s DP214, a DB4GT Zagato and three very fast DB4GTs. 17TVX, normally competi-tive, was not up to the competition, but did move up in the field by surviving with no mistakes and with the help of my co-driver, Derek Daly. I had not been on the Goodwood track in 10 years and it showed.

Enough about racing—let’s get on with the show. Goodwood stopped being a professional racing venue in 1966, so dur-ing the Revival, only cars from 1966 and earlier are allowed inside the gates. Male entrants wear tweeds. Most of the ladies wear 1930s/1940s outfits. Many wear hats or boas and even coif their hair in period

style. My wife, Laura, wore her mother’s casual tweed riding jacket, britches and riding boots.

The huge grounds were filled with exhibits, stores and buildings all done as though one had walked through a time machine including the contents—so all looked and smelled like the period from the 1930s-1950s. The merchandise in the stores was period, the stockings even had seams and there was a grocery store filled with old time products and a confectionary.

Meanwhile, in spite of the crowds, the roads are filled with jeeps carrying military officers and jeeps pulling cannons. But the ultimate gas is the sky. During every break in racing come the vintage aircraft—Spitfires, Messerschmidtts, Hurricanes and Lancaster bombers. It’s quite a sight.

The first time I went to the Revival, I was watching the cricket match on Thursday afternoon. The match is between Lord March’s invited drivers (plus a few ringers) against the best of the competitor car field. And this isn’t just any crick-et pitch, but THE pitch where cricket was first played in 16th century Tudor England. All of a sudden, while I was sip-ping my tea and munching on a biscuit, a Spitfire dove down to about 100 feet above the field with a Messerschmitt in hot pursuit. At the end of the field there

is a tall stand of trees. To avoid hitting the trees the planes rotate 90 degrees so their wings were perpendicular to the ground. Aside from having the **** scared out of me, I was blown away by the skill, daring or stupidity of the pilots. The air acrobatic show goes on all weekend and, as you can imagine, the crowds love it.

There are the teas, the cocktail parties, the schmoozing and best of all, the vin-tage paddock with absurdly rare, valuable and beautiful cars. But, the coup de grace is Lord March’s Ball. It is held in a gigan-tic aircraft hangar left from WWII when Goodwood was the site where Lancaster Bombers picked up the Spitfires to pro-tect them during bombing runs over the Continent.

This year, the ball had Doctor Zhivago as the theme and the hangar was dressed like a movie set. Many of the regulars wore costumes reminiscent of the movie; we arrived in regular formalwear not hav-ing the daring or the space to pack that much clothing. Laura wore a Dior gown from the early 50s that was made for her mother. I came as the usual penguin. As you entered the hangar it was snowing lightly. We walked down a path to a mag-nificently lit fountain shimmering in the otherwise black surroundings. I quickly remembered that Charles (Lord March) had apprenticed to Stanley Kubrick and kept the drama, romance and vivid ambi-ance of a movie set.

The hangar was transformed into an early 20th Century ballroom, glowing with hundreds of chandeliers. The enter-tainment began when dinner was served. A ballet company performed to themes by Tchaikovsky while we dined on caviar and champagne. Can it get better than that?

Well, that was what I thought until a stunning fireworks display—inside the hangar—took my breath away and made us look for the EXIT signs. As long as Lord March is in charge, there will be nothing short of spectacular at the Goodwood Revival.

rACiNG LiNe

GooDWooD: THE GREaTEST SHoW oN WHEElSBy James L. Freeman

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Current photos by Tom Gibb

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SUN, SAND, SEA AND SUCCESS IN AN ASTON AT BAHAMAS SPEED WEEK REVIVAL

SUN, SAND, SEA AND SUCCESS IN AN ASTON AT BAHAMAS SPEED WEEK REVIVAL

rACiNG LiNe

By Simon Arscott

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Who would turn down the opportunity to take a trip to the Bahamas from a cold and wintery New York December and to take your racecar with you? I found out Bahamas Speed Week Revival offers you just that opportunity!

I first became excited about the revival in early July 2011 but my initial enthusiasm was quelled when I realized that there was a limit to entries and an entry date that I was just about to miss!! Forever the optimist I filled in the entry form and mailed it expecting the worst so you can imagine my excitement when a few weeks later a letter of acceptance landed on the doormat. My thinking now is: how can you not have an Aston Martin DB5 in the Bahamas, the island so frequented by 007 himself!

Bahamas Speed Week originated in the 1950s, held on The Oakes course where the professional racing drivers of the era raced by day and partied by night. Drivers included Sir Stirling Moss (Speed Week Revival’s patron), the late Phil Hill, the late John Fitch and the late Carroll Shelby and many more besides. Not only were the legends of that era lured to this amazing island but they also brought with them some of the greatest racing cars of the generation.

My planning started immediately: the car would need to be in West Palm Beach to join the ‘Mail Boat’ for its overnight sailing to Nassau on the 25th November. The first challenge came when it dawned on me that I would need to take the car ‘overseas’ and as it didn’t have an official US title document there could be a problem. I quickly realized that a simple car passport, known as a carnet, would be the easiest way for me to take the trip to the Bahamas and be able to bring the car straight back into the coun-try. I also decided to transport the car to West Palm Beach myself so it could ship in its trailer, complete with spares and tools—it is a long way to go and have a breakdown!

My wife Deborah and I set off early the day after Thanksgiving for the 21-hour drive to the port. We made good time on Friday and after being on the road for 14 hours pulled in for a deserved rest! A short 6-hour drive the next morning, and we arrived at the docks; a very efficient Speed Week official, Carol was there to check the car and trailer in for the short journey across to Nassau! We wished our precious cargo “Bon Voyage” and headed to Fort Lauderdale and the 45-minute flight to Nassau.

After a good night’s rest on the island, from my hotel balcony I was pleased to see the Mail Boat sail into harbor. At least the car had made it one way! After an hour clearing customs, the trailer was towed to the paddock and the car unloaded, all in one piece. There was an impressive lineup of cars shipped from the UK, ready for action: a 1959 Cooper Monaco, Stirling Moss’s 1956 Osca 372DS, a 1957 Ferrari 500TRC and an original 1952 C-type which stood out immediately for me. Sir Stirling had actually raced this particular car at Silverstone in the 1950s although, one day, chatting in the paddock, he did point out to me that he’d rolled it!!!

Registration took place and we were issued official Bahamian registration plates, which made each of the cars ‘street’ legal. My DB5 was issued with the number 008, 007 was given to a certain Mr and Mrs Bond.

After installing the new registration plates on the car and checking oil and water, I was in need of a drink and a good dose of afternoon sunshine to shake off the last effects of fatigue from the long drive from the North East.

Tuesday morning was an early start; we had been invited by the local Government to take a short plane hop across to a nearby

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island, Abacos, in search of the elusive parrot and famous blue sinkholes. We were treated to a fantastic day on the island, before returning to Nassau for the entrants briefing in the evening.

Wednesday was the official opening of Speed Week Revival. The event was attended by both the island’s Prime Minister and Governor General, culminating in a march by the Bahamas military band. We were treated to a fine local lunch followed by traditional Junkanoo music. The evening event was a reception at the Governor’s mansion, a beautiful house set in its own grounds in the centre of Nassau. The house was the home of the Duke of Windsor during the Second World War, and upon seeing it for the first time he was reputed to have said “It will have to do!” During the day we had been asked to bring the DB5 along for the evening for display at the front of the house, ably assisted by the Jaguar C-type, an Austin Healey and a Bocar. Undoubtedly the best part of this journey was being escorted by four police outrid-ers, disobeying all traffic regulations and not having to stop for anything! One-way street, no problem; red lights, no problem.

Thursday promised to be a great day, it was billed as the 007 tour culminating with the concours d’elegance at Lyford Cay. The day started with a high-speed drive across the island to Lyford Cay escorted by the above mentioned police outriders. Our run started well until, as we took a roundabout at high speed, the cockpit filled with smoke and the engine started to cut out! We rapidly pulled off the main strip, my wife immedi-ately jumping from the car, still in motion, shouting fire! A police outrider pulled in to see what had happened and said he would stay to make sure we were ok and if needed call the Speed Week recovery truck!! After a look under the dash and a few wire pulls and pushes the car restarted. We told the police rider that we were ready to go at which point he explained that he would get me back to position 8 in the convoy as quickly as pos-sible, but I must stay close to him! What pro-ceeded can only be described as a high-speed chase. With sirens blaring we carved through the traffic, at times struggling to keep up with the very happy officer being chased by an Aston Martin. Where else can you ever get to try and keep up with a police motorcycle, it was just the best. We caught up with the high-speed convoy and carried on to the beautiful Lyford Cay, which coincidently happens to be the home of Sir Sean Connery.

Whilst the judging was being carried out for the concours event, my wife noticed there was a scrum of press photographers taking pictures of the DB5!!! Surely it hadn’t won, no definitely not. The attraction was James Bond himself! Sir Sean had come over to look at the fabulous cars on show and it so happens that he decided to have his picture taken with the Aston Martin DB5. It was worth the entry fee alone to have our picture taken with the legendary 007 and the only DB5 on the island. The best part was when he was asked to have his picture taken with other cars, he replied “I preferred the Aston!” The concours d’elegance was won by the very dapper Englishman, Jonathan Turner and his 1952 Jaguar C-type. Fighting off stiff competition from car number 9 the most amazing and last unrestored Ferrari 375 mm of Andreas Mohringers from Austria.

Friday was another high-speed road trip across the island under police escort to the wonderful Albany estate for R&R in the sun, followed by the Bay Street car show in the evening. I am glad my running repairs held up and there were no incidents for my wife to get over excited about!

Saturday was the Fort Charlotte hill climb! The day started with a drivers meeting and it was noticeable that the atmosphere in the paddock had become a little more serious; it was time to perform. After 3 practice runs up the short but challenging track, it was showtime! The Aston was in the 1954-65 class, which included the Ferrari 500 TRC, a Devin SS and 1959 Bocar, all lightweight high horsepower racecars. I started with a 44 second run, the Ferrari 500TRC at 42 sec and the Devin SS at 44 sec. The second run resulted in a 43 second run with the Ferrari at 49 seconds and the Devin SS at 47 seconds. Things were looking up. Unfortunately in the final run I made a mistake and decided brakes were better than the wall of the fort, which has been there for a long time! The best finish of the day went

to Andrew Cannestra in his “Back to the Future” Delorean who came though the line backwards after a last corner spin!

The day finished with the wonderful Pictet Speed Week Gala dinner, an evening of great food, wine and socializing with driv-ers and enthusiasts from all corners of the world! Oh and dancing for some.

Sunday morning started slowly. Unfortunately a lorry had hit the spectator bridge on the track during the night and repairs were needed! After the drivers brief-ing and a short delay for repairs, practice for the main sprint races commenced. The road course was well laid out and again challenging with several corners close to the beach pro-viding a decent enough dusting of sand right in the braking zone!

Due to the delayed start the sprint was reduced to one run consisting of a warm up lap then a timed flying lap. No pressure to get it right first time! The course was well

suited to the DB5 with some long straights to really get going. All the cars had their runs, with only a few off road moments.

Hopeful but not confident we arrived at the prize giving, held in the Speed Week hospitality tent, Sir Stirling Moss presenting the trophies. The atmosphere in the tent was one of anticipation amongst the drivers as they shared stories of the day over a few hard earned beers, as the results hadn’t been announced and would only be revealed as the prizes were given. On hearing the result that I had won I was shocked that I had beaten some impressive racecars and to be presented with the trophy by Sir Stirling Moss was an amazing honor. Needless to say the champagne flowed and a fantastic evening ensued.

Sadly the end of the evening meant that Bahamas Speed Week was over. The organizers had done a superb job, the island had been an amazing backdrop and our fellow competitors had been fantastic. We had made many new friends and had a wonderful time and can’t wait to see them all again in December 2013!! Most of the friends we made are returning so if you fancy some fun rac-ing in the sun, get your entry in early!!

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HILL CLIMB RESULTS

1st PlaceFerrari 500 TRC D. Cottingham 42 seconds

2nd PlaceDevin SSR. Gammons 44 seconds

3rd PlaceAston Martin DB5 S.Arscott44 seconds

ARAWAK CAY SPRINT RESULTS 1954-1965 racecars

1st PlaceAston Martin DB5 S.Arscott 1:35.25

2nd Place Devin SS R.Gammon 1:36.66

3rd PlaceFerrari 500 TRC

D. Cottingham 1:39.81

Aston Martin DBR1s are prepared for racing amongst the roses in the side court of the Hotel de France.

Brian Joscelyne began an annual pilgrimage to Le Sarthe for the 24 hours of LeMans as a young man in 1957. He was fresh out of military service, had been to University and was enthralled with motor sports and with Aston Martin. He went with his family and he took his cameras. They stayed at the same hotel as the Aston Martin Racing Team and had close access to the then new DBR1, the drivers and the mechanics.

Brian took pictures, as did many other spectators at the event. Brian’s archives however are a wonderful collection of shots, skillfully composed, that depicts a simpler time. They are captured in color, and black & white, and they depict the Aston Martin Racing Team at their high point in the late 1950s when Astons were preparing for and competing in the pre-emi-nent sports car racing event in the world.

Brian was very nice to allow us to run his images in The Vantage Point. I asked him to talk about the years of 1957 to 1959 and the unique photos that he took.

Interview for THE VANTAGE POINT By James W. Hazen

b R I a N K . J o S C E l Y N E ON THE ASTON MARTIN SCENE SINCE 1957!

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Aston Martin DBR1/2 in the side court at the Hotel de France in 1958. The car was driven by Tony Brooks and Maurice Trintignant.

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TVP – I want to begin by complimenting you on your wonderful shots. The colors are so rich. They’ve held up nicely through the years. BKJ – I shot with Kodachrome and the color is very rich and has amazingly not faded despite being over 50 years old.

TVP – Could you begin by talking about how the photos came about?BKJ – I had been at University and then two years in the Army in National Service. In June 1957 I was released or “escaped” as I liked to say and went over to France with my parents and my brother. We had accommodations at the Hotel de France where the Aston Martin Team was based. There were the mechanics, John Wyer and the drivers. The cars were worked on in the little side yard, which is still the same today. We were able to watch what was going on and I was able to take photographs. Luckily the color held up well. The DBR1 had only just been introduced. It ran in 1956, the year before, experimentally as a prototype. By 1957 there were three DBR1 cars and there were of course great hopes for them.

TVP – Please comment on the photo from above of the team vehicles in the pit area at the track, of the DBR1s and support vehicles including two Lagonda Shooting Brakes with wood side panels. BKJ – Yes, that was 1957. There were two Lagonda Shooting Brakes that went over as part of the team from Feltham to LeMans. The pits were sand covered, not really what you want for precision engineered racing cars.That year there were two DBR1s and a DBR2, which had the new Tadek Marek 3.7 litre engine that was designed for the new DB4 that was launched in 1958. There is also a DB3S in that picture. That was a spare car, but it did not participate in the race. In 1957 there was no restriction on engine size. The 3 litre requirement came in from 1958 onwards.

TVP – Looking at the pictures I was struck by how casual it was and how close you were able to get to the cars. I chuckled at the shot of driver Noel Cunningham-Reid standing in his dressing gown at the rear of the DBR1/2!BKJ – Yes, it looks as if he just got out of bed and the mechanics are hard at work even before he has breakfast. That was how it was. Because we were staying at the Hotel we were able to have close access, without getting in the way of course. There were gates at the front of the yard to keep the schoolboys out, but I was lucky; as resident there I was able to take more or less what I wanted to shoot.

TVP – The seemingly relaxed images in the photos sort of belie the serious business of racing. Was it relaxed away from the track and deadly serious when they were there? BKJ – To an extent yes, but if anything went wrong there was a panic. An engine or gearbox may have had to be changed. The mechanics came into their own and got the job done for the start. Anything could go wrong at any time, depending on preparation, which John Wyer was very keen on. It is a very tough race.

TVP – Yes, your pictures from the later years where you see the drivers soaked in sweat and the mechanics look tired and covered with oil is a testament to that. In one shot of the scrutineering, the DBR1 is on wooden boards. Was it on a scale?BKJ – That was at the Parc de Jacques d’Albon that is in the center of the village. Every car was checked very thoroughly and the public would gather to watch the process. They had to remove fuel from the fuel tank, but the car was weighed with oil and water, no driver. They were all put onto this weighbridge.

Top photo: Aston Martin race cars and support vehicles in LeMans pit in 1957. Support cars include a pair of Lagonda

Shooting Brakes seen upper left. Middle photo: Team driver Noel Cunningham-Reid, in his dressing gown, watches the

work of his mechanics on the DBR1/2 in the Hotel de France side court in 1957. Brian Joscelyne’s father is standing to the

left observing. Bottom Photo: DBR1/2 is weighed during scrutineering in 1957.

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Carroll Shelby climbs aboard DBR1/2 during a pit stop for refueling and oil at the LeMans 24 hour in 1959.

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Aston Martin Racing drivers clowning for the press. Plow driver Stirling Moss is pulled by plow horses Jack Brabham,

Caroll Shelby, Roy Salvadori, with a push from Lewis Stuart-Evans and shade provided by Maurice Trintignant.

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Top photo: Aston Martin Pits from across the track in 1957. DBR2/1 is in for a pit stop. Bottom photo: Aston Martin

DBR1 cockpit with metal frame or hood sticks that are stored under the instrument panel. In some years the regulations

required open racers to have a top and to carry equipment to erect the folding hood.

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TVP – How intense was the scrutineering process? Were the French officials real sticklers? BKJ – They were very thorough and had the power to reject a car for even the slightest deviation of the regulations. If something was not right it had to be put right before they let it in the race. There were a number of stations to go through—ground clearance or making sure the exhaust did not throw up a lot of sand when it was at full chat! Then of course there was windscreen height, luggage capacity for luggage. In one shot from 1959 you can see that Graham Whitehead’s DBR1 is carrying hood sticks for a hood (canvas top) for the car! I never saw it with the hood up, but if it was presented with a hood, then hood sticks had to be carried during the race.

TVP – Fascinating! Was that part of the regulations for that year?BKJ – Yes, I assume that it was.

TVP – I’d like to talk about Stirling Moss. You have a picture of Stirling with his DBR1 in the courtyard of the hotel. Sitting on the front wing was his first wife, or first wife to be, a Canadian whose name was Katie Molson. BKJ – One other point I wanted to make was that we as a family had no special access to the pits. We watched the race from the public enclosures. My father used his 16mm film camera with Kodachrome film and I shot Kodachrome slides. We placed ourselves right across from the Aston pits and that is where we had to do our photography. In 1958 we were back again, the family with rooms at Hotel de France la Chartre. I was able to get some more pictures of the cars being worked on by the mechanics. In 1958 they had a very strong team. The numbers for the cars were 2, 3 and 4. Moss was in number 2.

TVP – Correct.BKJ – Do you have the picture of the drivers?

TVP – Yes that is very amusing, what is the story behind that one? BKJ – Well you know the Press wanted pictures of the drivers before the race. They would come down to see Aston Martin at La Chartre, which was about a 40 minute drive from the track. It was all a bit of fun. They were asked to pose in that picture. You have Brabham, Shelby, Salvadori, Moss, Trintignant and Lewis-Evans. They had fun.1958 was very disappointing. The cars failed and no one got to the end. It was all rather disastrous. But when they got back to La Chartre they apparently had a most terrific party! Even John Wyer let his hair down.

TVP – In 1959 it looks like all of the shots were taken from above the Aston Martin pits?BKJ – Yes, in 1959 all of the shots from above are all mine. I actually never got down on the track. When you see the other angles they are professional pictures. Would you like to know how I came to be there?

TVP – Absolutely! Was it different than the two previous years? BKJ – In 1959 I was not staying at the very nice Hotel in La Chartre, I was sharing, with a friend, an ex-US Army WW2 tent in the paddock! The reason; I was with a very small private team English team competing at LeMans with a three cylinder, two-stroke 750cc Saab Saloon.

TVP – Oh my! I know exactly what that car was. Over here it was sold as the Saab 96!BKJ – It would go no more than 100 miles per hour. The owner was Sid Howell who imported the very first Saab into the UK. He decided that he would enter it in LeMans and to all our amazement it was accepted.

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Spectators line up to watch a dusty DBR1/3 at LeMans in 1959

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Stirling Moss is out first ahead of the Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type of Innes Ireland and Masten Gregory.

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Top: DBR1/1 is driven in front of the Hotel de France by an Aston Martin Racing mechanic in 1958. Bottom: DBR1/3

and second DBR1 parked next to a racing fuel tanker at Lemans in 1959.

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Top: DBR1/2 and DBR1/1 on display in front of the Hotel de France in 1957. Bottom: DBR1 line up in the pits at

LeMans in 1957.

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Sid chose as his co-driver a very good friend of mine from Watford, called Roy North. Roy had a garage in Watford where I lived at the time and I got to know him pretty well. My goodness, they asked me to be Team Manager! Which was a complete joke because I had no idea what to do. We were all complete novices. We painted the thing green and got through scrutineering. We went to do practice and it wasn’t long before the engine failed! The center piston burned out. So we phoned England and rushed another piston over. Roy North, with the help of a factory mechanic from Saab, who also had a similar car entered in the race, managed to replace the piston and rebuild the engine so we could enter the race. Off we went at the start at the back of the field. Everyone else was going by at what seemed to be about twice the speed. After about three hours the piston failed again and we were out. That meant that I could spend the next 20 hours above the Aston Martin pits! I got my pictures! And they are all from above the pits. I had a Team Manager pit lane pass. Now we were completely at the other end of the pits from Aston Martin, but I was able to walk down and find a place in this little hospitality area above the first floor. I was there all night and I witnessed the dramatic scenes at half distance at 4AM when Aston Martin Number 5 started going slowly and then even more slowly. Roy Salvadori came in complaining of a severe vibration. They couldn’t find it so they sent him on because they had another five laps to do before they could refuel and change drivers.By that time the Ferrari had taken the lead. When Roy came in they found that the tread of the left rear tire had completely disintegrated. It was a long stop and by the time the car rejoined the race the Ferrari was three laps in front. The Ferrari was fractionally quicker but it was prone to problems. Two of the other Ferraris had already retired with overheat-ing and blown gaskets. The same thing happened to the lead car about midday on Sunday. It came into the pits and was badly overheating. They sent it out again and it did another five slow laps and came in again. John Wyer sent someone down to have a look and when he returned Wyer looked at him and asked, “Nothing trivial I hope?”

Above photo: Aston Martin pit wall in 1959. David Brown (in the dark shirt) looks to the right while John Weyer, Reg

Parnell and Bryan Clayton are behind DB talking. Opposite, top photo: Roy Salvadori takes the wheel of DBR1/2

in 1959 as Reg Parnell shouts instructions to him. Middle photo: Carroll Shelby is congratulated on his drive by Reg

Parnell, Eric Hind and Jimmy Potton in 1959. Bottom photo: Victory at last! David Brown and his drivers ride in and on

DBR1/2, the winner at the 1959 LeMans 24 hours.

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Aston Martin DBR1s are staged on the grid as the French Police assemble to clear the track before the start of the 1959 24

hours of LeMans.

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Paul Frere exits DBR1/4 while Maurice Trintingnant waits on the pit wall. To his left are Eric Hind (Chief Mechanic)

and Stirling Moss.

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Members of the Aston Martin team enjoy some relaxed moments in a local watering hole and are filmed by the press.

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The Ferraris were out and Astons were first and second. They were a huge distance in front of the next car (well over 100 miles ahead) so John Wyer and Reg Parnell slowed them down. They won, finished first and second.I had a few frames left in my camera and I was able to record the celebrations and the final pit stops. It was a great moment, a great victory that David Brown had been trying for 11 years to achieve and he finally did it. He got aboard after Shelby took the flag. He brought the car into stop in front of the pit. A huge crowd immediately surrounded the car as you can see in one of the pictures taken from above. Roy Salvadori hopped on as did Jack Fairman and Moss. And then Sir David Brown did too! It was pretty heavily loaded.

TVP – This is one of the most compelling pictures of this moment. Most are shot from in front of the car. In your shot you can see the reaction of the crowd that has surrounded the car with all of the Aston team on the car. BKJ – Yes, it was very exciting.

TVP – The picture really captures the excitement of the moment and is very evocative of the emo-tions that both the team and the spectators felt as they all celebrated Astons win. I also love the woman in the funny, homemade triangular paper hat.BKJ – Oh yes, I had forgotten about that! Too bad you can’t see Carroll Shelby driving; a man’s head in the foreground obscures him.One of the shots I like is one taken before the finish with David Brown, John Wyer, Reg Parnell and Bryan Clayton standing on the pit wall. Bryan was number two man to Wyer, the Chief Engineer and was in the Racing Department from the early days. He’s the poor chap that was at the Goodwood TT. He was helping with the car in the pits when blow back from the exhaust set the car alight and the pits too.

TVP – The other photo that captures a wonderful moment is the one that shows Parnell congratu-lating Shelby. He has his hand on his shoulder. BKJ – Reg is slapping Shelby on the shoulder. He just got out of the car and they are joined by Chief Mechanic Eric Hind, with the beard, and Jimmy Potton, also a mechanic. Two others I am fond of is the shot of Salvadori taking the wheel of Number 5 and Reg Parnell is shouting at him with his loud haler. He is telling him not to start the car because they are still refueling. Another is the pit stop of Number 6. Paul Frere getting out in the yellow helmet and Maurice Trintignant in the white helmet is ready to get in. At the top of the picture is a mechanic holding what looks like a large syringe that they used to quickly add oil to the oil tank. One other shot shows the last pit stop of Number 5, the winning car. Shelby is wearing his chicken overalls, waiting to get in!

TVP – One last question. What were your best memories of these three years?BKJ – The first was that I have always been very grateful to my parents for booking us those rooms in La Chartre when the DBR1s just came on stream and were competitive. The other thing for me was that this little Saab was accepted for LeMans! It was quite extraordinary. It couldn’t do more than 100 miles per hour at best and the Astons and Ferraris were doing160 down the Mulsanne Straight. I was so lucky, and I say this in retrospect, that the little Saab failed so I had the ability to spend the 20 hours remaining in the race above the Aston pits. I wanted them to win and they did! I was very happy, very tired, but very happy.

TVP – Well Brian, thank you so much. Your photos are a wonderful record and very nicely executed.

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By Jim W. Hazen

Zagato and Aston Martin are synonymous with compelling and beautiful machines. One of the more recent examples is the open AR1 Roadster of 2003. Built on the DB7GT platform it was produced for sunny climates in the US. They were exclusive, striking in photos and absolutely stunning in the metal. I remember seeing over 10 examples in Boston about 10 years ago on a bitterly cold night (hardly the right environment for a true road-ster) and what struck me was these cars, as nice as they are, needed some sort of a roof. Little did I know at the time that a roof or a shelter for the AR1 roadster would be the catalyst for the 42nd annual Lime Rock Classic.

Fast forward to the Saturday night dinner in June 2011 [the 41st Lime Rock Classic] where former AMOC NA East Chairman, Bob Stockman told me about a project he had commissioned from Zagato in Italy. Bob is a long time Zagato Aston collector and for over 35 years was the owner of DB4GT/0199/L, a Zagato. In this case he was following a time-honored tradition to commission work directly from the atelier. He had gone to Zagato with the challenge: design a top for his Aston Martin AR1 Zagato/ “American Roadster”.

As originally sold, the only weather protection are a couple of umbrellas included with each car for the two occupants. The AR1 is fast but I am not sure it can out-run all rain drops and living in Florida, the weather has a tendency to intrude on the use of the Aston. Bob’s idea was to commission the original designer to come up with a solution that would protect against inclement weather and too much sun. The car was to retain the original shape, so the new top had to integrate successfully with the sleek Zagato design.

He hoped to have the car at Lime Rock 42. Off handedly we remarked that it would be great to have Andrea Zagato join us for the unveiling. From that idea the theme for Lime Rock 42 was born. We sent an invitation to Andrea and he graciously accepted. We invited as many Zagato bodied Astons as we could. Calls went out. Invitations were made. The result was a wonderful Lime Rock weekend and a memorable visit by Andrea and his team.

Our Lime Rock weekend is three days: a Road Tour, a Concours day, a Track Day at the renowned Lime Rock Park sports car circuit. With the emphasis on Zagato, we also had Zagato bodied examples from Maserati, Lancia and Fiat. A sampling of Astons were as follows:

• 10ZagatobodiedAstons including fiveAR1Roadsters, theDB4GTZagatoofDavidSydorick, theDB4GT Zagato Sanction II of Barney Hallingby, two V8 Vantage Zagato Coupes and a DB7 Vantage Zagato Coupe.

• FiveDB4GT’sincludingthefourthbuilt,thelastbuiltand17TVX,notedforitscompetitionhistoryatthe hands of Jim Clark and Innes Ireland.

• The1967LeMansLolaAstonandanAMR1• TheDB6VolanteofBruceMale,ex-conductorandcomposerLeonardBernstein.Bernsteinreceived

the car when he was in London conducting the London Philharmonic. • SuperbexamplesofFeltham,DavidBrownandmodernAstonstocompletetheturnout.

GIMMIE SHElTERoR ZaGaTo aND aSToN MaRTIN aT lIME RoCK 42

Left: Aston Martin DB7 Zagato Coupe

on the grounds at Hotchkiss.

Middle: Aston Martin AMR1 in the pits

at Lime Rock.

Right: Kathy “The Racer” Gaffney on

track at Lime Rock.

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Left: Beautiful under the shade, the DB4 of Dennis Sheehan. Right: The imposing Aston Martin DBS.

Left: Andy Greenberg in his DB4GT at Lime Rock.Below, left: DB4GT on the lawn at Lime Rock.Below, right: David Van Schaick on track at Lime Rock.

DB4GT 17TVX in the pits at Lime Rock. Tom Fuller in the well preserved DB4C.

Left: Aston Martin AR1! Roadster of Bob Stockman—world debut of new top! Right: Aston Martin AR1 Roadster with folding hood by Zagato erected.

Left: Ira Shapiro and Elizabet Jensen share a laugh at the after the road tour. Below: Aston Martin DB5 race car of Simon Arscott.

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Above/right: Andrea Zagato presents a lively and interesting history of Zagato Design.

Above: DB 2/4 Mk1 “Rasputin” arrives at Hotchkiss.

Opposite page, Left: Aston Martin AR1 with the folding helter erected. Right: Zagato Aston lineup at the Concours.

Left: Simon Arscott and Deborah Lloyd in the Lime Rock pits. Center: Don Rose and Dave Jones get ready for the Concours.Top right: Don LeoGrande and Kathy Gaffney making sure the DB7 Volante is spotless. Bottom right: Nick Candee and Tom Smith choose the shade on the lawn at Hotchkiss.

Left: Zagato Aston and Zagato Maserati on the lawn at Hotchkiss.Rigth: Tom Fuller enjoys a more modern Aston with the top down.

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Thursday morning: 38 cars lined up for the Richard Stafferton Memorial Road Tour, a four hour drive through the rolling countryside of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. Although a couple of DB4GTs were almost run over by an impatient delivery truck driver, everyone got off to a good start. As with all Lime Rock events the road tour runs the gamut of Astons: pre-war Ulster to new Virage. The tour concludes at Broad Meadow, home of former AMOC NA East Chair Chris and Ellen Greendale. The lunch gives everyone the opportunity to get acquainted and compare notes on the drive. With all the cars on the lawn, it is a fine Aston show in its own right.

Because Lime Rock is a three-day affair and each day has a different focus, participants can choose to enjoy all three or just one. In past years the most heated competition was on the track at Lime Rock Park. In recent years this has shifted to the Concours field.

Friday: 2012 was a banner year- a superb turnout of almost 80 cars. The classes were strong with excellently restored Feltham and David Brown Astons and equally well presented modern Astons. Best of Show trophy was awarded to the fabulous DB4GT Zagato of David Sydorick.

The Concours is an opportunity for members to participate with their cars and as part of the judging teams. This provides the opportunity to learn more about the cars and for the participants have a direct stake in the outcome of the day.

On Friday evening we were treated to a talk by Andrea Zagato. This included the history of the Carrozzeria, their work with Astons as well as other manufacturers and even a future project. It was a special treat and Andrea was a charming, informative, entertaining and highly educational speaker. In the secretive world of auto design his openness was refreshing.

It was great to see examples of visionary thinking at Zagato. But it was also interesting to hear how that thinking must be pragmatically applied to work with the realities of a multi-client base that crosses nationalities, cultures and consumer aesthetics.

Saturday morning: off to Lime Rock Park! For those that have not run there, the setting of Lime Rock Park in the Berkshire Mountains and foothills is lush and green. It was built in the 1950s in a natural bowl in the landscape and is surrounded by trees and greenery. A natural and idyllic setting that has a feel that is completely different from the bland settings of so many modern facilities. You can understand why “Park” is part of its name.

After the mandatory drivers meeting, tech inspection and an educational session for newcomers with Prof. Freeman, we divide into groups based on anticipated speed. Fast street Astons are combined with historic racers, such as Simon Arscott’s DB5, acquired from a Japanese collection. In the second group are the race and street cars of moderate speed. The final group is precision driving where participants are timed to see who can run laps of equal speed. Winning THAT group is no mean feat. This year Aslan Cattaui in his 1979 V8 Coupe came out on top with laps that were within a few hundreds of a second!

The fastest cars around the circuit were Jim Freeman in the 1967 Lola Aston, Herb Wetanson in his one-off DB4 club racer with a polished aluminum body “inspired” by Zagato and in third was Rob Nimkoff in his V8 Vantage Coupe. They are all experienced racers and each very fast.

At the end of the day everyone made it through safe and sound and despite a few minor mishaps like a broken belt or an engine hose, all cars were in great shape.

The event concludes with a Saturday dinner and awarding of trophies to participants for their efforts and the showing of their Astons. This year, our highest award, the Elisha Walker Trophy, went to Jon Clerk for his untiring efforts to assist fellow AMOC members.

Members ask me why Lime Rock is such an enjoyable event. I tell them that it is the people, the place, the enthusiasm and the Astons. We welcome AMOC members from all over to join us.

ART OF ZAGATO! And what about the AR1 and the new roof configuration? Andrea Zagato called it a shelter, not a top. This goes to the original intention that the AR1 is an open roadster. Coverage is sufficient when needed, but can be stored when not in use.

It is an engineering marvel, designed to be inconspicuous and still integrate with the existing car. Driven by an electric motor, it goes up at the push of a button. When not in use it folds up and is collapsed behind the seats. The shape of the body of the AR1 remains unchanged. Best of all the addition just looks right, as if it was always meant to be. With the installation the AR1 can become a car with a much greater range.

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CLub troPhy reSuLtS - 2012

North American AMOC Pre-War Challenge Trophy David Van Schaick – 1935 Ulster

J. S. Inskip Trophy Don Brodie – 1955 DB2/4

Roberts Harrison Memorial Trophy Not Awarded

Ziebart Trophy Jim Freeman – 1967 Lola Aston Martin

Aston Martin Lagonda Trophy Brewster Miner – 1977 V8 Coupe

Rex Woodgate Trophy Kathy Gaffney – 2002 DB7 Vantage Volante

Victor Gauntlett Trophy Anthony & Debby Autiello - 2006 V8 Vantage

Richard Stafferton Trophy Tom and Anita Fuller - 1964 DB4 Convertible

US Air Force Trophy Not Awarded

Spirit Of Aston Trophy Charlie Rose

Chairman’s Award Jack and Kathy Boxstrom

Elisha Walker Trophy Jon Clerk

Lime roCK CoNCourS reSuLtS 2012

Pre-WAr

1st Place Don Rose 1939 15/98 Open

2nd Place David Van Schaick 1935 Ulster

feLthAm

1st Place Don and Linda Brodie 1958 DB2/4 Mark III DHC

2nd Place Emmet Smith 1959 DB2/4 Mark III DHC

3rd Place Don and Linda Brodie 1955 DB2/4 Mark 1

db4

1st Place Dennis Sheehan 1959 DB4

2nd Place Mike Odierna 1960 DB4

3rd Place Andy Williams 1962 DB4

db 5/6

1st Place Bill Boyle 1967 DB6 Volante

2nd Place Tom Papadopoulos 1965 DB5

3rd Place Bruce Male 1967 DB6 Volante

Am V8

1st Place Kathy Gaffney/Don LeoGrande 1982 V8 Volante

2nd Place Josh Mazer 1991 Virage 6.3

3rd Place Tom Papadopoulos 1986 V8 Volante

db7/7 VANtAGe/VANQuiSh

1st Place Paul del Grande 2005 Vanquish S

2nd Place Robert Vigdor 2005 Vanquish S

3rd Place Marc Fierman 2005 Vanquish S

CurreNt ProduCtioN

1st Place Carmine Nigro 2009 V8 Vantage

2nd Place Frank Bittner 2009 DB9

3rd Place Tony Autiello 2006 V8 Vantage

RACE CAR

1st Place Jim Freeman 1967 Lola Aston Martin T70 Mk III

2nd Place Jim Freeman 1960 DB4 GT

3rd place Jim Hazen 1954 DB2/4

NoN AStoN

1st Place Jim Utaski 1952 Siata 300BC 750cc

2nd Place Nick Candee 1967 Austin Healey 3000 Mark III

3rd Place Eddie Manelis 1971 Corvette

ZAGAto

1st Place David Sydorick 1961 DB4GT Zagato

2nd Place Bruce Male 1956 Maserati A6G Zagato

3rd Place Bob & Sally Stockman 2003 AR1 Zagato

39

Left: DB MKIIIs of Don Brodie and Emmet Smith ready for Concours competition.Right: DB4 line-up at Hotchkiss.

Below: Tour cars on the lawn at Broadmeadows. Right: Tour participants celebrating a job complete.

A fantastic turnout of DB4, DB5 and DB6 Coupes.

Left: Stockman AR1 open cockpit. Center: The Zagato TZ3 Stradale on display in the non-Aston class. Right: Not much room in the boot! Spare wheel and huge fuel tank in the DB4GT/0104/L, Note metal hold-down as early GT.

The unique and beautiful V12 Vanquish of Tom and Heather Appleton.

40

CALiforNiA

a CITRUS SpRING

North/South Meeting in Visalia

Text and photos by Robert Dennis, AMOC Section West

The Ides of March brought with it not the melodrama of a Shakespearian play, but for the West Coast AMOC it brought a British celebration of another sort—and for this writer, the celebration of our first year of Aston ownership.

AMOC Section West kicked off

Spring 2013 with our annual North/South California Meet held in Visalia, California the weekend of March 15 through 17. One of the gateways to Sequoia National Park, Visalia lies at the base of the foothills to California’s Sierra mountain range, in an area fertile with orange, lemon, olive and walnut groves (to name a few).

Clear skies, 75 degree weather, won-derful windy two-lane roads—who could ask for a better early Spring weekend with the Astons?

Our own V8 Vantage adventure began as we formed up in Santa Clarita with two other Astons – Larry Fromm and his col-lege buddy Bob Robbins in Larry’s vintage Virage along with our newfound friends Jean-Claude and Katie Demirdjian in their black DB7 Vantage.

We took the road less traveled to Visalia first exploring the barren oil fields in the rolling hills east of Bakersfield, and then further up through wooded cattle ranch country to the tiny enclave of Glennville for lunch and a step back in time to what felt like the late 1800s.

The down slope glide landed us in Visalia in time to connect with our week-end’s organizers Mark and Jane Ransome. The Ransomes were there with their beautiful steed Samantha, a classic deep blue 1955 DB2/4 (one of our favorites—both the couple and the car that is!). Mark and Jane make frequent trips to Visalia to enjoy its many fine restaurants.

We found the Ransomes at a lobby table festooned with Aston photo-posters taken during last year’s North/South meet.

41

Mark and Jane greeted arriving guests while pushing welcome bags into our hands that included lovely AMOC labeled wine. You could not ask for better weekend hosts.

Facing a long drive, we tanked up that evening to prepare for the Saturday drive. Given the reactions at the gas station, it seems Astons are a rare bird in that part of California.

Acting on a tip from the Ransomes, Patricia and I joined Jerry Rosenstock and Magda for dinner at “Jack and Charlies” located in the old Visalia courthouse. Curious as to why the fine dining made its home in the basement, I should have left the question unasked. Our server kindly informed us the restaurant location was once the county morgue!

Saturday morning began with a drivers

meeting at 9:45am sharp. Our not-so-little group of 17 cars skirted around the St. Patrick’s Day parade and was quickly on the road to our first stop, the Sunkist pack-ing plant in Exeter, California.

Exeter is a small village compared to the vibrant town of Visalia. Many large murals grace the sides of the Exeter’s buildings making for a (literally) picturesque location. A wonderful sleepy town, Exeter gave us a feeling of being in Mayberry, USA. It is a farm community as our visit to its large orange fruit packing plant soon proved.

Exeter Specialties is a Sunkist affili-ate plant, a long-time community eco-nomic engine, and family owned since about 1916. Our enthusiastic tour host was Kenny Wileman, the great grandson of the plant’s founder, and his energy was

infectious. A great surprise to this writer was how smoothly manual and mechanical operations at the plant were intertwined. The black-light room workers used to cull out blemished fruit from a fast moving conveyor belt was for my camera the big-gest treat of the visit.

As we had a lunch appointment up the hill it was soon time to take to the back roads below Sequoia National Park. The roar of V12s, V8s, and straight sixes echoed along the byways, sharing space at times with the huff and puff of joggers and bicyclists.

Up along a steadily narrowing two-lane blacktop we rocketed around corners sometimes with just a hope that a downhill pickup truck gave our Astons room to pass. Tight quarters indeed!

We landed at Mountain House Saloon

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in Badger California which is a popu-lar watering hole for Harleys and other “crotch rockets” (can I say that? Or will it be bleeped?). [No problema—Ed.], just a half hour drive from the national park. That day our Astons made for a busy grill. The house feline made time to purr hello between bouts of chasing—something—off in the surrounding brush.

Tire kicking ensued among the group. There was Gary & Brooke Moore’s 1961 Porsche 356 to admire, Trevor & Loris Candler’s DBS, Chris and Alice Cason’s lovely red DB7 Volante, Jerry Rosenstock’s original Cobra, Guy and Sue Simpson’s incredible DB5 (another focus for my cam-era), Chuck and Sue Cortson’s Mercedes, and more than a couple of V8 Vantages. We kicked tires then kicked back with many fine refreshments.

However, not all the cars made it through unscathed. Larry’s Virage decided it was time to offload some hot radiator

water at the top of the hill!As if the twisting road up the mountain

were not enough, the next leg of our jour-ney took us along a barely-paved path that needed careful watching for stray cattle, sometimes held at bay by bits of ragged-looking barbed wire. Fortunately, we did not have to dodge the beasts.

After a quick nap back at the Marriott we were off this time on foot for “The Vintage Press” restaurant in Visalia, our Saturday evening event. Sporting some-thing of a pub-like atmosphere, this estab-lishment, sibling to “Jack and Charlie’s”, is family owned and a decades-old thriving venture in Visalia. Mark introduced us to the proprietor as well as to the chef, whose work that evening was quite tasty.

Wine glasses chimed out from time-to-time for one or another speech, as you might expect. Chance came to play with us as a raffle added to the evening’s excite-ment, with prizes ranging from the beau-

tiful Aston marketing book for the new Virage, to a warm Aston-themed jacket, and finally the raffle of the one of the two Aston photo-posters that welcomed attend-ees at the hotel.

Conversation winding down, the group broke up slowly to walk back to the hotel. On the way we stumbled across a couple of beautiful hot-rods on Visalia’s main drag. Unlike our own home town of Burbank, Visalia nightlife was hopping at 10pm—they don’t roll up the sidewalks in this central California town!

Sunday was going home day, with work on the Monday horizon. What bet-ter way, though, to enjoy our wonderfully crafted motor cars than a beautiful week-end away. We brought home more than a few warm memories of friends, old and new, and a renewed spirit infused with the sound of Aston engines tearing through the California countryside.

AmoC West—North/South Spring meet 2013 Attendees:

Chris and Alice Cason DB 7 Volante

Chuck and Sue Cortsen Mercedes

Trevor Candler and Loris DBS

Jean-Claude and Katie Demirdjian DB 7

Robert and Patricia Dennis V8 Vantage Coupe

Cliff and Susan Franklin DB9 Volante

Larry Fromm and Bob Robbins Virage

Don and Terry Lovasik V8 Vantage Coupe

Ed and Barbara (Posch) Mitchell V8 Vantage Coupe

Gary and Brooke Moore Porsche 356

John Mutlow and Lina Geronca Mustang

Duane and Pamela Phillps V8 Vantage Coupe

Mark and Jane Ransome DB 2/4

Jerry Rosenstock and Magda Cobra

Kohei Saito V8 Vantage Coupe

Guy and Sue Simpson DB 5

Clive and Mellanie Thomas DB 7

44

fLoridA

MaR-a-laGo “ClaSSIC SpoRTS SUNDaY” palM bEaCH

By Antoine Crettol

Winter in most of North America can be cold, snowy and cause some seri-ous Cabin Fever. Whenever possible one might take advantage of the opportunity to head where it’s warm and where you can DRIVE. So in late January that’s exactly what AMOC-NA Section East did! The Cavallino Classic, the premier Ferrari weekend that kicks off the New Year classic car season, is a spectacular four-day event that includes a tour, a track day and culminates with the famous Ferrari ‘concorso’ on the bucolic lawn of The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. For these days, only ‘red’ cars need apply; however for the last six years on Sunday the organizers have invited other marques to its Classic Sports Sunday (CSS) held at the stunning, Italianate Mar-A-Lago Club, also in Palm Beach. Located just down the road from The Breakers it has grown to become among the most prestigious multi-marque events in the Eastern US, attract-ing important cars—mostly of the sporting variety - owned by some of the country’s most active collectors.

The Saturday evening prior to CSS, AMOC East hosted a dinner at the Palm Beach Yacht Club. With support from Aston Martin Lagonda, including the provision of the new Vanquish and DB9 for members to test drive before dinner (and before drinks!), over 60 of our members joined Florida Area Rep Russell Glace, Membership/Events Director Charlie Rose and Chairman Tom Smith, the dinner hosts. Such has the popularity of this get-together grown that we’ve determined we must move to a larger location next year! Members in atten-dance included Canada East Area Rep Tom Appleton, former AMOC Chairman Bob Stockman with Sally, David and Wylene van Schaick, Vice-Chair Don Rose, the Mr and Mrs. Don Brodie, Don LeoGrande and Kathy Gaffney, Jon Clerk, Andy Pargh, Jim

45

Utaski, Steve and Lynne Dudley, as well as Antoine Crettol and Tom Papadopolous from Autosport Designs who organized six cars for CSS.

Although Rolls-Royce and Bentley were the Featured Marques this year, 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of Aston Martin so there were numerous Astons on the field, including four cars represented by Autosport and the award-winning DB Mark III of Emmet Smith among others. Members Jim Utaski, Jimmy Dobbs, Jon Clerk, David Sydorick, Don Rose and Jack Thomas were displaying gorgeous “non-Aston” iron on the lawn at Mar a Lago as well.

With numerous extremely beauti-ful, rare and other significant classics on the lawn, the field boasted top quality cars from all over the country. Picking the winners was extremely difficult for the judging team (Tom Smith, Sandy Cotterman and Don Rose), but by the end of the day numerous Astons took home well-deserved awards.

The 1965 Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante of Autosport Designs was awarded Best in Class, its rarity and superb presenta-tion making it the obvious choice. Randy & Kathy Poliner’s 1965 Aston Martin DB5C (ex-King Hussein of Jordan), Tom Papadopolous’s pre-war 1.5 Litre and Emmet Smith’s DB Mk III all won Excellence in Class trophies.

Other noteworthy Aston Martins consisted of an excellent DB6 Vantage, Charlie Rose’s well-traveled Vanquish S and Don Rose’s recently acquired V8 Vantage Zagato coupe (ex-Peter Livanos).

And let’s not forget the perfect, what the locals were calling ‘Chamber of Commerce weather,’ a sumptuous lunch and a relaxed atmosphere. But the best part of all, as many of us well know, is the day’s conclusion when you fire up your beasties and head off for an oceanfront drive.

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A Very Ferrari Weekend

By Ed Manelis

High noon. Sunday, final day of the event. Brilliant sun and remarkably hot temperatures, AMOC members and others have gathered in the infield paddock at Road America for the judging of the Best of Show class of the Road & Track Magazine Concours d’Elegance, consisting of the class winners from the Friday night racing car concours and the Saturday night sports cars concours. Representing AMOC, a silver 2007 V8 Vantage from Michigan with Nancy and Dr. Norb Kaminski, and a black 1933 Rolls Royce Sportsmans Coupe, also brought from Michigan, by Pat and Mike Brady. The Vantage was there because it’s nice and lacks windshield wipers for that extra sleek effect; the Roller because it was on the lawn at Pebble Beach 2011. Wisconsin native and R&T Side Glances columnist Peter Egan was on stage emceeing.

General disgust settled in my camp when Mr. Egan announced the winner of the first award, the Car I Would Most Like To Drive Home, selected by himself and R&T editor John Lamm: an early, frumpy, Lancia Aurelia sedan. Really? I’ve read Mr. Egan’s musings before where he discusses such picks, usually because of some soft spot here or there. Too many soft spots. Definitely not worthy.

The disgust didn’t lift when the Best Street Car award goes not to Norb’s Vantage, but to a Ferrari 456 GTA (that’s an automatic Ferrari, people!). Best Race Car went to a 1985 Roush Mustang. Best of Show was awarded to another race car, a 1959 Bandini Formula Junior. Finally, the last award, last chance for our gang, the Peoples’ Choice Award, as voted on by the public on hand: a gnarly looking, blue and red job with stainless steel trim, 1957 Ferrari 250 LWB. Foiled by Ferrari.

The HAWK at Road America With Brian Redman, formerly the Kohler International Challenge at Road America Presented by Brian Redman, is backdrop for the AMOC East Midwest Area’s big annual event. Road America, a long (4.02 miles) and fast (as fast as you can or want to go with a 1 mile main straight) road racing track, sits out in the middle of Wisconsin farmland, about 150 miles north of Chicago, and is very convenient to two Wisconsin staples, cheese (Sargento HQ) and sausage (Johnsonville HQ). Also nearby is the Village of Elkhart Lake. Normally a sleepy lake resort town, on big race weekends it turns into car central, as it and all towns within 20 miles sell out of hotel rooms months in advance. Primarily an historics racing event, with over 425 cars entered, The Hawk also serves up plenty of social opportunities for club members.

THURSDAY: Midwest Area Rep Henry Matson (red V8 Vantage) set up headquar-ters on the shores of Elkhart Lake at the Osthoff Resort, early on Thursday morning, the first day of the event. This year he was joined on Thursday by his wife Peggy, Peter Conover (DB 2/4 Mk. III), Tom Gould (DB5), Jim and Jan Causey (DB2 DHC), and Jon Hauser and Jean Stone (DB9). Thursdays do not usually have any planned member events, and those who go up early generally take advantage of the spas and relaxation diversions provided in Elkhart Lake, or spend the day at the track wandering the open paddocks. Thursday night the AMOC informal dinner gathering took place at the Paddock Club, in downtown Elkhart Lake. From its name and location, you would assume it has something

aMoC MIDWEST aT RoaD aMERICaJUlY 2012!

Grace, Drive Away Cancer Austin-Healey 100, at Friday

night concours.

47

Friday night concours. Trust me, there are race cars in there!

48

to do with auto racing, but it actually is named after a former, illegal, local gambling house. [Historic Race Circuits also has a dinner on Thursday, which was sold out; this year speakers were local heroes Augie Pabst and Bill Wuesthoff, now in their 70s—Ed.]

FRIDAY: Street cars are allowed on track during the lunch hour, Friday through Sunday, for track touring. Depending on the track marshals and tour drivers, this can be either a sedate drive in the country or a mini race, as passing is allowed everywhere except in the corners. Even with speed limits, RA is a big place and those who wish can circum-vent efforts to limit aggressive driving, not that I would know anything about that. Peter, joined by Peggy, took advantage of the smaller Friday crowd by taking out his recently, perfectly, restored Mk III. This bit of touring supplied a lifetime of track memories for Peter and he informs he needs no more of that. He was joined on the track by Jim and Jan, Tom, and Jon and Jean. Also seen on the track was a non-member, Wisconsin based DBR2 replica; kindly see a letter to the editor from its builder in a previous issue.

The first AMOC-planned event of the weekend called for a Friday afternoon boat trip out onto Elkhart Lake, arranged by Tom. Unfortunately, amidst record heat and Midwest drought, the skies decided that was the perfect time for a major rain storm and the boat trip was cancelled. By the time your author (V8 - finally running after missing Lime Rock!) joined up with the gang on Friday afternoon, which had added Joe and Joan Maira (DB9), skies had cleared and they were down at the Osthoff’s beachside bar, variously frolicking in the lake and drinking. I joined the latter.

Our pleasant respite was interrupted by thunder from above, not of the meteorologi-cal kind, but of the race car variety. Friday evenings the police lead a convoy of race cars from the track into downtown Elkhart Lake for the race car concours. We joined the multitude in oogling the cars, and ran into Norb and other Aston people doing the same. Friday night’s dinner, usually held at the Osthoff at Lola’s on the Lake, had been moved to Otto’s. Otto’s is also nice, and we were afforded a private dining area. The fact is our little shindig has outgrown Lola’s ability to host us; even if the food hits the tongue the same way at either Osthoff restaurant, Lola’s on the Lake just rolls off that tongue so much better. Included were most of the previously mentioned, plus David Pigg from Lake Forest Sports Cars, Nick Candee and his wife, Dr. Linda Brown, and their guests from Belmont, Mass., Mike Chesson and Jane Sherwin. A boisterous and wonderful event.

Saturday usually brings a drive through the Wisconsin countryside with a stop for lunch. A Steve Dudley (DB2/4 Mk III arranged a tour of Motion Products in Neenah.). Steve has a long term relationship with Motion arising out his early Ferrari days. Motion Products provides very high quality automobile restoration services and is world-renowned as a Ferrari specialist, with its work frequently gracing the greens at Pebble Beach—they had seven cars going to Pebble that we saw. After about an hour drive, the convoy of

Above: Henry Matson and Norb Kaminski (center, facing)

discuss all things Aston with Peggy Matson and David

Pigg (center, away)…

Table 2 at Otto’s restaurant, Friday night.

Right: Saturday night concours. My V8, Peter Conover’s DB

2/4 Mk III, John Underhill’s V8 Vantage, Steve Dudley’s

DB 2/4 Mk III.

49

eight Astons, including new arrivers, John and Carolyn Underhill (V8 Vantage), and two support vehicles rounded the northern edge of Lake Winnebago and arrived at Motion. We were joined by Steve and warmly welcomed by owner Wayne Obry.

First order of business: laying down the law. No cameras, camera phones, or videos of any kind. Apparently another group had been given a tour, leading to a number of photographs of a rare Ferrari in restoration leaked onto the internet, and leading to an irate owner filling Wayne’s ear.

Without a camera or pencil, this reporter’s ability to record the visit was severely limit-ed. Throwing three buildings worth of Ferraris and a corresponding number of related tales at a non-tifosi, results in the following report: Ferrari, blah blah blah, Ferrari, blah, King, Queen, matching hardtop and convertible Ferraris, blah blah blah, movie stars,Ingrid, directors, Federico, blah. Nick, being eminently better prepared, took notes and is invited to supplement this report if he deems it necessary. I doubt that it is. [Nope!—Ed.]

Finally, in the third and final building, past the Lamborghini Miura SV, looking good on blocks with no wheels to detract from its sexy body lines, and a one off factory Ferrari Daytona Targa, sat a lonely looking, but shiny black DB4GT, joined by an equally despon-dent Corvette. No royalty tales here, Nick explained that this Aston, DB4GT/0135/L, ex-Morris Evans (former AMOC-E chair), was one of two DB4GTs that raced at the Sebring 12 Hours in 1961. Unfortunately, both Astons were forced to retire early with front hub failure, 0135/L while running in 7th place overall. Fresh air, nonetheless.

The visit to Motion was a wonderful education in all the effort necessary to prepare a car for Pebble Beach. In addition to actual artisan skills, it requires obsessive attention to detail and originality, with a corresponding commitment to educate the concours judges regarding those details. Examples: the slight factory misalignment of the chrome trim at the base of vent window, replicated in the restoration, required a hunt through historic photographs to justify the condition; a perfectly good, prior repair of a Ferrari 275 GTB/4 front end isn’t original enough, so the original aluminum, looking like it had been attacked by worm wood, was somehow found and was being repaired for reinstallation; little divits being drilled into the edges along a windshield, to duplicate the marks left from installation of the original glass, the type of which is no longer available.

To control all aspects of the work, Motion’s workshops can fabricate anything neces-sary, except glass and the flocking applied to various interior Ferrari surfaces. If there was a negative to the visit, at least for me, it was that, even with Pebble Beach looming, the workers were off for the weekend, so we were unable to see the artists at their work. I was hoping to see something along the lines of what was shown in the pictures of the Queen visiting DB at the workshops in Newport Pagnell, as seen in a recent issue of Aston Martin Quarterly, but it was not to be.

Left: Five of the nine Astons in Oshkosh at

Saturday luncheon, overlooking the Fox river.

Below: Saturday night concours. Mike Brady’s

1933 Rolls Royce, DBR1 replica, my V8, Peter

Conover’s DB 2/4 Mk III.

Above: Saturday night concours. Tom Gould’s DB5,

Henry Matson’s V8 Vantage, Jon Hauser’s DB9, Jim

Causey’s DB2 DHC.

Below: Saturday night concours. Jim Causey’s DB2

DHC, Jon Hauser’s DB9, Henry Matson’s V8 Vantage,

Tom Gould’s DB5, Joe Maira’s DB9 Volante, LFSC

Rapide. Seated are Jan Causey and Jean Stone.

50

The tour continued south along the west side of Lake Winnebago, to Oshkosh, for lunch. Steve led us to Fratellos Waterfront Brewery & Restaurant, out onto the lawn overlooking the Fox river, where we parked amongst deck chairs and tables. A good pub meal followed; I made a mental note to find my way back here on a weekend night, for what looks to be an awesome place for a party!

Lunch over and running a little late, it was time for us to harness the power of the Astons and make haste back to Elkhart Lake for the Saturday night street car concours. While the show actually starts at 6 pm, cars start lining up around 3:45 for staging at 4 pm, and despite our annual efforts to get the concours officials to block off an “Aston” space on the street adjacent to the lawn that serves as our soiree venue, we still have to get there early and occupy the space as common squatters. You would think that bringing 10 lovely Astons to the concours year after year (at 70 bucks a pop!), we could be accom-modated a bit, but you would be wrong. Lining up the cars is usually an experience, as well, as you have at least three people directing you at once, and you are backing into a space on the diagonal, trying to avoid incredible cars that have already parked and other incredible cars that are overheating and tired of waiting and trying to get around you. This year our very nice lineup included 10 member Astons, from DB2 through DB9, plus the Rolls Royce, a Rapide brought by the Chicago Aston dealer, Lake Forest Sports Cars, and the DBR2 replica.

After getting the cars set, we barely had time for final touch ups before the judges descended upon us. They wanted to get to work to avoid fighting crowds that imme-diately materialize once the cars stop moving. By 5 pm the crowds were thick, and the adjacent Victorian Village was ready for us with sumptuous light supper fare and free flow-ing libations. Thank you sponsors AMOC and LFSC! While chaos reigned in the streets, we retired beyond the hedges and slender parking lot that acts as a moat, and enjoyed fine company and weather at the AMOC summer garden party. As the evening progressed, people came and went, and we showed our cars to the curious public and viewed other fine vehicles.

The sun went down, the crowds started to thin, and it was time for awards presenta-tion. Awards are given for the best of each class, plus reserve awards. As noted at the beginning, Norb Kaminski and Mike Brady each won their class, but no others were awarded to our group. Once the ceremony ended, the cars started leaving, and the police re-opened the streets and came through to make the rest of us re-park our cars.

The appearance of the Saturday night police pretty much marks the end of our offi-cial weekend events. For some that means long goodbyes, as many people use Sunday to travel, and it may be a long while before we see each other again. For others, the party just continues, as Elkhart Lake converts into a big multi-stage outdoor nightclub with live music and dancing.

Sunday activities reconvene at the track, for the final concours judging and races. Concours results already covered, we look to Astons racing this weekend. Unfortunately, it is a short report. Two Aston racing cars were present, the Daytona Prototype car of 2005 (Riley & Scott Mk XI chassis with a 4.3 liter Aston Martin V-8) and a 2006 DBRS9 (ex John Sinders for Sebring 2006; ex Rahal Letterman Racing); both brought by LFSC with full race support, for owner/driver Rick Mancuso. Rick decided to not run the DP car, and earlier had leisurely qualified the DBRS9 towards the back of the pack in Group 10. G10 was for Modern GT and Production cars, post 1975, and consisted of six classes, with a total of about 36 cars. The DBRS9 was in Class GTS2, with Corvettes, Porsches, Ford GTs and a Marcos Mantis. The race started, but was red-flagged and the cars brought back into the pit area before much action because a car wrecked in turn 5, a tight left hander at the bottom of the Moraine Sweep, a fast downhill straight. Rick had already passed several cars, and after a delay of about 15 minutes, the race resumed. Henry and I watched along the main straight, and the sight and sound of the DBRS9 passing slower cars - absolutely glorious. Rick placed a fine fifth in his class, and on the lead lap, behind two Team Hawk Corvettes, one of which was driven by Corvette ace Ron Fellows, a Ford GT, and a Porsche 993 GT2 Evo, and ahead of the Mantis, a couple of Porsches and another GT. And ahead of the only Ferrari in G10, a Class MP1 F360 Challenge car. Yay! (Although, LFSC also sells Ferraris, and had a display FF at the track, so I doubt Rick cared much!)

Thanks to Henry for again organizing an excellent weekend, Steve for Saturday’s excursions, and all the other AMOC participants, who make this a truly great event.

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Above: Saturday night concours. Henry Matson’s V8 Vantage, Tom

Gould’s DB5, Joe Maira’s DB9 Volante, LFSC Rapide.

Above: LFSC paddock stall, with Daytona

Prototype (foreground) and DBRS9.

Above: Rick Mancuso (driver’s suit)

and crew survey some on track activity

before race.

Right: Mike Brady’s 1933 Rolls Royce at

Sunday’s concours finals.

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iN memoriAm

JoN aUERbaCHWe are sad to report the passing of AMOC member Jonathan (Jon) Auerbach.

I can best describe Jon as an adventurer. He was a multifaceted individual with interests that included art, theater, film, environmental advocacy and of course cars. Especially Astons. Professionally, Jon had a global focus. He was a founder and Managing Director of Auerbach Grayson

& Company, a New York firm that pro-vides international securities research, exe-cution and settlement for US companies.

Auerbach Grayson & Company was among the first foreign brokers to do busi-ness in Russia, Egypt, South Africa and in emerging markets in the Middle East and Far East. Jon traveled extensively through out the world looking for new oppor-tunities and was especially bullish on the potential for Africa. His expertise made him in demand in the business media.

Jon was a well-known member of AMOC NA East and frequent attendee at Lime Rock with his driving compan-ion, his son Jake. Jon was the owner of two unique Astons. One was a DB2 that he purchased at auction as a very much in need barn find. He subsequently restored it as a touring and track racer and drove it with great spirit in AMOC and in Vintage Sports Car Club of America events. His other Aston was a DB5 that

had been reborn with DBR2 styled body by a respected AMOC member in the UK. It is a truly one-of-a-kind Aston. Jon in his direct manner loved the car and loved telling people it’s history and exactly what it was. Along with the Astons, Jon ran a 1951 Chrysler New Yorker on long distance rallies. He and Jake conquered the Trans-America Rally—New York-to-Vancouver in the Chrysler.

I best remember Jon, with Jake, com-ing from Long Island in the DB2 for the annual VSCCA Hunnewell Hillclimb outside of Boston. They were up at the break of day in May to make the ferry to cross Long Island Sound and then drove to the Hunnewell Estate in Wellesley, Massachusetts in time to hillclimb the DB2 and then head back home for the evening. That was Jon Auerbach, truly a man with an adventurous spirit.

—Jim W. hazen

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It was 1987 at Laguna Seca. The Aston Martin Corral just at the end of the vendor tents is where I first encountered Dottie. I wanted to talk to an Aston owner and hopefully sit in an AM V8 to try the fit before deciding to buy one when the owner of a fine, silver AM V8 appeared and introduced herself as “Dottie”. Dottie appreciated British cars, owning a Jaguar, a Rolls and an Aston.

Now Dottie was one interesting char-acter. Probably 60 years old, very slim, maybe, just maybe 5 feet tall. After a full lunch she weighed 90 pounds. She had

a weathered, San Diego estancia look, wore a blouse with a vest, cowboy boots and pressed blue jeans. She stood with a tan cigarillo in one hand and a martini in the other. In following years I never saw Dottie without one or the other, or her sidekick Patty. These were the days before “Domestic Partners” and Patty was a dem-onstration in contrasts. She was rotund, conservatively dressed, quiet and mild. She was probably 12 inches taller than Dottie (standing up or laying down) and was always saying, something to the effect of “Dottie Dottie, let’s reconsider this”.

iN memoriAm

DoRoTHY W. “DoTTIE” HUDSoN of laGUNa bEaCH

Dottie’s sign!

5353

Dottie and I briefly chatted about the Aston when Dottie just said, “How can you buy one unless you’ve ridden in one? Let’s go.” Patty, a little worried, began with, “Dottie, Dottie, don’t do it”. Dottie’s only reply was, “Patty, just get in and don’t spill my drink”. Patty, in mute protest, took the martini and squeezed into the back seat while Dottie took the wheel and I took the passenger side.

Dottie twisted the key and lit up the V8. One slow draw on the cigarillo as the oil pressure came up, and then she put her freehand on the wheel and her right cow-boy boot took the accelerator pedal to the floor. Patty, apoplectic, continued with, “Dottie Dottie, don’t do it…” and Dottie just replied, “Patty, shaddup, and don’t spill my drink”.

That massive, full throttle inductive howl from the four twin throated Webers turned a lot of heads and Dottie now had the full attention of some hundred or so pedestrians on the asphalt road dead ahead. Dottie twisted a healthy patch of rubber, nothing insane though, and launched down the roadway pointing towards the Vendor Tents and pedestrians. In the old days of the infield at Laguna Seca, this asphalt doubled as a roadway for the cars in the corrals, and these cars modestly made their way to and from the corrals. Much to the spectators delight, today this car was making its way a little faster than normal. The spectators were about to experience a more extreme version of delight.

Dottie’s cigarillo hand just held the horn stalk down (Country horn setting—Astons have Town and Country horns, the latter a good Italian air horn) while we accelerated towards the crowd. Full throttle, full horn while the fans climbed over one another to get out of the way. In 100 yards or so, at the end of the tent section, Dottie slid around 180 degrees and proceeded back to the Corral at the same rate. While pass-ing through the once again parting crowd Dottie casually looked at me and said,

“People, just like sheep, just like sheep.” Patty, wide-eyed but still conscious, con-tinued with, “Dottie, Dottie don’t do it”, while Dottie occasionally turned an eye on the mirror at Patty reiterating, “Patty don’t spill that martini”.

We arrived back at the Aston Corral and parked to the resounding applause and “right on” from the fans whereupon Dottie finished her drink, dropped her cigarillo under a boot, extended her hand to me for a shake and said, “Welcome to the Aston Owner’s Club”.

When you see this sign in the roadway at Laguna Seca, Dottie’s the reason it’s there.

—Patrick Abbott

EPILOGUE I. Courtesy of George Wood and Chet Floyd

Pat Abbott did buy an Aston Martin V8 after that introduction, and in fact pur-chased and re-stored two AM V8s. Pat also went on to serve as treasurer of AMOC WEST. One V8 was sold to fellow club member John Carlson, who is no longer with us. John had his phone number listed in the phone book under the phony name Sisyfus. I can’t recall the reason behind it, but one day he got a call from someone with the same last name wanting to know if he was a long lost relative!

—George Wood

John Carlson was a well-liked and respect-ed AMOC member for many years, and passed away just months after retiring from a life of service as a pharmacist. It was only after his passing that we learned John led a pretty adventurous life as a young SCCA driver in Northern California in Austin Healeys. We never would have guessed this of Quiet John.

John’s family kept the car and the V8

went to a grandson, with the admonish-ment to keep it original. We think the Aston is in Oregon or Washington.

Dottie passed away in 1999. Lung can-cer. Cigarillos take their toll. Those who knew Dottie still miss her. Pat Abbot’s visual portrait is spot-on. I never saw her dressed any other way.

Dottie was one of Luther Gentry’s cousins. We recall her wake in SoCal where Luther gave a bit of background from her North Carolina childhood. She became famous in the neighborhood at age 13 when she began driving the school bus when no one else would. From that point on, the world was Dottie’s pretty much all the way. In addition to the V8, which she kept in immaculate condition and, oh by the way, she knew as much about it and more than most mechanics—“See this fuel gauge? It’s really for the ‘77 model, but they ran out of ‘76 stock building this one...” would be a typical Dottie-ism. She also had a Rolls Royce, which was Patsy’s favorite. They lived in Laguna Beach’s Emerald Bay in a house on the hill.

Dottie managed wealth. A friend of mine, a senior aerospace executive at the time, asked obviously successful Dottie in the ‘80s if she would entertain managing his nut. “You worth at least five mil today? No dice otherwise.” Dottie was always a straight shooter.

The last time I talked to Dottie she called on the phone to explain why her club dues were late. “Patsy’s been having a rough go lately, awful busy getting Patsy to doctors and all but I’m sending in a check tonight.” After a bit more chit-chat, she signed off. About a week later, Art Nisson phoned to say Dottie was in hospital with terminal lung cancer, and she was gone about a week later. I then realized Dottie’s late-dues call was just her way of saying goodbye and having a chat with a friend one last time.

—Chet floyd

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Ian hosted several AMOC events—our Bastille Day party 2005, and several AMOC road tours during the July vintage week-end at Road America. Ian opened his remarkable enclave for tours as small as just AMOC Chair Jim and spouse Melissa Hazen.

Ian Furness owned a short wheelbase Volante, DBVC/2304/R, in the royal colors of dark blue and saddle before those colors were popular as such; he had rescued the Volante from sunburn in Rhodesia (later called

Zimbabwe). Ian hosted gatherings of AMOC members to make the Midwest area as strong as it is today. Ian to us was an Aston guy, but he was SO very much a Jaguar guy, a bit of a Morgan guy, and Mini, MG guy… see our prior articles in TVP such as Fall 2004, page 40… and he was a motorcycle guy. BUT before any of that car stuff, Ian was a family man, a caregiver, a philanthropist.

My sympathy to the Furness family, friends, colleagues, and patients: Bless Ian for his varied and deep interests. His sense of automotive history was profound. He was a proud American, with joy in his Mancunian roots—a son of Manchester, England’s sec-ond city. He kept Boddington’s on hand, chilled for the American palate. He will be missed by many people: family, friends, patients, colleagues, co- missioners to Guatemala, and gearheads. We pray for our collective comfort, in appreciating his many gifts in a life of family, profession, charity, and enthusiasm.

Ian was an Aston guy, but so much more. Our midsummer meetings at Road America were often tied with a tour to his garage in a small town 9.0 miles from my family’s farm driveway, and Area Reps Jim Causey and then Henry Matson were able to put events together between Elkhart Lake’s Road America and Ian’s island of Britain in Fond du Lac county.

—Nick Candee

iN memoriAm

DR. IaN CHaRlES fURNESS, foND DU laC, WISCoNSIN

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obituAry iN the foNd du LAC rePorter:

Ian Charles Furness, 58, was the victim in a hit and run accident in Bangkok, Thailand and passed away as the result of his injuries on Monday, 26 November 2012. He was born on 6 October 1954, in Milwaukee to English immigrant parents, the second son of Eric and Kathleen Furness. Throughout his life he had a passion for England and was very proud of his English and Scottish heritage.

Ian graduated from Marquette University in 1976, where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology/Chemistry. He obtained his Doctorate from the Illinois College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago in 1980. During medical school, Ian was selected for an Air Force medical scholarship. Upon completion of his surgical residency at New Berlin Memorial Hospital, he entered the United States Air Force and served as Director of Foot Clinics in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery for three years at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for his work there.

On 31 May 1980, Ian married Susan M. Gabres at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Milwaukee. In 1984, after completing his Air Force service, they returned to Wisconsin and together they started Family Foot Clinic in Fond du Lac and Chilton. They worked together for over 28 years to grow a successful practice and to serve the communities. Ian was on medical staff of hospitals in Fond du Lac, Chilton, Waupun, and Oshkosh. He had great knowledge of his field and dedication to his profession and took on many leadership roles successfully. He was Board Certified in reconstructive foot and ankle surgery. An active member of the Wisconsin Society of Podiatric Medicine and served as its President

from 1991 to 1993, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Award by the American Society of Podiatric Medicine in 1996. The Governor appointed Ian to serve a third term on the Podiatry Affiliated Credentialing Board for the State of Wisconsin and was presently serving as Board Chair.

Ian was a true humanitarian and provided much needed medical care on numerous trips with the Guatemala Medical Relief Project. His two sons, Andrew and Eric travelled with him several times to assist the group.

Ian was a devoted husband and father. The family enjoyed many travels together including visits to England and adventures/expeditions around the world. He also enjoyed car and motorcycle trips to unusual and distant locations.

Ian is survived by his wife, Susan; sons, Andrew Ian and Eric Charles; daughter, Heather Kathleen; brothers, Eric (Christine) Furness, Jeffrey (Laurie) Furness and their children and grandchil-dren; special relatives in England, Ken (Alma) Furness and their daughters. He was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers, the family will forward memorials to Ian’s favorite charities.

Ian was a loving and devoted family man, a loyal and helpful friend. He lived a very full life and will be dearly missed by all who loved him and knew him.

Ian’s life was remembered at a service 10 December 2012 at Uecker-Witt Funeral Home; a guestbook may be found at www.ueckerwitt.com

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A letter arrived from the UK headquarters of the AMOC in late December. I opened it expecting it to be just some kind of Club business and was surprised to see it was a personal letter from the Club Secretary. The Committee of Management had awarded me the 2011 Horace Wilmshurst Trophy for my DB MkIII as most interesting newcomer to Concours. The letter went on to invite me to the Prize Giving Lunch on January 28th. Checking my schedule, I saw the possibility for a very quick trip to accept the award in person, but wasn’t quite sure if this was indeed something considering. A few days later, in New York City at the AMOC USA - East Holiday Lunch, I had the opportunity to discover what had prompted this award and confirm that it was indeed worth a trip to the UK to receive it.

As suspected, Jim Hazen, a longtime supporter of my restoration efforts, having seen my car’s debut in person at Elkhart Lake last July had made the recommendation to the Committee of Management. Jim also informed me that Jim Causey, fellow Midwest Aston owner and former Midwest representative, was also to receive an award – the Oskar Ruegg Memorial Trophy for out-standing service by an international Member. Jim Hazen and other members who had attended the Prize Giving event in previous years made enthusiastic recommenda-tions to attend.

The cement in the decision was the encouragement from my wife that I should attend the event, as this may well be a once in a lifetime experience. I would have liked Kristi to come along, but unfortunately my work schedule really didn’t allow for a longer stay and she wasn’t too keen on a trip to London and back in the period of less than 4 days. On the other hand, Jim was able to manage a stay of almost a week, and had arranged to bring along 4 family members. Shortly after Jim and I made our plans, Henry Matson, current Midwest rep-resentative, and his wife Peggy, also decided to attend in order to show support for the Illinois contingent.

uK

By Peter Conover

AMOCAWARDSLUNCH 2012

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The AMOC headquarters in Drayton St. Leonard, just south of Oxford, is housed in a beautifully restored 600 year old grange barn—I had previously visited during a trip to England in 2005 with Kristi and our daughter, Lauren. At that time, although already a Club member, I still had not found my Aston. On the day we visited there was a Committee meet-ing – the only member who drove an Aston that day was David Crook who drove his beautiful DB MkIII, the very model car that I was hoping to have. Sadly, David passed away recently, but I considered that day to be some kind of sign that I was headed in the right direction.

Among its many merits, the Barn, as it is commonly referred to in AMOC parlance, is less than an hour’s drive from Heathrow air-port (especially since the rental car had GPS assistance). Therefore, having arrived in the morning after an overnight flight from Chicago, it was not a problem to get to the Barn by 11:30, in time for the champagne reception that began the day’s festivities. On display just outside the main entrance were the cars owned by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, which is also headquartered in the Barn. In addition, there were a smattering of Astons parked around the building - mostly modern cars, although there did in fact seem to be an inordinate number of Lagondas.

In addition to my fellow Midwesterners that had already arrived from where they were staying in London, I was greeted warmly by the UK AMOC members, some whom I had met previously either at events that I had attended in England or on their visits to

the US. Most notably, Ian Barclay, Deputy Chairman, and John Purser, Chairman of the Membership Sub-committee, and his wife Sara, whom I had first met when I attended the Mapledurham Concours in 2009 and who had come to the annual AMOC USA event at Lime Rock in 2010. We were lucky to be seated with Anne Wright, Secretary of the Aston Heritage Trust, who was able to give us a great deal of interesting information on the Barn, the Trust, and the workings of the Club.

After a wonderful lunch, the prize giving commenced, presided over by Richard Jackson, AMOC Chairman. Present throughout the distribution of some 41 awards was Lady Diana, the Viscountess Downe, who serves as AMOC President.

After the ceremony concluded, many members chose to linger for further conversation and browsing through the Club shop, as we took advantage of a few more photo opportunities. Since my award was really for my car’s restoration, Kristi had encouraged me to put together a photo album to show it’s condition when I acquired it and it’s transformation to present day. Many mem-bers seemed to enjoy viewing the album, but none more so than Jean Moss and Chris Adams, proprietors of Four Ashes Garage in Stratford-on-Avon, who had not only provided many parts required during the restoration, but much useful information and encouragement. As a matter of fact, knowing that Jean and Chris would be present, as they themselves had been granted an AMOC Award of Merit, I had contacted them beforehand asking if they could bring a few parts that I still needed!

After the event concluded, I was able to return the rental car and take the tube into Central London, where I rejoined the Causeys and Matsons. As it turns out, Johnny Dallow, AMOC Club Secretary was formerly Deputy Governor of the Tower of London, and was therefore able to make arrangements for us to attend that evening’s Ceremony of the Keys, a tradition that has occurred daily at the Tower for over 700 years.

Anyone who has visited London will know that one day is not sufficient to even scratch the surface of the many things to see and do. Nonetheless, our band of Midwesterners regrouped the fol-lowing morning in Covent Garden determined not let our single day together go to waste. Peggy Matson informed us that the

Hackett store nearby featuring Aston Martin Racing regalia was having a sale. Eager to bring home a wearable souvenir, we were like kids in a candy store, enticed by the stylish attire at significantly reduced prices. I wore my new AMR sweatshirt proudly the next day for the return trip home.

Peter Sprague of the US and George Minden from Canada recognized as saviours of AML

in 1975 along with Alan Curtis of the UK- they were awarded the Victor Gauntlett tro-

phy, a great leader we knew from his visits to Lime Rock and Monterey.

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When it comes to car shows, Chris Mulvihill does something decidedly unusual with his Aston Martin: he drives it there. After a spirited 300-mile drive from Chicago to Cincinnati, his 2007 V8 Vantage Coupé won Best In Class at the 35th Annual Ault Park Concours d’Elegance this June.

“Cars aren’t trophies designed to sit on a shelf—they’re machines made to be driven,” said Chris. “I thoroughly enjoy driving the Aston. It’s solid as a rock.”

Despite sweltering summer tempera-tures, thousands of people packed Ault

Park to view over 210 cars. The V8 edged out eight worthy competitors in the “Future Classic 2000-Present” category.

“I think what made the car stand out was the time I spent detailing it, plus the unique color combination that complements its shape and heritage,” Chris explained. The car is one of just 23—4.3L manufactured in Goodwood Green/Kestrel Tan interior and its color-coordinated luggage earned more than a few compliments.

Chris shared the win with James Laporte, Technician, and Ben Bartholomay, Parts

Manager of Lake Forest Sports Cars in Lake Forest, Ill.

“They work on the car as if it were their own. I really appreciate their passion and attention to detail—it’s something I think most car enthusiasts have in com-mon, and what ultimately makes the win-ning difference,” said Mulvihill.

Chris Mulvihill has a passion for exacting the performance of a vehi-cle. He always enjoys talking to fel-low enthusiasts and can be contacted at chris@classiccaradvisors.com

ohio

aSToN MaRTIN WINS bEST IN ClaSS aT 2012 aUlT paRK CoNCoURS D’ElEGaNCEBy Liz Mannebach

59

38 members of AMOC Southern California gathered on Sunday, 2 December for their annual holiday luncheon at Gulliver’s res-taurant in Irvine. As in years past AMOC members were joined by friends from the Bentley Drivers Club. Following cocktails and viewing cars in the parking lot, the group enjoyed English specialties-- prime rib, Yorkshire pudding and trifle. WEST leaders outlined plans for the coming year, with details to follow before each event. Two lucky participants won a drawing for bottles of single-malt scotch.

59

Left to right: David

Walmsley, John Mutlow,

Larry Fromm, David

Fancher and Mark Ransome

congregate behind Gary

Moore to hear about progress

on the Embiricos Bentley

roadster he is fabricating

Mark Ransome addresses the gathering as Gulliver’s serving wenches enjoy a well-deserved break.

CALiforNiA

aMoC WEST HolIDaY paRTY IN SoUTHERN CalIfoRNIa

Text and photos by Judy Chappel

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WiSCoNSiN

bRITISH CaR fIElD DaY

By Henry Matson

On Sunday, June 17, the British Car Field Day was held in Sussex, Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee. The show attracted about 220 British cars including Astons, Jaguars, MGs, Minis, Rolls Royces, Triumphs, and TVRs.

The weather was beautiful and the drive for all of us coming from different points on the compass was easy. We had six Astons committed to attending from within the Midwest area of the club. By 10:30 a DB2, a DB2/4 Mark III, a DB5, a DB7 GT, a DB9, and a V8 Vantage were all assembled on the lawn.

After we settled in under the canopy we set up to reduce our exposure to the intense sun, we got a visit from John Choren. John had stopped by our encampment last year and told us he had just purchased a Lagonda. Of course we all encouraged John to bring the car this year, and he did. Unfortunately he couldn’t park with us because a Land Rover had parked at the end of our Astons.

Peter Conover’s beautiful DB2/4 Mark III took second place in the broad class in which the Astons were competing.

Above: AMOC Midwest Astons, DB5, DB7GT, V8 Vantage, DB9, DB2/4, DB2/4 Mark III. Pictures by Henry Matson

Below: John Choren’s Lagonda Series 4. Picture by John Hauser.

GRaND-aM aT RoaD aMERICaBy Henry Matson Pictures by Eddie Manelis

WiSCoNSiN

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On Friday, June 22, the Continental Tire Grand-AM race was held at Road America near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Members of the AMOC Midwest were guests of Rick Mancuso, owner of Lake Forest Sports Cars (LFSC), our local Aston dealer, to support and watch the Multimatic Motorsports team’s V8 Vantage GT4 car compete.

The members arrived in the late morning and early afternoon at Road America. We headed for the Multimatic team encampment where we were treated to a thorough review of the V8 Vantage GT4 race car. We were hosted by Nick Mancuso, driver for one of the Multimatic Ford Focus ST race cars. He discussed the dynamics of the Aston and noted that the most significant change to it from what Aston delivered to them was the replacement of the Sports Shift transmission with a traditional 6 speed manual as required for the Grand-AM GS class. Unfortunately another dif-ference was the 200 lbs of ballast the Aston was required to carry because the Grand-AM committee felt the car was too fast versus the competition.

We were also introduced to Larry Holt, Vice President of Multimatic Engineering Services. Larry talked about some of the work Multimatic did for Aston Martin including construction of the carbon fiber tub and suspension for the One-77 super car.

The Multimatic team told us that there was another V8 Vantage GT4 also racing in the series by a privateer. We walked

around the paddock and found the car and talked with the lead mechanic. Sure enough it was an AMOC member, Tim Fox from New Jersey, that was driving the car.

After this, members walked to different spots around the track to see race cars practicing. Although the practice sessions for the Grand-AM series were already over, we did see NASCAR driv-ers and cars hustling around the track since they were to race on Saturday. Road America is a 4+ mile long 14 turn track and watching the NASCAR drivers was an interesting sight.

We had been treated to an air conditioned suite (much like a skybox) to watch the race by LFSC. So, before the race started we entered the suite where food and refreshments were served as well. The suite overlooks the one mile long main straight and the finish line was directly in front of us. Since the track at Road America is so big, the suite had monitors that provided views of other spots on the track.

The race started about 6:15 and ran for 2.5 hours. Initially the Multimatic V8 Vantage moved to second place after starting at fourth position. Over the course of the race with pit stops and many yellow caution periods the car ended up finishing 11th in GS class, although only 12 seconds behind the winning Porsche.

Early in the race Tim Fox’s V8 Vantage had an ABS lock-up which caused him to spin at the end of the main straight. He got back on the track and pitted soon after to fix the problem. Again

Photos, previous page: Nick Mancuso talks with AMOC members Henry Matson, Joe Maira, and Jon Hauser. The Multimatic V8 Vantage racing down the front straight.

Below: Carolyn & John Underhill view the track from our suite.Above right: AMOC member Tim4 Fox’s V8 Vantage GT.

The Specialist in all Vintage Aston Martins

Registered Office • 53 Stilebrook RoadYardley Road Industrial Estate • Olney • Bucks

MK46 5EA • United KingdomTel: +44 (0) 1234 240024 • Fax: +44 (0) 1234 240054info @ecuriebertelli.com • www.ecuriebertelli.com

The 2 litre 15/98 has until recently been in the shadow of the 1∏ litre cars, but they are now recognized as excellent cars in their own right. More powerful and flexible than earlier Astons with synchromesh gearbox and efficient Girling brakes they are indeed really superb Grand Touring cars in the true tradition.

This example was bought as a “barn find” by the previous owner and completely rebuilt in 2009-9. It has only been used sparingly since. It has a dry-sumped Speed Model specification engine by Ecurie Bertelli producing well over 100bhp and is very fast. Its “sparing” use has in fact been the last two “Flying Scotsman” rallies from London to Edinburgh which it completed with flying colours on both occasions and has proven to be 100% reliable.

With some pre-war rally history (1939 RSA Scottish Rally), this is one of the best examples in the world. It is in my showroom, on the button, and ready to go.

Contact Andy Bell for details.

1938 2 LITRE 15/98 SHORT CHASSISChassis no.B8/813/SO Price £185,000

65

he reentered the track and ran as high as ninth place until other problems resulted in a fortieth place finish in GS class.

Nick Mancuso, who drove one of the Multimatic Ford Focus STs, was running second place in ST class through much of the race. Unfortunately, late in the race when another car was bumped, it swung wide on the track and, in an attempt to continue, swung

back on the track and crashed into Nick’s car causing it to leave the track and spin into a barrier. Nick’s car was totaled but he was OK.

Thanks to Rick Mancuso and the Multimatic Motorsports team for their sponsorship and hospitality making this a great event for the AMOC Midwest.

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CALiforNiA

Aston Martin Racing came to California for two races on the West Coast as they continued in their preparations for Le Mans this year. April 13-14 saw the Gulf-liveried V8 Vantage compete at Long Beach, followed by Laguna Seca May 11-12. While the focus is on performance on the track, AMR also offers a hospital-ity package for those who attend the race, resulting in the perfect mix of food, drink, and cars at each venue.

The race in Long Beach was part of the American Le Mans Series, run during a weekend that also saw Indy cars taking to the street circuit for their own race the following day. Friday, the day of quali-fying, saw the Aston second fastest in its class, but torrential rain forced the orga-nizers to cancel the balance of qualifying. Forced to improvise, grid places were then given out on a point basis, and with AMR only having competed in select ALMS races to date, the harsh result was a last place grid spot.

ASTONMARTINRACINGOUTWEST

By George Wood

Rain, and snow, were waiting for those of us traveling from north of the Los Angeles basin Saturday morning for the race, but once into LA proper it became just another sunny day in California. Arriving in Long Beach, it was apparent that spectator view-ing, as at most street circuits, would be a bit limited, but AMR did an excellent job placing its hospitality tent in an area that maximized the opportunity for observation of the race. Guests of AMR were treated to a catered breakfast and lunch, after which drivers Darren Turner and Adrian Fernandez signed posters and spoke to the crowd at the Aston Martin tent.

The race began with Aston Martin on pace to pass everyone, the BMW’s, Corvettes, and other class competition, given enough time. Working against a two hour race schedule, Darren Turner and Adrian Fernandez climbed from last to fifth place when the checkered flag fell, and though not in front at the end of the race, did more and worked harder than any other team to try and secure a class victory. To

celebrate all of the hard work, champagne was poured at the hospitality tent and glasses were raised to a job well done and certainly one deserving of a better result.

With an intervening race at Spa, AMR returned to California to race at Laguna Seca on May 11-12. Being a six hour race, Stefan Mucke was added to the lineup of Aston drivers. This time Aston Martin qualified in first place, and deserv-edly so, with quite a gap between the V8 Vantage, and the second place qualifier. Friday’s qualifying was marred by the sad news that former Aston Martin driver and Le Mans winner Carroll Shelby had passed away the evening before. Carroll’s daugh-ter Simone, who had attended the race in Long Beach, received the news as she was about to fly up to Laguna Seca, and was forced to send her regrets to everyone at the race track on a day where she was needed elsewhere.

Saturday’s race started at 1:30 pm. With the numbers on the V8 Vantage set in black in honor of Carroll Shelby,

and the organizers dedicating the race to Carroll, his wife Cleo sent word dur-ing the race thanking everyone for the gesture. Beginning the race first in class, Mucke was not seriously challenged until refueling and a penalty for kissing the rear of a Ferrari without permission (it would have to be the race sponsor’s Ferrari), put the Aston a lap down. Despite a hard fight by Mucke, Turner and Fernandez throughout the balance of the race, they were unable to challenge for the lead, though a statement was made about the endurance of the V8 Vantage with a strong finish.

All in all, over the span of the two races in California, AMR showed that they will be more than a handful for the competi-tion at Le Mans. Thanks to Aston Martin Racing for two weekends of exciting racing, and to the staff of AMR, includ-ing Guylaine Moreau, for providing the hospitality that made the weekends so enjoyable. Best of luck to AMR for the balance of the 2012 racing season!

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Amongst the excessive neon orange traffic cones, the constant flash of red brake lights and gray shadows of looming corporate offices, there is one color that could possibly be the source of all bumper to bumper traffic of Northern Virginia, Elwood Blue.

The unique color combination of cobalt and royal blue, the elegant Aston Martin wings and roar of the V12 engine are the cause of head-turning traffic on a daily basis. For Andy Anderson, dealer principal of the new Aston Martin Washington DC and owner of the bold V12 Vantage, the gawking never gets old.

As a passionate Aston Martin driver, Andy Anderson joined forces with five fellow enthusiasts of the brand to reinvigorate the Aston Martin presence in the Greater Metropolitan DC area. Alongside Andy is Jonathan Metcalfe, senior financial advisor and also chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Aston Martin Owners Club; William Shawn, prominent DC lawyer; Rudy Casasola, head of an IT/communications company; Michael Bratti, commercial stone contractor; and Ian Carter, entrepreneur of a world-class hotel chain. As members of AMOC , the fellowship with the club and new dealership has already established a fruitful association beginning with a local track day on June 14th.

Escaping the construction and corporate drag of the Capital Region, members, new clients and prospects joined AMOC and Aston Martin Washington DC in the hills of Summit Point, West Virginia; a picturesque refuge and mecca for fast cars located only an hour from the home of the dealership in Tysons Corner. One revealing peak and valley of the narrowing road after another and the true beauty of the Virginias is exposed. Yet it is at the apex of Pit Hill onto the Shenandoah circuit at Summit Point Raceway that provides the most thrilling view of all.

Framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Shenandoah circuit was studded in an impressive showing of Aston Martins and other exotic cars; the movie-like juxtaposition turned reality for the 50+ drivers and spectators.

The gathering of luxury vehicles began bright and early around 8 am. Eager drivers gathered around for breakfast spread under the awning of an RV lent to AMOC from a member for use through-out the day; the coffee and sugary doughnuts rivaled the amount of energy already buzzing through the increasingly warming air.

The drivers took advantage of the air conditioning of the instructor classroom as Matt Lallo, chief driving instructor and

WAShiNGtoN dC

aMoC aND aSToN MaRTIN WaSHINGToN DC loCal TRaCK DaY 2012

By Callie McGee

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fellow Aston Martin driver, provided a run through of the sched-ule, basic rules of the track and what to expect out of the day ahead. Following his presentation, Matt introduced Phil Bastiaans, European GT4 Racing Champion and son of Pieter Bastiaans, General Sales Manager of Aston Martin Washington DC. Phil expressed his gratitude and excitement of joining AMOC and the new Aston Martin Washington DC, offering the passenger seat of any attendee that would like to hit the track with him.

The musical roars of alternating engines began firing and filling up the pit lane as Group 1 kicked off the first session at 10 am. Matt Lallo took turns with several drivers to give them an in-car instruction demonstrating the capabilities of their vehicles and how to properly handle the turns, straights and infamous Karussel.

Both the track and temperature were heating up quite fast; the speed of the cars a close contender to that of the drivers racing to the cooler to grab an iced cold bottle of water after their 30-minute session around the 2.2 mile track.

The action of the day was documented by both a professional photographer, Goly Miamee, and a videographer, Jose Santos, capturing on-track footage and commentary from participants. Jose

Santos also had the opportunity to record from the passenger seat of the Elwood Blue V12 Vantage. Honing in on the sights and sounds from the inside of the car, Jose provided a unique perspective to the Track Day experience. The video can be viewed on Aston Martin Washington DC’s website at www.AstonMartinWashingtonDC.com, YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Spectators and idle participants had the chance to view a static display of three cars from the Aston Martin Washington DC inventory: a Stratus White V12 Vantage, Quantum Silver Virage roadster and Lightning Silver DBS. Towards the end of the thrill-ing day, the crowd gathered around to view the small piece of the extensive range of models at the Aston Martin Washington DC showroom, enjoy refreshments and discuss their great experience on the Shenandoah Circuit.

The beautiful weather, spirited crowd and impressive display of exotic vehicles made for a very safe and successful track day. “The worst part of the day was the drive home,” expressed one participant. The positive feedback from the event has sparked the planning of another day at the track in the near future.

“One revealing peak and valley of the narrowing road after another and the true beauty of the Virginias is exposed.”

START AT THE TOP…with an ad in The Vantage Point.

Our readers are at the very top of the busi-ness and professional world; there’s no waste circulation. If your target is the top 1 percent of decision-makers by income or net worth, our fellow members could be prospective customers for your products or services.

TVP is cost efficient; just $450 a page for high quality, four-color ads next to world class editorial content four times a year.

Plus, 100 percent of what you spend with The Vantage Point goes to AMOC North America. Your support of TVP helps us cover increased production and postage costs, leaving more funds for club events and promotion.

Of course, our Aston owners love their cars—and to spend for new Astons and other

collectible cars, as well as accessories and services as diverse as car transport, restoration, and leasing. The Vantage Point readers include buyers of the latest Astons as well as owners of classic Astons that may be in the value range of six to seven figures.

While the magazine’s art director is a retained professional, our editorial team is a set of club volunteers—which does not preclude professional handling of your advertising! Several members of our team have career publishing and editorial experience—and we’ve worked hard to produce a car club quarterly that is as “uncommon” as the Aston Martin brand itself, and a great show-case for your company’s ad.

aSToN MaRTIN oWNERS ClUb NoRTH aMERICa

QUaRTERlY JoURNal

n please contact Jim Hazen, Director of advertising.

n TEl: 617-515-3695 n EMaIl: vantagepointamoc@gmail.com

A N A D V E R T I S E M E N T f o r A D V E R T I S E R S

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By Jacques-Louis Bertin & Arnald Millereau

Format: Hardbound with dustcover, 200 pgsISBN-10: 2726896162 ISBN-13: 978-2726896167Publisher: Editions E.T.A.I / FranceSize: 31.6 x 24.2 x 1.8 cmPublished: June 2012Price: 46 euros/approx. $58.00In stock: www.librairie-passionautomobile.com/Catalogue/NOUV.aspx, Amazon.fr and Amazon.uk

This book, an updated and expanded edition of the work the same authors published in 2004, tells the story of GT cars from this prestigious brand, since the post-war until today. Coverage includes the Cygnet but omits the Lagonda since it is not a coupe!

From the dust jacket is this biography of the authors “The two authors of this book are obviously fans of the brand from Gaydon. They live, they breathe, they think Aston Martin! In France there is a small circle of connoisseurs of the brand, but the authors of this book, who are both alumni of the late Serge Pozzoli Fanauto, are among the few who can write about Aston Martin by transmitting their passion to readers.”

This is an information book, not just lovely coffee-table photographs of models as diverse as the Vanquish and One-77.

Mr. Bertin and Dr. Millard (MD) are the two most prolific authors on Astons in the French language. Of course, this is “Le MUST” for the library of the dedi-cated Aston Martin bibliophile.

At a time when presented the latest creation of Aston Martin Vanquish’s impressive, it is good to get back into the history of the British brand. Editions ETAI come just published a book on coupes and convertibles from Aston.

Written by Jacques-Louis Bertin and Arnald Millereau, two long-time fans of the brand, the book “Aston Martin Coupes and Convertibles” is an updated edition of the book also published by ETAI in 1994.

With a rich iconography and texts teeming with information, “Aston Martin, cut & convertibles” looks at

the entire production of the brand since 1948. The two-liter Sport (later called DB1) to...Cygnet, through the whole line of cars designed under the guidance of David Brown (whose DB5 dear to a certain British spy...), and those who were born during the era Ford. Only forgotten: the Aston Martin Lagonda which is, indeed, not a coupe.

The history of the brand is well reviewed over the models produced over the last 64 years.

aSToN MaRTIN, CoUpéS ET CabRIolETS DEpUIS 1948 [aM CoUpES aND CoNvERTIblES SINCE 1948]

booK reVieW

By Nick Candee

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booK reVieW

By James Edmonds

ToNY bRooKS— poETRY IN MoTIoN aUTobIoGRapHY of a SUpREME GRaND pRIx DRIvERFormat: Hardcover, 276 PagesItem: 200817ISBN: 9781899870837Publisher: MRPIllustrations: 250 b/w & color photosSize: 8.8 x 11 x .9Weight: 2.938 lb.Published: May 1st 2012Price: $89.50

“The best driver the world doesn’t know about”. That is how Sir Stirling Moss described Tony Brooks, a virtuoso sports car and Grand Prix driver of the golden era. His long awaited autobiography does not disappoint – for those who enjoy sta-tistics, Brooks shows that he kept a racing diary second to none. For those who enjoy anecdotes, the stories give more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. For those who enjoy racing history, its rich text and com-parisons with contemporaries as well as the modern sport, give real insight. For those

who like to peruse casually, there are many photographs, most from the Brooks’ family archive and never before seen.

The story starts at the beginning and chronicles Brooks’ studious nature and happy supportive home life, setting him up for his successes as a driver, team diplomat, businessman and his most important role, as a family man.

As many race fans know, Brooks stud-ied as, and later became a dentist, although he would never practice as such. He started out on two wheels, learning his craft on motorcycles while traversing country roads before transferring to the relative safety of a car – his first race taking place at the wheel of his mother’s Healey Silverstone. Due to the lack of available finance, Tony was forced to drive with care and mechanical sympathy in order that his steed would be available for the next event…not to mention for his mother to be able to get to town! It was his care and attention that earned him his reputation as a “safe pair of hands” and invitations to drive others cars materialized enabling young Brooks to take the next step up the proverbial ladder.

Brooks is very analytical and imparts to the reader detailed accounts of how his style progressed and the techniques he used to get the most out of his machinery. He chronicled his own progress by way of improved lap times at each circuit instead of race wins, which did not come right away as he was racing for class wins rather than overall honors.

Tony’s modesty is evident when he talks about the first time he wore racing overalls, “Racing overalls were something to be earned, not worn to bounce around the paddock with a ‘look at me, I’m a rac-ing driver’ air, while still metaphorically wearing ‘L’ plates (big red ‘Learner’ stick-ers on the front and rear of student drivers’ road cars in the UK. JE). It was not until the BRDC accepted me as a member that I felt justified in wearing racing overalls.” After testing for Aston Martin at a wet and cold Chalgrove, he finally felt justi-fied in wearing his ‘uniform’ when he was retained by John Wyer for the 1955 season for the princely sum of £50, his first race for the equipe being the ill-fated and tragic Le Mans race.

His humility is further evidenced dur-ing the read when he fails to ever sing his own praises, preferring to cite period race reports to highlight his growing prowess behind the wheel.

Tony’s love of driving and the pleasure he derived from it is obvious in his prose. He loved the challenging and fast road circuits over the flat and featureless aero-dromes and tells of how drifting his Aston around Spa in a rhythmic series of corners and bends as “inducing a state of ecstasy”. He wrote a motoring column for the newspaper The Observe” for many years and is no slouch behind the keyboard. His insights into the psyche of many of his friends and colleagues of the time are quite revealing as he tells of the personal fears and concerns of the drivers as they wrestled with the demons induced by the stress of the racing era. Can you imagine a single stint of 30 laps at Le Mans, com-pared to the 10 or so they drive today? In those cars?

As well as the personal observations, Brooks gives great race details such as how a Peugeot drove the DBR1 off the road at the ‘Ring in 1958. Also how he was excused from Le Mans 1959 – a race he hated - when with Ferrari, and how the cars were way under geared: since Behra was unwilling to stick to the 7500 rpm limit, his tach telltale showed 9300rpm when the engine blew causing a furious row with team manager Tavoni. I’ve read all the books, and I’ve never seen some of these gems.

Tony drove at the height of the ‘Golden Era’ and then moved into the early rear engined machines, but his unlucky deci-sions with the wrong teams as well as poor team tactics show what a huge disap-pointment his final two seasons were, the reader is almost able to feel him biting his tongue when discussing his final year with BRM. It is also obvious that in retrospect the front engine cars with which he had so much success gave him a lot more driving pleasure.

Tony’s romance and ultimate marriage to his Italian wife Pina is a delightful thread that runs through the book, and he tackled family life with the same style with which he created poetry in his cars. His life as a businessman in the motor trade is also detailed and is a nice close to this most delightful and talented driver’s story.

For the casual modern Aston fan, this book may not hold too much interest, but for those die hards of the marque (this word chosen intentionally instead of ‘brand’!) and those with a keen interest in motor racing history, this book is an abso-lute must have.

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booK reVieW

By Jim Hazen

DbR9—THE DEfINITIvE HISToRY

An acquaintance of mine caught the car bug some years ago. Bolstered by his success and spousal approval, he amassed quite a nice little collection: Daytona, XK120, Morgan, E-Type, DB7 Vantage and a Porsche RS Lightweight were all in his garage. He was also a voracious collector of items pertaining to his rides.

The cars since have moved on, as have the other accoutrements of his car habit. All except one. What was too good to let go, it’s the seminal book on the Porsche RS. For him that book is an all-time great and unlike the car, one my friend will never part with.

TAG Books in Germany published that Porsche book. It was their only offering at the time, and a great one. With the pub-lication of DBR9—The Definitive History they’ve done it again. This new book is just as compelling and even more beautifully executed. In a time when the top publishers of automotive works have raised the standard on high-end single model or single marque books, DBR9—The Definitive History takes the genre to a new level. Like the Porsche book that my friend has cherished, DBR9—The Definitive History is one that I will never part with. In my experience I have ever seen a better book about a racing car.

DBR9—The Definitive History is by Christoph Mäder and Thomas Gruber. All you have to do is flip through a few pages to see that these guys have done extensive research and seem to know just about everything there is to know about the DBR9. They come by this knowledge based on experience that few other authors would have. They were both involved with the DBR9 in GT1 racing as part of the Jetalliance Racing program. Mäder was in team management and Gruber was a team driver. The Jetalliance Racing DBR9 GT1 effort

achieved success with a podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2009. So if anyone is going to write such a comprehensive book, these two gentlemen are eminently qualified.

The DB9 launched in 2004 marked an evolution point for Aston Martin, a new platform with 21st century technology. It was also presented a car the car that could become the basis for a LeMans contender. In the book there is a quote from David Richards where he says that before the DB9, Aston Martin could not have gone racing again. The platform, the fantastic engine and the achingly beautiful shape were what was needed to build on. In all, 19 DBR9 racecars were built and most were campaigned extensively between 2005 and 2011.

At its first race at Sebring in 2005 a DBR9 finished first in class. At LeMans DBR9s would go on to place first in class in 2007 and 2008. There were also wins in the FIA World Championship and ALMS. The DBR9 was remarkably successful against teams with greater corporate financial backing and much larger budgets, like Corvette Racing.

All the history, all the racing statistics and all of the teams and drivers are presented in DBR9—The Definitive History. Now that may sound a bit cumbersome, but that is far from how the infor-mation is presented. The book has over 400 photos (many never before published), fantastic graphics and drawings, and in-depth information on the development of the DBR9.

Reading the book you get a clear idea of how a modern racing car is conceived, developed, campaigned and evolved over the span of its competitive life. The old saw on how do you make a small

74

fortune in racing…you start with a big one, is certainly under-standable when you read this book. The technology, development work and resources needed are extensive.

There are so many good things about the book it is hard to iden-tify one aspect over another. But what I liked best are the cut away drawings on clear vellum. At key points in the description of the car, the authors use multi-layered clear panels that show the DBR9 from different perspectives. These pages are like peeling away layers of the car as the clear pages are turned. From one to the next the reader is shown more in-depth information on how the car is constructed or how the aerodynamics work.

To say that DBR9—The Definitive History is a detailed and comprehensive book that presents information in a compelling manner is only half right. To conceive and write something this good takes not only experience and extensive research, it must also be done with passion for the subject and a real commitment to

quality from the authors and the publisher. The book is not cheap, but to me it is well worth the cost for the money.

This magazine featured the DBR9 throughout its career. One memorable cover of The Vantage Point showed soggy members of the Aston Martin Racing team cheering at a rain soaked LeMans as the DRB9 crossed the start finish line first in class. I was lucky enough to see the DBR9 beat the Corvette at the finish line at Lime Rock in 2006 [so was Ed.!]. It was a wonderful victory at the line, more akin to one thoroughbred racehorse beating another by a nose. The champagne was flowing in the Aston Martin Racing hospitality trailers and the victory was sweet.

If you have the urge and you purchase a copy of DBR9—The Definitive History you will not be disappointed. And I think it will be a book that you will cherish as well.

For more information on DBR9—The Definitive History visit Tag Books at www.tag-books.com/.

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Thomas Ackerson San Marino, CA 2007 DB9 Volante

R. J. Q. Adams Bryan, TX 2007 V8 Vantage

Robert W. Airey Sunnyvale, CA 1965 DB5

Lindsey Akamu Honolulu, HI 2007 V8 Vantage

Harald & Claudia Albrecht Las Vegas, NV 2000 DB7 Vantage Volante

Toni Alexander Laguna Beach, CA 2009 DB9 Coupe

Marc A Anderson Houston, TX 1976 V8

James Andrianos Seattle, WA 1976 V8

Baron Michael & Baroness Lilith Aquino San Francisco, CA

Rob & Marina Arnott Newport Beach, CA 2006 DB9 Coupe

Skip & Margo Atkins Santa Fe, NM 1961 DB4

S. Leonard Auerbach San Francisco, CA 1961 DB4

Dean A. Avedon Los Angeles, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Ms. Lee Bailey Dallas, TX 2010 DBS Volante

Ana Fernandez Leon & Richard Baker Burlingame, CA 2011 DB9 Coupe

Henry Bandet Atherton, CA 1975 V8

Dave & Radhika Banerjee Calabasas, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

W. D. Banks Seattle, WA

Brian J. Barbata Kailua, HI 1967 DB6

Robert O. Barton Palm Springs, CA

Peter Bateman Surrey, BC Canada

John Batterton Los Gatos, CA 2007 V8 Vantage Roadster

Dan Baum Templeton, CA 2008 V8 Vantage

Christopher T. Bayley Seattle, WA 1997 DB7 I6 Coupe

Richard & Emma Beanland Mercer Island, WA 2008 DBS

Dr. Nicholas. A. Begovich Fullerton, CA

Kim A. Anderson & Andrew C. Bentley Florence, OR 1998 DB7 I6 Coupe

David Berelson Tiburon, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

John Biegler Afton, MN 2003 DB7 Vantage Volante

Kazimierz & Judith Bielinski Huntington Beach, CA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Troy Blakely Beverly Hills, CA

Robert J. Bleck Los Angeles, CA 2006 DB9 Coupe

Tony Blevins Half Moon Bay, CA 1998 DB7 I6 Volante

Keith Blodgett Tiburon, CA 2009 DBS

Noel E. Blum Boulder, CO 2009 V8 Vantage Roadster

Dr. Christopher Bolz Eugene, OR

Robin Bolz Sammamish, WA 1998 DB7 I6 Coupe

Roger & Lynn Borst Fallbrook, CA

Stephen Brauer St. Louis, MO 1965 DBV

John Breslow Scottsdale, AZ 1962 DB4

Randy Brewer Canyon Lake, TX 2009 V8 Vantage

David A. & Sheila D. Brown Saratoga, CA 2010 DBS

Val Brown Vancouver, WA 1963 DB4

Joe & Margot Calabrese Los Angeles, CA 1964 DB5

Paul & Tere Carrubba Aptos, CA 1964 DB5

Chris M. Cason San Rafael, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage Volante

Eric Christenson Morgan Hill, CA 2008 V8 Vantage

Harold & Joyce Clark Hemet, CA

James Clark Chandler, AZ 1998 DB7 I6 Coupe

Salvatore Coco Henderson, NV 2007 V8 Vantage Roadster

David Cohen Palo Alto, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage GT

Jim & Holly Connell Ashland, OR 2012 V12 Virage

Arthur B. & Nevada Cook Pacific Palisades, CA 1962 DB4

Joseph Cordner Los Angeles, CA

Charles & Susan Cortsen Campbell, CA 1962 DB4

CElEbRaTING 25 YEaRS of WEST Co-SUppoRTING oUR MaGaZINE

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Marshall & Donna Cox Corona del Mar, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage

Simon & Shelly Coyle Folsom, CA 2009 DB9 Coupe

Anthony L. T. & Claudia Cragg Evergreen, CO 2006 DB9 Volante

Daniel & Carolyn Crossley Las Vegas, NV 2008 V8 Vantage

Richard (Rick) Crouch Olathe, KS 2010 DBS

Allison Pon & Chris Croudace Los Altos, CA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Brian & Susan Currie La Quinta, CA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Keith Dahl Huntington Beach, CA 1997 DB7 I6 Coupe

John C. David St. Louis, MO

Jackie & Ron Davies DDS Laguna Hills, CA 1997 DB7 I6 Volante

Christopher Davis Park City, UT 2006 V8 Vantage

Michael Degan Santa Monica, CA 2008 DB9 Volante

Capt. J-C Demirdjian Los Angeles, CA 2001 DB7 Vantage

Robert & Patricia Dennis Burbank, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Alastair K. & Andrew K Donald Katy, TX 2012 V12 Virage

Frederick Dreier Portland, OR 1959 DB2/4 MK III

James P. Dretler Tucson, AZ 2003 Vanquish

Frederick M. & Elizabeth Dulien Newport Beach, CA 1967 DB6

Mrs. Shawn & Bill Ebert Morgan Hill, CA 2009 V8 Vantage Roadster

Steven Eldridge Temecula, CA 2009 V8 Vantage

Charles M.W. Elliott Playa Del Rey, CA 2005 DB9 Coupe

Charles W. Elliott Golden, CO 1991 Virage

Robert M. Elliott MD Newport Beach, CA 2001 DB7 Vantage Volante

Dr. Ivor R. Ellul Houston, TX 2008 DB9 Coupe

Barry Engel Denver, CO 2007 V8 Vantage

Andy & Karla Evanger Fairbanks, AK 2009 DB9 Volante

Keith Evans Santa Rosa, CA 2006 V8 Vantage

Marcus Everard Beverly Hills, CA 1997 DB7 I6 Coupe

David E. & Maureen L. Fancher San Juan Capistrano, CA 1997 DB7 I6 Volante

Harry Felder Santa Barbara, CA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

William Feldhorn Malibu, CA 1960 DB4

Chet Fite Fair Oaks, CA 2007 V8 Vantage Roadster

Alexa Chappellet & John Patrick Flagler Agoura, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Mark Flaming San Rafael, CA 2009 DBS

Chet & Joan Floyd Manhattan Beach, CA 1961 DB4

Kevin & Lori Flynn Dallas, TX 1978 V8

Gary R. Fornfeist Reno, NV 2005 DB9 Coupe

Clifford & Susan Franklin Westpoint, CA 2009 DB9 Volante

Gordon Frevel San Diego, CA 1984 V8

Jeannette & Lawrence Fromm OD San Clemente, CA 1991 Virage

Randy A. Garcia Las Vegas, NV 2007 DB9 Coupe

Marshall D. Gardner Dallas, TX 1988 V8

Efim Gendler Austin, TX 2006 V8 Vantage

Gregory R. Gill Long Beach, CA 1963 DB5

Warren Goldstein MD Colorado Springs, CO 2011 V12 Vantage

David B. & Caroline Goodell Del Mar, CA

Andrew M. Gordon Los Angeles, CA 1954 DB2/4

David Goward Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Doreen Green Dublin, CA 1959 DB2/4 MK III

Kerry Green & Ritch Julian Livermore, CA

Michael R. Green Dublin, CA 1959 DB2/4 MK III

Brian Greenstone Austin, TX 2009 V8 Vantage Roadster

Lewis and Jennifer Gridley San Francisco, CA 1980 V8

Roger & Rhonda Groves Monarch Beach, CA 1957 DB2/4 MK III

CElEbRaTING 25 YEaRS of WEST Co-SUppoRTING oUR MaGaZINE

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Alberto A. Gutierrez Albuquerque, NM 1966 DB6

Pasi Hamalainen Manhattan Beach, CA 1995 Virage Vantage

Herb & Karen Harris Austin, TX 2002 Vanquish

Harry Hart Indian Wells, CA 2001 DB7 Vantage

Hans I. Haselbach Carmel Valley, CA 2001 DB7 Vantage

Dr. Bill & Mrs. Anne Hazelton Anchorage, AK 1977 V8

Stephen Hill Los Gatos, CA

Roger Hoffmann Point Reyes Station, CA 1953 DB2

Tony Hogg Houston, TX 2012 V12 Virage

Arnold & Carole Hoke North Bend, WA 1963 DB4

Richard & Karen Holmes La Mesa, CA 1998 DB7 I6 Volante

David Hood Hillsborough, CA 2006 Vanquish S

Danavon L. & Kim Horn Palm Desert, CA 2005 DB9 Coupe

Mr. Joseph Horner Sunnyvale, CA 1976 V8

Daniel R. Householder Seabrook, TX

Kipland & Susan Howard San Diego, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Sylvia McArthur & Robert Howlett Los Angeles, CA

Dan Hussey Henderson, NV

Robert C. Jackson Alpine, CA 2002 DB7 Vantage

David L. James Bend, OR 2011 V8 Vantage

Julian Jenkins Irvine, CA

Bill Johnson Redding, CA

Michael J. Johnson Warrenton, OR 1965 DB5

Mimi D. Johnson Irvine, CA

Jeff & Tara Kahler Modesto, CA 2005 DB9 Coupe

Ed & Carole Kainen Las Vegas, NV 2007 V8 Vantage

Ha Mung Kam Los Angeles, CA 2011 V8 Vantage S

Kevin & Cathi Kay Redding, CA 1953 DB2

Joachim Kern Beverly Hills, CA 2006 DB9 Volante

Edward King San Francisco, CA

Phil King Boise, ID 2007 V8 Vantage

Jonathan S. Kitchen San Francisco, CA 1977 V8

Ray & Joann Klauer Los Angeles, CA 2000 DB7 Vantage

Ronald L. Knipper Cotati, CA 1975 V8

Filip Kojic Santa Monica, CA

Scott & Joanie Kriens Saratoga, CA 1963 DB4

William J. Kubida Colorado Springs, CO 2005 Vanquish S

Augustine Kuo Berkeley, CA 2006 V8 Vantage

Michael LaBarre San Diego, CA 2006 V8 Vantage

Al Langella Manhattan Beach, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage Volante

Victor W. Lanz Carlsbad, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Michael Lara Alameda, CA

John D. Lavendoski Austin, TX 1986 V8

Clifford Lavine San Francisco, CA

Pascal Levensohn St. Helena, CA 2009 DBS

Gary Lindstrom Salt Lake City, UT 1958 DB2/4 MK III

Betty B. & Gordon B. Logan Georgetown, TX 2003 DB AR1

Eric Dee Long Austin, TX 2009 DBS

Jeff Long Honolulu, HI 1953 DB2

Mr. Donald & Mrs. Terry Lovasik Martinez, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

James C. Lui Martinez, CA 2001 DB7 Vantage Volante

Steven Mahon Aloha, OR 2006 DB9 Volante

Jay and Katni Malmquist Portland, OR

Diku Mandavia Los Angeles, CA 2006 DB9 Coupe

Alex Manos Beverly Hills, CA

Jon Marashi Los Angeles, CA 2010 V8 Vantage

Chris Marchack Pasadena, CA 2001 DB7 Vantage

Roger D. Maurer Cherry Hills, CO 2005 DB9 Coupe

CElEbRaTING 25 YEaRS of WEST Co-SUppoRTING oUR MaGaZINE

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Lisa & Wes McArtor Cody, WY 2012 V12 Virage

Bruce McCaw Bellevue, WA

Terry McMichael Mukilteo, WA 2006 DB9 Volante

Kevin McQuillan Palo Alto, CA 2009 DB9 Coupe

Les Melburg Redding, CA 2012 V8 Vantage

William A. & Frances Mester Snohomish, WA 1961 DB4

Robert Meyers Austin, TX 2006 V8 Vantage

Marshall V. Miller Kansas City, MO 1959 DB2/4 MK III

David & Sue Milligan Libertyville, IL 2003 DB7 Vantage GT

Mrs. Barbara Milne San Ramon, CA

Andrew Milukoff Los Angeles, CA 1967 DB6

Ed Mitchell Belmont, CA 2009 V8 Vantage

Dan Mooney Austin, TX 1960 DB4

Brooke & Gary D. Moore La Canada, CA

Martin & Molly Ann Moore Cherry Hills Village, CO 2007 V8 Vantage

Ron and Lorie Moran Long Beach, CA 2006 DB9 Volante

Tim Morgan Seattle, WA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

John Mote Sun Valley, CA 2003 DB AR1

Thomas P. Mulhall Milbrae, CA 1969 DBS

Richard L. Munns Los Alamitos, CA 2003 Vanquish

John V. Mutlow FAIA & Carmelina Geronca Los Angeles, CA 1964 DB5

Peter & Elizabeth Myles Flower Mound, TX 2009 DBS

Neil Nakagawa Sacramento, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Richard Nash Boulder, CO 1960 DB4

David & Elizabeth Netto Los Angeles, CA 2010 Rapide

Martin A. & Suzanne P. Nunez Seattle, WA 2001 DB7 Vantage

John P. Obenauer Sacramento, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage

Martin H. Olson II Orinda, CA 2006 DB9 Coupe

Terry & Jan Opdendyk Los Altos Hills, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Ben Ostlind Santa Rosa, CA 2007 V8 Vantage Roadster

Claudio & Ruth Padres Redlands, CA 2006 V8 Vantage

Achille & Joan Paladini San Mateo, CA 2005 DB9 Coupe

David A. Pasant Redondo Beach, CA 1987 V8

John & Tija Patrick North Hollywood, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage

Preston Patterson Grand Junction, CO 1977 V8

Denny K. Paul Carmel, CA 1998 DB7 I6 Volante

Bryan Paulson Eugene, OR 2003 DB7 Vantage GT

Robert B. Peacock Dallas, TX 1961 DB4

Richard & Angelina Pearce Saratoga, CA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Neil Peart Santa Monica, CA 2010 DBS

Buddy & Arline Pepp Beverly Hills, CA 1977 V8

Donald V. Petroni Santa Ynez, CA 1958 DB2/4 MK III

Peter Phelps Laguna Beach, CA 2011 V8 Vantage

Duane Phillips Sacramento, CA 2008 V8 Vantage

Tom & Gwen Price Larkspur, CA 1961 DB4

Donald R. Proctor Walnut Creek, CA 2009 V8 Vantage Roadster

J. Roberto Quiroz The Woodlands, TX 2006 Vanquish S

Peter Racely Danville, CA 2008 V8 Vantage

Mark & Jane Ransome Brea, CA 1955 DB2/4

Philip J. Ranucci & Linda Playman Carpinteria, CA 1992 Virage

Vincent Ratford La Quinta, CA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Patrick Ray San Juan Bautista, CA 1965 DB5

Mr. Neville R. Ray Sammamish, WA 2007 V8 Vantage Roadster

Peter Read Berkeley, CA 1965 DBV

CElEbRaTING 25 YEaRS of WEST Co-SUppoRTING oUR MaGaZINE

Michael S. Reese Austin, TX 2010 DBS

William & Patricia Reifers Medford, OR 2005 DB9 Coupe

Carol Resnick Plano, TX 2010 V8 Vantage

Robert Matthew Reveille Golden, CO 2012 V8 Vantage S

Daniel & Katy Rhodes Los Angeles, CA 1967 DB6

Hobie Richards Beaverton, OR 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Joe Richelieu San Clemente, CA 1967 DBS

Cort Rockwood Tustin Ranch, CA 1968 DBS

Mark & Sandy Rodrigues San Juan Capistrano, CA 1979 V8

Christian & Sharon Roe Scottsdale, AZ 1965 DB6

Khristeena & David Rosen Beverly Hills, CA 2004 Vanquish

Jerry F. Rosenstock Encino, CA 1966 DBV

Bob Rosin San Francisco, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

Edson M. & Arleen G. Rowley Elbert, CO 1981 Lagonda

Bill & Patricia Russell Saratoga, CA 2011 Rapide

Michael Russo Woodinville, WA 2005 DB9 Coupe

Niels & Sonja Rydder Escondido, CA 2011 V12 Vantage

Charles W. Sachs Garden Ridge, TX 2007 V8 Vantage

Kohei Saito Sausalito, CA 1967 DB6

Russell J. & Rachel M. Salisbury Hutto, TX 1969 DBS

John A. Sanders Centennial, CO 2006 V8 Vantage

John Sanders Modesto, CA 1960 DB4

Richard & Pam Schader Scottsdale, AZ 2002 Vanquish

Malcolm Schneer Costa Mesa, CA 2009 V8 Vantage Roadster

Steven Schneider Makawao, HI

Fred & Carol Schrader Calistoga, CA 2005 Vanquish S

George & Yun Scott Carbondale, CO 2005 Vanquish S

Mr. & Mrs. Alan Selby Santa Rosa, CA 1951 DB2

Patricia Serenbetz Los Angeles, CA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Jonathan L. Sessler Austin, TX 2008 V8 Vantage

Christopher Seyfarth Mill Valley, CA 2010 DBS Volante

Brad Shafer Winnetka, IL 2003 DB7 Vantage GT

Philip F. & Marianne Young Sheats Newport Beach, CA 2000 DB7 Vantage Volante

Mark Short Overland Park, KS

James D. & Jennie Sieff Palmdale, CA 1964 DB5

Andrew Simpson Laguna Hills, CA 2004 Vanquish

Guy & Susan Simpson Los Gatos, CA 1964 DB5

Brian & Marca Singer Newport Beach, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage GT

Dennis Singleton Atherton, CA 1960 DB4

Edward & Blanca Skoog Selma, TX 2006 Vanquish S

Stuart A. & Deborah C. Slamowitz Saratoga, CA 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Andrew Smith San Francisco, CA 1962 DB4

Dan Smith Mountain View, CA 2011 V8 Vantage

Mark E. Smith Flower Mound, TX 2007 V8 Vantage Roadster

Mary Jo Snyder Haiku, HI 2010 DB9 Coupe

Mr & Mrs Michael Southwell Victoria, BC Canada 1989 V8

Kenneth Michael & Susan Marie Stamper Plano, TX 2003 Vanquish

Adrian Stanway San Francisco, CA 2006 Vanquish S

Michael J. Stone Seattle, WA 1954 DB2/4

Bob L. & Bassima Story Los Altos Hills, CA 2009 DB9 Coupe

Frederick Stout Pacific, MO 1959 DB2/4 MK III

Paul G. & Stephanie Strong Hidden Hills, CA 2011 Rapide

Maurice & Janet Stuffmann Fort Worth, TX 1998 DB7 I6 Coupe

CElEbRaTING 25 YEaRS of WEST Co-SUppoRTING oUR MaGaZINE

80

Beverly Suhrbier Indian Wells, CA 1971 DBS

Ray Swift Ventura, CA 1977 V8

David & Ginny Sydorick Beverly Hills, CA 1961 DB4

Anthony & Renette Symmes Paradise, CA 2003 Vanquish

Michael T. Szott Edmonton, AB Canada 2008 V8 Vantage

Franklin & Gloria Taft Vallejo, CA 1957 DB2/4 MK III

Russell P. Taft Vallejo, CA 1959 DB2/4 MK III

Craig C. Taylor Palo Alto, CA 1964 DB5

Sarah & Guy Taylor San Francisco, CA 2007 V8 Vantage

James Taylor Los Altos, CA 2005 Vanquish S

Clive & Mellanie Thomas Oak Park, CA 2001 DB7 Vantage

David L. Thomas West Vancouver, BC Canada 1997 DB7 I6 Volante

Douglas Todd San Diego, CA

Mark Tofflemire Alameda, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage Volante

J. Marie Tuthill San Diego, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage Volante

Thomas C. Twist Walnut Creek, CA 1997 DB7 I6 Volante

Joe & Lisa Viso San Jose, CA 2002 Vanquish

Judy Chappel & David J. Walmsley Vista, CA 1955 DB2/4

John F. Walters Coto De Caza, CA 1934 Pre War

William E. Warnock Jr. Tulsa, OK 2005 Vanquish S

Ian Wayne Los Angeles, CA 1961 DB4

William C. Wayne Dundee, OR 1957 DB2/4 MK III

Christian W. Webber Woodinville, WA 2008 V8 Vantage

Hank & Rita Weinblatt Los Angeles, CA 2003 DB7 Vantage

Mitchel Weitzman Placerville, CA

Ken Wells Edmond, OK 2009 V8 Vantage Roadster

Gerald H. Westby Jr. Tulsa, OK 1980 V8

Donald M. & Roberta B. Wiesner Gold River, CA 2005 DB9 Coupe

Donald E. Williams Danville, CA

George & Tracy Wood San Ramon, CA 2006 DB9 Coupe

James & Jane Worth San Antonio, TX 1964 DB5

John Worthing Granite Bay, CA 2007 DB9 Coupe

Randolph Wright Reno, NV 1997 DB7 I6 Volante

Robert & Kathleen Wulf Camarillo, CA 2002 DB7 Vantage

Janet Bowers & Philip Yanni Poway, CA

Keith Yarak Palo Alto, CA 2009 V8 Vantage

Timothy H.B. & Mary A. Yaryan Gold River, CA 2006 DB9 Volante

Christopher Yo San Marino, CA 1986 Lagonda

Paul & Michelle Zygielbaum Santa Rosa, CA 2006 DB9 Volante

CElEbRaTING 25 YEaRS of WEST Co-SUppoRTING oUR MaGaZINE

81

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UPCOMING EVENTS

2013 aMoC NoRTH aMERICa EvENT SCHEDUlEPlease contact your Area Rep for additional details and information.

JuNe

Canada 1 AMOC Canada Rendezvous British Québec—British Car Day Quebec City, preceded or followed by a drive thru the Laurentians or the Townships (TBC). Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

Canada-West 11 Pub Night (TBA). Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

Canada 15 Detailing Clinic with Tim Deakon. Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

OH 8 Aston Martin Special Display at Ault Park Concours—Cincinnati, Ohio. Premier Concours with special display for Aston Martin and its 100th Anniversary. Contact Tom Smith amocts@gmail.com

CT 27-30 Lime Rock, Interlaken Inn, Lakeville. The AMOC East premier event. A multi-day event including a concours, racing at Lime Rock race track, and a drive through the wilds of upstate New York. Contact Jim Hazen jwhazen@thedriverssociety.com

JuLy

Canada-East 9 Pub Night (TBA). Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

UK 17-21 London Trip—AMOC North America will travel to London for the UK’s Centenary Event featuring an AM Factory Tour, AM-hosted gala dinner and cul-minating with the AMOC Concours at Kensington Palace. Details in the works. Contact Kathy Gaffney kathygaffney1@gmail.com

WI 19-21 The Hawk with Brian Redman (Formerly Kohler International Challenge) Elkhart Lake. Our Midwest premier event. Track touring at Road America, country drive, and members dinner in Elkhart Lake. Saturday concours with drinks and hors d’oeuvres in Elkhart Lake sponsored by the AMOC and Lake Forest Sports Cars. Contact Henry Matson henry.matson@gmail.com

AuGuSt

WI 10-11 American Le Mans Series & Grand Am, Elkhart Lake. ALMS & Grand Am Race at Road America. Contact Henry Matson henry.matson@gmail.com

Canada-East 13 Pub Night (TBA). Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

WI 24 Car club day at the Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours. Contact Henry Matson henry.matson@gmail.com

Canada 25 BBQ at Sheehan’s. Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

SePtember

Canada-West 10 Pub Night (TBA). Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

IL 8 Chicago British Car Festival, Palatine. All British car show. Contact Henry Matson henry.matson@gmail.com

PA 9 AMOC at the Radnor Hunt Concours. Premier Concours event in Radnor (http://www.radnorconcours.org). Contact Len Levin levin2391@verizon.net

Canada 9 Tour/Overnight to Niagara. Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

Canada 15 British Car Day, Bronte Conservation Area. Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

Canada 28/29 Annual Muskoka Fall Colours Drive & boat tour on RMS Segwun. Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

oCtober

Canada-East 8 Pub Night (TBA). Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

NoVember

Canada-West 12 Pub Night (TBA). Contact Tom Appleton tea@cogeco.ca

deCember

NY 6 AMOC Annual Holiday Luncheon, Le Perigord, New York City. Contact Jim Hazen jwhazen@thedriverssociety.com

oNGoiNG

AMOC Chicagoland Pub Night – Continuing our 4th Thursday of the month informal meetings at a pub spot near O’Hare for dinner and conversa-tion. Restarting on February 23, monthly through October 25. Contact Henry Matson henry.matson@gmail.com

83

ClaSSIfIEDSfor SALe DB2 Whit Ball. Email: wball@ptd.net

PAymeNtS ViA PAyPAL for events, etc: amoceast@aol.com

AmoC eASt CLub Store on eBay: amoceastclubstore

CLASSified AdVertiSiNG iS NoW free for AmoC memberS! Ads for non-members are $100.00 at the discretion of the Advertising Manager or Editor. Please forward all ads to Editor, The Vantage Point via email: editor@amoc.org. For more classified ads, check out the Market Place section of the Club website: www.amoc.org

HoTWIRE!

hoW the AStoN mArtiN oNe-77 StArtS itS Life iN CANAdA

Multimatic, an Ontario manufacturing and engineering firm, gives life to Britain’s limited-production, million dollar Aston Martin One-77

By Brian Makse

What if I told you that Britain’s latest, $1.7 million supercar starts life in a non-descript industrial park in the Toronto suburbs? Bollocks, right? I didn’t believe it either, until I saw firsthand that Aston Martin’s limited edition, 750 horsepower, One-77 is in fact built around a 100-percent Canuck-made carbon-fibre chassis from Multimatic Inc.

On the surface, the Markham, Ontario-based outfit is just another supplier in the vast world of automotive parts. A builder of doors, hoods, trunk lids and tailgate bits for a range of car, from Ford’s workaday F-150 pickup truck to the Mustang pony car.

http://autos.sympatico.ca/features/12996/how-the-aston-martin-one-77-starts-its-life-in-canada

84

DIRECToRYaMoC EaST offICERSChAirTOM SMITH881 Tyne Boulevard Nashville, TN 37220 (615) 297-0350 amocts@gmail.com

ViCe ChAirDON ROSE37 Warren Street Salem, MA 01970 (617) 513-0388 Fax: (978) 744-7678 007@donrose.com

SeCretAryTOM GIBB120 E. 75th Street New York, NY 10021 (212) 628-7448 76aston@gmail.com

direCtorS At LArGeJIM FREEMANSUSAN LASKEYc/o Freeman & Co 645 Fifth Avenue, Suite 900 New York, NY 10022 Jim tel: (212) 830-6177 Susan tel: (212) 830-6160 Fax: (212) 265-4350 jfreeman@freeman-co.com slaskey@freeman-co.com

treASurerBREWSTER MINER73 Beekman Road Summit, NJ 07901 (908) 522-1054 amoceasttreasurer@yahoo.com

CommuNiCAtioNS direCtorSCOTT FAIRLEY42 Strathgowan Crescent Toronto, Ontario M4N 3A2 Canada (416) 483-2855 (evening) sfairley@theallgroup.com

memberShiP direCtorCHARLIE ROSE4531 Den Haag Road Warrenton, VA 20187 (703) 847-3631 crose77@aol.com

AdVertiSiNG direCtorJIM HAZEN268 Beechwood Street Cohasset, MA 02025 (781) 383-6007 jwhazen@comcast.net

reGiStrArVACANT

ComPetitioN direCtorJIM FREEMAN(see Directors At Large)

CoNCourS direCtorSCOTT RUMBOLDAutosoport Designs, Inc. 203 West Hills Road Huntington Station, NY 11746 (631) 425-1555 scottrumbold@hotmail.com

editor-iN-Chief/ the VANtAGe PoiNtRICHARD “NICK” CANDEE21 Anis Road Belmont, MA 02478 (617) 484-2561 (617) 962-2498 NickCandee@aol.com

hiStoriANRICHARD “NICK” CANDEE(see Editor-in-Chief)

deSiGN CoNSuLtANt/ the VANtAGe PoiNtBRUCE CROCKERc/o Crocker Inc. P.O. Box 470858 17 Station Street, 3rd Floor Brookline Village, MA 02447 (781) 237-5632 bruce@crockerinc.com

aMoC EaST aREa REpRESENTaTIvESeASterN CANAdATOM APPLETON3300 Lakeshore Road West Oakville, Ontario L6L 6S6 Canada (905) 847-9197 Mobile: (561) 827-2830 tea@cogeco.ca

fLoridARUSSELL GLACE1006 N. Federal Hyw. Lake Worth, Fl 33460 (561) 762-2908 amocflorida@gmail.com

mASSAChuSettS/ NeW eNGLANdDR. BOB WELCH105 Upland Road Cambridge, MA 02140 (617) 864-6936 rjwelch1@verizon.net

miChiGANNORB KAMINSKI1023 Bedford Road Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230 (313) 882-2366 njkamin@aol.com

mid-AtLANtiCJONATHAN METCALFEOne Freedom Square 11951 Freedom Drive Reston, Virginia 20190 (703) 464-8807 jonathan_metcalfe@ml.com

midWeStHENRY MATSON1946 N. Freemont Street Chicago, Illinois 60614 (773) 871-8370 matsonht@yahoo.com

NeW JerSeyVACANT

NeW yorK/CoNNeCtiCutANDY WILLIAMS165 Gun Club Road Stamford, CT 06903 (203) 321-7088 willpubs@aol.com

PeNNSyLVANiA—eAStLEONARD LEVIN239 Winged Foot Drive Blue Bell, PA 19422 (610) 272-3812 levin2391@verizon.net

JOHN STINSMEN3436 Lincoln Avenue Allentown, PA 18103 (610) 432-7254 j3stinsmen@aol.com

aMoC WEST offICERSChAirGEORGE WOOD2771 Camino Venadillo San Ramon, CA 94583 (925) 969-7698 onefastaston@aol.com

ViCe ChAirLARRY FROMM233 Avenida Princesa San Clemente, CA 92672 (949) 492-5933 l.fromm@att.net

SeCretAryJANE RANSOME101 North Delphia Brea, CA. 92821 (714) 529-4439 foransome@aol.com

reGiStrArCHET FLOYD664 18th Street Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 (310) 545-5409 cfloyd24@juno.com

treASurerGARY D. MOOREG.D. Moore & Co., Inc. 2222 Foothill Blvd., Suite E-605 La Canada, CA 91011 gmoore@gdmoore.com

CommuNiCAtioNS direCtorGUY SIMPSON22402 Citation Court Los Gatos, CA 95033 (408) 353-8682 Mobile: (408) 813-3303 guy.simpson@verizon.net

aMoC WEST aREa REpRESENTaTIvESCALiforNiA—SoutherN & LoS ANGeLeSJOHN V. MUTLOW FAIA2658 Glendower Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027 (323) 509-7747 mutlow@gmail.com

CALiforNiA—NortherNDON LOVASIK6723 Corte Tercera Martinez, CA 94553 (925) 228-9191 donlovasik@juno.com

mouNtAiNVACANT

teXAS/oKLAhomABRIAN GREENSTONE12405 John Simpson Court Austin, TX 78732 (512) 773-3010 brian@briangreenstone.com

NorthWeSt/WAShiNGtoNROBIN BOLZ24917 NE 20th Place Sammamish, WA 98074 Home: (425) 836-9194 Mobile: (425) 503-7242 rbolz2@comcast.net

SAN dieGoVACANT

WeSterN CANAdAJOHN FAIRCLOUGH 28875 Marsh McCormick Rd Abbotsford, BC Canada, V4X 2B4 Home: (604)856-6264 johnfairclough@shaw.ca

www.amoc.org Password access to Members Area available by contacting Webmaster with your membership number: amocweb@amoc.org

JoIN THE aMoC!US and Canada. For information on 2013 membership please contact:

SeCtioN eAStTOM SMITHMembership Director (615) 297-0350

TOM GIBBSecretary (212) 628-7448

SeCtioN WeStCHET FLOYDRegistrar (310) 545-5409 cfloyd24@juno.com

JANE RANSOMESecretary (714) 529-4439 foransome@aol.com

Aston Martin of New

England / Lotus Motorsports, Inc.

85 Linden Street, Waltham

, MA 02452

1-781-547-5959 astonmartin-lotus.com

Collectible Aston Martins by Aston M

artin of New England

Collectible Aston Martin paintings by Anna-Louise Felstead M

A (RCA). Visit her website w

ww.alfelstead.com

SUMMER/FALL 2013

Brian K. Joscelyne

Andrea Zagato at Lime Rock

California North/South Meet

Double Issue No. 35/36

$12.50 US / $12.00 CDN

ASTON MARTIN OWNERS CLUBNorth America Quarterly Journal