.25” wrap to back cover

SUMMER 2010

40th Lime Rock Meeting

Ontario Wine Tour

Long Beach Street Fight!

Issue No. 27

$12.50 US / $15.00 CDN

ASTON MARTIN OWNERS CLUBNorth America Quarterly Journal

SUMMER 2010

40th Lime Rock Meeting

Ontario Wine Tour

Long Beach Street Fight!

Issue No. 27

$12.50 US / $15.00 CDN

ASTON MARTIN OWNERS CLUBNorth America Quarterly Journal

“When a writer wastes words, he wastes his reader’s time and spoils his reader’s attention.”—Themes and Research Papers by Ben Schneider and Herbert Tjossem

As I wrap up 4.5 years editing this journal, I thank many people for shaping the quality of our magazine. Personally I had great writing coaches in college, Prof. Tjossem and others, and my fellow editors at our col-lege paper who challenged me to “write a good lead!” and use intelligence to find the real news, not publish a bulletin board for press releases (our motto was “second only to the CIA”).

Within AMOC East and West, our TVP editorial team cultivates a tradition of finding original material, and taking 20% of the weight out of an article so it will corner faster! Those characters include Susan Laskey, guardian of good grammar, taste and punctuation; Rob Obie, John David, Mark and Jane Ransome, Scott Fairley, Guy Simpson, former editor Don Rose, and of course our publisher Jim Hazen and many others.

I will NOT try to thank all our con-tributors of stories and photos as we’ll run out of pages! Let your bylines and your photo credits be our ongoing applause.

The AMOC quarterly is approaching its 50th anniversary; its big redesign in 2003 reset the numbering system so this is the 27th as TVP, out of nearly 200 quar-terlies from AMOC East.

My archives include most (not all) EAST and WEST newsletters since the postwar era—and those from the UK. To quote the late Christopher May, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us: I tallied the output of prior edi-tors approximately as follows:• 1960s (indeterminate era): Norman

Pickering (of hi fi fame) and others—not certain how many issues

• 1970 through 1980: Joyce Nixon, at least 40 editions of the mimeo newsletter

• 1980 through 1982 Quarter III: Tony Krzczuk with Halsey, about 11 issues

• 1982 Quarter IV through 1983-III: Halsey Bascom, four issues plus prior contributions

• 1983-IV through 1984-Spring: Whit Ball, two issues

• Summer 1984: Nick Candee, one issue as place holder

• 1984-Fall through 1986-Spring: Gordon Clement, seven issues

• Summer 1986 through Spring 1996: Steve Smith, 39 issues!

• Summer 1996 through→ Fall 2002 (dou-ble issue): Gordo again! 27 issues, for a lifetime total SO FAR of 34 issues

• Winter 2002 (double issue): With Gordon, Barton Workman, 2 or 3

• Winter 2003: Great redesign & repackaging by Messrs. Crocker and Rose; 27 issues to date between Editors Rose, May (RIP) and Candee.

So I’ve only edited 18 of the nearly 200 quarterlies from EAST, just a bit of our collective memory, really, but it has been a hoot n’ a holler!

As Prof. Tjossem advised, “Be sure you know why you are writing your paper”—and the reason was not “to pass the course.” We are writing this “paper” because we enjoy sharing our wit and our Aston history—no grades here except in concours and on the racetrack.

What a great ride together!

Editor’s note: my classmate Martha Schott reminded me of the Herb Tjossem quotes; credit where it is due!

—Richard A. “Nick” Candee, Editor

1

from the editor

18 EDITIONS OF FUN!Hope it was a good read, and ride!

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.

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.

www.amoc.org

Submissions to the editor: nickcandee@aol.com

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

Aston Martin Owners Club North America Quarterly Journal

Summer 2010

Publisher AMOC East

Chair Jim Hazen

editor-in-Chief Nick Candee

managing editor—east Susan Laskey

managing editor—West Guy Simpson

editor—West Coast Kohei Saito

Art director Heather LaPierre

design Consultant Bruce Crocker

Advertising director John David

(314) 361-9372

Copy editors John David Scott Fairley Robert Obie

Mark Ransome Jane RansomePhotographers

Robert Dennis — West CJ Gutch — East

Tim Cottingham — UK

Erratum

Our Spring 2010 issue cover photo of Rex Woodgate and George Constantine in the #49 DBR2 fielded by Elisha Walker was from Montgomery NY, August 1959. Rex has just been presented with one maga-zine’s “Mechanic of The Year” Award—an honor that would be repeated by The New York Times

On the cover: Street fight in Long Beach—Aston LMP leads, until the last lap! Photo by Robert Dennis

4

TablE OF CONTENTS

1 FROM THE EDITOR Nick Candee

4 NEW MEMBERS

6 BACK EAST Jim Hazen

6 OUT WEST George Wood

8 RACING LINE Springtime in Sonoma

10 A CAPITAL EVENING NEAR THE CAPITOL! Jonathan Metcalfe

13 A RAPIDE DRIVE TO THE MOHAWK TRAIL Jim Hazen

18 FMP 7B: THE REAL JAMES BOND AM DB5—PART I Don Rose

22 SIMEONE AND BARNES REVISITED Len Levin

25 ASTONS INVADE THE NIAGARA REGION Scott Fairley

28 NISSON RANCH—CONCOURS ENCORE Mark Ransome

30 LIME ROCK 40 John Purser, Chris Salyer, Stephen Epstein

39 AM ROAD AMERICA: KOHLER INT’L CHALLENGE Henry Matson

42 VIVA LAS VEGAS! Chet Floyd

47 MIllE MIglIA StORIcA 2010 Don Rose

50 A RILEY IN THE COURT OF KING ASTON Mark Ransome

55 SUSSEx BRITISH CAR FIELD DAY Nick Candee

56 ASTONS IN METRO PHILLY! Len Levin and John Stinsmen

59 LONG BEACH GRAND PRIx Eric Stephans

62 UPCOMING EVENTS

62 CLASSIFIEDS

64 CLUB DIRECTORY

Richard P. Amatulli Landrum, SC 1986 V8

Troy Blakely Beverly Hills, CA

Tony Blevins Half Moon Bay, CA 1996 DB7 I6 Volante

Steven Kenneth Brooks, MD Longwood, FL 2009 V8 Vantage Roadster

Thomas Bradley Edwards Houston, Tx 2008 V8 Vantage Roadster

Steve & Trinidad Eldridge Temecula, CA 2009 V8 Vantage

Clifford Lavine San Francisco, CA

Patrick Malowney Easton, PA 2007 V8 Vantage

Andrew McDonald San Jose, CA

David Jo & Alec Murray Long Beach, CA 2006 V8 Vantage

James E. Niehus Lombard, IL 2008 V8 Vantage

Randall Poliner Merrit Island, FL DB4gt, DB6

Charles K. Ribakoff Boston, MA 2010 DB9 Volante

R. Michael Senkowski Great Falls, VA DB9

Dan Smith Mountain View, CA 2011 V8 Vantage

Wil N. Stevenson Stanwood, WA 2003 DB7 Vantage GT

WElCOME NEW MEMbERS

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AmoC-NA/eASt

baCK EaSTWith the memories of Lime Rock 40 still fresh, I’m pleased to say that we had quite a time. There’s wonderful prose and photography in this issue so I’ll spare you the details.

But for me the event was very special. Just to have Rex and Joyce Woodgate and Brian Redman in attendance made it great fun. But then to also have members of Rex’s team from

his days running Astons in North America—David Linfoot, Victor Trochymenko, Robert Clerk and Lance Evans—made it even better. They were together again, something none of them ever expected. The wonderful combination of cars and characters that were with us, is testament to the history and the continuity of our club!

Putting together the Lime Rock weekend takes energy and skill. Many thanks go out:

• to Susan laskey for organizing such a great event • to chris and Ellen greendale for the Road tour, with double

the number of lunch guests in prior years • to Scott Rumbold for the concours • to Jim Freeman for running our day at lime Rock track and

for so generously making 17tVX available for Brian Redman to take some happy people out for laps.

I also must thank Julian Jenkins, Beth Paretta and Sarah Durose from Aston Martin. They made the trek to Northwest Connecticut and brought goodies: a Rapide, a Carbon Black DBS Volante and a Vantage V12 for its North American debut! Rides were given;

smiles were free flowing. Finally, I must thank Ian Barclay, Liz Ayres and John and Sara

Purser for joining us from the UK. I greatly appreciate the pres-ence of such wonderful representatives from the AMOC in the UK. It reinforces that we are part of a unique, global organization. Both Ian and John made a point of stressing that all members are welcome at UK events and hope some will attend. If you wish to go over, let me know and they will arrange to make sure you are introduced and welcomed.

Lime Rock is not the only event I want to recognize. Also in this issue is a report on the annual AMOC gathering at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. This is a weekend of racing, concours, parades and wonderful hospitality. If you have never been, put it on your list as a must do. Hats off to Henry Matson for organizing a great weekend. I look forward to being there next year.

So what’s up next? Plenty! We have events planned for this Fall that include

• the Festivals of Speed in Orlando, • the AMOc Fall tour in Virginia, • the Rhode Island Vineyards “Rhode tour” and • the Fairfield concours. This is just to name a few. See the events list at the back of this

issue for more details on these and others. I hope you can join us for as many events as your time permits.

Our goal is to have activities throughout each section of the US and Canada. We want you to join in! For more details, contact your local Area Representative or Tom Smith. All contact information is at the back of this issue.

Enjoy the drive!—Jim Hazen, Chairman – Section East

AmoC-NA/WeSt

OUT WESTMany thanks to all who made it to the 75th AMOC anniversary party in Las Vegas. Planning for the event began a year earlier (plenty of time I thought) but many things only came together at the last moment, mostly through spontaneous help from club members, for which I was very grateful. Highlights of the trip included:

• meeting members that I had only exchanged emails with up to now,

• chatting with carroll Shelby, wife cleo and stepdaughter Simone, and

• just generally enjoying what las Vegas had to offer. A lot more could be said of the event, but I will leave that to

the article that appears later in this edition.Julian Jenkins, Vice President of Aston Martin North America,

was able to attend the Las Vegas event, and kindly offered me Aston Martin’s new model, the Rapide, for a weekend in May. Honestly, I never thought I would drive a four-door that would stop traffic, but the Rapide is one of those cars that makes heads turn. From the moment I first drove it, I had strangers approaching me asking about the car. Mirroring the beauty and performance of the DB9, Aston Martin has truly done an amazing job of adding a four-door

high performance automobile to its model lineup. My only regret for the weekend: a 200 mile driving limit.

Aston Martin also just held its first track day in California, at Willow Springs Raceway. Initially a one-day event, it grew to two days and included journalists who were anxious, as were the rest of us, to test drive the N420 and the V12 Vantage. the heat lim-ited on-track sessions to 15-minute stints, with plenty of food and drink available to keep everyone refreshed. Techs were available for advice on the cars, while instructors gave tips on driving tech-nique. I was lucky enough to have former Indy CART driver Scott Atchison as my instructor. It was also a pleasure to see a number of the Aston Martin staff again, including Sarah Durose, Candace Cogan and Viana Mehl-Laituri, who were among those looking after us. It’s great to see these events, mainly limited to Europe up to now, expand into North America.

Coincidentally, just before meeting the Shelby family, I was fortunate to receive a copy of a newly published book The Cobra in the Barn. I don’t often recommend something, but the book is a very good read if you are interested in the subject of barn finds, and has a mention or two of Astons, as well as many other makes of cars. Available through motorbooks.com or amazon.com, it may just cause one to drive a little slower (if that is possible in an Aston) on the backroads, just in case a forgotten treasure is lurking nearby.

Happy Motoring!—George Wood, Chairman – Section West

8

Infineon Raceway June 5-6: the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival hosted three beautiful Aston Martins among 375 entries racing in 13 categories. the cloudless sky and warm breezes provided the perfect environment for drivers and spectators alike. Each group ran 12 laps. group 2A (34 entries, 1948-1955 Sports Racing & GT Cars) found John Romano driving his 1955 DB3S # 14 and luca Maciucescu piloting his 1953 DB2-4 # 107. John finished 8th with luca, “finishing ahead of the ’51 Hudson Hornet.”

Aston Martin dealer and collector par excellence Tom Price ran in group 3A (40 entries, 1955-1962 gt cars) with his 1961 DB4 gt Zagato # 1 to a 10th place finish despite developing a rear hub problem.

This event is a hidden gem among vintage racing. Crowds were amazingly thin, said AMOC West Chair George Wood who attended Sunday with his son. The track and surrounding festivi-ties make for a fun weekend and I highly recommend attending. North of the Golden Gate Bridge, the track is on the reverse side of San Francisco in contrast to our beloved Laguna Seca. Sonoma

and nearby Napa regions are renowned for beautiful valleys and certain attractions to the oenophiles that abound in Aston circles. the 2011 event features Mclaren which I’m sure will (again) attract some of the best vintage racers in the country.

rACiNg liNe

SpRINgTIME IN SONOMa—WhaT a gREaT plaCE TO RaCE!

By Chris Mulvihill

Chris Mulvihill is the President of Classic Car Advisors, “Complete Car Ownership Advice” (www.classiccaradvisors.com).

“This event is a hidden gem among vintage racing.”

On thursday, May 6th the Washington, DC AMOC crew gathered for an evening of good times and cheer at the fashionable and chic L2 Lounge in Georgetown. The well-lubricated crowd of 150+ guests was offered hors d’oeuvres as well as a menu of forthcoming events to be held in the DC area.

Jonathan Metcalfe, the local AMOC head was quite pleased by the turnout at the AMOC’s second Spring soiree and is busy organizing next year’s event. The tradition apparently is gaining momentum as the crowd far exceeded expectations and fun was had by all. Jonathan commented that the event happened only with the assistance of Pieter Bastiaans of Aston Martin Tysons Corner, as well as help from additional sponsors Sotheby’s Real Estate, Marquis Jet, Jaeger-LeCoultre and of course Jonathan’s teammates at Merrill Lynch.

10

dC

a CapITal EVENINg NEaR ThE CapITOl!

The red Vantage (top) is that of

Jeff Surdyk. The blue Vantage

(bottom) is Dr. Davison’s.

NeW eNglANd

a RapIDE DRIVE TO ThE MOhaWK TRaIl

by Jim Hazen

13

the email arrived at 6:30 PM and was titled Rapide loan, April 26-27. the very efficient Viana Mehl from Aston Martin Fleet Services was alerting me to an offer from Julian Jenkins, Aston Martin Supremo for North America. Do you want to take a Rapide for a couple of days?

Hmmm? Now that’s interesting! Naturally, they didn’t have to twist my arm, or even squeeze a fingertip. The car was fresh off a weekend at Aston Martin New England and was available for a few days before its next assignment. I hit reply and YES, I would love to have the Rapide.

I’d already seen examples of this magnificent Aston in the flesh, first, in New York last December. Beth Paretta from Aston Martin joined our AMOC holiday luncheon and graciously invited the attendees down to see a Rapide being displayed in Manhattan. Then I had another sighting in March. As Melissa and I exited the Miami airport there was a black Rapide cruising by. Let me tell you, black is spectacular!

Viana and I agreed on delivery and pick-up and I started think-ing about what to do. Now let’s see—470 HP, 443 ft of torque, great cargo capacity, the ability to traverse great distances with style and the spirit of an Aston Martin.

I immediately thought about Melissa and myself off on a won-derful trip, maybe an overnight stay. But with limited miles avail-able, that might not work. Although the Rapide would be perfect

for such a jaunt. Then I thought, how about Lime Rock and run-ning with my friend John and the spec racers. But a cooler head prevailed. It’s better to leave the first track outing for a Rapide to Dr. Bez at the Nurburgring. Though the Rapide could easily hold its own. Perhaps I could use it to tow my vintage Aston on a trailer, back from winter R&R. A piece of cake with all that power and didn’t King Hussein of Jordan use one of his Astons to tow his speedboat? Some how I think that might not go over too well with Mr. Jenkins.

For suggestions on how best to enjoy the time with the Rapide,

I called our Editor and he had a great idea—head for the Berkshires. Highway out and back on The Mohawk Trail. Great! I like that idea. The Mohawk Trail, designated as one of the nation’s first scenic roads, was originally a Native American travel route. It snakes east to west though the northern part of Massachusetts hills and mountains.

The drive was set and now we were able to familiarize ourselves with the Rapide. First off, it is a stunning car to look at. It has a very powerful, but subdued charisma. The car delivered to us was a color called Hardly Green with tan leather, which is a beautiful combina-tion. During our time with it, people admired the Rapide and many gave us thumbs up. We heard comments like “That is the coolest car I have ever seen! What is it?” I liked that it engendered such positive reactions but could also go unobserved, traveling through the world as normal transportation. Well, as normal as an Aston Martin can be.

“It makes virtually every other four door car in the world seem like a mere mortal in comparison.”

Rapide ready to roll out of Cohasset, MA on the ocean and out to the Berkshire Mountains.

The interior is a delight for the senses and the fit and finish is superb, as good as any car on the road. Most impressive were the Recaro derived seats, they are very comfortable and supportive even after sev-eral hours in the Rapide. Another delight is the Bang & Olufsen sound system. When engaged, two speakers rise out of the front corners of the dash; a great trick, and cruis-ing along listening to Mozart is fabulous.

The only fault I found was that entering the Rapide takes some getting used to. The low roofline requires a bit of contorting to avoid a head bump. As far as the rear seat room, it was fine for Melissa, but she is not tall. My friend John Steinmetz emailed me and asked if you could fit two super models in the back? Sure, as long as they were the smaller version.

On the road you feel its presence. Make no mistake; this is a big car with a powerful stance. But the increased length and additional weight over a DB9 is hardly noticeable as you drive it. It starts with an Aston Martin V12 snarl and then settles into a quiet idle.

Driving is a delight with just the right amount of weight in the steering and the gearbox is a pleasure to use. Cruising at normal high-way speeds is nothing for the Rapide, but when you drop down a couple of gears things change fast. The engine goes from subdued to an angry howl as the revs rise. And that is in normal driving mode. Push the button for sport and you feel the suspension stiffen and the car changes character. This is a real four-door sports car.

The specs I’ve read say the Rapide will do 0-60 in about 5 seconds and top out around 180 MPH. Not that we saw either of these, but after a day with it I have no doubt that it has more capabilities than I’ll ever need. At one point on our drive back on the twisting roads of The Mohawk Trail we were loping up a long hill at 70 miles an hour…flick the left paddle twice and we drop down a couple of gears. As we approached the crest of the hill, my wife

who normally gets quite engaged when I drive in a spirited manner, looked over and remarked how smooth and safe everything felt. No muss, no fuss.

At the end of the day and the end of our drive, we were in bumper-to-bumper traffic, in the rain on Rt. 128 around Boston. Real world conditions and the Rapide was unfazed. This is a car that you can use every day and in virtually every condition (snow tires needed in New England) and feel comfortable at all times.

In comparison to the alternatives from Maserati, Bentley, Ferrari and the awful looking Porsche Panamera the design, exclu-sivity and the Aston V12 of the Rapide would make it my choice. I know I’m biased but when I look at what the others offer, the Rapide is the one to have,

Is this a real Aston Martin? Absolutely, and it makes virtually every other four door car in the world seem like a mere mortal in comparison.

14

Above: Mme. Hazen, tres petite, had no problem with the sports car door.

First, an admission: I have been obsessed with this car since the summer of 1965. to those who know me, mention of obsession is, if anything, an understatement.

As a 10-year old, my mother took me to the drive-in movie theatre on a summer night in rural Michigan to see Goldfinger, the third Bond film—although it was my first—and still for me the best. My path to Aston owner-ship and AMOC leadership started then.

Brought up in middle America, I was hungry to learn of the world beyond the suburban ranch house of my childhood. I was already captivated by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. London in the ‘Swinging Sixties’ looked to me like the center of the universe. And then along came James Bond...

Worldly, in command, confident and sophisticated, the James Bond character personified by Sean Connery would single-hand-edly save the world, and overcome many obstacles in his always-perilous path with unmatched panache. And that car! The DB5 was an objectification of all Bond-ian characteristics, particularly high performance elegance, backed with more than a hint of lethal ability. (And by the way, wouldn’t the world today be a better place if all cars were equipped with machine guns?)

Of course, I was not alone in this particular fascination, far from it. And like many boys brought up then and in the ensuing decades (sorry ladies, I think we’re talking ultimate boy toys here, no offence intended!), I got the 007 lunchbox and worked my parents—until they could no longer stand it—to eventually bestow the birthday present of the From Russia With Love attaché case. Several Corgi versions of the exciting 007 Aston Martin DB5 passed through my hands along the way as I moved up through the

collecting ranks, finally obtaining the Gilbert tinplate issue (large scale, with all functioning features). I still have the Gilbert toy today—draw your own conclusions about that!

I read all the Ian Fleming Bond novels in paperback in the ‘60s, I think it the first ‘adult’ fiction that captivated me. But it was that car, always at the core of it all. The Aston Martin was the perfect Bondmobile of course, then as now. But it was the ‘upgrade’ with its ‘rather interesting modifications’ built into the 007 DB5 that made it transformative.

Fast forward to 18 years ago: always a keen observer of the Aston market,

18

By Don Rose

THE REAL JAMES BOND ASTON MARTIN DB5

FMP 7B: Magnificent Obsession

PArt oNe

19

for obvious reasons, I finally had my chance in 1992, and bought my first Aston. Unable to step up to a DB5, I ‘settled’ for a DB4, and over time have come to appreciate their special charms. (However, today I am a DB5 owner also.) Never content to leave well enough alone, I got involved in the AMOC, began using the DB4 in track events, and over time became increasingly active with Club events, leading to a directorship. (You too can help run our Club, ladies and gentlemen!)

Still a longtime collector of Bond ephemera and effluvia (insiders know to reach me at 007@donrose.com), I have remained obsessed with the 007 DB5. My ‘day job’ is cur-rently as East Coast Consignment Specialist with RM Auctions, leading specialist auction house worldwide for sale of classic automobiles. So surely a career highlight is my recent consignment of the Bond DB5, to be sold at the RM ‘Automobiles of London’ sale, on October 27th.

THE HOLY GRAIL

There were two DB5s loaned by Aston Martin Lagonda to the film production company, which appeared onscreen in Goldfinger and Thunderball, the timeless classic Bond films in which the 007 DB5 was introduced. The ‘first’ car, fitted with studio prop film gadgets, was later stripped of its modifications and resold by AML as a road car. The ‘second’ car (FMP 7B), later to become known as the Road Car, due to its use in Goldfinger in stan-dard trim (albeit with a Vantage engine), appeared quite prominently therein. However, by the time that shooting of Thunderball was fully underway, this car had been retrofitted by the factory with similar-type gadgets, all of which it still carries, as created by AML. In fact, after sharing the opening scene with the first car, the now-modified road car was the primary car used in Thunderball.

FMP 7B is, in fact, the only one of the two DB5s which appeared on screen that is known to exist today, as the first car was reported stolen in 1997 under still-unresolved circumstances. It remains missing, and is presumed dead by most of those who’ve studied the record (myself included); therefore, it is this particular car which has become the ‘holy grail’ for collectible car aficionados and Bond fans.

The 007 DB5 has been referred to as The Most Famous Car in the World (researched in a book of the same name—still the definitive work on the subject—by Dave Worrall)—so who am I to argue? (You’re obviously preaching to the converted here.) I cannot think of an icon of modern culture, produced since the advent of the Media Age, which might be considered more recognizable to a greater number of people, worldwide, than the 007 DB5. After all, the Bond mov-ies are the most successful film franchise in history.

Never before offered to the public, FMP 7B is still owned by its first owner, and only ex-factory keeper, Jerry Lee of Philadelphia. Mr. Lee has enjoyed the car for over 40 years, treated it appropri-ately as a work of fine art, and has stored it faithfully in a special, climate-controlled ‘James Bond’ room of his home.

An unabashed enthusiast of new technologies and the latest gadgetry, Mr. Lee was fascinated by the Bond films. Upon hearing of the sale in 1969 of the two replica Press cars (neither of which appeared on screen, one of which was later sold by RM Auctions in Arizona, January 2006 for $2.1M), he contacted Aston Martin Lagonda to inquire as to the whereabouts of the ‘real car.’ Informed that it too had retired from the promo circuit, indeed it remained in the ownership of the Factory. However, it was emphatically stated as not for sale. Not one to take no for an answer, Mr. Lee contacted Rex J. Woodgate, the president and general manager of the US-based Aston Martin factory branch (and importer/distributor) in nearby King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, with a proposal too good to refuse. In exchange for Woodgate’s assistance to procure the car, he would allow AML North America to use the car for promotional purposes. Still the ‘halo’ car for the Aston Martin marque even after the introduction of successive models, Woodgate knew that such access would be useful for his purposes so he prevailed upon the factory to sell Mr. Lee the car.

After a final promotional event in the UK, involving a private party in the pent-house suite of the London Playboy Club (details upon request!) the car was shipped to

Rex Woodgate demonstrates 007 DB5

Philadelphia via Pan Am cargo plane. A planned media reception was disrupted as the car was impounded by U.S. Customs over concern that the machine guns were operable and that the car contained other dangerous devices. The ensuing scene was so cha-otic that, by the time of its release, Customs had neglected to assess any taxes or duties! Finally, with Rex Woodgate at the wheel, the DB5 came roaring out of the hangar with the smoke screen in full flourish, after which the other gadgets were demonstrated to the gathered press. Record break-ing crowds at exhibitions were to follow on numerous occa-sions throughout the seventies, until a minor incident of van-dalism occurred in Memphis, tN in 1977, including the theft of its famous gear lever knob. (Don’t press the red but-ton unless you mean it, 007!) This prompted Mr. Lee to pro-hibit any further public exhibi-tion. Nevertheless, the car was shown publicly twice over the ensuing 30+ years: once at the NY Motor Show in 1981 (making its second appearance there), and secondly at the Meadow Brook concours d’Elegance in 1992. Otherwise, and until now, the car has remained completely out of public view and is therefore the least exposed of the original or replica film cars.

FMP 7B TODAY

Along with fellow DB5/Bond-freak Bruce Crocker, I found the car just where legend had it, safe and secure in Jerry Lee’s home. Clean but unrestored, its battery was attached to a charger so that the gadgetry could be demonstrated as most of the eletro-mechanical systems remained in working order. The odometer shows around 30,000 miles, mostly from its promotional tour of duty, helping to publicize the films in-period. It was repainted at some stage (astute observers will notice a crease in the offside wing from the scenes at the Furka Pass near Andermatt in the Swiss Alps in Goldfinger, reportedly the result of a shipping incident), while the dark grey interior (never black, as many assume) remains in wonderfully good condition, displaying a remarkably authentic and appealing original patina to match the mileage.

Since the car had not been started—let alone driven—in decades, a careful recommissioning program was performed by the technicians at the award-winning RM Restorations shop in Chatham, Ontario. Mechanically, this included a head-off engine service, a fully rebuilt braking system and finally new exhaust piping to the original configu-ration designed for its exciting exhaust note. The systems running the modified devices have been repaired and serviced as well, for more reliable and robust demonstration. In particular:

• Revolving Number Plates• Machine gun Advance• Bulletproof Rear Shield • Extending Bumper Overriders• Smoke Screen Deployment• tracking Device (Side mirror radar and console map)• Removable Roof Panel ReleaseThe mechanism for the Oil Slick Sprayer appears intact but

was not tested due to the ensuing mess that would inevitably be created. (This particular adventure will be left to its new owner to experience!) The Nail Spreader is functional, and the ‘Homer’ tracking device makes all appropriate whirring and blinking affec-tations, both from the side view mirror and center console display. However, as with the Effects Car, it is supplied with its ‘tire shred-der’ as a screw-on, accessory device.

Alas, the actual Ejector Seat was a studio effect only, never actually fitted to either of the cars (too bad, as I could also use one of them as well in my own car); however a replacement, Aston Martin-supplied gear lever knob with a flip-top and spring-loaded red button underneath is fitted, just to make your passen-gers a bit nervous. The 007 DB5 also includes items never uti-lized in the films such as a prop telephone hidden in the driver’s door panel. (Imagine—making telephone calls from your car!)

So today, we are happy to report that the car is once again in roadworthy condition with its vital systems restored to work-ing order.

the car has now made its 21st century debut at the ‘Midsummer Classic’ Aston Martin concours at the impossibly appropriate Stoke Park Club in Buckinghamshire, UK. The Stoke was the site of the first confrontation between Bond and Goldfinger, at which Bond won the golf match despite the fact that both contenders cheated! (After which Oddjob demonstrated his special talent) At this “Thunderball” a worldwide press jug-gernaut began, promoting the impending sale of the car, with photos and filmed driving sequences (many of which featured yours truly behind the wheel), making news programs around the globe. Illustrated here is a photo of FMB 7B parked alongside my own DB5 (DB5/2007/R, notably the only DB5 with ‘007’ in its chassis ID (!).

I’m still pinching myself actually to confirm whether this is all just a dream—and you know what—It is! I am indeed fortunate for this opportunity to merge my personal passion with my pro-fessional career. However it’s also my work and as Q famously declared, ‘I never joke about my work, 007.’

In Summary

According to Mr. Lee’s stated intent, proceeds from this sale will be earmarked to advance the activities of the Jerry Lee Foundation, which supports research and grants to study the soci-etal impact of poverty and causes of crime. It is a pleasant irony we at RM Auctions have the opportunity to represent this ‘ultimate crime-fighting automobile’ and to aid in the fulfillment of its final mission on behalf of its first and longtime owner. And of course I am personally grateful for the chance to help guide it through its promotion leading to its sale at auction in October.

Part Two

Will fame equal fortune? Stay tuned!

20

It’s been two years since the opening of one of the Philadelphia’s newest museums, the Simeone Foundation Museum. Dr. Fred Simeone made a hitherto private collection of rare racing cars available for public viewing. Compared to suburban Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation, a world famous collection of impressionis-tic and post-impressionistic art, car fans have observed that the Simeone collection is to automobile racing what the Barnes col-lection is to the impressionist school of art.

With advance impetus from an article on the Simeone Museum in the 2009 Aston Martin Heritage trust annual, John Stinsmen and I offered a repeat of the event we ran in April 2009 [see TVP, Summer 2009—Ed.]. While the Simeone collection is in a modern facility in Philadelphia, the Barnes collection, due to move into a specially built building in Philadelphia, still can be seen in its original 1922 quarters in lower Merion, a Philadelphia suburb. The opportunity to again see these two special collections, in unique settings, was well received by our AMOC members from six states.

We selected the weekend of April 17/18, and events included a Saturday afternoon Barnes visit, a Saturday evening dinner, a Sunday morning Simeone visit, concluding with a buffet luncheon at the Simeone Museum.

Our weekend began with the Saturday tour of the Barnes. 20 AMOC members participated, many from outside the Philadelphia area. Most of these AMOC members had not previously met. As there was no opportunity for advance introductions, John and I, and our wives, Jane and Barbara were at the Barnes entrance, eas-ily identifiable in navy Blazers with embroidered AMOC patches attached. We handed out name badges to each participant, thus ensuring identification and self introduction inside the Barnes gal-leries. Additionally, John, a retired fine arts teacher, was available for comment regarding various features of the museum, its art, and the somewhat unusual arrangement of paintings and other artifacts on the gallery walls. This worked well, and there were many expressions of satisfaction afterwards that the Barnes visit was a worthwhile enhancement to an Aston Martin oriented weekend.

Saturday evening: a group of 20 AMOC members and friends

met at the historic Blue Bell Inn, in Blue Bell, PA, another suburb of Philadelphia. I’m not sure if you can call a group dinner of 20 a banquet, but it certainly was one. The Inn provided 2 private rooms for our group, the first for a “Happy Hour” with drinks and hors d’oeuvres, the second for a three-course dinner with wine. The evening was enjoyed by all, as we had some difficulty getting every-one to give up the happy hour room to adjourn for dinner, and we had to break up the dinner after 10:00pm, as everyone there had to arise early Sunday for our 10:30 am tour at the Simeone.

One can compare the Simeone to the Barnes, and the compari-son is at best tenuous, but let’s try. The Barnes collection is world famous. Albert Barnes was an MD who made a fortune with his invention and production of Argerol, an antiseptic. He made wise investments in acquiring art that was not highly regarded 60-80 years ago, but which has become priceless in the ensuing years. Dr. Barnes was fatally injured in an automobile accident some 60 years ago.

Fred Simeone, now retired, was one of the country’s most highly regarded neurosurgeons. He grew up with a love of auto-mobiles. During his professional career, he was able to acquire some cars with substantial racing history, but 30 to 50 years ago they were not highly regarded in collector circles. Most, if not all of these cars have become enormously valuable in the ensuing years. Dr. Simeone thoroughly enjoys showing his collection and speaking about his philosophy of collecting. He displays an amaz-ing knowledge of each automobile and its provenance. Our 36 AMOC participants were fortunate to have Dr. Simeone as our ‘Tour Guide’.

Following the tour, we enjoyed a catered buffet luncheon. The theme, a taste of Philadelphia, featured Philadelphia style cheese steaks, chicken cheese steaks and Italian hoagies/heros/subs. After lunch, a few lingered to review some of the museum’s collection, or kick tires in the parking lot, before proceeding home, in what could be described as a perfect April spring day. This was fortunate for the many who traveled here from CT, NY, NJ, MD and OH. The feedback that we have received indicates that the trip was well worth the effort.

22

eASterN PA

SIMEONE aND baRNES REVISITED

By Len Levin

“Dr. Simeone thoroughly enjoys showing his collection and speaking about his philosophy of collecting. He displays an amazing knowledge of each automobile and its provenance.”

Messrs. Stinsmen & Levin; Dr. Simeone, docent nonpareil; XK120; dinner; American Underslung; Camoradi Alfa; Cunningham & DBR1; Bugatti; American treasure; the once

“missing” Cobra Daytona Coupe; GT40;

23

A new tradition began for AMOC Canada East in the spring of 2008 with a drive through the historic Niagara region of southern Ontario [see TVP, Summer 2008—Ed.]. That tradition con-tinued in its third iteration this year, courtesy of our consummate “Pied Piper”, Rob Hattin, who has the privilege of living in Ontario’s answer to the Napa Valley, in Grimsby, ON. Rob con-tinues to outdo himself with both arrangements and the route. For our 3rd Annual tour a select “group of seven” enjoyed the tour.

• tom and Heather Appleton (2005 Vanquish S);

• Paul Del grande and Kim Stokes (2006 Vanquish S);

• Yours truly with my better half, Eden Oliver, and our daughter, Miranda (2003 DB7GT);

• Bob and Vicki Reid (2008 Vantage V8); • James and Anne Marie Reininger (2008

Vantage V8); and • Arno and Moira Schmidt (1966 DB6 Vantage)

with their son, Erich.

25

CANAdA eASt

aSTONS INVaDE ThE NIagaRa REgION: ThE “gROUp OF SEVEN” 3RD WINE TOUR, SpRINg 2010

By Scott Fairley Photos by Rob Hattin

26

• Rob and Denise Hattin, of course (2002 DB7 Vantage Volante).Rob coined the phrase for us. Rob’s entourage was a little

smaller this year; however, it proved to be an ideal size for more convivial dining and to avoid MIAs en route. There were none.

We met on the morning of 12 June at the Beamsville Welcome center just off the QEW, serving up Sunoco 94 and Macdonald’s, everyone waiting patiently beyond the appointed time for the tardy Fairley arrival—pace Rob and mea culpa; then we were off. Rob’s version of the “twisties” was up, down and around the escarpment between Beamsville and St. Catharines, with an antique shopping break in Jordan Village. This gave all of the cars and their drivers a great workout that even passengers enjoyed. How could they not: the scenery of narrow roads sweeping by immaculate vineyards surrounding palatial estates (most “small fortunes” in wine pro-duction begin with large ones…) and, from time to time, either plunging down or coiling up deciduous tunnels on the face of the Niagara Escarpment, made the kilometers pass by in uninterrupted bliss.

Then it was time for lunch. The venue: Angel’s Gate Winery,

Vineyards and Summer Patio Bistro overlooking the former as they sloped toward Lake Ontario, barely distinguishable in the summer haze: it was warm, and the weather was brewing, but not in time to interfere with a sun-drenched patio lunch, which consisted of shared plates of Niagara delicacies (local lamb, Great Lakes pickerel, spring asparagus, tomato and goat cheese) and for those who wished, the Assiette du Quebec (magret du canard, maple-roasted scallops, tourtiere and spring fennel and cucumber salads). All of this constituted necessary ballast for judicious “tastes” of Angel’s Gates wines: whites, reds and one rose. A 2005 Merlot was a particular favourite of mine, along with a sprightly unoaked

chardonnay from the 2007 vintage. Bottle and in some instances case selections (pas moi, mais les autres…) found their way into the boots of several Astons after lunch. There was commotion too, the first of only two “incidents” of the day. Area Rep. Appleton had parked his pristine Toro Red Vanquish S

on a grass incline adjacent to the parking and turn-around area in front of the winery. This resulted in a commanding view, but also in a front spoiler and splitter “beached” (Tom’s term) on

the turf. Unfazed, Tom enlisted the gravitas of Messrs Hattin and Reininger, both in post-prandial fettle, to plant themselves in the open boot, freeing the front end from its impromptu cameo as a farm implement. No damage; much fun… [see accompanying pic—Ed.]. Special thanks to Tiffany Bowey, Hospitality Coordinator at Angel’s Gate.

Our Pied Piper then took us a few hundred yards down the road to the neighbouring vineyards of Rosewood Estates, also highly regarded for their honey and mead, courtesy of a resident colony of five million industrious bees which provide pollination services free of charge to neighbouring wineries, but at no small cost to Rosewood. Our respective abilities to taste and enjoy, however, were necessarily curbed by our pend-ing journeys home. This is another idyllic venue that merits a return visit.

For most of us, that ended the day: but not for the Fairley and Appleton cars which our ever-obliging Pied Piper led some-what further down a couple of different roads at the foot of the Beamsville Bench to the “estate” of Daniel Lenko, a world apart from the two polished venues we had just visited. Daniel’s recep-tion facility where one tastes and buys is the kitchen of his home, a modest bungalow from which he conducts virtually the entire front end of his business: selling fabulous, much sought after, and rather “dear” wines, including incredibly yummy meritage

and syrah. This guy is a true “garagiste”; the wine-nuts among Club readership will know of which I speak. Our visit was, as the shadows of a waning afternoon began to lengthen, short and restrained, capped at the end by our second and last incident of the day, to wit, the pent-up fury of the heavens unleashed in a spectacular downpour! The Appletons had left a few moments before the cataclysm, but Pied Piper Hattin and his patient

spouse Denise awaited the conclu-sion of various tastings by Fairley. However, the sun had been shining when we arrived and the “hood” of the DB7 Volante was—alas—down. Quel catastrophe! In the space of a few moments, the Volante’s interior

became the most palatial leather lined wading pool this writer has ever seen! Unfortunately, there is no drain plug for that vicinity of the vehicle. Given their climate, you might think the English would have thought of that, but then the car was designed by a Scotsman. Miranda Fairley—an accomplished swimmer at age five—thought about going for a dip, but the inclement ele-ments, combined with a rapid departure on the part of Rob and Denise—after bailing furiously—foreclosed the opportunity.

It was finally time to go home, in the rain. But no matter; Rob and Denise cheerfully floated back to Grimsby and we—quite dry and comfortable—negotiated further rainsqualls on our way back to Toronto. Thank you, Rob, for a truly fabulous day. We can hardly wait for next year.

27

CAliforNiA

NISSON RaNCh—CONCOURS ENCORE

By Mark Ransome

Sunday, 13 June dawned fine and bright, no sign of the Southern California morning weather quirk of “June Gloom.” At least that is what most of Orange County woke up to. No telling what could be going on in the microclimate of Modjeska Canyon and environs, our venue for the SoCal AMOC Concours, held again at the lovely ranchito of Art and Mary Ann Nisson. Today Modjeska Canyon was not “doing its own thing”; the weather was perfect throughout the day.

We had an excellent turnout of 18 Aston Martins covering almost every decade from the 1930s onward, split pretty well two to one in favour of the oldies in the “Ancient and Modern” stakes, using the Fromm Virage as a watershed. Most notable ancient was John Walter’s 1934 Mark 2. It was nice to see newer member faces including cort Rockwood in his “new” 1968 DBS, and some not-seen-for-a-long-time older faces as well. We extended a special wel-come to Aussie Member Les Johnson of NSW, the Nissons’ house guest for the weekend. Also nice to see making its Club debut was the newly acquired DB6 of David Walmsley and Judy chappell…with Judy driving. David had performed heroic mechanic duties on the way, when the car refused to start after a fuel stop. With unerr-ing accuracy he diagnosed a faulty resistor in the ignition system, and bypassed it to effect a complete recovery!

Art and Mary Ann prepared their customary BBQ feast for lunch; 38 people sat down to enjoy the vittles and libations. A brief session of Club business followed, as Bob and Marilyn Howlett detailed the planned visit to the getty Villa on Sunday, 12 September.

Next agenda item was Concours judging, which yielded the following results:

older Astons: 1st Bob Howlett DB2/4 Mk III

2nd David Walmsley DB6

older V8s: 1st Buddy Pepp V8

2nd Larry Fromm Virage

Newer Astons: 1st Brian Singer DB7 Vantage

2nd Victor lanz Vantage V8

Best of Show: John Walters 1034 Mk 2

In all a thoroughly enjoyable day, as ever. Hey, what’s not to enjoy?! Thanks especially to Art and Mary Ann for again host-ing this event in this very special setting. Also thanks to Larry Fromm for all the behind the scenes work to make this concours so successful, and thanks to Robert Dennis for his, by now tradi-tional, superb photography. Finally, a very special thanks to Les Johnson for the New South Wales AMOC badges that he passed around at the end of the day.

28

29

Photos, this pages: A successful day: John Walters and his “Best of Show” Mk2 departing the Nisson Ranch; This IS a worldwide club: “Down Under” guest Les Johnson of NSW;

Robert Dennis’ artistic shot entitled “V8 and Tree”; Yes, four adults fit in a DB5! John Mutlow and his guests depart; Brian and Marca Singer enjoy their class win; Welcome to the

“new” Walmsley/Chappell DB6; A gaggle of Astons in front of the Nisson Ranch House; Walmsely displays his latest Aston Martin model; Larry Fromm regales the lunch crowd on

the Nisson’s veranda. Photos by Robert Dennis

30

40Lime Rock

31

ABOVE: Our Registrar’s Lagonda, fresh back from Merry Olde, leads the Vantage V12 on its North American debut; the Appleton Vanquish, last one sold new on the continent (now

with stick shift!); Woodgates with the Elisha Walker Trophy, our club’s highest award in the East, with Elisha’s daughter, Elaine Walker Fiske; LR paddock.

BELOW, Clockwise: Fabulous Feltham Flyers on Final Run, in the rain: Jim Causey in his DB2 DHC, Emmett Smith maiden voyage in DB 2/4; John Knight in his Mark III

fresh out of restoration; DLVS in his prewar Aston 2 liter shows the fast line to a Gaydon Aston and the Chairman’s 2/4 “Rasputin”;

Ct

ThE bRITISh aRE COMINg…

By John Purser, AMOC International/UK

Well, once upon a time in New England, I suppose this meant more than it does now. But at Lime Rock, they have been coming for a while, From Rex and Joyce Woodgate way back to the beginning in 1971, David lewington and Keith and Avril Piper several years ago, and John and Gillian Goldsmith, and Tim Cottingham more recently. This year, being the 40th Anniversary of the weekend I was determined to fit the trip in. I’m no stranger to America but there is just so much to see and I’ve only once before got right outside the cities in New England. Nick Candee, who could sell skating holidays to penguins, started the invitation process at the January prizegiving in England when he collected his award at the Barn; Jim Hazen kept reminding me during our regular phone calls but it was ‘she who must be obeyed’, Ms Laskey getting my credit card number off me that clinched it. We were Troutbeck-bound.

Sara and I flew into Newark, the plan being to drive in con-voy with Tim’s newly reimported Lagonda up to Amenia thereby ensuring it would behave perfectly. Well, to cut to the non-chase, Tim’s car wasn’t released from US Customs and so the three of us Nissaned together up the Hudson valley, always a pleasure to have Tim as a competent navigator and such good company. We drove

into the Troutbeck and were instantly enchanted by the place. Easy to see why you all keep coming back year on year. It reminds me so much of the weekends spent at the Deer Park Hotel near the famous Wiscombe speed hillclimb in Devon, England, where the lodgings were comfortable but the real draw was the friendly atmosphere, excellent staff, nothing too much trouble and cooking to die for. The Troutbeck was just like that. Like staying in the home of an old friend “make yourselves comfortable, if you need something, just ask—enjoy.”

On the morning of the road run out to the Greendales, we would have tagged along in the hire car had it not been for the salesmanship of Messrs Candee and Tim Fox who quickly found Sara and I navigators’ seats with those who’d had to come solo. David van Schaick’s patience had been tested by a speed camera on the drive-in but very courteously offered me the best seat in the house, next to Eddie Hyman driving David’s Ulster. We had a terrific run—the car never missing a beat, the air-con (no roof or sidescreens) working perfectly in the heat as we bowled across the beautiful, uncrowded Berkshires landscape. I was vastly amused by arriving at junctions to find ‘our’cars arriving from all three other

32

Photos, above, clockwise: Titans of AML North America: Dave Linfoot, Lance Evans,

Victor Trochymenko, part of the royal lineage of engine builders in America; Jim Freeman’s

DB4GT/0151/R “17TVX” the most raced Aston in America with 300+ events; Steve

Dudley from Oshkosh ready for the fly-in; the Dudley “Out of Africa” and Belgium

Mark III at speed

directions. When satnav meets roadbook, strange things happen, it seems.

Chris and Ellen Greendale’s hospitality at “Broadmeadow” is legendary and even with double the usual number of guests, it never missed a beat. With numbers swelled by those who’d headed there directly, it was a great reunion for many of those regulars at the event plus a wonderful opportunity to talk to other first timers. In fact, impromptu conversations are a great part of the Lime Rock weekend, over an early morning cup of coffee in the cool of the day, over breakfast, lunch, cocktails, dinner and every minute in between; there is always someone near to break into a chat with. For me, many were faces to put names to from the Internet Forum—of Mouse and Men, one could say. Late in the afternoon the Greendale’s perfect timing kicked in: ten minutes after we had all left the rain started.

Friday morning at the Troutbeck: a smell of Carnuba wax hung in the air. Microfibre was fabric of choice as gleaming cars were turned into glistening ones in readiness for the Concours. But before that, another Troutbeck tradition, the poolside barbeque to strengthen the (ageing) sinews for an extended period of check-ing the shininess of car undersides, and top sides, and insides—no crevice to be left unexamined and marked out of ten. Great fun, because the atmosphere during judging is a shade more relaxed than the Concours the Club organises in England—and everyone

helps out judging. That way, everyone learns. I felt the results were completely fair—there were some truly beautiful cars out there and it’s hard not to put everyone first, tempting though it is. Scott Rumbold, very English by birth but American by adoption had organised the Concours field and the judging impeccably—quite a task with 70 cars entered.

With ‘work’ over, Ian Barclay and I took the opportunity to meet up with the AMOC East Board of Directors and members at the AGM. Feedback is vital for our uniquely worldwide club to keep abreast of members’ expectations and face-to-face contact gives so much more than the longest phone call.

Then it was a quick change and meeting up for dinner before the next highpoint of the weekend, Brian Redman, racing driver and raconteur in full swing as he recounted his life in and around cars, starting with his supercharged Morris Minor, all 65 cubic inches of snarling, raw power as he drove around the northwest of England selling carpets. His illustrious racing career had as many ‘downs’ as ‘ups’ with some extended periods out through injury before he settled in Florida, becoming a ‘national treasure’ and today a favourite performer on North American ‘vintage’ circuits.

Saturday morning at Lime Rock Park: Brian’s guesting contin-ued at the track next morning. The popular circuit is 20 minutes from the Troutbeck and was busy, busy throughout the day with

33

Photos above, clockwise: Dave Linfoot & pal; family touring at mid-day; AML Alumni Association, a rare meeting of Lance Evans, Dave Linfoot, Rex, Robert Clerk, Victor

Trochymenko; Lynne and Steve Dudley with Bob Critchell, exercising their green Astons a half-century apart in their build dates.

the Club’s Aston Martins alternating The Lime Rock Club and racing school. However, what the pupils thought of a pensioner in a familiar green DB4GT weaving through them carrying a series of passengers with maniacal grins on their faces wasn’t recorded, but it was Brian giving those who wished to the chance to go round the circuit for three exhilarating 1.05 laps in Jim Freeman’s ex works car, 17tVX. Jim, recovering from surgery on his wrist, had brought the car anyway and generously donated the three hours that the car was in action with Brian to the Club as a bril-liant fund-raiser. Jim didn’t sit back either—he was the event manager for the day, getting groups of cars out on time with his usual efficiency. Slightly more sedate were laps in the latest cars brought by Julian Jenkins, Beth Paretta, Sarah Durose & team from Aston Martin Lagonda including the all new, long-awaited Rapide 4 door. Many of the cars primped for the Concours the previous day were in action during the various sessions. The day ended with a shower of rain that had some cars adopting less orthodox postures—if you’ve not seen a Lagonda sliding sideways like a jelly on a plate, you’ll have to wait to see if anyone caught it on video…

Back at the Troutbeck after the third full day of car and driver action, it was time for dinner and prizegiving with, as the previous evening, the Troutbeck’s banqueting room full. After Ian Barclay had announced greetings from England, M(r) C(andee) indulged me a couple of minutes to present gifts to Jim Hazen and Susan Laskey whose work behind the scenes all weekend was prodi-

gious. A feature of Lime Rock is that virtually everyone can win something. And so it was that Sara could bask in reflected glory as the ‘man of the weekend’ was announced—‘Fast’ Eddie Manelis, for whom she had navigated over the Stafferton Memorial Road tour. But if Eddie was “V8 man of the weekend,” there was a very special couple who were also present at the very first rendez-vous at Lime Rock 40 years earlier.

Rex and Joyce Woodgate had come over specially for the party, as honoured guests of AMOC East, and Rex’s former col-league at the Aston Martin lagonda HQ in Pennsylvania, David Linfoot described for us just why Rex is so special in Aston Martin history. Supported by a tiny but talented team in King of Prussia, his expertise kept a whole US and Canadian continent not just owning but driving in Aston Martins for so many years. The best is always better when kept to last and awarding Rex and Joyce the Elisha Walker Trophy for their lifetime of support to the Lime Rock weekend and AMOC was a great finale. You may well find this particular Briton coming back.

Historical note from Ed.: THE BRITISH ARE COMING is Mr Purser’s nice title, recalling the American myth of what Paul Revere was shouting the night of 18 April 1776 as he rode to every Middlesex village and farm. Ed.’s recent tour of the Minuteman National Park in Concord Mass. had a learning moment: the park ranger explained he really shouted “The Regulars are coming” referring to the Redcoats, to distinguish THEM from US, the local militia… as we were all British then. The title is nice so it stands.—Ed.

34

Eddie Manelis of Chicago with his driving coach on to ever-quicker lap times; Dr Kaminski’s superbly prepared V8 Vantage coupe; the Burt DB2, 13th built, and ready to race as it had

at Sebring; Anthony & Debbie Autiello and Jonathan Metcalfe

LIME ROCK CONCOURS RESULTS 2010

ClASS 1 Pre War & feltham

1st Robert Burt 1938 2 litre

2nd Emmet Smith 1959 DB MkIII

3rd Don Brodie 1955 DB2/4 Mk 1

ClASS iiiA dB 4/5/6

1st Jim Utaski 1965 DB5c

2nd John Sale 1961 DB4

3rd Elliot Hillback 1963 DB4c

ClASS iVA V8

1st Don leo grande 1982 V8 Volante

2nd tom Papadopoulos 1980 V8 Volante

3rd len Fiore 1982 V8 Volante

ClASS iVB dB7/dB7 Vantage/Vanquish

1st Paul del grande 2006 Vanquish

2nd Alan Kopman 2003 Vanquish 6 Speed

3rd Tom & Heather Appleton 2005 Vanquish

Production

1st Henry Matson 2007 V8 Vantage

2nd todd Warren 2009 V8 Vantage

3rd Ivan Dressner 2006 DB9

rACe CArS

1st chris Salyer DB3S

2nd Robert Burt 1950 DB2

3rd Jim Freeman DB4GT

elite

1st Dennis Sheehan 1959 DB4 Series 1

Pre-production engine

2nd Tim Fox 2005 Vanquish S

BeSt iN ShoW

Jim Utaski 1965 DB5c

35

LIME ROCK 2010 AwARDS/TROPHIES

elisha Walker trophy Rex & Joyce Woodgate

For outstanding service to the club in the Americas by a Member

United States Air force trophy Tim Fox, N24

For the best sporting performance in the Americas by a Member

North American AmoC Pre-War Challenge trophy Rob Burt, DB2 DHC

For best track performance

J.S inskip trophy Don Brodie, DB2/4 Mk1

For best overall performance of a single car/driver combination at Lime Rock in a pre-DB4

Aston on tour, third in Concours, and on the track

roberts harrison Jr. memorial Best overall trophy Andy Greenberg

As above, DB4-DBS [6 cylinder]

Ziebart trophy Chris Salyer, DB3S

For most improved

Aston martin lagonda inc. trophy Eddie Manelis, V8

For best overall in V8 engine Aston

Charles l. turner Jim Utaski, DB5C

Best in Show

richard Stafferton trophy Tom Fuller, DB4C

(Special consideration given to the age of the Aston and miles x miles driven.)

For driving the greatest distance and completing the Stafferton Tour

Spirit of Aston martin Tom Smith

Victor gauntlett trophy Anthony Autiello

Best Overall Performance, new production car

rex J. Woodgate Award Don Privett

LIME ROCK TRACK RESULTS 2010

Pos Name Class overall Besttm

1 Robert Burt I 01:22.940

2 David Van Schaick I 01:37.296

1 Robert Burt II 01:14.990

2 Jim Hazen II 01:17.584

3 Stephen Dudley II 01:22.775

1 Brewster Miner IV 01:12.097

2 Eddie Manelis IV 01:18.886

3 tim cottingham IV 01:24.400

1 tim Fox V 59.329

2 tom Papadopoulos V 01:05.468

3 Andrew greenberg V 01:20.074

Pos Name Class overall Besttm

1 Norb Kaminski VI 01:05.415

2 tony Autiello VI 01:07.295

3 Donald F. Privett VI 01:09.066

1 Jon Metcalfe VII 01:04.052

2 Ed Sanson VII 01:06.093

3 Andy Williams VII 01:10.834

1 tom gibb Precision 0.041

2 charles laurence Precision 0.064

3 John Knight Precision 0.671

“Would you like to go for a ride?” he said to me, pointing to his shiny green gentleman’s racer. I had never been in one driven in anger. But that’s not to say this was a car with which I was unfamiliar. I had first seen 17tVX flirting around France in 1985, pulling up in front of a very prestigious champagne cellar, Charles Heidseick, referred to as the house of Champagne Charlie. The Executive Director for the cellar and the evening was French representative for the AMOC, the Comte Audoin de Dampierre. Of course he was driving his magnificent DB6 MkII Vantage. 17tVX is DB4gt/0151/R, perhaps the most raced Aston in North America with over 300 events on its resume, and a traveler to Europe and back for the grandest of touring in the hands of one James L. Freeman. Well, one thing led to another and the cham-pagne was flowing and just kept getting better and better. It was a scene out of the 1932 Best Picture, Grand Hotel.

“Lime Rock, you say? Where’s that?”“You should come, as we are celebrating our 15th anniversary

this year.” Well, I would have done just about anything at that point, after following 17tVX around western Europe all day lis-tening to that magnificent exhaust note, followed that evening by a raft of James Bond impersonators, decked out in black tie, gor-geous women on their arms from all over the free world driving

the world’s sexiest cars. At any moment I expected Greta Garbo as Madam Grusinskaya,

from the movie Grand Hotel of 1932, to melt through the crowd. As with life, “People Come, People Go; Nothing Changes.”

Our vantage point during the day was not too shabby either, as we captured views from behind the wheel of a DB6 Volante, making 17tVX noises all the more intoxicating while driving with the hood (top) down. By the way, our noises were pretty intoxicating to most town folk too!

So, we came to Lime Rock, and I took my first ride in an Aston Martin on a track. Yes, in 17tVX, the car that is the epitome of British Racing Green with its red lip wrap, almost like a Dale Chihuly Maccia. Parenthetically, I had just met Dale that year, and boy did we Bond over Aston Martins! What has become a lifelong mutual passion in art and culture was founded in all things Aston Martin. Dale is a big fan of the cars and as a result I have accrued a sizeable collection of his work. But I digress.

“This is the only left hander on the entire course.”The Lefthander is the very definition of what is called a “com-

promise” corner: you use a line that’s not the fastest for the corner itself, but rather you drive a line that sets you up perfectly for a corner that’s much more important to a good lap time.

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Ct

lIME ROCK 2010: VIEW FROM ThE Db3S COCKpIT, OVER 25 yEaRS!

By Chris Salyer

“These little cones are here to show the entry point, apex and exit point. They are just here during practice, so on race day you are on your own.” I didn’t fully comprehend the magnitude of those comments until they were more adequately explained later in the year during my first race car driving class led by Skip Barber, since I was now an addict needing to feed my addiction. Screaming into the ‘Downhill’, diving into the entry of the turn after having scrubbed off not nearly enough speed because the downforce creates extra grip, and then romping on that right pedal with the wail and cacophony of that 3.7 litre 6 cylinder fueled by those 45mm Weber carbs. Oh My God, OMG, OMG, was I dreaming? Well, I was certainly swooning and it felt dreamy.

I was hooked. This is Lime Rock! My only prior racing expe-rience was with go-carts and dirt bikes. Nothing had prepared a boy, a mere lad from Oklahoma, for Lime Rock!

We came back. Oh boy, did we come back. It had been way too long, frankly, when I returned in 2010 with the DB3S. It had been 12 or 13 years in fact. the DB3S was in bare alumininum the last time. Richard Stafferton had driven from Canada and had a whole collection of interesting books to talk about. We didn’t drive our cars on the road in those days; only in fury on the track. I don’t know why, exactly, except that we were afraid that we would lose concours points for the dirt, dust and grime that might have accumulated from the day’s driving activity—not that an Aston would seep or leak, mind you. So, basically, Friday was the first day of the event. That year, and for most previ-ous years, it had been held at the Interlaken. The concours was across the street from the hotel in the very pastoral, bucolic park (now a mini golf course) along the shore of the lake. Cars would begin assembling about 10:00 and be checked in by the likes of Sally Stockman, Peggy Van Schaick and Geraldine Evans. Susan Laskey, like today, was riding herd on the entire promenade. It started off as a very beautiful day but, as usual, there was threat of rain, which eventually did turn up late in the afternoon. I don’t know what I was hoping for, frankly; but the DB3S was there in all of its Emperor’s New Clothes. (In other words, it didn’t win squat). Most everybody was quite gracious and complimentary. The oft asked question, of course, was, what color/colour it was to be painted, to which I replied, without the slightest hesitation; Carroll Shelby white with blue racing stripes; ‘the American col-ors’, I would say.

“Wow, did the car have an American racing history?” folks

would ask. I would reply that it was raced at places like Riverside and Santa Barbara but its real history came from western Europe during the mid ‘50s in the hands of a privateer Dutchman, Hans Davids. Remarkably, it is still sporting the original twin plug head fitted by none other than Rex Woodgate, while working for Aston Martin Works Racing, and John Wyer.

Because its history and laurels were so compelling in the hands of the Dutch privateer, it should have been celebrated by the seminal Dutch racing color. [Can you name the finalist World Cup team in Orange this Spring? –Ed.] I was a chicken and painted it white. In spite of that, in 1997 the car won second place at Pebble Beach in a very competitive class of racing Aston Martins.

Fast forward to my favorite wake up call, Saturday mornings at Lime Rock. There is nothing that compares to the exhaust note of a DB Aston Martin as the pilot cracks the throttle in the crisp clean morning air! Birds flitter away and the air becomes thick with fog from the cold morning air mixing with the hot exhaust.

A whole bevy of gentlepeople starting their engines means track day at Lime Rock and I couldn’t wait to get the car to that track and find those bedeviling orange cones. Sure enough, they were there and it was a day never to be forgotten and probably unable to be repeated. Sadly open cars, like the 3S, have been banned from competition unless they have roll bars. Nevertheless, that day was magic. Morris Evans was there with his MkII, reminiscing about his days with his DB4GT and Jack Miller from Pittsburgh was there with his Aston powered GTP car the Nimrod, and with his dad’s V8 lagonda. Of course the stalwarts of Burt, Candee, Freeman, Van Schaick, Stockman, Ball, and Morley were all there too.

At the awards dinner Saturday night everyone tried to outdo the other with his or her rep tie. It was not satisfactory to have just an AMOC badged tie, but the icing on the cake was the rarer color tie that was only given to ‘judges’ during the big event in ’89 at Monterrey. Only Jerry Rosenstock would think of such a striation.

So, that’s about it except that Sunday morning was spent rev-ving everything up one last time before loading up and heading to the hinterlands.

All the memories flooding back; ‘People Coming, People Going, Nothing Ever Changes.”

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Photos, opposite: Salyer DB3S on Stafferton Memorial Road Tour, in Dutch racing team orange (World Cup that week raised Dutch awareness); Liz Ayres & Ian Barclay of AMOC

HQ with Andy Greenberg; “Rasputin” the 2/4 of Chairman Hazen; Woodgates and Worrels; Vanquish at full chat on main straight.

Photos, above: Friday dinner at Provencale: Laura Freeman, Chris Salyer staying in character in Dutch national orange shirt; Melissa Hazen; Tim Cottingham; Nick Candee;

Jim Hazen; Brian Redman; Rex and Joyce Woodgate; Jim Freeman taking the photo!; Famous race car drivers—OK, Brian Redman really is! Bob Welch too!; S Registrar Tim

Cottingham’s Lagonda, freshly sprung from US Customs after its concour debut in Merry Olde; note the football colors (colours) on the headlamp tapes!; WMBO Susan J. Laskey, the

brains and nerve center of the event.

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CoNNeCtiCUt

a Day aT lIME ROCK paRK

Hot Laps with Famous Racecar Driver in a Famous Car

By Stephen Epstein

Several weeks ago, I went to Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, and experienced a piece of racing past. My dad and I travel to Lime Rock every year, but this year was special because it was the 75th anniversary of the Aston Martin Owners Club, AMOC. It was also the 40th anniversary of the AMOC rent-ing the race track on a weekend. But there was another special feature: we got a visit

from famous Le Mans race car driver Brian Redman. As part of the celebration, the Aston club had a special offer

to ride in Jim Freeman’s 1959 Aston Martin DB4gt, a famous race car whose license plate is its nickname, 17 tVX. the Aston had Brian Redman at the wheel. For a small contribution to the club, anyone could go three laps in the Aston and feel like you were almost in the Le Mans race yourself. I was one of the lucky people with the rare opportunity to feel the adrenaline rush of professional racing. I wore the required safety equipment of hel-met and leather driving gloves. I strapped into the passenger seat with the special six-point racing harness, double the number of straps of a regular seat belt.

As we pulled away from Pit Lane I was mostly watching the speedometer go from zero to 60 to 80 MPH in a matter of seconds. As we came around the first bend I had to hold on to the seat to avoid hitting the door. During most of the ride I was telling myself when and where I would turn if I were driving. The only three times I didn’t do this were when we went down the straightaway. The straightaway was my favorite part because I could look at the speedometer and see the speeds, or I could look out the window and see a big blur. To the left everything was a blur of greenery, and to the right I could only see the colors of the people in the crowds. On the second lap when I looked at the speedometer I was shocked to see it was touching 135—one-hundred and thirty-five miles per hour. Watching cars race it looks they only go about 100 mph, but riding in a car tells you how much of an understatement that is. The experience reminded me of the adrenaline rush from a roller coaster. During the ride we passed four BMW M3s, which was pretty cool. When we pulled into Pit Lane, I shook Mr. Redman’s hand, said thank you, and went on with my day looking at other incredible cars around Lime Rock. I can’t wait to come back in 20 years and race my own Aston Martin DB5 or V12 Vantage.

Editor’s: Note: Master Epstein is 13 years old and will be entering the 8th grade; he has served as navigator in Dad’s DB4 street car for most of his life.

FRIDAY:

• Several Astons enjoyed track touring on the 4-mile long beauty, burning off any accumulated carbon in their engines.

• Members toured the race paddocks, made easier by passes supplied by Lake Forest Sports Cars, and saw a significant array of racing machinery includ-ing an Aston V8 powered Riley & Scott MKXI Daytona Prototype raced by LFSC and their 007 Aston DBRS9.

• We ran into Brian Redman at lunch and had an engaging chat as he recognized us from Lime Rock in June.

• tom gould was ready for the traditional Friday evening parade of rumbling racecars into the little village along Lake Street (Sebring is the only other event with a phenomenon as visceral as this show!); check Youtube!

• We had an even dozen people for lakeside dinner at Lola’s in The Osthoff, with new members Steve Dudley and son Matt, Mike and Pat Brady from Michigan, and special guests David Bull and his sis-

ter Maria Garrity of Bull Publishing, there for the book launch at the Mark Donohue Reunion.

SATURDAY:

• Rick and Nick Mancuso and lake Forest Sports Cars nicely received Aston fans with their display including the newest Rapide.

• A few members participated in the mid-day track touring.

• After that, we drove through the wilds of Wisconsin to the “motor house” of Member Ian Furness to see his British car and bike collection. Ian has a number of Jaguars from a 1933 S100 to an XJ220, but his 1966 DB6 Short chassis Volante was a real hit—as was his Vincent Black Lightning. Then we returned to Elkhart Lake to participate in…

• the Road & Track sports car concours, the main event for the club. After lining up our cars in more or less chronological order (“Brilliant!” said the judges, like the Guinness commercial) we drifted a

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Wi

aSTON MaRTINS aT ROaD aMERICa: KOhlER INTERNaTIONal ChallENgE WITh bRIaN REDMaN!

the Kohler International challenge with Brian Redman took place on July 15-18 at Wisconsin’s Road America near Elkhart Lake. The 4-mile track, very Astons-friendly as it favors long-legged GTs, is a beautiful venue and great excuse to get Astons from the Midwest together. And, our luck with the rain continued this year.

the KIc is one of the largest events of its kind in the country, with over 1,000 cars entered: 480 race cars, 200+ concours entries, over 300 street cars for noon touring, and more than 40,000 spectators. But as our editor’s hosts John and Martha Schott observed, people come for the characters, not just the cars!

By Henry Matson

40Photo credits: Peter Conover, Henry Matson, Kirk McNeil

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Photos, page 39, from top: LFSC garage; Rhodesian crest on Dudley Mk III; Causey DB2 DHC; Speedwell Sprite; Benetton F1 shifter shown by Carl Liebich, went on to FTD of 2:11.58 or 110.8 MPH driven by Brian French; lowered Mini with rear drive! A lot of diversity on display. The page, clockwise: Next-gen! Jimmy & Cassidy Causey, Matt Dudley; Steve Dudley, Area Rep Matson, Ian Furness; Class winning DB2; John Schott and Eric Furness; at our elegant little soiree at Victorian Village are Henry & Peggy Matson, Eddie Manelis, Charlotte King, Martha Schott, Ed. Behind us, over the hedge, are 10,000 spectators.

few feet away to the lawn of the Victorian Village Resort. • At our reception courtesy of the AMOc and lake Forest Sports

Cars, we enjoyed liquid refreshments and delectable food. We all had a good time eating and chatting as admirers viewed our cars and concours judging progressed. And the causey 1953 DB2 Drop Head Coupe took first place in the exotics category. Way to go Jim and Jan!

• AMOc members pulled together (and pushed) to repark tom Gould’s DB5 to avoid a ticket, as the Elkhart cops were fussy after the concours.

SUNDAY:

• Sunday we enjoyed the Mancuso and lFSc hospitality as driver Nick Mancuso answered questions on the racing Astons.

• Feature races, from small bore to the muscular corvette/camaro/Cobra/Mustang class, to a huge Can-Am field of ground-pounders, were all a delight. The display and parade of the Mark Donohue Reunion racecars was a photographer’s delight.

• We met a very nice guy with a blue DB9 from the green Bay area, Randy Rose, who also owns a 1977 V8 and a 1966 DB6, and is AMOC’s newest member.

!Viva LasVegas

NeVAdA

AMOC West 75th Celebration Tour, April 8 - 11. New locale for annual North/South meeting!

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By Chet Floyd

The Strip was weekend raucous at 3 PM on the Thursday afternoon. Aston Martins eased down traffic-choked Las Vegas Boulevard, bound for the Mirage Hotel. Valets murmured. Here’s how it came about. Here’s what happened in Vegas when nearly 60 of the AMOc faithful arrived. [We’re about to learn “what hap-pened in Vegas!” —Ed.]

Way back in 2009, gaudin Aston Martin of las Vegas had a brainstorm: Invite the AMOC to visit Vegas. Our annual North/South event planners realizedthat 2010 wuld be the 75th anniver-sary celebration year for AMOC, so said planners, George Wood and Guy Simpson, got to work. There was even a chance we might meet living legend Carroll Shelby, famous for winning Le Mans in his Oshkosh overalls in the Aston DBR1 # 5. A chance. Maybe.

The Wood/Simpson plans called for… • Hosting a welcoming cocktail party at the capital grille, • Visiting the carroll Shelby Museum, • Doing a track day at las Vegas Motor Speedway, • Brunch at gaudin Aston Martin followed by… • A drive to lake Mead, • A banquet at grand lux cafe, and… • the cirque du Soleil’s show “O”.

We would base in the recently renovated, centrally located Mirage Hotel.

Eric Christenson organized the tour from the San Francisco Bay Area for Northerners; Gary Moore gathered up the Southerners. Eric’s folks faced a long day on the road, rising before dawn for 7:45am departure from San Jose. Lunch was in Barstow, a mere 365 easy Aston Martin miles distant, then push on another 150 miles to the Mirage. Vigilant CHIPS, Highway Patrol officers, seeking to mitigate california’s budget woes, made this a 9-1/2 hour trip. Crank up the Bang and Olufsen!

Southerners had it easier: Make a leisurely breakfast at a cool restaurant, Maniac Mikes, watching takeoffs and landings at Cable Airport in Upland, take a gas stop at Barstow for the 10mpg crew, and then arrive mid-afternoon at the Mirage.

thUrSdAy eVeNiNg The welcome party at Capital Grille was well attended—if you didn’t drive with Eric or Gary, you had somehow arrived to meet the hospitable Julian Jenkins, Aston Martin North America’s vice president and general manager, and Doreen Green with daughter Kerry and Ritch Julian. 47 members from all West Areas—Mountain, Northern California, Northwest, Red River, Southern California and San Diego, were present.

fridAy morNiNg We convoyed to the Carroll Shelby Museum

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Photos courtesy of Kohei Saito

north of town. We had a guided tour of the 22 great cars in the museum and the adjoining Shelby American workshops. After introductory remarks, the AMOC was asked to separate from the other visitors making two tour groups. We filed into the museum display area to find Carroll Shelby himself greeting us! What a treat to see him welcome long time close friends Doreen Green and Ray Klauer. carroll said to Doreen, “What’s it been, 65 years?”

Doreen assures me he was exaggerating. But here is the back story: it is 1953; carroll Shelby wanted to go racing in England and Europe. He walked into Doreen Sherwood’s office at Astons in Newport Pagnell. He came over on a shoe string and asked to set up a race meeting and be allowed to participate. Miss Sherwood got some racing forms, helped get starting monies, and lodging. Doreen was the one who phoned around to make it all happen to get Carroll established. When Astons weren’t racing, Dick Green was race mechanic for Carroll as a privateer. Shelby came back in 1954 and joined Astons at that time as a team driver. the greens have been friends with the Shelbys ever since.

Nearly 60 members strong now, we went down the street for a southwestern buffet lunch at the Media Center of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Carroll’s charming wife Cleo and daughter Simone Rendell-Shelby joined us. The Shelbys lingered over

lunch swapping stories with Doreen, daughter Kerry, and her husband Rich Julian.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of NASCAR’s February Sprint Cup, has tucked in back of the infield garage and Media Center a one-mile replica of the fabled Willow Springs, CA road track, without the hills. It’s ideal for civilians in V8 Vantages and the like because it demands total concentration and allows the car to stretch its legs some without life-threatening consequences to car or driver. Here’s one driver’s trip at speed:

turn 1: Brake heavily off the main straight and nip the left curb early with the front wheel; jab throttle to push the rear out, roll on more throttle to drift right, then move center-left as setup for Turn 2 righthander. At the last moment, jab right with quick brake touch and park the right front wheel on the curbing, care-fully feed throttle, increasing speed through 180-degree turn Two which opens up for a full throttle double heart-beat blast in the short chute to set up for righthander Turn 3; big foot of brake and enter this tight 90° corner from the far left side of the track, then aim the nose toward Turn 4 with a single heartbeat of full throttle. Turn 4 needs another quick brake jab and snap left, ease to the curbing with the left wheel for a middle apex setting up for righthand Turn 5, holding the same throttle; notice how it opens

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“Oh, dear—we did have a 70mph limit on the straight, didn’t we? And were we really smelling the brakes of David Walmsley’s SLK with NASCAR hobby-racer

David Goodell at the wheel? Yee-Haw!”

Photos by Robert E. Denni

up, so feed more throttle, gently; then full throttle for a three-count to turn 6. Short, heavy brake just before turn Six to set up this lefthander with a late apex and take dead aim at Turn 7’s apex, a gentle righthander, just roll on the throttle through here then full throttle for a four-count—now close it off with heavy brake for turn 8. Feather the throttle through righthander Eight to maintain speed and blend Eight and Nine into one long, single-radius, fast 180-degree mega-curve. Mostly through Nine now, full throttle to give the traction control a job and momentum car-ries the chassis wide left so the main straight offers Nirvana in the distance. Aim laser-straight for the right side off in that distance to turn 1, that tricky, off-camber left hander we started with. Settle in, wait for it, wait, 110mph or so…and then heavy brakes to set that early turn 1 apex.

Oh, dear—we did have a 70mph limit on the straight, didn’t we? And were we really smelling the brakes of David Walmsley’s SLK with NASCAR hobby-racer David Goodell at the wheel? Yee-Haw!

Thanks to our insurance regulations, we are not allowed to have any kind of on-track competition, so, of course we didn’t. If we had such non-allowed competition (and of course we didn’t) there might have been temptation for a Mercedes-Aston Martin Challenge (but of course there wasn’t) as there were two Mercs circulating amongst the 20 or so Astons. An observer—if any times were kept (but of course they weren’t)—might have noticed that Astons soundly trounced Mercs by at least 7 seconds on this one-mile track. And if anyone were keeping time (but of course they weren’t), Eric christenson in his V8 Vantage clocked 1:05 on a track that is mostly 45mph curves. Consistently and repeatedly, if anyone happened to observe (but of course they didn’t).

SAtUrdAy 50 of us met at Gaudin Aston Martin showrooms for a hosted brunch before the tour to Boulder City and Lake Mead. Thanks to the incredible generosity of Aston Martin’s Julian Jenkins, Joan and I slipped out of the oldest Aston, our 1971 DBS V8, into the newest: the stunning 2010 DBS Volante. the V8 had lost the water pump on the way from LA, and when Julian learned of that, he arranged for us to have the DBS for the day. We noticed the difference 39 years makes!

On the road, locals Maz and Naz Yaghoubian joined us in their mint 1988 Volante, ex-Eddie Murphy, and Maz told us that Murphy was arrested in this car with a “tranny.” Ever the gear-head, I wondered aloud “Was it stolen property?” “Transvestite!” someone hissed in my ear. Oh!

Our tour took us through Boulder City, past Lake Mead to Lake Las Vegas for lunch al fresco at Loew’s Resort, enjoying the lovely April weather in the desert. We returned to the Mirage with time to relax before dinner. The banquet at the Grand Lux Café in the Venetian across the street was outstanding and attend-ed by 40. But only 16 made it up to the Bellagio for “O”. And they were 16 delighted guests, I should add: the cirque du Soleil show was a grand way to finish this AMOC 75th Anniversary celebratory tour.

Acknowledgements:• To Guy and George for bringing off an ambitious 75th AMOC cel-

ebration; • To all the good people at Gaudin Aston Martin, may you sell more

Aston Martins than you ever dreamed; • To Doreen Green for sharing Carroll Shelby so generously with us all; • To Chuck Cortsen for 10 hot laps in the Mercedes CLK55 AMG –

look for a new set of tires under the tree next Christmas, my friend; and especially…

• To Julian Jenkins for a free-flying, transforming day in a DBS Volante—we may well sell the other Astons, sell the house, and inden-ture the kids to establish an Acquisition and Operating Endowment Fund to drive new Aston Martins in perpetuity.

http://www.lvrj.com/drive/aston-martin-owners-club-marks-75th-year-91015314.html

EPILOGUE: As a part of our 75th Anniversary Tour to Las Vegas, AMOC West donated $1,000.00 to the Carroll Shelby Foundation, and also $1,000.00 to Dick Green’s charity, The Parkinson’s Institute and Clinic Center.

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By Don Rose Photography by Jesse Rose

For many, one of the greatest pleasures of classic car ownership is DRIVING the cars. A Sunday cruise, early in the morn-ing on smooth country roads is always in good taste, but there are now a plethora of organized driving events and rallies as well as numerous club activities. Historic racing suits some of us, at the other end of the spectrum. And then there is the Mille Miglia.

It’s glorious and it’s grueling. It’s competitive and it’s chaotic. And it’s the most prestigious classic car driving event in the World.

Much has been written of the Mille Miglia; I have little to add to its celebrated past as a road race (1927-1957), as a pre-mier event in the early years of the World Sportscar Championship. Today’s MM is a continuation of its resurrection in 1977 as the Mille Miglia ‘Storica,’ run spo-radically since then in the form of a timed rally event. Ostensibly, this incarnation as a rally took into account the fact that all cars were then 20+ years old (now 50+, some 85 years old!) with mostly amateur drivers and a nod to safety. Just a nod, you understand...

375 cars are chosen from 800 or so entries. Therefore acceptance is highly selective, with the decision-making process sometimes inscrutable but always based on cars built through 1957, all examples of models which had run the original Mille Miglia di Velocita, with FIA or FIVA papers certifying their authenticity. This year’s group included no fewer than 63 cars which themselves had period MM history, a remarkable number.

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Report from the AMOC Press Room on wheels

itAly

MIllE MIglIa STORICa 2010

Participating cars ranged from Bugattis to Bugs (VW) but most were significant sports and GT racers. No fewer than 20 Aston Martins were represented, featuring eight prewar examples, all le Mans models and including the 1931 team car lM7. Of the 12 postwar Astons, there were seven team cars, beginning with the spectacular 1949 DB2 (UMc 272, Waltenberg/Wagner) and the storied, extremely original 1950 DB2 Vantage (VMF 64, Rothenberger/Rothenberger), which finished 5th OA at le Mans (1950), won the Alpine rally (1951) and was reconfigured with an updated bonnet for the 1952 Earl’s court Motor Show, retiring as the personal trans-port of Sir David Brown, before being sold for the first time in 1957 to a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. VMF 64 was acquired for the first time by a member of the ‘public’ by its current owner Helmut Rothenberger in October, 2009. Rounding out the team car saloons was a DB2/4 (56 DMF, Hormann/Hormann), a Monte Carlo Rally, and Mille Miglia, participant in period.

Then there were the sports racers, all of which were Team Cars, all of which were Mille Miglia period participants, which I will list by chassis:

• DB3/1 (Prevosti/Macron), goodwood podium finish, 1952 [Argentine history; see tVP Argentine report in 2003]

• DB3/4 (Melling/Melling), crashed at le Mans, 1952 and at Sebring, 1953; redeemed as 16th OA finisher at Mille Miglia, 1953

• DB3/5 (louwman/louwman), 1st in class, Sebring 1953

• DB3S/5 (lombard/Maunoir), driven to many victories by Parnell, Salvadori, Moss, Collins; more

Rounding out the field were an impressive selection of five more DB2s and DB2/4s; overall a feast of eye candy for Aston fans!

There was also a bit of motorsport royalty participating in the run, with racing legend Jackie Stewart, along with his son Paul in a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, both decked out resplendently in Scottish tartan. F1 aces Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were in another Gullwing, this one the W194 factory racer with MM and carrerra Panamericana his-tory. And Jay Kay (Jamiroquai to you rock fans), a well-known connoisseur of fine sports and GT machinery, appeared with his magnificent black Frua-bodied Maserati A6g2000.

I myself applied for the first time this year with my 1957-built Aston Martin DB2/4 MkII. It was small consolation that I made the waiting list of 100 cars over the 375 initial accep-tances, but failed to clear for official participation. Pressing on regardless, it is thanks to you, dear reader, and The Vantage Point that I obtained media credentials and followed along with my son Jesse (a fledgling vintage racer himself) in our UK-based DB5.

Without the pressure and distraction of timing clocks and strict adherence to the specified route, we mixed in freely with the event cars, and often circumvented the route to get ahead to watch the lovely, breath-taking procession of many of the world’s best road-worthy sports cars, a photo-op par excellence!

No relaxed tour, the Mille Miglia Storica pays homage to its past as a serious endurance pursuit with all the lack of creature comfort, not to mention sleep deprivation, of its progenitor. The big news before the start this year was the weather, pre-

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dicted to be continuously rainy across the entire route for the 2 1/2 day duration. And indeed in days immediately prior it rained buckets all over Italy. But we are thankful that, although the rain did arrive, it was intermittent and mixed with periods of sunshine, dry roads and everything in between (including snow). Many open sports racers had no weather protection at all, with their hardy pilots facing extremes of wet and dry, cold and hot with many ‘wardrobe changes’ required as a result. Cheers to them, the real heroes of today’s MM in my opinion.

Many participants had extra peace of mind in the form of a chase crew with mechanics and spares. However many more travelled with little more than a tool roll and an oily rag.

Stunning scenery is promised- and delivered, as the convoy wove its way through rich landscape of central Italy, Brescia to Rome and back via circuitous routing. I looked forward to the Futa and Raticosa passes, traversing the magnificent Tuscan countryside; but by far this year the most dramatic moments were from the mountains of Terminillo on the way down to Rome. Climbing swiftly through endless hairpin curves uphill we started to see remnants of snow. Soon snow was everywhere with the roadside lined with ice ‘cliffs,’ some over six meters high, just as thick fog and mist set in. So thick in fact that ‘cut it with a knife’ was no exaggeration, and made for some exciting moments culminating with a crowded checkpoint scene at the peak, both bizarre and wondrous. Jesse described it as entering ‘The Twilight Zone,’ and he was not far off.

Another unique aspect of the MM is the cooperation of the ‘carabinieri;’ police motorcycle escorts are provided to the front runners, and all involved are typically waved through red lights and nobody need worry about speeding tickets. However, as the event is held on open public roads, the procession is interrupted all too frequently by local car clubs, tourists and motorcyclists out for a lark in the middle of the action. Careful now!

With the adrenaline on the wane at the end, one has to get it up one more time for the midnight parade of finishers back to the starting ramp in Brescia. With the klieg lamps ablaze, and charismatic multilingual commentary by Simon Kidston, the champagne flowed as the winners were feted. First place was awarded to a 1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia touring coupe (as was the winner of the 1940 MM) with husband/wife pilots Cané Giuliano and Lucia Galliani. Prize for second place went to another veteran driver and multiple MM award winner Luciano Viaro, with American navigator Marc Gessler in an Alfa Romeo 6c 1500 gran Sport. Both these cars had period MM history. Third place was claimed by Ciravolo Enzo and Maria leitner, with their 1937 BMW 328, cementing a big podium finish for the Germans! Not at all far behind, however, was one of the prewar le Mans Astons, a 1933 model piloted by the Italian team of Mozzi and Bianca. It is also notable that four of the top 13 finishers [on formula—Ed.] were Le Mans model Aston Martins, an impressive showing.

At the end of the day—er, weekend, rather—290 cars fin-ished among 375 starters. Either way, I expect it’s worth the trip as it is an uncompromising and unrepeatable opportunity to properly exercise such wondrous machinery.

CAliforNiA/UK

a RIlEy IN ThE COURT OF KINg aSTON

By Mark Ransome

PriNCiPAl ChArACterS:

Sebastian: 1937 Riley 15/6 Kestrel Saloon, cousin of Samantha, ‘55 DB2/4 in CAMark and Jane Ransome: AMOC USA Section WestSally Elliott: Mark’s sister of Devon, England

SeBAStiAN’S VitAl StAtiStiCS:

Engine: 6 cyl./1762 cc. 50 hp@ 4750 rpm; high camshafts/OHV, single Zenith carburetorGear Box: Armstrong Pre-SelectorBody: Aluminium over ash frame, steel wings (fenders)

I bought the Riley on 7 February 1965 for 52 pounds 10 shil-lings. I used it for about a year until it broke enough for me to be unable to afford to repair it. The car stood unused for 35 years, in a lock-up garage in Wimbledon, london, SW19. In October 2002, we decided we could (almost) afford restoration, and the car went to a Riley specialist in Somerset, England. It emerged from their premises in November 2009, having dwelled at other skilled shops in the area, for body, paint and upholstery. We were delighted at how the car looked and performed. The side view shows the very attractive aerodynamic shape of the vehicle, and is typical of shots often used in the sales brochures in period.

As soon as the 75th Anniversary Dinner and Spring Concours was listed in the News Sheet, I knew that this was a “must do” event for Jane, Sally, me—and “Sebastian”. We could make this his first ‘big” trip, saving on event parking by entering him in the Associates Class at the Concours. Blenheim Palace is close to where Sally and I spent happy times in our childhood with two favourite relatives, notably during the “doodlebug” era of World

War II in 1944. the trip entailed traveling from Exeter, Devon, 180 miles WSW of london (getting down into the “toe” of England) to Oxford, 55 miles WNW of London, sort of lower middle England—a round trip of about 375 miles. The Ransomes would come into town a week before the event, so that Sebastian could be suitably “fettled” and some running-in (aka breaking-in) miles added.

The weekend of 22/23 May, dates for the big event, finally arrived. We had duly spent the week before working on Sebastian, so he was in pretty good shape by the time of departure on the Saturday morning. We had selected motorways for a straight-forward first leg of the journey, and then branch off onto the old roads through the Cotswolds, one of the loveliest corners of all England. Our final destination was a Barcelo hotel at the Wolvercote roundabout, on the northern outskirts of Oxford and about 8 miles from Blenheim Palace. Since we were still running-in Sebastian, cruising speeds of 50 to 60 mph were the order of the day. This, of course, is pretty slow stuff on the motorways

50

of today, and definitely confines one to “inside lane” motoring. However, we found a very nice class of polite company while dic-ing it up with the clientele (mainly truck drivers) using that lane. Off the motorway, Sebastian was in his element on the old roads that criss-cross this part of the World. and when we say “old” we mean “really quite old.” For instance the A429 north out of Cirencester is part of a Roman road know as the Fosse Way. The countryside beyond these super-scenic roads was absolutely gor-geous on this beautiful sunny day. A hard winter had resulted in a late, vibrant Spring, and trees in particular were making a great show. Most noticeable was the abundance of clematis climbing on the sides of buildings and in the trees, the great shiny copper beeches and the towering chestnuts in full bloom with their whit-ish candles contrasting so eloquently with the new fresh green of their leaves. Wonderful sights!

We stopped for lunch at The Thames Head Inn, just southwest of Cirencester, and then for two other diversions: the first was to see a short section of the presently derelict Thames and Severn canal, and the eastern portal of the 2+ mile long Sapperton tun-nel built in the late 1780s to carry the canal though the cotswold Hills. Jane and I had been down this route before, but had for-gotten that a rough, chalky lane was the only way in and out. Consequently, having done our sight-seeing, we emerged from

the lane in a car that was no longer in exactly the same pristine-polished condition it had left home, three hours earlier! (And we had a Concours on the morrow!)

The second diversion was to assuage my sister’s literary lean-ings. We visited the little village of Adlestrop, the point of origin of one of the best-loved poems in English literature. Written by Edward Thomas, it reads like the contents of a time capsule, detailing a few moments in time when a mighty Great Western Railway express train made an unscheduled stop at a little railway halt in Gloucestershire. Legend has it that Thomas, who was on the train, looked out of his carriage window, saw the name Adlestrop and subsequently composed the 16-line poem, which even today invariably features in the top-10-Best-loved list of English poetry. The railway sign now adorns the rear of the bus shelter at the entrance to the village. Thomas was a close friend of

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Why SeBAStiAN?

When I asked my sister, who is of a literary bent, what she thought was a good name for a 1930s car, she immediately came up with Sebastian, after Sebastian Flyte of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. Yes….the British do have to give names to inanimate things!

Photos, opposite: The Trout Inn—certainly looks the part! Sebastian. Photos above: Some mouthwatering DB2s and 2/4s; Off we go!

the famous New England poet, Robert Frost, and it was he who inspired Thomas to turn from prose to poetry. Both were mem-bers of a group known in literature as The Dymock Poets (after another village in Gloustershire).

We reached our hotel (via Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold and other delightful names and places) at 4:15 p.m. Dinner was at 7:30 p.m. at the Belfry Hotel on the other side of Oxford and we needed to clean up the car!!! After checking in, we asked Matthew at the front desk if he knew of a hand car-wash near-by. He directed us to one “behind a now-closed pub.” Sally and I jumped into Sebastian. The lot behind the pub looked like a bomb site left over from WW II, but there was a line of cars including a V8 Vantage awaiting their turns for ablutions. We joined the queue and in time Sebastian was duly well-washed (by Eastern European students, we think) and we were on our way, worrying about the dinner deadline. We changed into our dinner finery and hot-footed it to the Belfry, fortunately with no direc-tional dramas. Walking into the champagne reception the very first people we met were an international group consisting of John Purser, Bob Welch, Area Rep, USA Section East, and Akihiko Matsunaga from Japan. They made us feel at home right away! For dinner, we sat with a very convivial group that included one Bob Dover, a legend in his time of what is left of the once mighty British motor industry. Thank you, Bob, for your very pleasant and erudite company.

The next morning dawned fair and fine and we were all up bright and early for Sebastian’s big day. After breakfast we made the short journey to Blenheim Palace and upon arrival were directed to the Associates Class location. We found ourselves in the company of a beautiful Derby Bentley, a MKV Jaguar, an E-Type Jaguar and a MGA. All around were Aston Martins of every vintage and variety imaginable, and all around the Astons extended the grandeur of Blenheim Palace with its magnificent grounds and lake as a perfect backdrop: a truly splendid and memorable sight.

Judging commenced on time with two white-coated gentlemen carrying out an extremely thorough search, entailing no fewer than four visits to each of our cars, concentrating on a different aspect—interior, engine bay, etc. Now, Sebastian had been restored to a level which could be best described as “good working condition” not Concours; which the previous week’s fettling had only tended to confirm. So with all this attention, my morale was beginning to ebb! However, on the bright side, we had a constant stream of very appreciative visitors, many of them in the “my father/mother had one of these” category, and all saying how much they admired

the car. Eventually, one of the actual “mothers” came on the scene with her daughter and grandson and brought some practicality to bear. “Ye gods, these things were hard to park!”—a statement with which I was first in line to agree! It turned out her grandson, who evidently was just coming of driving age, wanted one of these old Rileys as his first car. We collectively advised him that if he wanted an old car, a Morris Minor was a much better bet. Then, on another occasion, a gentleman came along wearing a straw hat sporting a Pebble Beach hatband. So I said to him “Looks as though you have been to Pebble Beach.” “Yes, I go every year.” I expressed surprise and he said “I paint the posters!” Turns out this was Barry Rowe, AFAS, one of the leading automotive artists of today (www.barryrowe.com).

After lunch (yes, there is a programme item listed “Lunch Hour” at concours in England!) came a 10-minute Spitfire dis-play, always a nostalgic event for me. But this one was to bring an extra symbolism to the occasion, for here we had the supreme fighter aircraft of its day, flying above the birthplace of the supreme Englishman and wartime leader of that era. Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace and is buried just over the road in Bladon Churchyard. The demonstration Spitfire did all the right things: wheeling, diving, climbing and showing off those beautiful ellipti-cal shaped wings to best advantage and then finishing the display with a mighty victory roll. Thank you AMOC for organizing that. Just that was worth coming 5,500 miles from California!

Prize-giving was now upon us. This is a gather-round-and-walk-up affair in England, rather than drive-your-car per California custom. Nice to see and hear former Chairman Ian MacGregor doing the Master of Ceremonies duties. Eventually, the Associates Class was announced:

1st E-Type Jaguar (92 points!) 2nd Derby Bentley 3rd Mk V Jaguar

And nothing for Sebastian, other than a friendly, unforgettable first experience in public.

And that was very OK. We had a wonderful time.We went back to the hotel and started to think about din-

ner. Sally and I knew where we wanted to go—The Trout Inn

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Photos: The V12 Vantage has to be right up there in the lusting stakes!; A sight

Americans don’t often see. Lovely Oldies.

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in Godstow, and THE pub of our childhood. (We were allowed to sit outside!) I had an uneasy feeling that we should have made reservations, and sure enough, an enquiry of Matthew at the front desk brought an immediate anwser, “I tried for another guest about 15 minutes ago and they shouted at me to stop bothering them!” We persuaded Matthew to have one more go. The first available table was at 9 o’clock. We said OK, we’ll just go in for a drink and then find some-where else to eat. We changed and drove down the old familiar road to The Trout. The road may have been familiar but the scene at the pub was not. What used to be a quiet country inn, known only to the favoured few who lived close by, was now apparently bursting at the seams with business. We drove into the car park which was at least three times the size we remembered, where there was absolutely zero room for even one more car. Smart cars, in particular, were packed into whatever space could be found—forwards, backwards, sideways. It was incredible! There was barely room to do one lap of the area. We decided to cut our losses and continue on down the road where I thought I remembered another village and another pub. Thankfully, the old homing instincts did not fail me. We quickly came upon the White Hart at Wytham, most inviting in the evening sunshine. And there was room in the car park, bar and the dining room! Needless to say, we enjoyed our food and liba-tions enormously! And so to bed. A busy day, a busy week!

After a leisurely breakfast, we packed our luggage into Sebastian and checked out. Before heading home, we took another hour or so cruising memory lane. We retraced our steps to The Trout, pleasingly finding the dreaded car park pretty well empty…not a Smart car in sight! We took the photo shown on these pages from the old narrow bridge above the weir. Then on to Port Meadow

for a glimpse of the “dreaming spires” of Oxford; not visible this day, however—too hazy. After another couple stops we pointed Sebastian’s nose southwest for home. We broadly retraced our outward steps, but with no diversions en route this time. With a short stop for lunch, we were comfortably home “in time for tea.” Round trip distance—364 miles.

So how did Sebastian do? Sebastian did very well. As I got more confident of my driving, he too seemed to feel more com-

fortable. Maximum credit goes to the restorers of the chassis and body, with respect to how secure and solid the car feels—consider-ing the miserable shape these parts were in. Over bumps and dips, it’s definitely the springs and shock absorbers doing their job, not the chassis/body flexing! The girls remarked on how comfortable the seats and interior were—pneumatic seat cushions(!). Basically, it was just wonderful to drive the car again after some 45 years!

Above: Mad dogs and Englishmen come out of the midday sun

paul@pineloch.com or (407) 257-6005

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• California Sage/Westminster Green top, Absynthe Green upper/Sandstorm lower

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• Power fold mirrors (updated fold back upon locking car) • OEM car cover

• Recent service: Oil/filter/brake fluid flush plus recent brake pads front and rear

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SUSSEx in the Aston world conjures visions of Goodwood—but this June event is sited in Waukesha county, WI less than an hour west of the Lake Michigan shore of Milwaukee. In 2010 several of our heartland Members pre-sented their Astons, including several of the ‘Illinoiz Boyz” including Area Rep Henry Matson (red V8 Vantage), Eddy Manelis (1970s V8 stick shift), Jim and

Jimmy Causey (Area rep Emeritus and son from downstate with ORIGINAL DB4), Peter Conover of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Mark III League of Full Employment for Restoration Shops. Cheesehead Astons included longtime-member Tom Gould with his fab DB5, and never-member John Constable with an Aston engine special with a rebody as a DBR2, with a replica body formed (per

John Stinsmen, Area Rep and art histo-rian) from forms taken from an Aston on loan to a car museum.

The TVP ed. happened to be in the ‘hood on this hot afternoon in June, and missed Mr. Gould who moved on early for Fathers Day din with his dad in his 90s (in M’waukee this would be called Vaters Tag).

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SUSSEx bRITISh CaR FIElD Day FEaTURES aSTONS—gOUlD Db5 IS TOpS!

Wi

#58 is the special rebody, said to be a Tojeiro, of John Constable; The Illinoiz Boyz--

Henry Matson, Jimmy Causey, Peter Conover, Eddie Manelis, Jim Causey. Three days

later, these muchachos were 1,000 miles east, at Lime Rock!!

By Nick Candee

Sponsored for over 20 years by the Delaware Valley Triumphs/DVT, the Philadelphia area Triumph club, this is the largest British car show in the area.

Held for years until 2008 at Hope lodge, Fort Washington, PA, the Pennsylvania Historical Commission necessitated find-ing a new venue for 2009. that venue, Oakbourne Mansion, near West Chester, PA proved successful, allowing for future growth of this show. the decision in 2008 by the Delaware Valley Jaguar to combine their annual Concours d’Elegance with this show has resulted in the show’s growth to nearly 200 cars.

Hot humid weather, with threat of heavy thunderstorms, caused some poten-tial exhibitors to reconsider showing, but

there was an excellent turn out of cars. And there wasn’t any rain!

AMOC made an impressive presence with nine Astons (eight members, plus one

non-member DB9). We congratulate len Fiore, exhibiting the oldest model, a DB4, AND the newest, a DB9 Volante, with a mid ‘80s V/8 Volante in between. great credit must be given to Len, traveling over 100 miles, from Altoona PA in the middle of the state, with at least 6 cars that I know of, including two Rolls Royces and a Jaguar (or perhaps two). Len’s cars are well prepared to a condition probably better than when they left the factory. How he is able to bring 6 to 8 cars over 100 miles is another story, best told another time.

Next in the queue was a nice DB6, presented by Hunter Lott, Member from Wilmington DE. Hunter took seriously my suggestion that it is really a short drive from Wilmington to the show grounds,

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delAWAre VAlley

aSTONS IN METRO phIlly!

Cars of England Show, June 5, 2010

By Len Levin and John Stinsmen Photos by Paul Evalds and Len Levin

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and he was not disappointed. He had recently exhibited the DB6 at the Radnor Hunt Club concours. Next was my own DBS, (1969, not 2010 persuasion) fol-lowed by the beautiful mid-‘80s V8 saloon belonging to Curt Cheyney. Curt’s is one of these rare V8s with the POW (Prince of Wales) interior and exterior colors. We were also represented by two DB7s, one newly acquired by our area co-rep, John Stinsmen, a round trip away of 100+ miles from Allentown, PA. The other DB7 Vantage is a GT owned by Don Privett, who journeyed south from Manhattan to show his Aston.

And last, but deserving mention, was a local gentlemen and his wife, who had heard about the show and decided to take a look. He arrived in a very pretty DB9 coupe. When we saw the car parking in the spectator parking area, I went over and invited them to join us, which they did. While he joined us at the show, it is not yet clear as to whether he will join AMOC.

It was a good show. Fellow AMOC members enjoyed showing their Astons, as well as the usual camaraderie between

club members, even some meeting for just the first time. I had such a good time that I forgot to raise my bonnet and later real-ized that because of this my DBS was not judged. But for me, good cars and good fellowship are more important that win-ning a prize.

While we have had nine Astons dis-played at prior Cars of England/Brits are Back shows, as well as this one, I believe that we have never exceeded this number. Unfortunately, there were three members from NJ who had indicated interest in showing—but did not show up. Perhaps the threat of bad weather was discouraging. Otherwise, we might have had an even dozen Astons. However, in addition to good quantity, we also had a bevy of high quality examples of our marque.

Photos, opposite: The Mansion, Len Fiore’s DB4, An interesting water tower, Hunter Lott’s DB6.

This page: Don Privett’s DB7GT, Len Fiore’s Volante, Curt Cheyney’s V8…nice car, huh guys?, “Hey Len Levin,

get your hood opened!!, Len Fiore’s DB9

Since Aston Martin was running in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Long Beach, I attended this year. This was the first run of the Aston Martin lMP1 there. My friend Sarah Durose of Aston Martin said that there were no extra tickets, but graciously invited me for the morning session to see the racecar and meet the drivers. She would be busy throughout the day entertaining media and guests, but I was really excited to have this opportunity.

This was not my first Aston Martin Racing experience. In 2006 when I worked for an Aston dealer back east, I went to Sebring to chaperone clients. That was a great race, one of the first for the DBR9 racecar. The AMR team were great hosts and a lot of fun as well. So based on my Sebring experience, I knew it would be an enjoyable day and hopped on the internet to purchase a general admission ticket for Saturday 17th April.

I arrived at the track at 9:00am and began looking for the Aston Martin Racing hospitality trailer. After walking through the labyrinth of race merchandise and food vendors I spotted the Aston Martin banner over in section N of the paddock. I walked down the cart path toward the massive and impressive black trailer. Aston Martin Racing banners on the silver colored rail-ings defined the upper observation deck. The observation deck was topped by a large white tent, open on all sides. Several chairs on deck faced the track; the view would be pretty spectacular from up there. From past experience I know the observation deck is reserved for Aston Martin’s VIP owners and guests.

Moments later I arrived at the entrance to the large white hospitality tent. It is one of those four-sided walled tents with the clear plastic windows. One wall was actually the hospitality trailer giving everyone inside access to the lounge and rest rooms inside.

The aroma of breakfast was wafting in the air. The tent sheltered eight large round tables covered in white linen. In the center of each table was a round clear glass vase with fresh cut white flowers. There were six white chairs around each table. Doing the quick math, this set up would comfortably accommodate 48-60 very lucky guests. to my left were two long, white-linen covered serving tables with silver steam trays on each. Each tray was filled with all kinds of marvelous breakfast items. On the left rear wall was another long table with large silver coffee urns and clear glass juice urns. In the right rear corner was a long bar with a well-groomed gentleman serving mimosas and champagne to the guests.

As I glanced around the tent, I spot-ted my friend Sarah sitting with Patrick Paterine, renowned motorsports journalist. He writes for Car and Driver, Motor Trend and Auto Week magazines. Sarah introduced me to Patrick and offered me breakfast. As

CA

lONg bEaCh gRaND pRIx IN apRIl 2010: aSTON MaRTIN ExpERIENCE

By Eric Stephans

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Photos by Robert Dennis and Kohei Saito. Top: Lowes Aston leads—until the very end! Below: Mancuso DBRS9; Lowes Aston in pre-race prep.

we ate, I asked Patrick how he got his start in automotive journalism. He said he got started writing for the Porsche owner’s club magazine back in the late ‘70s. I continued with my breakfast and looked around the tent at the guests. I imagined what they did or what business they were in that afforded them the luxury of purchasing an Aston Martin. A few guests sported clothing from the Aston Martin race replica line. I myself was wearing my new white, short sleeve Gulf race replica button down shirt, with distinctive livery of blue sides and Gulf oil logos. Everyone was talking about seeing the car earlier in the morning, and looking forward to the race later in the day. I was getting excited just listening to them. I had only seen the gulf liveried lMP1 racecar in pictures.

After breakfast Sarah invited Patrick and me to walk over to the paddock and check out the racecar. I was really excited to finally see it in person. As we walked up I was amazed to see it broken down into so many pieces. All of the Gulf livery blue and orange body panels were removed and placed in front or in back of the car. It was stripped down to the monococque carbon fiber tub. The car resembled a bug more than a powerful lMP1 racecar. the body design is a direct product of aerospace engi-neering. Directional flow and layering of the carbon fiber weave in the tub are a result of thousands of hours of computer work. The front and rear cantilever suspension is an engineering marvel in itself. The massive carbon-carbon brakes slow this monster down from tremendous speeds in a very short distance. The suspension then takes over in the corners. As it exits the apex the powerful 650hp Aston Martin V12 power plant re-launches the car back up to blister-ing speeds. The on-board computer and telemetry equipment rivals that of the space shuttle. All of these systems work harmoni-ously to make the lMP1 racecar a force to

be reckoned with on track. After I took pictures of the car and met with the team mechanics I was told to come back for the driver signing at 1:00pm.

I walked around taking in all that the Long Beach Grand Prix had to offer. The Indy Race league cars were just finishing up their final qualifying rounds. I watched as they roared by, one after another. Before I knew it the final round was over and the cars were coming back to the paddock. I walked down to see them being towed back. As I walked by Danica Patrick’s team Go Daddy paddock she appeared out of the race trailer to sign autographs and greet the fans that had come out to support her and the team. This is what makes the Long Beach Grand Prix so special. You do not need any special pass or permit to be in that area the day before the race. I noticed several other drivers come out to follow Danica including Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Raye. I looked at my watch and it was time to head back to the Aston Martin Paddock for their driv-ers signing.

I arrived back at the Aston paddock at 12:30pm. the 007 car was reassembled and ready to race. Now it actually looked like the racecar I had seen in pictures. It looked incredibly fast, even sitting still. The team had set up a table in front of the paddock area. There were already people lined up and waiting to get autographs. I quickly got in line as more people were arriving every second. As we waited in line the team sup-port staff was laying out packages of posters on the table. As with all Aston Martin Races they commission a poster to commemorate the event. They opened one of the packages and we could see a menacing overhead view of the gulf livery Blue and Orange lMP1 car with its “Long Beach Grand Prix” title and date. At 1:00pm sharp the drivers Adrian Fernandez and Harold Primat came out of the race trailer and the crowd began

to cheer! They immediately got down to the business of signing autographs. They were so accommodating, getting up to fulfill requests for photographs with their fans. It was really great to see just how appreciative these drivers were of their fan base. Before we knew it, the signing session was over and we were headed back to the hospitality tent for lunch.

In the tent I spotted Julian Jenkins, Vice President and General Manager of Aston Martin North America. We had met while attending the DBS dynamic driving expe-rience training at the Ascari Race Resort in Ronda, Spain in 2008. We spent a few moments catching up. Two motorsports marketing executives from the team’s new sponsor Lowe’s Home Improvement, Gray Abercrombie, and Rick Coffee, were there. Julian introduced us and we began talking about how the Lowe’s sponsorship and the new driver Adrian Fernandez had come about. It was quite interesting and the subject soon changed back to similarities between the V12 engine in the race car and the one used in the regular production DB9 and DBS. I asked if they had actually driven the Aston Martin products yet. They both replied that they had not. Julian said he was arranging to have them do just that. I had just finished lunch and was getting ready to leave. Since there were no extra tickets, I would be watching the race from one of the standing areas. As I was speaking with Gary and Rick from Lowe’s, Julian came over and gave me an all access VIP pass, grand stand ticket and AML racing lanyard. I was completely blown away. Julian knows what a huge fan I am of AM Racing. I was so excited to have the opportunity to see the race and experience it like only an Aston Martin VIP can. We finished lunch and headed to the grandstands.

We took our seats right before the start of the race. I heard cars revving in the pit area, and looked up to see the Aston Martin

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L-R: Julian Jenkins, Jodie Armore-White, Author; Lotus returns; Eric Stephans with David Brabham

lMP1 pass by on its first warm up lap. It looked like a shark, cruising the shallows for dinner. the Aston Martin lMP1 car is an endurance racecar. The Long Beach Grand Prix is a 1.9 mile sprint course and the car was never really designed for that. They really did not expect to compete here. It was more of a warm up for the 2010 race season and a break-in for the 007 car.

Once the race started, it was obvious that no one told the drivers, Adrian Fernandez and Harold Primat, that this was a warm-up, preliminary race. After starting from pole position on the grid the race was plagued with yellow caution flags and cars crashing into the tires barriers. Team Aston Martin suffering the same fate dropped down the ranks to third but then found itself back up in first place with less than three laps to go. We were so confident that AMR was going to win, Sarah and the women ran back to the hospitality trailer to get a couple of cases of Aston Martin flags to pass out. Once they got back to the grandstand, the Lowe’s reps and I began handing them out to all the kids and the big kids in our section. Everyone was so into it, waving their Aston Martin flags and cheering on the team.

The only thing standing in their way of victory was Simon Pagenaud’s lastlap pass in his Highcroft Racing prototype.

Simon was partnering with ex-AMR driver David Brabham who is one of the best drivers I have ever had the privilege of meeting. I met David and Darren Turner while I was visiting the Aston Martin fac-

tory in Gaydon. Simon was patiently wait-ing for an opportunity to overtake Adrian. That opportunity would come in the last lap with only five turns to the finish line. Earlier in the race David forced Harold into the tire barrier causing some significant left rear corner damage to the lMP1 Aston Martin. This impact had damaged the left rear brake cooling ductwork causing the left rear brake to overheat. To compensate, Adrian had adjusted the brake bias forward to prevent rear brake lock in the corners. With less than one lap to go Adrian was attempting a defensive maneuver to hold off Simon. While entering a right hand turn he carried too much speed and locked the left rear wheel. He corrected his path of travel, but not before Simon had passed him. Once in front of Adrian, Simon never looked back. Aston Martin Racing had to settle for a sec-ond place finish at Long Beach.

After the race, Julian led us down to the nearest track entrance, where officials examined our VIP passes and let us all out on to the track. We followed Julian around the course over to the podium where tro-phies were awarded. At the podium area Julian directed me to walk up front and take pictures. I was really blown away by how close I was able to get—so close that I actu-ally got Champagne on me as they doused each other during the trophy presentation.

After the trophy presentation David Brabham walked over and said hello to his former teammates. I was congratulating David on his victory when Jodie, one of the

Aston Martin team support staff grabbed my camera and told the two of us to smile. Jodie took our picture and then David was sur-rounded by press and media reporters clam-oring to get his attention. Just then Adrian and Harold walked over. I congratulated them on an absolutely amazing race. Jodie then took a picture of Adrian, Harold and me as well. After we left the podium it was back to the hospitality trailer for dinner and more photos. We enjoyed a filet mignon dinner with drinks and more celebration! The drivers came back and spoke about the race. They stayed for 20-30 minutes then said thank you to all of us for coming and they departed. We finished dinner and dessert and handed out the gift bags to all of the participants who had stored them in the trailer earlier in the day. Each gift bag contained a model of the racecar, race team baseball cap, literature and champagne. We all sat back and recounted what an amazing race it was and how cohesive the entire team was. It truly was incredible and one of the highlights of my Aston Martin career so far. I look forward to so many more

If you have considered attending Aston Martin races, I hope my experience will help you to make the commitment to do so. By attending these events you are liter-ally participating in Aston Martin’s racing history. I recommend checking with your local dealer for information regarding the Aston hospitality packages, or check online at www.astonmartin.com.

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Adrian, Author, & Harold; Right: Nick Mancuso at speed in Lake Forest Sports Cars DBRS9 (ex John Sinders / Autosport Designs / Rahal Letterman Racing); Drivers signing AMR event posters

UPCOMING EVENTS

2010 aMOC NORTh aMERICa EVENT SChEDUlEPlease contact your Area Rep for additional details and information.

SePtemBer

ct 3-6 AMOC at Lime Rock Vintage Fall Festival lakeville. contact: Jim Hazen (781) 383-6007 or jwhazen@comcast.net

MD/Dc/WV 10 AMOC Friday at the Track, Summit Point. contact Jonathan Metcalfe (703) 328-6155 or Register at www.summitpointfatt.com

MI 10-11 3rd AMOC/Aston Martin of Troy Drivers School, Gingerman, South Haven. contact: Norb Kaminski (313) 882-2366

ct 11-12 Fairfield Concours, Westport. AMOC cor-ral and hospitality area, AMOC Dinner. contact: Andy Williams (203) 321-7088

cA 11-12 AMOC Half Moon Bay Driving Tour (includes overnight at Ritz-Carlton. In conjunction with Los Gatos Luxury Cars. Contact: Augie Kuo augkuo@gmail.com

PA 12 Radnor Hunt Club Concours, Edgemont. contact: len levine (610) 272-3812

Il 12 Chicago British Car Festival, Des Plaines. contact: Henry Matson (773) 871-8370

canada 14 Pub night—Jolly Miller. Contact: Tom Appleton (905) 847-9197 or tea@cogeco.ca

MD 18 Keels and Wheels, Annapolis Yacht Club. www.annapolisyc.com

cA 18-19 NorCal AMOC Concours Cool Cars for a Cause, Danville d’Elegance Foundation (www.danville-delegance.org). Contact: George Wood onefastaston@aol.com

PA 19 Buckingham Concours, Holicong. Contact: len levine (610) 272-3812

canada 19 British Car Day, Bronte Conservation Area. contact: tom Appleton (905) 847-9197 or tea@cogeco.ca

IL 23 Pub Night, Chicago. Contact: Henry Matson (773) 871-8370

MI TBD Fall Road Tour. Location TBD. Contact: Norb Kaminski (313) 882-2366

oCtoBer

Canada 2 75th Anniversary Fall Drive. Contact: Tom Appleton (905) 847-9197 or tea@cogeco.ca

IL 3 Lake Forest Sports Cars Concours d’Elegance. Open to all Aston Martin, Ferrari and Maserati owners. Contact: Henry Matson (773) 871-8370

Fl 8-10 AMOC Festivals of Speed, Orlando Ritz-Carlton Grand Lakes Resort (www.festi-valsofspeed.com). Aston Martin/Jaguar of Orlando invites AMOC and Jaguar Clubs to view new Astons at PRIMO Restaurant, Herb Garden entrance, the Ritz from 3-5pm Saturday, October 9. contact: Russell Glace amocflorida@aol.com.

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ClaSSIFIEDSfor SAle Belden Napa Silicone 8mm yellow plug wine—21 1/2 feet—$25 including mailing. great for a classic 6 cylinder Aston. Contact: Tom O’Keefe

for SAle 1997 Aston Martin DB7 coupe, 35,500 miles, 1 of 713 Worldwide, one of 45 units imported, rare manual shift. VIN ScFAA2121VK101381 color : cotsworth ( Fawn) over Ivory with Charcoal Welting and Carpets. Suede (Fawn) Headliner. Located in SE Florida. Options: 5 Speed Manual Transmission, Mesh Grill, Rear Spoiler, Speedline Wheels, Car Cover, Chrome Exhaust Tips. Supercharged engine, 3239 cc has 335 hp with 361 ft. lbs. torque. Carfax, and Inspection Report. All books, tools, and records, dealer maintained, and always garaged. Asking $39,900.00 OBO. contact: Russell glace at reglac@aol.com or (561) 762-2908

for SAle DB7 Vantage Wheel/Tire Package: 20” HRE wheels with p-zero Pirelli tires. From 2001 DB7 Vantage: Four 3-piece HRE 841R chrome alloys. the front and back of each wheel has been chromed. Pirelli p-zero tires with 70% tread come with the wheels. Wheels are 8 and 10 inches wide. tires are 254/30/20 and 285/25/20. these tires and wheels chromed were over $10K new. Asking $3500. located in cA. contact: Doug Smith #8514 dsmith34@cox.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

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UPCOMING EVENTS

2010 aMOC NORTh aMERICa EVENT SChEDUlEPlease contact your Area Rep for additional details and information.

canada 12 Pub night—Snug Harbour. Contact: Tom Appleton (905) 847-9197 or tea@cogeco.ca

MI 16 Michigan Fall Tour to Lingenfelter collection

PA 16-17 Eastern PA AMOC Fall Event. Location tBD. contact: len levine (610) 272-3812

Il 21 Pub Night, Chicago. Contact: Henry Matson (773) 871-8370

NJ 23 Princeton-Harvard Game. Dinner at La Hiere-Princeton. Contact: Paul Saatsoglou (609) 216-3926

NoVemBer

VA 5-7 AMOC Fall Tour, Hosted by Mid-Atlantic Area, Keswick Hall, Charlottesville. contact: Jonathan Metcalf (703) 464-8807

canada 9 Pub night—Jolly Miller. Contact: Tom Appleton (905) 847-9197 or tea@cogeco.ca

deCemBer

NY 3 AMOC luncheon at Le Perigord Restaurant (www.leperigord.com). Contact: Susan Laskey slaskey@freeman-co.com

CA 5 NorCal and SoCal Holiday Parties

canada 14 Pub night—Snug Harbor. Contact: Tom Appleton (905) 847-9197 or tea@cogeco.ca

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DIRECTORyaMOC EaST OFFICERSChAirJIM HAZEN268 Beechwood Street Cohasset, MA 02025 (781) 383-6007 jwhazen@comcast.net

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 direCtorTOM SMITH881 tyne Boulevard Nashville, TN 37220 (615) 297-0350 amocmembership@gmail.com

AdVertiSiNg direCtorJOHN DAVID35 Maryland Plaza #2 St. louis, MO 63108 (314) 361-9372 john.david@sbcglobal.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

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 JerSeyPAUL SAATSOGLOU120 Montadale Drive Princeton NJ 08540 (609) 216-3926 paul.saatsoglou@comcast.net

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 ANgeleSVACANT

CAliforNiA—NortherNVACANT

moUNtAiNVACANT

teXAS/oKlAhomAJOHN LAVENDOSKI8127 Mesa Drive B206-116 Austin, tX 78759 (512) 748-1434 john@prodicus.com

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

SAN diegoLARRY DAVIS6578 crystalaire Drive San Diego, cA 92120 (619) 303-3350 Mobile: (619) 405-1419 LarryDavis@cox.net

WeSterN CANAdAJOHN FAIRCLOUGH 28875 Marsh Mccormick Rd Abbotsford, BC Canada, V4x 2B4 Home: (604)856-6264 johnfairclough@shaw.ca

JOIN ThE aMOC!US and Canada. For information on 2010 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

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

Aston M

artin of New

England / Lotus M

otorsports, Inc. 85 Linden Street, W

altham, M

A 02452 1-781-547-5959 astonm

artin-lotus.com

Not available in all stores: Zagato Vanquish R

oadster. Drive it hom

e now.

.25” wrap to back cover

SUMMER 2010

40th Lime Rock Meeting

Ontario Wine Tour

Long Beach Street Fight!

Issue No. 27

$12.50 US / $15.00 CDN

ASTON MARTIN OWNERS CLUBNorth America Quarterly Journal

SUMMER 2010

40th Lime Rock Meeting

Ontario Wine Tour

Long Beach Street Fight!

Issue No. 27

$12.50 US / $15.00 CDN

ASTON MARTIN OWNERS CLUBNorth America Quarterly Journal