Tuesday, September 3, 2013


Carreras News
July-August 2013
**CARRERAS FIESTA -- AUGUST 17 – CARMEL
**2013 PAN AM -- WIDE OPEN TO MORE ENTRIES
**COYOTE CONVOY -- STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
**PAN AM REUNION TOUR -- FEBRUARY 2014
**CHIHUAHUA EXPRESS, APRIL 3-6, 2014
**REPORT: PAN AM CARS AT ROAD AMERICA
**CLASSIFIEDS – SPECIAL HOUSE FOR SALE IN MEXICO
**CONTACT INFORMATION
 
**CARRERAS FIESTA -- AUGUST 17 – CARMEL
Y’all come to the 7th annual CARRERAS FIESTA at the Monterey Historics.  Last year we had over 100 in attendance, plus some very nice cars on display.
The event will return to the well-known Baja Cantina on Carmel Road, a couple of miles east of the village.  It will begin at 5:30 and a Mexican buffet will be served 6:30-7:30.  Tickets for the dinner are $25 before the event and $30 at the door.  All proceeds go to Los Amigos de Lupita Hernandez, the charity that supports the Mexican nurse who lost both her legs in a Pan Am accident several years ago.
Please make a reservation for dinner by emailing Bill Hemmer at bekgroup@gmail.com or me.
Our host for the event is Bill Hemmer, a Pan Am veteran, Porsche fan, and gracious fellow, who has produced the fiesta annually.   Bill also invites all Pan Am folks who will be in the area on Tuesday, Aug. 13 to attend the “Concours on the Avenues,” a display of cars on the streets of Carmel and visit with him in the office of Exclusive Realty (SW corner of San Carlos and 7th Ave) from 10-12, and then from 12-4 in the office of Peninsula Realty in Carmel (Ocean Ave. and Monte Verde, in the Court of the Golden Bough).  Bill is a real estate broker and developer in the Carmel-Monterey-Salinas area.
Posters for both the Fiesta and the Concours are attached to this newsletter. See you there!
**2013 PAN AM -- WIDE OPEN TO MORE ENTRIES
It’s late in the season, but the Pan Am is wide open for more entries.  Get that Original Pan Am car out of the garage and tuned up for the event Oct. 25-31.  You have still have time to make it.
At last report, only 79 of 100 slots were filled.  So the Organizers need more entries, even more Porsche 911s and ’65-66 Mustangs.
Go to www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx to fill out the official entry form.  Need help and advice?  Email or call me.
**COYOTE CONVOY – STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Getting down to Mexico is a lot easier, safer, and more fun if you hook up with the Coyote Convoy.  This year the convoy will get together on Friday, Oct. 18 in Laredo and cross the border early the next morning.  It will motor 560 miles down to San Miguel de Allende, spend two nights, and then continue on to Veracruz on Monday, Oct. 21.  Registration and tech open the next morning in the convention center at 10:00 AM.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU OR YOUR SUPPORT CREW INTEND TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONVOY.
Anyone is invited to join the convoy.  Even race spectators might consider taking their daily driver, sports car, or RV down to Laredo to join the convoy to Veracruz and then follow the race back to Zacatecas.
San Miguel de Allende, located 180 miles north of Mexico City, has become a world-class tourist destination over the past decade.  It’s a well-preserved, safe Spanish-Mexican colonial city with over 10,000 U.S., Canadian, and European residents.  Excellent restaurants, boutique hotels, numerous historic churches, and cobblestone streets are a perfect setting for a weekend stay.
On Sunday, the Pan Am race cars will be on display in the main square.  Last year, they attracted over a thousand spectators.
**PAN AM REUNION TOUR – FEBRUARY 2014
Attention Pan Am veterans and supporters.  Too busy or too pooped to enter the Pan Am again, but would like to see some of the cities and sites along the route with old Carrera buddies?   Want to show your spouse, children, or special friend some of these special places?   Care to drive the route with time to stop and check out sites you could only wave at when racing?  Sign up for this very unique tour.
Potential rookies may simply want to check out the race route in central Mexico before spending the money to build a car and jump into unknown territory.
 How about escaping the winter cold next February and coming down for a guided tour of most of the cities along the traditional Pan Am route:  Oaxaca, Queretaro, Morelia, Aguascalientes, and Zacatecas?
If we get commitments from a dozen or so vets, we can organize a first-class, week-long tour.  We will charter a luxury bus (flight attendants, bathrooms, and cocktails).  Some participants might want to pilot a rental car for the trip or drive their own automobile.
As most of you know, the winters in Mexico are mild, and now with a modern highway system, it is much easier to drive from city to city along the historic Pan Am route.  In addition to seeing some of the sites, ample time will be reserved each evening for dinner and telling Pan Am tales.
Let me know if you are interested and I will start a special email list.  This will be a deluxe tour, so will be priced accordingly.
 
**REPORT: PAN AM CARS AT ROAD AMERICA
As readers of CARRERAS NEWS may remember, we attempted to organize a run group of Pan Am cars for “The Hawk with Brian Redman,” a huge vintage event, at Road America, July 18-21.  Unfortunately, I issued the invitation too late in the season and most racers had other plans and commitments.  Regardless, several Pan Am cars showed up for the event, and a couple of Pan Am vets were there racing other vintage cars.  We will try again next year.
I was able to visit the track in Elkhart Lake, WI on Thursday (a special practice day) and Friday (the regular practice day), so I was able to meet some old Pan Am friends or see their cars on the track:  John Daniels (’65 Sunbeam Tiger), Clyde Morter in the “Lucky Taco” (’54 Olds), and Najeeb Khan (‘64 Ginetta G4R).  Sadly, I was not able to hook up with David Hinton, John Schantz (’53 Corvette) and a few others who were there. 
Of special interest was the ’54 Lincoln sedan in Pan Am livery driven by Lorie-Ann Fisher, who was out there racing with a horde of smaller, faster cars.  In the final race on Sunday—in pouring rain—so many cars dropped out of that race group that the Lincoln, solid on those deeply-treaded tires, finished third, proving again that sometimes, indeed, a tortoise can beat the hare.
Of special note, too, was the beautiful ’58 Scarab of Bob Sirna, driven gamely by Tony DeLorenzo.  Ignition problems in Sunday’s rain forced the Scarab out of the final race -- in this case it became one of the hares that lost to the big Lincoln.
The fastest lap of the weekend around the 4.2 miles track was racked up by a Benetton B197 – 128 MPH.  My other favorite was the red ’65 Cheeta.  It not only looked fast; it was.
Next year let’s triple the number of Pan Am cars at this great event. OK?
**CLASSIFIEDS – SPECIAL HOUSE IN MEXICO FOR SALE
Spectacular home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.  Only two years young. Three-car garage and many nice Carrera memories.  Great garden, pool, and views of the city and the setting sun.  Check it out on Sotheby’s web site  http://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/sales/detail/180-l-1978-4000043390/prolongacion-la-quinta-ojo-de-agua-san-miguel-de-allende-gu-37777
Yes, that’s my house.  A change in our families -- our first grandchildren – is forcing a major change in our life style.  Sadly, our beautiful place in SMA is now up for sale.
Let me know if you have questions about it.  I do not think there’s another one like it in Mexico.
 
**CONTACT INFORMATION
Gerie Bledsoe
U.S. and Canadian Coordinator
La Carrera Panamericana and Chihuahua Express
Phone (224) 999-7292 (Chicago)