As the '03 season wraps up we have just returned from HSR's Daytona Event & La Carrera Pan Americana. Overall, 03' evidenced a general slowing in vintage racing entries across the nation with smaller fields, smaller events, and fewer new cars & conscripts. Not all bad really, after the considerable growth Vintage & Racing has seen the preceding years exhibited. It seems to mirror the stock market: off a bit but more than twice what it was just 10 years before the new millennium.

At last writing, we were looking forward to the annual SVRA September 2002 event at Watkins Glen. It came, we went and all went well. Everyone had fun and several of our equip ended up on the podium. We were at SVRA events at Summit Point & Virginia International last fall in addition to HSR's always exciting Daytona Speed-fest. The SVRA Season finale @ VIR was a memorable event with crew and drivers having almost as much fun at VIR's great go-cart track as on the circuit.

It's October 2002:

Our rigs are loaded with Bill Shanahan's P-1800 Volvo & spares for the annual pilgrimage to Mexico's exceptional La Carrera Pan Americana. What an event! A great drive for Bill & his "co-piloto" Fred Gunther. They won their class almost every day and finished the event 1st in FIA Historic A and an incredible 13th overall among much more powerful competition. The car did not miss a beat; the drivers did not miss a trick & the V.R.S. support team performed superbly. A big "well done" to all!!

January 03:

Nary a race to raise a racer's spirit but there is a racers repast to spring our spirits. The annual VRS prize giving and winter bash. Our get together migrates annually to whomever is good natured (or crazy) enough offer their home for the party. This year was a real treat as Jean Goutal graciously offered his superb New York City restaurant, Le Colonial on east 57th Street in midtown Manhattan.

Superb Vietnamese French/Asian Fusion cuisine, the delectable ambience in Le Colonial's gracious 2nd floor lounge and a really good time for about 75 of us. The usual, unusual trophy giving followed dinner. These trophies recognize some of the more dubious accomplishments of the season past and, despite their ignominious origins, seem appreciated and enjoyed by all. Thanks for coming and thanks for being such good sports, and most importantly, thank you Jean for your exceptional hospitality.

Winter 2002-3:

A severe blast of "artic awful" in the northeast. Many a "burrrrrr" was heard as we longed for some hot sticky mid-July tarmac' that welcome "eau d' machina" summer promotes. We are happy to report that the shop heat worked, the plows performed & by spring our vintage racing wards & crew were ready for the 2003 season.

Getting There: 2002 travel arrangements for many of the VRS group were made far more convenient by one happy happenstance, Bob Machinists acquisition of a stable of aircraft and some very professional pilots. Sometimes a twin turbo prop Merlyn, others a jet, but one thing stands out: the ease this mode of transport brigns to some of the more remote tracks. "Bob Air" will be flying from the NYC area to many of your favorite venues in 04 and we hate to go with an empty plane so please call us if interested.

February 2003: Our first outing at Brian Redman's relaxed & exceptionally enjoyable Targa 66 Moroso Motorsports Park meeting. Brian's style & redundant format make this a superb season warm up with plentiful, relaxed test & tune opportunities. Sunny Florida weather cooperated for Ken Walker, Jean Goutal, Bob Machinist & Fred Gunther to take advantage of All Brian, Marion and James Redman had to offer. Our own Brian, Andy & Harvey did a great job of keeping all running well. Following the Targa, we set up camp on the "back 40" of Moroso Motorsports Park and serviced the fleet in preparation for the following weekends HSR, Moroso Event. Life takes on new meaning when we can leave the snow shovel behind to practice our craft in warm Florida sunshine. Good weather, great driving and the kind of results that makes race technicians proud of their work. Jean Goutal had a great race in both his Ford & the VRS rental Elva/BMW MK 7S with a 1st in class and 1stOA, while Ken Walker drove a superb enduro ending the day with a 1st in class, 3rd overall.

March 2003: Shortly after The HSR Palm Beach Historic races, the VRS equippe finds itself at the legendary Sebring Florida Circuit. Bob Machinist Brings his Trusty Datsun 240Z and his Chevron B-21, ending the weekend 2nd and 3rd in class in each car respectively. Randy Lenz drives his McKee Mk 7 Can Am car very nicely to 5th overall and 1st in class, though he and his very rare 64 Ginetta G-10 are plagued by engine trouble. A very quick & fit Jack Cowell brought the R&R Racing Camaro home 1st overall in the grueling (by Vintage racing standards) 3 hour enduro. He finished 1st again in the Sunday's sprints. We headed back to finish off the winter in high spirits.

Early April: A quick trip to Lime Rock for VSCCA's spring sprints where Charlie England and Richard Kresch soaked up the VSCCA's season opener ambience.

In no time at all: We were off to the Walter Mitty @ Road Atlanta. A good time for most in our group…but it could have been better! Larry Neviaser's Lola T-312 Formula 5000 car was plagued by fuel injection problems & it took until Saturday's A.M. qualifying session to get it sorted & running "just so, or was it? Just then something went very wrong on a post-qualifying cool down lap. Mechanical maladies & nasty noises ended Larry's Lola weekend though his Ginetta G-16 was running well.

Bob Machinist did not fare very much better. Bob's Chevron B-39 suffered terminal transmission troubles that had him finishing his race at a limp while his ill trained Chevron B-21 could not keep itself out of the gravel traps…. Bad Bob? Bad CARS? or bad luck??????

Balancing Bob & Larry's woes was Jack Cowell, the high point of our weekend. Though plagued by a developing & worsening oil leak, (abraded line as we later found out), Jack managed to bring the R&R Racing Camaro home 1st in class & 2nd overall in Sunday morning's Rolex Historic GT Enduro. The saving grace of an otherwise unrewarding weekend. That's life, that's racing & if it were all always perfect, why bother…is not part of the fun the challenge?

May! And at last, we New Englander's are convinced that winter was truly over. It seemed safe to race a bit closer to home so we are off to Brian Redman's always entertaining Jefferson 500 @ Summit Point, West Virginia.

Don't believe what you hear, it actually did stop raining for almost 4 whole hours on Saturday. This proved just long enough for each of our group to get a dry race in. Richard Kresch in his 914/6 & Beach Abarth, Bob Machinist in his Datsun 240Z, Chevron B-21 & Aston DB-4, and Larry Neviaser in his Ginetta/BMW G-16 all managing to get loose, "squirrelly" and thereby properly entertained.. The exceptional thing about this event was certainly not the weather, it was the attendance. Unlike several other 2003 events we had attended, the Jefferson was larger than it's '02 counterpart. A bright light in the 03 vintage racing tunnel, well-done Brian, James, Marion Redman & Crew. Many thanks for a great time despite the "wrath of the gods".

Soon it's June: We are starting to truly believe in summer's return. The VRS crew is at HSR's Watkins Glen Event where Jack Cowell did it again bringing the R&R Racing Camaro home 1st in class & 8th overall in the enduro & 1st overall in the Sunday Sprint.

Two weeks later: What else but Mid-Ohio where Brian & the crew took care to be sure John Ralsten (Sr & Jr.) & Joe Tierno had a full measure of racing's rewards. John & son drove the VRS RX-7 Mazda in the enduro and his always quick, group 1, Spitfire to a 4th overall & 2nd in class for Sunday's sprint race. Joe Tierno, in his MGA finally had a long overdue "really good weekend" with a 5th overall & 3rd in class. Well-done Joe, John & John Jr.

June ends in a maelstrom: An emergency unfolded in the form of Jim Freeman's Aston Martin AMR-1 & Murray "The Legend" Smith's Porsche 956. Scheduled for the Goodwood Festival of Speed, they were languishing elsewhere stateside, not quite ready to go. Intervention came in the form of Nigel, Brian, John & the VRS crew who worked hard & fast to get the cars prepared & shipped across the pond. Our Nigel hopped a plane; the cars went sailing, and all arrived as scheduled in "Sunny England". Jim & Murray arrived on cue going or then went daemon fast & furious up the hill. A fitting conclusion to a right proper thrash!

July commences: Whilst Astons & Porsches enjoy their ocean cruise, we prepare a load of delectable machinery for the yet still more delectable, Mont-Tremblant "Legendes" Event in Quebec, Canada's Laurentien Mountains. Murray "that very same Legend" Smith, Pierre des Marais & his crew have crafted a wonderful vintage race weekend. If you have not yet attended, put it on your calendar. Le Circuit Mont Tremblant is beautifully restored & one of the best road course designs in North America. The surrounding area has much to offer, making this a venue not to be missed….but some of us had to do just that. A series of "life's little surprises" reduced Bob Machinist's ankle to "dangerously worn Heim joint" status & our flock from 7 to 4 cars. Archie Urciuoli's beautiful GT-40 was out for it's maiden post restoration voyage. Archie drove well; car and driver did not miss a beat all weekend, and Archie really soaked up all this beautiful machine has to offer.

John Ralsten's Spitfire was near perfect doing its part to help John end his race 2nd overall. After qualifying on the pole. Monday's commitments did not allow either the Kent Bain or Bill Shanahan's Spitfires to stay for Sunday afternoons race. They did, however, greatly enjoy the preceding days on this superb circuit. A great event! Great fun! We look forward to '04.

Mid July: The Brian Redman International Challenge at Road America proved just that. Larry Neviaser's Lola T312 Formula 500 was again plagued by engine problems. His Ginetta G-16/BMW went well, but fell victim to an errant Porsche 910 while running a strong third in Sunday's race. It seems the gremlins were out and after Larry this season.

Our sympathies, and better luck is guaranteed next time (see SVRA Summit Point).

Bob Machinist ran well in his Chevron B-21, as did Steve Maison in his 1977 Chevron B-39 Formula Atlantic car. I had a great race in the ex- Ken Walker Lotus 7 series 2 (available as a rental to all) and finished 4th overall, 1st in class. Bill's (Shanahan) Spitfire was there but business commitments intervened & Bill was not - nice vacation for any Spit.

August &You only get one guess: Yep, you guessed it, where else but off to "Vintage Motors Mecca"! The Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca, The Pebble Beach Concours, Coucours Italiano and the entire mid august Monterey weekend form the penultimate parade for all so afflicted. Final prep is underway on Archie Urciuoli's Ford GT-40, Jack Cowell's 1970 Trans Am Camaro & Larry Kessler's Elva MK8S, but Jack has to bail. To fill his spot, our Automotive Restoration division has two cars we have restored for customers exhibiting at Pebble Beach this year. We also find Herb Wetanson & Joel Finn who need rides for their racecars. We leave our trucks home & fill Pete Racely's Sport Racing Semi for the trip to California. The pre-historics come off as if perfectly choreographed with Larry Kessler's VRS prepared Elva MK8 on the pole & second in Sunday's race. Archie Urciuoli's Ford GT-40 MK1 runs like the proverbial clock & happily, so does Archie. Herb, Olga & Joel finish up front & on their feet, though Joel has done all but rebuild his pretty little Lotus 27 over the two day event. Brian & I keep 'em cleaned & serviced; then it's of for some R&R in preparation for the Historics weekend. The Historics are the usual feast of Automotive Art to behold. Racing is not the correct term for on track activities, but spirited wheel-to-wheel driving abounds. Our group did well on the track, while Peter Kalikow's Ferrari 400 Super America & Michael Schwartz's Cisitalia 202MM-Nuvolari Spyder complete the pre-Pebble Beach rally in grand style. Sunday's Concours saw Peter's Ferrari finish a strong 2nd while Michaels very rare & original Nuvolari Spyder delighted all. Sunday night saw all loaded up in Pete's truck & us heading for the airport. What a weekend!!!!!

September: A nip in the air for Steve Earle & General Racing who have uprooted themselves from the Historics & followed us East to administer the Lime Rock Vintage Fall Festival. Charlie England has a great time piloting his rental Elva Courier 1500 in every session while Richard Kresch in his Beach/Abarth & Archie Urciuoli in the GT-40 have a spirited, if slightly soggy weekend. Rain ends Monday's racing early for those of us who relish not racing in the rain. My weekend ride, our reliable Datsun 510 2liter Trams Arm sedan proves lots of fun while sliding around in the gooh. Sorry about the weather, but this makes two years in a row so next year is bound to be perfect.

Two days later: Truck, crew and cars are at Watkins Glen and the always-exciting SVRA Zippo Challenge weekend. This event has turned into one of the seasons best & biggest with over 500 cars.

Joe Tierno has another great weekend bringing his MGA home at the front of the pack.

Jean Goutal finishes well up in our rental Elva MK7S winning medals in both the enduro & sprint races. He then medals again in his Titan MK5 Formula Ford. His neck could hardly stand the weight of the SVRA's generous medal giving. Bob Machinist drove his Chevron's ( B-21 & 39) beautifully though happily concurrently, finishing 9th overall & 3rd in class in theB21.

Jim Freeman, spent most of the weekend getting the Aston Martin AMR-1 sorted out (just fresh off the boat from it's Goodwood Festival performance). Jim's race ended up red flagged after about 1 lap, as the Group logistics seemed plagued by problems all weekend. Adding insult to injury, Jim's handsome Aston suffered some light damage from another group C car that could not quite react to the conditions in time.

My Porsche 914/6 ran perfectly all weekend, finished the 1hour race 16th overall and 3rd in class, but ended up 11th after a 2nd lap spin in the sprint. Though I suspected it, I now know with surety that you can only pass on the inside of turn 10.

Larry Kessler & his Elva MK8 turned in their usual seamless & stressless performance finishing somewhere up front (the timer's lost him) in the enduro & 3rd in his 6 lap sprint race.

Whilst all this was going on the truly bright button of the weekend, Connie Nyholm, had a blast in our rental Datsun 510 1600. Connie is the manager at Harvey Siegel's beautiful Virginia International Raceway. She is so enthusiastic, easy going & capable. VIR cannot help but thrive with her at the helm. Thanks for enjoying & taking such good care of our car, Connie!

Mid September: A big break...or is that brake? …at last! 3 weeks & enough time to get ourselves gathered up, cars serviced, trucks loaded, and the whole encampment re-established for SVRA's late September Summit Point Blue Grey Challenge. This event is always lots of fun with Jack Woehrle, Bob Williams & Kim Belinc applying their considerable creative talents to the festivities. There is always a good party and an inviting ambience at this venue not to mention entertaining and unique race formats.

Plenty of track time & a beautifully run event, many thanks. Larry Neviaser finally got a break in his not so lovely luck when he and son Mike drove his Ginetta G-16 beautifully to a 1st overall in Saturday's 2hr enduro, a second over all in Friday's Blue Grey Race & 8th in his Sprint, whew, that's a bunch of racing.

John Ralsten & his pretty blue Spitfire ran the Friday's Blue Grey, the Cantab invitational & Sunday's 8-lap sprint without a hitch.

Brian & I tested Bill Shanahan's Carrera bound P-1800 in the enduro to test perfection as we unearthed a decrepit transmission. The trans gave up it's 1st 2 gears about 1 hour in, we finished using the top 2 and were thankful to have saved this difficulty from developing in Mexico a few weeks hence.

I managed a second overall in group 3 with my trusty Spitfire and I can speak for us all in saying we had a BLAST!!

Still mid month, back from The Point, and what to do: Oh yeah - there's another race, HSR @ VIR and a mission for John Koch & Max Lingenfeld. Take Jack Cowell's very fast & well-driven R&R racing Camaro Z28 to the enduro and keep him in the running. Jack is now a solid 2nd & very close to Eric Bretzel for the Rolex Series Championship.

Every race counts. Eric looks lost (and very smoky) at the start of the event but they manage to get an engine together & finish first ahead of our 2nd place Camaro, all be it in a smoky haze! The podium is starting to look awfully consistent with Jack & Eric taking 1-2 or 2-1 honors. John & Max did a great job and the car was home safely by Tuesday thanx once again to Pete Racely, Bob Martin & that super spotless Sport Racing Semi.

October at last: A big month, SVRA's season finale at VIR, VSCCA's finale at Lime Rock & Brian off with Bill Shanahan and "co-piloto" Murray (the handsome legend) Smith to La Carrera. Just to add a bit of intrigue, the season finale on Daytona's big beautiful & very banked road course comes along to bridge the gap into November. Larry Neviaser and his G-16 Ginetta, tom Brown and the always entertaining Porsche 914/6 and Richard Kresch with his Beach/Abarth and Porsche all attend the SVRA's Virginia International Season finale. Great event, great weather and some fine driving by all.

Update to Mid October: Our Ford F-450, our special "shortie" Mexico 5th Wheel trailer, the Swedish support contingent Sven Eric & Kenneth Olaussen are all headed to Tuxtla Guiterrez, Mexico for La Carrera Pan Americana with Bill Shanahan's quick little VRS prepared P-1800 Volvo in tow. Brian takes the plane, Bill & co-piloto Murray Smith arrive a day later & we start strong & on schedule Thursday Oct. 24th. Bill does most of the driving. Murray navigates to a "T" (or was that a "Y") ah well, no worries, the team hits all the right notes, they win 6 out of 7 days, their Historic A class & slot into the overall lineup 11th. Another year, another flawless driving performance, another truly amazing performance for a 4-cylinder car, and on all fronts a hardy well done!

November rolls in: As Brian calls from Nuevo Laredo with good Carrera news, Andy Briggs, John Koch, Harvey Thompson & myself are at HSR's fast & furious

Brumos Daytona Historics for one last bash (figuratively of course) & Jack's final round in the Rolex Historic GT Endurance Challenge Series.

Great event, perfectly prepared cars (if we may say) and some very enlightened driving by "our guys".

Jack finishes the enduro 4th overall & 1st in class. Bob drives his Aston DB4, Datsun 240Z & Chevron B-21 to class wins in each of their respective groups and has a "mighty fine time" doing so.

The Rolex Enduro season results turn out to be a bungle as drivers are given awards. Jack eventually gets a cup for 3rd place overall & a promise that the HSR will check, their data.

We hope so as the guys that got 1st raced in another enduro race series most of the season. The RR Racing margarita machine" cranks-em-out", for post race refreshment and I get treated to a ride home on the "Bob Air" Westwind jet…What a way to end the 04 season!

And so now…it is Mid November: Time to kick back, relax, empty the Margarita machine then have a good close look at these race worn cars. '04 is coming fast. A practice for Jean Goutal & Bob Machinist @ VIR. A test for Larry Neviaser's "finally fixed & fast" Lola T312 F-5000 & time to get it all in shape for next year. Not a lot to worry about when you have a couple of months to kill…We'll stay busy and we look forward to seeing you all back (and some new vintage racers in the fold) in '04!