Rolex 24 At Daytona And The Missing Alonso

A rainy end to a historic race. The headline story is that Fernando Alonso joined  Wayne Taylor Racing and that proved to be a smart move for him and WTR because he contributed to winning one of the most prestigious sports car races in the world today.  Add to that he was on the winning team at Le Mans last June and it bodes well for the fact he will be racing in the Indy 500 in May. Not bad for retiring last year from Formula 1.

I arrived at the Rolex Friday at 8:00AM and have many great photos to share. I met some great race fans and enjoyed technical tips on using post photo software with Steve from LA while snapping shots along the fence. That's the nice part about the racing fan community - everyone is your friend.  And I also want to comment on how clean the infield area was.  Hardly a piece of paper or trash out of place which is amazing for an event this large. Fans and grounds crew alike really make efforts to keep the place respectable.

So I'll start my gallery with a little humor and imagination.   Enjoy the pics.

Fernando, is that you?

We've been looking for him- he's not in the car.

Roger, You didn't try to get him to drive for you, did you?

 

No, He's hiding in disguise on the Fan Deck!   Maybe

On to the pictures:

Congratulations!

Hope you enjoyed the action. Stay tuned for more pictures in future posts.

Brought to you by Paul Ziegler, Publisher

carcamerastory.com and the new book

"Echoes From The Glen"

Follow me on Instagram at wownowpics

What's You Carrying Horses? That's Right 600 of Them!

This is a post about horses and that was a line that caught my attention when listening to a YouTube video on the life of racing champion, Graham Hill.  At 11:52 into the video you will hear a girl that was hitch hiking ask the question when given a lift by the BRM team transport, the team Graham drove for at that time. If you have any interest at all in Formula 1 racing, you should see the video; it is excellent and will open your eyes to a world of racing far different than today.

You see, Graham Hill came from nowhere to being the only man ever to win motor racing's 'Triple Crown' - The Formula 1 World Championship twice, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of LeMans! An achievement never before or after him has ever been done. That's a club of one in all of history!

Click here to see the video:

Graham Hill, Racing Legend

So it is only fitting that with all this talk of horses that I show you some and at the same time tell you about my first visit to a polo match, complete with a tailgate party with members from two Alfa Romeo clubs getting together in Sarasota, FL.

Here are horses and cars with lots of horses:   Enjoy the pictures.

Red seems to be the color of the day.  Tailgate time Alfa Romeo Club members!

The game begins.

 

                              They even had Clydesdales to give kids a ride on the wagon.
                                         

Divit stomping, wagon rides, parading your dog all during half time.

Cars with lots of horses, of course.

See You Next Time, my Alfa Romeo Friends!

Brought to you by Paul Ziegler, Author of "Echoes From The Glen", and 

Publisher of Carcamerastory.com

Follow me on Instagram at wownowpics.

What's A MERA?

January 19, 2019.   Nineteen nineteen day.   While waiting to head to the Rolex 24 Hour race in a few days, I took my Alfa Romeo Giulia to du Pont Registry's Cars and Coffee this morning. There I got to see a real live MERA.   A 1988 MERA.

 

A MERA is a Pontiac Fiero converted into the gorgeous car seen here.  The fellow that brought the MERA to Cars and Coffee this morning had just purchased it a few days ago and  was happy to show the crowd his new Ferrari-looking find.  I took a double take myself and when I heard it was a Pontiac Fiero based car, was blown away.  My daughter had a Fiero in the early '90's, red just like this one. But it didn't look like this!

So here's the pictures that I happened to photograph of a real Ferrari 328 ( which is almost identical to the 308) and the MERA. It is amazing how good a job they did on this 'replica'.

If you want to know more, click on this link:

Click Here:  MERA Article

                                          MERA                                                    MERA

Ferrari 

MERA

Ferrari

                                                             CONFUSING!  YEP

And if you want to see more Ferraris, check out my new book, Echoes from The Glen. It is being released as this is written and if you want a copy, call me at 727-744-4830 or email carcamerastory@gmail.com.  I'm offering pre-production discounts now.

Brought to you by Carcamerastory.com

Paul Ziegler, Publisher

Vacation Ramblings and Car Club Activity

                             

I am now back in Florida after two trips to New York in as many months to finish work and begin promoting my new book "Echoes From The Glen",  Reflections of Race Fans After Forty Years. I met some incredible motoring enthusiasts in my travels. I also visited Watkins Glen twice, stopping by various places including the Seneca Lodge, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Franklin Street Gallery.  The highlight though was stopping by the International Motor Racing Research Center to chat with track historian, Bill Green who is considered the guru of motor racing history. I was totally impressed by his encyclopedic knowledge of a broad variety of topics on racing going back decades.

Other highlights of the trip included having coffee with SVRA racer Steve Rauh who tracks a couple of Alfa Romeo GTV's, enjoying lunch and reminiscing with artist William Gillespie,  having a few cold ones with seminal race fan Jeff Hume who has been an SCCA member since 1959 and having breakfast with 'Bud Man', Jeff Washburn who contributed to my book. The final highlight that was a real pleasure was having lunch and some PBR's with four of the Pabst Blue Ribbon Gang members in Auburn, NY. The gang's activities from days gone by are included in the book. I was a gang member for a day!

                                     The Pabst Blue Ribbon Gang- Lunch in Auburn, NY

All of the above added to the atmosphere of nostalgia that flows forth when I unveiled to these folks the book 'Echoes From The Glen'.

But alas, it is winter and looking out the family room window in our Mendon, NY home only produced a yearning for spring as I stared out at ice sickles and snow on our back deck. Spring was still over two months away.  But to ease the wait if you are in a similar climate, here's a must watch video that will occupy your time and take you into the world of racing as it was in the '50's.  It will also give you an appreciation for the feat Cameron Argetsinger achieved by bringing sports car racing to the United States through a little town called Watkins Glen when he created the Watkins Glen Grand Prix in 1948. And that paved the way for him to eventually bring Formula 1 racing there in 1961!

Click below for a wonderful video:

The Story of Sir Stirling Moss

Here's a few more pics from my journey, including pictures from lunch when arriving back home in Florida with another gang, the Tampa Bay Café Racers.  It sure was a nice welcome home to have lunch with the Café Racers!

Robert Gillespie Mural ' Tribute To An Era' in Watkins Glen

Spotted on my drive to Auburn, NY

A brilliant example of an E Type- Café Racers lunch.

All makes and models welcome at Café Racers

America vs Germany

A rare BMW

A pretty face!

Impeccable Jaguar Style!

See You At The Next Race 

Available now by calling  +1 727-744-4830 or email carcamerastory@gmail.com 

Hope you enjoyed the update- On to the Rolex 24 at Daytona January 24th!

Paul Ziegler, Publisher of "Echoes From The Glen"

and Carcamerastory.com

Follow me at Wownow Pics on Instagram