Hilton Head Island, S.C., Concours and historic racing

[markcnsg]

Hello all,
The kick-off to the Nov. 1-4, 2007, 6th annual Hilton Head (S.C.) Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival will be the Nov. 1-2 Hilton Head/Savannah Historics track days at acclaimed Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah. Those dates are Thursday and Friday. The track days will include Historic Sportscar Racing-sanctioned small bore classic formula cars, historic formula cars, B.O.S.S. formula cars and racing motorcycles. The race series is one of the last of the season, and drivers will compete for points. Thursday will be practice runs, and Friday will feature qualifying rounds and races. Roebling Road Raceway normally is closed to the public, so this is a great opportunity to see great racing on a great course. The public also will be able to take hot laps with a professional driver, or drive their own car on the track at controlled speeds For more information, visit hhiconcours.com or hsrrace.com
Hope to see you here!
Mark

[markcnsg]

I talked on Tuesday to The Worldwide Group classic automobile auctioneers about their auction at Nov. 1-4, 2007, Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival, and they filled me in on just a few of the rare and collectible automobiles they will bring to the sixth annual car festival on Hilton Head Island, S.C. (www.hhiconcours.com)

The Worldwide Group will bring a 1958 Dodge Coronet Super D-500 convertible; a 1956 Porsche 356A Speedster; a 1940 Packard convertible coupe; a 1957 Ford Thunderbird Roadster; a 1935 Auburn 653 Brougham Salon; a 1957 Oldsmobile 98 J-2 convertible; a one-of-a-kind 1912 Peerless Model 36 and a 1909 Peerless Model 19, both from the ‘brass era;’ 1969 factory black Ford Boss 429; a 1929 Stutz Blackhawk Roadster, complete with ‘rumbleseat;’ a 1954 Jaguar XK-120 Drophead Coup; a 1947 Lincoln Zephyr V-12 Cabriolet; and a 1938 Buick Model 40C Phaeton.

Commenting on a few of the stellar automobiles that will be auctioned, The Worldwide Group's vice president of sales and marketing John Lyons said the 1958 Dodge Coronet is a major-award-winning car at a recent concours and one of the rarest post-war Dodges in existence, and the 1909 Peerless Model 19 is “one of the most significant ‘barn finds’ ever. It’s in totally original, unrestored condition.”


He added that the 1929 Stutz Blackhawk Roadster and the 1947 Lincoln Zephyr are from the prestigious Walter B. Satterthwaite estate collection. Also, “the 1954 Jaguar is absolutely stunning, world-class, and the 1938 Buick is a blow-away car, and would win best-in-class at just about any event it attended.”


Car fans not bidding will be allowed to observe the auction’s exciting action from a gallery area immediately behind the bidders.


Visit The Worldwide Group online at www.wwgauctions.com

[markcnsg]

Hello all,
Here is some latest information on the Nov. 1-4 6th annual Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival.
Among the new attractions are the Havoline Exhibit, the world’s smallest car, a display of antique ambulances and fire trucks, the JCB Diesel Max Car and a vintage motorcycle exhibit.
The Havoline exhibit will have a NASCAR and pit crew simulators, the NASCAR “Car of Tomorrow” and the Nextel Cup Car competing in the 2007 NASCAR season driven by Juan Pablo Montoya.
Joining the new class of microcars are two mini vehicles, including the world’s smallest car, on exhibit from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tenn., one of the few museums in America specializing in European cars.
Also, there will be an exhibit of antique first-responder vehicles, including six antique ambulances, seven antique fire trucks and a 1974 police cruiser from the New York City Police Department. A star of the exhibit will be a 1925 REO Speedwagon fire truck, and two of fire trucks are coming direct from American LaFrance, a leading manufacturer in fire engines celebrating its 175th Anniversary this year. A third fire truck will be on display from the Charleston Fire Museum which opens March 2008.
Also on hand will be the JCB Diesel Max, a revolutionary car designed entirely by computer and powered by a diesel engine. The car was built with advanced aerodynamics and a streamlined design, and has raced in the Bonneville Salt Flats races in Utah.
Another first for the Hilton Head Concours & Motoring Festival will be a display of more than 14 vintage motorcycles. The diverse selection includes Ducatis and Moto Guzzis from Italy, Indians and Harleys from the United States, a Triumph from Germany, an Abingdon and a Brough Superior from England, a late 1950s Dream from Japan and more. The motorcycles date from 1912 to 1974.
Finally, nine HawkFest muscle cars will be exhibited, including a 1932 Ford Sedan, 1960 MG MGA, 1966 and a 1968 Ford Mustang, 1972 Chevy Nova, 1987 Jeep Wrangler, 2004 BMW 325CI a Dodge Charger and a Dodge Hemi Charger both from 2006.
For more information on the Concours, visit www.hhiconcours.com or call 843.785.SHOW.

[markcnsg]

Racing legend Bob Sharp named grand marshal for Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival’s Hilton Head/Savannah Historics racing events

HILTON HEAD ISLAND –Bob Sharp isn’t much into oval-track car racing, except when he follows the exploits of his son, Scott, who drives Indy for car owners Bobby Rahal and David Letterman.
“I’m still a right turn, left turn, right turn, left turn guy,” said Sharp, one of the most successful road racers of the 1960s and ’70s.
Sharp is Grand Marshal of this year’s Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival Hilton Head/Savannah Historics racing events, held Nov. 1-2 at acclaimed Roebling Road Raceway in Bloomingdale, Ga. The Concours and Motoring Festival runs a total of four days, through Nov. 4.
Sharp holds six national Sports Car Club of America championships; less than a dozen drivers have won more.
Not only an immensely talented race car driver, Sharp also was a successful race team owner, working with such noted drivers as Jim Fitzgerald, Brad Frisselle and legendary actor/race car driver Paul Newman. Actor Tom Cruise and NFL Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton also have driven Bob Sharp Racing cars.
“Newman still races, mostly local courses, and Atlanta – he loves Atlanta,” Sharp said.
Concours Chairman Paul Doerring said he is thrilled by Sharp’s participation in the Hilton Head/Savannah Historics racing events.
“He is known in racing circles around the world,” Doerring said. “He also had incredible longevity as a race car driver, nearly 20 years, which is pretty rare. We are very pleased to have him here with us.”
Sharp will meet with racing fans and said he will give a few “hot laps” or rides in a race car at racing speeds.
Bob Craig, a long-time friend of Sharp and a Concours committee member and volunteer, approached Sharp last spring while he was vacationing on Hilton Head, and asked him to be Grand Marshal. Craig says he’s known Sharp since college, and the two raced together and against each other in the ’70s.
Craig said racing enthusiasts will be treated to one of the all-time great racing legends, yet they will be surprised with Sharp’s friendliness and accessibility.
Sharp, who lives in Connecticut, said he has been to Roebling Road Raceway several times, including with Newman and Cruise.
“The first time I was there, in the early ’60s, I was filming a TV commercial for Camel cigarettes,” Sharp said, remembering that the course then was called Savannah-Effingham Raceway.
Before eventually becoming the most successful Datsun race car driver, Sharp nurtured a close relationship with the Japanese auto maker. He broke into racing Datsuns while driving part-time for a Rambler-Datsun dealership.
He was the first racer to drive the famed 240Z in competition. He won five championships with the car.
“It was the finest road racing car of its time,” he said. “We were beating Porsches and Triumphs.”
Today, he’s content giving fans hot laps around a course or watching his son “go ‘round and ‘round in an Indy.
“But, I’ll always be a road racer.”
Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival is a non-profit, charity event benefiting the local Boys and Girls Clubs. The events have something for all ages and are very family friendly.
[FONT=&quot]For more information, visit www.hhiconcours.com or call (843) 785-SHOW[/FONT]