Monterey Historics and FCA 2004 | FerrariChat

Monterey Historics and FCA 2004

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by Mule, Jan 4, 2004.

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  1. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    Jun 25, 2003
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    I am making plans to attend the Monterey Historics, Councourse Italiano, and FCA 2004 in August. I am trying to make a plan and need some info.

    Councourse Italiano - First Friday? Where?
    Historic Races - Worth going all 3 days?
    FCA 2004 - If I dont bring my car (no track events), what should I register for? The website doesn't spell out all the activities (socials, concourse, meetings, golf, etc.) So at least $300 registration gets me what?

    I am planning for 6 days in town starting Thursday night. Should I stay longer?

    Thanks. Hope to meet some of you there.
     
  2. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Apr 28, 2003
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    Texas!
    Mule, because I'm also planning on attending, I'm interested in any responses. You probably already know about these sites, but here they are anyway:

    http://www.concorso.com/

    http://www.fca2004.com/

    http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/

    http://www.montereyhistoric.com/

    Previously, I recall some folks were talking about renting a house. Don't know the status of that deal. Where are you planning on staying?

    Dale
     
  3. lawwdog

    lawwdog Formula 3

    Dec 4, 2002
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    Mario
    Mule,

    Did I charge you up on Friday night about Concorso weekend? I would stay as long as you can. Where else can you be surrounded by all the things you love (car wise) for more than 1 day?

    Mario
     
  4. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    Yes, we will be there. Looking at hotels outside of the area, maybe 1/2 hour away to try to save a little money. Don't want to spend $3000 for a bed for a week. And a 1/2 hour drive twice a day is fine. I have a BMW to use, so I am still debating on bringing my car. I stayed at the Country Inn on Foam Street last week and their off season rate was $250.

    My business can sometimes get a little cheaper rate, but a lot of hotels don't take reservations more than 6 months out. I am going to shoot for 7 days, Thursday night to the following Wednesday, since I wont do any track time if I dont bring a car.
     
  5. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Texas!

    Well, I just made a reservation at the Embassy Suites. $1,200 for 4 nights 8/13 thru 8/16. Based on past experience, $250-$350 a night is the going rate for that weekend.

    Also be careful about commuting in. Traffic can be a major bear. The problem is the last part from Salinas to Monterey. Last time I went (2002?), this last segment turned into a major parking lot. If I keep the Embassy Suite room, you'll be more than welcome to use it as a home base while in the city.

    Dale
     
  6. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    Just made reservations in Marina Holiday Inn Express for $100 a night. 10 mile drive, between Laguna Seca and Monterey.
     
  7. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
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    May 31, 2001
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    I made flight reservations for myself. Coming in Friday the 13th for the Pebble Beach Concourse and leaving the following Friday.
    I am planning on renting an RV for that week and also take a tour to the National Park. Some good old American Touristy stuff.
    Hey I am from Florida, we don't see many trees and mountains. :)
     
  8. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Hmmm, might have to rethink things. Where is this Marina Holiday Inn?

    thx, DrTax
     
  9. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    Found it on-line. First Expedia.com then to Holiday Inn website. $120 the first three nights, then $92 the next three (average a little over $100).

    Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
    MARINA, CA
    189 Seaside Circle
    MARINA, CA 93933
    UNITED STATES
    1-831-8842500
     
  10. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Thanks, I'll check that out tomorrow. Saving $200 a night is worth a traffic jam or two...

    Dale
     
  11. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    Look at a map to see if it is where you want to be. I, too, will trade a traffic jam for $200, since I am paying $600 registration fees for two.

    If I remember, it is a little north of town on the Highway 1.
     
  12. Glassman

    Glassman F1 World Champ
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    Make sure that you confirm that reservation by phone and document the call. I have gone to Monterey in the past only to find that the rate quoted will not be honored because someone six or eight month's before booked the room, and did not realize what weekend it was!!
    Hopefully computer systems have eliminated this problem, however I would call to confirm the price. That is really cheap!!!!
     
  13. tubeguy

    tubeguy Formula 3

    May 21, 2003
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    Kevin Deal
    I posted this....but it did not show?? Sorry if it double posts.

    Mule...I guess that rate already changed....it's $189 for thurs fri sat at the Holiday Inn Express in Marina. I will call them and check. I have made a res at the Embassy Suites. But I never have seen much of a traffic problem that hotel location will mean beans. It's pretty easy to get around.

    The only bad traffic jam is the Historics at Laguna Seca if you go in the main entrance. Horrible. Park in the back side. I would go there Saturday...3 days means you miss the Concours Italiano and Pebble Beach.

    It is worth going to the RM auctions IMHO. Costs $50 to register.

    On bringing your car...it would be fun. I don't but it's for comforts sake...and I am not with my car that much...and if I buy some junk there...which I always do. The parking at Con. Ital. stinks now. At Quail Lodge it was on grass...and created eye candy on the way in.

    At the new location...you're on on a dusty parking lot and take a shuttle bus in. I much prefer the old place. More pleasant.
     
  14. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    We have the email trail, confirmation number, and rates for the hotel. We will definitly call to back it up a few times and for sure a month out. I have also shown up and the hotel gives me a new story. The best was half way around the world, "Yes we have your confirmed reservation, but we do not have any rooms."

    Thanks everyone for the continued information as I piece together a plan. The little details help a lot. I think the car will stay home, since luggage, gifts, expense, and comfort will be an issue. I really cant drive it there, and transport logistics would be painful.

    Some other details I got from local FCA:

    "Italiano Concourse is Aug 13 at Blackhawk Golf Course. Go to www.concorso.com for information about this event.

    I don't think you need all three days. Saturday is the most popular but Friday or Sun is not as crowed. However, on Sunday the Pebble Beach Concourse is held and quite an event if you have never seen it.

    FCA National - Yep - $300 for your girlfriend and $300 for you. It gets you both "goody bags" (big whoop) - One day is a concourse (you need to sign up if you want to be judged), one day a rally (you can run it in a rental car), some seminars - cocktails everynight and the awards dinner on the last night. If you bring your car you can do the track for more $$ . If you do bring your car be sure to register for the Concourse Italiano. You get preferential parking and the cost is about 1/2 price for entry.

    I would stay at least one more day if you do the National meet and more if you want to see anymore of the area.

    You don't need to stay at the HQ hotel, but that is where the action will be. You do need to sign up for the national meet if you want to participate. There is no entrance without doing so.

    That weekend has some of the best car auctions in the U.S. RM Auctions is at the Doubletree. Great cars and fun."
     
  15. Brian C. Stradale

    Brian C. Stradale F1 Rookie
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    Mar 17, 2002
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    Agreed... all little tips and advice are welcome!! Thanks!!


    But there's sooo many reasons to have your car...
    1) Laguna Seca Drivers' School
    2) Touring the wine country
    3) Laguna Seca Track Day #1
    4) Hwy 1 along the Pacific
    5) Laguna Seca Track Day #2
    6) Rally
    7) Laguna Seca... Corkscrew...
    8) Any number of other places in California
    9) Did I mention Laguna Seca? ;)

    My car will be there! And, fortunately, with the large trunk (for a sportscar) and the behind-the-seat storage, I should be fine. Though, if I buy too much stuff, I might have to mail it or my laundry back home. ;) HOWEVER, for time reasons, I may or may not decide to drive it vs. transport and fly. Driving through the mountains would be fun... but it adds 2 days to the already lengthy vacation.

    The problem, though, is that you're then committed for the whole day. I figure that if I get there early, I'll be done a little after lunch... and then I'll want to go drive the wine country, etc. Comments? How much time does it take to "do" the Concourso Italiano properly?

    And as for preferential parking, some of the events have "corrals" for specific marques... such that its a mini-car show, but without the committment to stay until the end. Any details on those would be great.

    Actually, same questions for all the events:
    How much time should you allocate?
    What's the best way to park? Or which are better to bus/cab to?

    I am trying to plan out the week properly. (Not that I'll become a slave to any schedule... but I like to try to make sure I'm prepared to make the most of the week.)

    If you are bringing your car, you might want to pick a hotel with garage parking. There aren't too many of those... the HQ hotel being one of the few... the Marriott across the street is one of the few others. Thus, given I'll be there with my car, I decided it was worth the investment to stay at the HQ hotel... that's where my wife and I (and our Ferrari) will be.
     
  16. Zigno

    Zigno Karting

    For cheaper and plentiful lodging try Watsonville (30 minutes from Laguna Seca, HWY 1 to Del Rey Oaks exit HWY 216 to HWY 68 to the track) or Aptos, or Santa Cruz (about 45 minutes away) also on HWY 1. I live near Watsonville and can get to the Concorso in Marina at the Black Horse Golf Course in about 20 minutes. You'll need at least 4 to 6 hours at the Consorso to do it right.
     
  17. Brian C. Stradale

    Brian C. Stradale F1 Rookie
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    Mar 17, 2002
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    Don't make the mistake of waiting until 6 months out! For this event, many of the area hotels are already booked up! They are all taking reservations. (And all charging double their normal rates.)

    I considered Marina-area hotels very seriously... seems like a good spot... but I have no idea where in that area traffic might be bad. And with every hotel full... and full of car enthusiasts likely to bring there cars for the event... I imagine there's way more cars in the area that week than any other week of the year... thus, unless they over-built their roads just for this event (yeah, right)... traffic simply has to be a nightmare.

    I'd love to hear from last year's visitors... where/when did you encounter bad traffic... where/when did you find traffic not so bad.

    Thanks!!
     
  18. Erich

    Erich Formula 3

    Sep 9, 2003
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    Poway CA
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    Erich Coiner
    The Concorso Italiano has a car corral for interesting vehicles.
    You can get two entry fees and a corral pass for about the same price as two regular admissions. Then your car is parked on the driving range at the Concorso site instead of miles away.

    The other neat thing to do is on Thursday.

    The cars that are entered in the Pebble Beach Concours go on a driving tour. They stop for lunch in downtown Carmel. You can walk up and down the street and ogle all the cars for a couple of hours. Best of all its FREEEEE! After lunch a lot of the owners come out to their cars and talk to the spectators about the cars and their history.
    I met Mr G. (Napolis) and his GT40. I really appreciated him taking the time to talk to everybody about the car. At that time, I had not found Ferrari chat or I would have introduced myself as an Fchat denizen.

    The only downside to this event is the traffic is horrendous, in and out of Carmel. Arrive early and prepare to walk a bit.

    The Historic races also has a car corral. See if your club can arrange to get corral passes. The parking is right down next to the track, SWEEET!

    I'll be going with friends in the San Diego Shelby club. I'd like to hook up with anybody going, to put faces to names. If you see a red Sunbeam Tiger with roll bar, it will be me. Wave!

    Erich
     
  19. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    I think the car will stay at home. I would rather spend the time, effort, and money on other things. It is already going to be expensive, I think around $4000 for the whole trip (registration, hotel, meals, airfare, souviniers, odds and ends).

    Yes, I would love to put my car on Laguna Seca, but there are some logistics to that, too. Helmet, firesuit, instructor course, etc. But it will be on my list for the future. We have done most of the other spots in California, so I may wait for another time to do them in the Ferrari.

    And I dont want the car tied up all day at a concourse or track, if we want to do something else. It may become an anchore if we want to divert from our schedule.

    I will put together my schedule over the next few months and post it for others to reference, copy, comment, add. I will be in the silver BMW 328i with Alaska plates. Shouldn't be any others like it.
     
  20. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Please note that this is not my usual day, i.e., I don't plan trips this far in advance. Being self employed, I never know when I might have to zig inside of zagging.

    HW, current plan is to take a few days and drive the Maranello along the southern route to end up in Palm Springs on the 8th so I can join the FCA trip to Monterey, which gets there on the 11th.

    I plan on fiddle diddleing around that weekend and maybe stay for some of the FCA events the first part of the following week.

    From there, general plan is to head east to the Sierra Nevada mountains, sneak out of California over the back mountains, cross Nevada on Highway 50, then maybe go find an old VW of mine that died 30 years ago in Utah, from there I'll take a look around me to see which way the wind blows, maybe head toward 4 Corners, maybe head toward Steamboat, or maybe head toward Jackson Hole. Hell, I just might never go home.

    Main goal will be to drive zero miles on the super slab. There's a whole another world out there beyond those Interstate exits. Haven't you ever wanted to take a road just to see where it goes?

    If any of you want to share a piece of the West that you have experienced, pls post it here or PM me. I can hardly wait.

    DrTax
     
  21. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    Oh, I have seen the roads off the interstate. All over Alaska, Canada (Yukon Territories) and now around Colorado. Sounds like you have a great trip planned, but I don't have the time available for that much travel.

    We should have fun in the Bimmer, and there are many Ferrari adventures ahead for me.
     
  22. Brian C. Stradale

    Brian C. Stradale F1 Rookie
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    Of course, in my 4Runner that has wholly different meaning than in my Ferrari. In my 4Runner, asking "I wonder where that goes?" is rarely directed at anything that is remotely passable in a Ferrari... almost never paved nor flat... the more vertical, the more interesting. There are huge parts of Colorado that are not even viewable from a distance from any form of pavement or even flat dirt road.

    In a Ferrari, the questions are more:
    Which (paved) road is more curvy?
    How fast I can do those 248 curves?
    That trip took two hours in the 4Runner... I wonder?
    Can we still make Aspen by lunch if we go this way?

    ;)

    I am hoping to find lots of fun, curvy roads in California this summer! (Not just Laguna Seca... though, that would be enough.)
     
  23. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Mule, do you know if anyone has ever driven a Ferrari to Alaska? I'm getting this crazy itch...

    DrTax
     
  24. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    I am sure someone somewhere has driven a Ferrari TO Alaska. Is isn't that bad. I went from Montana up through Calgary, then over to BC and up into the Yukon, then down into Anchorage. Took 11 days.

    There is a book called the MilePost, which describes every mile of the road. Barnes and Noble has it. if you consider it, you must have that book. Most of the raod is paved, with about 50 out of 4000 miles dirt.

    But once you get there, you will never want to leave.
     
  25. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Man, I'm getting this real bad itch... Say, are the black flies gone by August?
     

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