Found a Program that I Forgot I had - 1990 Monaco GP with Autographs.

So I was digging through some books the other night and found this program tucked into another book - totally forgot all about it. I have a number of autographs... Both Prince Rainier and Prince Albert.. as well as Senna, and Prost, Piquet, and Ron Dennis...

I was fortunate to be invited to the sporting club gala where I met both Rainier and Albert. I got the drivers autographs on one of the practice days down in the paddock.
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its a long story for this Monaco trip. It was my 2nd time going to the race - but I was living in Switzerland as a student assistant in a hotel restaurant school. the Garde Manger Chef - ( cold food Chef ) was / is Montegasque.. & a gear head. so we became good friends. His father was an apartment owner in Monaco Ville - and knew the Prince well. So they invited me for the race in 1990... we left on Tuesday evening about 7 PM after work, and got to Monaco around 2AM... my friend Remy, says -" its too late to get to his fathers house, so we'll sleep on the Rocher"... I'm like what? yea we'll sleep out on the rocks in the harbor we used to do it all the time.... so he pulls out two sleeping bags, and we park over in the port, and walk out onto the brakewater... its only then that I realize how huge these "Rocks" are... and they are actually huge cement blocks. he says I'll sleep here - and you go up there... so voila we open our sleeping bags and go to sleep... at about 7AM I hear this funny light roaring noise like a lion... I wake up and I'm literally surrounded by about 200 seagulls... I look down below me and Remy has about another 150 all around him ... and the water is literally at the lip of the concrete block he's sleeping on ... he's blissfully asleep. so I just get up and kind of shoo the birds away, btw... they leave a fresh mess all around... nice.. like waking through land minds... Remy wakes up - Merde! les oiseau! .... so then he says ok we'll go take showers and go meet his dad for breakfast...So I think we're going back to the car... he says - no, up there. and points to the yacht club. so we walk up a million stairs - with our sleeping bags and back pack... and he pulls out his little gold key - and voila we are in the club des mariners... it was like walking into a royal palace. everyone knew him... so we each get our own little changing room, private shower, robe etc... they press our clothes, have it hanging in the outer locker, we pack up and go for breakfast ... back to the car - end up searching for parking on Rue Bosio and meet his dad - who is the nicest person ever... typical Montegasque ... dressed like a film star tan, has a small hat smoking a cigar at 8:30 AM... drinking coffee and Sambuca .... talking to all the waitresses...
"Tomas I propose to you that you come to the fete sporting club. I have the tickets already! you will meet someone there!"

so this man never met me, his son tells him that I have a crush on Princess Stephanie ... and he got us tickets to the post race "gala" at the sporting club... as well as paddock passes for Saturday and Sunday with a grand stand seat right by the pit entrance.... amazing So on Saturday we are walking back and forth in the pit lane and over the bridge to the paddock, and there was a stairwell, you took to get to pits, La Rascasse and the paddock. so if you hung out there you would see almost everyone ... that is where I got the driver signatures.... I got the princes signatures at the reception to the GP gala... actually that is how I first met Ron Dennis... I think he thought I as some rich kid... talking to Prince Albert. I did meet Stephanie ... that is a very long other story.

 

Thanks - kinda forget all the stuff I used to get up to! I have a better one from same trip ... but my wife hates me telling it....