MIR 2022 in Sweden, registration opens tomorrow

Fredric I am sure it was a fabulous event masterminded by you with over 90 Maseratis from all over Europe, congratulations, can you please post a photo narrative of the weekend here when you have had a chance to rest? Tack saa mycket!

Le Mans Classic this weekend was fantastic, more than 200000 people (compared to 120000 last time in 2018!) with the car quantity and quality to match, perfect weather huge energy from everybody but I really wanted to be at your event however sometimes in life you have to make tough choices...

Look forward to the photos!

Ivan, Art, please post more photos

 

No video or photos?

 

It's so absent that when I searched I thought I had my dates wrong. Now I'm wondering if it even ever happened? Odd. It's like it's 30 years ago all of a sudden. No social media.
Maybe they all fell in a fiord?

 

Art posted tons of photos on Facebook, as did others, it really was a superb event like the one in 2010 there which I attended.

This one was rescheduled two years in a row due to Covid but still had ninety Masers from all over Europe. I am so sorry it clashed with Le Mans Classic which I could not miss, the first in four years.

Oh and there are no Fjords in Sweden, those are in Norway.

 

Facebook ... ugh. I have some Lamborghini friends on there and they do use it for that. You're giving so much info away for free.

It was just a throwaway line but I checked first.

https://www.ehow.co.uk/list_7260318_fjords-sweden.html

North of Gothenburg
Sweden's fjords lie primarily along the country's northwestern coastline, north of Gothenburg. Start at Iddefjord, close to Norway; the fjord begins in Sweden's Singlefjord and ends in Norway's Berby village. As a testimony to Sweden's once-warring Viking days, the steep sides of the fjord are marked with remains of Viking fortifications, including Fredriksten Fortress in Norway. In Svinesund's fjord, also near Norway, several landmark bridges connect Sweden to Norway. To see other fjords in the region, head south on European route E06, which runs along Sweden's western coastline. South of Iddefjord and Svinesund is Gullmar fjord; its claim to fame is the inlet water's high nitrogen levels, which have helped phytoplankton and other plant species thrive in the fjord's waters. The Gullmar fjord borders the quaint coastal town of Lysekil, a popular summer destination for locals. Other fjords you'll see while driving toward Gothenburg include Saltkallefjorden, which is about halfway between Oslo and Gothenburg, and Dynekilen fjord, which lies south of Fredrikstad and north of Stromstad. During the summer, bathing in fjord waters, as well as fishing, is popular among locals.

BTW my mother's family emigrated from Norway during the last 19th century.

 

Facebook...some Belgian business folks insisted I get on there...communications sewer.

Well I am Swedish and never heard of Fjords in my country even though I do believe I am well read...I guess if we looked very hard we could even find folks who read in New Jersey right

 

?

 

Just a harmless tease, enjoy your Sunday

 

Hey all,
Hope you've all been well, I'm just starting to catch up here. The trip was beyond all expectations.. I'm now back stateside, after 47 days in Norway and Sweden, plus 10 days "apres-vacation" in Delaware..

Anyway - the news blackout from my end was due to a lack of a desktop platform to access this site. I only had my smartphone - on which FChat fails to be userfriendly enough.

Thanks Ivan, it was really fun to meet you and Myrna, along with Fredric and all the Norsk Maserati Klubb members.. It'll take me a week or so to get my obligations caught up and provide some good photos and narrative of it all.. plus a summary of costs.

Quick Bottom Line: It was a blast, We will definitely do this again next year with the Khamsin. We'll container it over to Rotterdam for Marc's Cinquanta event in France/Switzerland, and I plan on keeping the Kh there til September for the MIR 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.

- Art

 

I'm happy to reply the situation is much to the contrary!
Here are some teasers...
More in a few days..

Here are three of the 15 Maseratis from the Norsk Maserati Klubb.. gathered for a 'forspiel' overnight stay in Grebbestad on our way to Båstad..
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The never-ending smiles and pleasure of Rallying with Myrna and Ivan Ruiz..
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The enjoyable view from my cockpit..
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The roads were great, and the scenery lovely.. The company equally so!
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More to follow..

 

Hello Art,

I knew you would have a great time in Sweden, from where I have just returned to visit family and enjoy the beach without heatwave: 22 in the air 20 in the water; perfect

It will be very nice to host you at KHAMSIN CINQUANTA near Geneva Switzerland and France, June 15-18 2023, yours will be one of at least three Khamsins coming from other continents and I am definitely hoping for more, very, very early days now even though we already have about 20 cars committed from all over Europe, UK and from as far away as California and New Zealand months before formal event registration begins.

Let me know if you need storage options in Europe for your K, I have possibilities in France and Switzerland, from economical to concierge level.

I look forward to seeing more of your photos of MIR 2022 here

 

Hi Bob. If you fancy fjords, look no further. Norway/Sweden 1 - 0...

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Let's get started with the photo essay... almost 7 weeks.

June 16, 2022 - Newark Airport, waiting in the SAS Lounge for boarding of Flight SK908 direct to OSL ..
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Around 8:00am, June 17th, final approach to OSL..
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Gathered my luggage and found the train platform at the airport.. bought tickets and boarded an express train to Drammen. Got a taxi from there train statiojn to the shipping terminal in Drammen harbor.. The security people at the gate were very decent, I walked to my shipping agent's office and got the paperwork for the release of the Bora, released to enter the country as a Tourist Car. Unfortunately, the longshoremen at the transit port of Bremerhaven, Germany had left the battery connected and the park lights on. This depleted the battery. They jumper cabled the car to get it running, but burnt through the alternator/waterpump belt in the process of the alternator trying to charge the battery. I had tools and spare belt with me in my luggage, borrowed a jack from the Port of Drammen's roaming maintenance vehicle (Norwegian taxes pay for everything, don't they?) and I got to work.

LESSON LEARNED #1: Never ship a vintage exotic with esoteric systems via Ro-Ro.

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Ultimately, I had to call for help. I couldn't get the belt past the main coolant hose connected at the water pump without draining the coolant, for which I had no receptacle. A local Norwegian Maserati Club member (aka Merak1974 here on FChat!) was my salvation. He connected me with another Italian car enthusiast, Sigurd Amundsen, a retiree who came out the next morning and trailered the Bora...
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.. to his well-appointed garage on the outskirts of Oslo, where I was welcome to jack up, drain coolant, remove water pump hose, install the new belt, and recharge the battery.. with all the assistants I could want. Here is Sigurd's grandson Robin in the shop. I got the belt back on, but belt tension became the next hurdle - my spare belt was a conventional reinforced rubber Gates belt that stretched a lot, not the hard rubber compound of OEM Maserati belts.. Stretching is not a great quality when the alternator is called upon to charge a nearly depleted battery. It took a surprising number of test drives before the belt got seated and tight enough to make the drive cross-town...
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..to my childhood friend Einar's house where we hooked it up to a charger overnight.
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LESSON LEARNED #2: Next time arrange for a local mechanic or enthusiast to pick up the car and check it over.

This is what was left of the OEM alternator/waterpump belt that I pulled from the Bora in the freight terminal parking lot..
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On Sunday morning, the 19th of June I drove the Bora 90 minutes south to my mom's house outside Sarpsborg, where I was staying for the majority of my visit..
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We have a decent garage at my mom's house, with a decent number of tools, so I could continue to work out minor bugs with the Bora's systems. A small coolant leak kept cropping up at the main hose that I had replaced, and I found an additional heater hose leak. In addition to our garage, my best buddy from Junior High School in Norway is a gear head, so I had ample companionship and a collaborator to discuss things with. It took about a week to get the Bora sorted and settled.. which was just the time I had with the June 29th date for the trip to the Båstad MIR 2022 approaching.
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Eventually the Bora got sorted out and no further issues cropped up during day-long country test drives...
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I felt I could finally look ahead to the 5 hour drive south to the Båstad MIR 2022. After talking with Gabriel/Merak1974, he connected me with the president of the Norwegian Maserati Club (NMK). The NMK organized a group of 15 Maseratis to drive together and welcomed me to join them for the drive. I really appreciated the offer and we arranged a time and place to meet. I was located south of Oslo, a just a few miles from the E6 highway they'd be traveling on for their trip. More on that in a day or two..
- Art

 

Well you had quite an adventure picking up and sorting your Bora. Can't say I'm surprised by the shipping issues but it is very disappointing. Sounds like you handled it all very well. So this was supposed to be a vacation? LOL! What with the fortuitous hookup of that first terrific shop and generous soul it reminds me greatly of when I picked up my Bora in Oklahoma City after purchasing it in 1987 and driving it back to SF. I had many such similar failures on our "adventure". It's a long and hilarious story which I do need to write up some time but not here. I have the greatest of empathy for your situation. But at least you're doing it with full knowledge of the car whereas when I did it I knew almost nothing about the car. It was still a hell of a thrill at the time.

Looking forward to the rest of your story.

 

Thanks for sharing Art

 

Looks an awful lot like some of your upper NY state shots. Hey did you really go or what!



Dashboard Reflections of A Bora by Salvador Dali.

 

Thanks all,
yeah, let me not gloss over it - those first 48 hours were bonkers stressful - but when the end of the day came, there wasn't more to do than put the problems aside, go out for a good dinner and rest up til the next day. The resources that Sigurd and his crew put at my disposal were of immense comfort and I'm eternally grateful.. I asked how I could repay the favor, and the deal became to take his grandson Robin out in the Bora. Which I did, and even found some empty roads to let Robin have a turn behind the wheel at WOT.. Fun stuff, especially when you consider Robin is only 15 years old! Very competent driver: He's been Drifting for 2 years already. LOL... Another funny thing was Sigurd himself - He kept himself at arm's length the first few hours.. we struggled with the Bora, wrestling it up on his somewhat lightweight trailer, and towing it up some pretty long hills that strained his Volvo 90, unloading it at his garage... He was a little tight lipped until we got on the subject of Alfa Romeos.. Once I mentioned I own an Alfa GTV6 is was like we'd been best friends since birth.! He practically hugged me, LOL.. Anyway - he had called ahead and there were 3 mechanic friends of his there, plus a neighbor, offering advice or lending me a hand when I needed it, all while they wrenched on their own Alfas and Fiats. At some point I got a tap on the shoulder that it was time for a coffee break. Sigurd's wife put on a great light lunch spread, and we chatted at least an hour before we went back to work.. It is really fun meeting new people like that..

My first night after I left the Bora at the terminal.. My buddy Einar and I out at a great sushi restaurant in Oslo..
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The next day... Sigurd winching the Bora up on the lightweight trailer..
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Sigurd and some of his guys discussing whether the battery was so depleted that it had reversed polarity..
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One of Sigurd's Alfas in his garage..
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Coffee break...!
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The Norwegians had arranged their own little outing to enhance their enjoyment of the trip down to Båstad, Sweden. They departed a day early to add an overnight on the way - so they could spend time with each other as a club on the way. The date of departure came and I just showed up at the agreed place and time to meet them all..

I gave the Bora a last once-over and a good cleaning the morning before meeting all the Norwegians..
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Took it out for some 6am photos...
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Texting helped coordinate the timing - I drove to our meeting place and waited about 10 minutes..
Super nice people, as are all Maserati enthusiasts.. here are just a few of them..
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After a quick round of introductions, we hit the highway.. South on E6 to our overnight. We all had reservations at Tanum Strand Hotel south of the Swedish resort town of Grebbestad..

Crossing the border from Norway into Sweden.. Nothing To Declare..
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Parked for our stopover in Grebbestad..
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For an excellent Swedish lunch..
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..before we continued on to our hotel at Tanum Strand for the afternoon..
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..evening dinner at Tanum Strand... we just sat and talked and ate and drank..
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..til tomorrow!

 

The next morning was Thursday, June 30th - MIR 2022 Registration Day! ... which started late morning, so we had plenty of time to get ready and check out of the Tanum Strand.. We had breakfast and gathered in the parking lot. Jens-Holger was the lead for the day's drive, only about an hour via highway, but he planned a more picturesque route which would use our time for more Maserati driving enjoyment..

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Håvard Birkeland's gorgeous 1967 Mistral..
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A pit stop along the way to fuel up, stretch legs, grab a snack and chat..
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We stopped and got the group together for the final few kilometers into Båstad and the Hotel Riviera Strand, to arrive 'en masse'.. 15 Maseratis..
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Registration and check-in at the event hotel went smoothly..
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We all got some great SWAG.. Gift book, sunglasses, hat, shirt, rally booklet, daily itinerary cards, a complimentary bottle of wine, car numbers, cleaning supplies,
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After that we got our Maseratis settled in our assigned garage parking spot...
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..and that is when the fun really began! Lunch served 'al fresco' and very pleased to finally meet Ivan Ruiz in person, with Philip and Gabriel (aka Merak1974)!
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July 1, 2022..

The participants' cars were parked, grouped in categories, on the hotel property for everyone to enjoy...
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The day's activity was a lovely drive to Anderstorp F1 race track..
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Anyone with a helmet was welcome to take their Maserati out on the track in roughly 20 minute sessions in groups defined by skill.. there was a driver's meeting to review the track and safety protocols, and those with helmets made arrangements to lend to those who didn't have..
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Drivers heading to their cars..
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Then a slow drive and "in-person" review of the entire track..
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Then it was to line up in your group and wait your turn.. The Bora was an absolute gentleman on the track, very controllable, I got comfortable late braking, carrying a lot of speed through a turn. Early and hard on the throttle, this induced oversteer that never felt like it was going to snap the rear around, I could carry a throttle-on slide through a lot of the turn for a good exit.. incredibly fun and I am very glad I took the chance taking the Bora out and pounding him hard..
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It was a pretty warm day, and after my session of hot laps, I let the Bora cool down while I walked around. Here was a heavily modified 650hp (Ghibli?) built by a Swedish member, a Bosch engineer... It was very very fast..
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When a lovely Norwegian asks you very nicely to be taken out for a session on the track.. you tend to say Yes.
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I stopped and filled up on the way back to the hotel... Gas is expensive in Scandinavia..
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The Swedish Maserati Club arranged mechanics to address problems encountered during the days' events.. Gøran's early (1971?) Bora gets some looking after.. overheating I think..
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The drive back to the hotel was another nice drive through the Swedish countryside..
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Again we all parked on the hotel property as before.. Passersby stopped and struck up a conversation.
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Sorry for the poor photo.. but dinner was held at a historic estate on the outskirts of Båstad.. we were bussed in order to allow everyone to enjoy the drinks..
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Dinner.. name cards dictated your table and table-mates.. never the same for any meal.. You always mingled and met new Maseratisti..
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Øystein from Norway, and Danielle from Switzerland..
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We had a great time.. and the food was also outstanding !
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Thanks for sharing Art, I know people will appreciate it as MIR events are not well known outside the European clubs.

For Americans here 1451 Swedish Krona (Crowns) is US$136,53 for 65 litres. I will let you convert that to Gallons and you will see that you are very lucky fuel price wise in the new world...

Regarding the food the 2010 Swedish MIR event, was also exceptional in every way, including at the track which that time was Ring Knutstorp. No burgers or hot dogs here oh no, we had Reindeer sandwiches, served beautifully and they were delicious