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By John DeWaele The caravan took off from the Charlton rest stop Thursday morning for the Tour de Glen. Kevin Murphy, John and Ki Basil, Dan and Deb Donovan, Tom Letourneau, Gene and Judy Durso and my wife Lauren and I headed west under grey skies. Five Spiders and a GT Junior! After a couple of hours, we met up with fellow Alfista Rob Favali at the now-famous Duanesburg Diner. A quick lunch and back on Route 20 (after two hours of corn fields, I thought Kevin had taken a wrong turn and we were in Kansas) for a great touring stretch of road. Several hours later, the suitcases were tossed in the rooms and we headed to the Seneca Lodge. After checking out a parking lot spilling over with almost every kind of classic car imaginable (albeit lesser cars), we enjoyed the local flavor that only the Seneca Lodge can provide. What a great racing atmosphere! On Friday morning, 80 Alfa Romeos filled the lot at the Wings of Eagles Museum. After a brief tour and a driver’s meeting (“keep up with the car in front of you!”), we walked out to the cars. Expecting rain, we were greeted with a rainbow and a blue sky coming over the hills.
Back in the cars, we then completed three laps on the famous Grand Prix course — what a thrill! And, as always, keeping up with the car in front of us (ya had to be there). The word is that the British car drivers had to be prodded along; not so with the Italian car gang! From WGI, we then completed three laps on the original Watkins Glen road course. Quite a sight to head down Main Street — the whole town comes out to wave and cheer all the cars (are those open containers we see?) After completion of the old course, the Tour de Marque cars are put on display at Lafayette Park (that’s us!). No more driving — time to join in the festivities and cheer on all the other tours. The street is closed, the vineyards are pouring, and the grills are smoking! At 4:30, about 60 race cars were escorted from the track to Main Street for their laps of the old course. The place of honor was held by a 1938 Alfa Romeo 2900B — the winner of the first Watkins Glen Grand Prix, no less! Absolutely pristine, and what a sound! Lined up behind the 2900 were three prewar Alfas, about twenty Allards, and easily twenty more Alfa race cars. These were followed by Porsches, Corvettes, MGs, Triumphs, and the list went on and on. Saturday was track day. Each class had a qualifying race and there was also a one-hour open class race that provided a ton of excitement. The P3 driven by Nuvolari was at the track! At the end of the straight there is a chicane; side-by-side racing through there really separates the men (or gals) from the boys. A sunny Saturday afternoon was a great time to visit a few of the local vineyards and also run a self-guided rallye (didn’t the rallye master notice the bridge that had been closed for months?). A cruise on Lake Seneca with our brother Alfisti from the N.Y. Chapter, as well as a few fine Canadian Alfa owners (what hockey game?), topped off a great day! Okay, one more stop at the Seneca Lodge… With Sunday’s misty start (and work on Monday), we decided to head back east early. Jumping off the highway in Oneonta (Route 23 to 23A, back on 23) provided us with a scenic trip through the Catskills on Alfa Romeo-made roads. All in all, a fantastic weekend! Great people, fantastic cars, and a wonderful event. The people of Watkins Glen truly open their arms (and bottles) to all us motor heads.
Do yourself a favor and visit the “Glen” on the vintage weekend.
There are three other tours that all run the “old course”. They are
made up of a particular style of car: open roadsters, coupes, and
cars of a certain vintage. These events sell out fast; in fact, I am
sure that they are already 50% full for next year. Check out
www.grandprixfestival.com or contact
Events@watkinsglen.com.
You too can be a Stone Bridge Driver!
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(Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view, and then
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The
tour was on; tops were down for a spirited drive to the track.
Driving through stop signs with policemen waving one through is a
thrill not to be missed! A special corral was set up at Watkins Glen
International (WGI). After parking, we were treated to a fantastic
brunch as we watched the vintage cars qualifying from our seats.
