California Festival of Speed

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Chet

California Festival of Speed

The 12th Annual California Festival of Speed, the largest Porsche event in the Southwest, comes to Auto Club Speedway April 5th thru 7th. With participation from Porsche Club of America (PCA), who is also the event host, the Porsche Owners Club (POC), and Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA West, this Festival of Speed promises to be one of the biggest and most exciting in recent years.

In addition to the PCA Cup Race and Time Trial, this year’s California Festival of Speed will also include POC Cup Racers and Time Trialers, a PCA Enduro, a PCA Zone 8 Concours, a Taste of Autocross, a celebration of 50 years of the 911, a Porsche Corral, swap meet, and of course, a Vendor Row.

On Friday, the California Festival of Speed features practice session for all groups, track tours, and a Pirelli GT3 Cup Race. Saturday’s schedule includes more practice and qualifying, PCA/POC Sprint Races, another Pirelli GT3 Cup Race, and a 60 minute Enduro to close out the day. Sunday brings three more sprint races, Pirelli GT3 Cup Race, and a Time Trial to close the weekend.

Check the calendar for detailed information, the event schedule for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and a free parking coupon.

Here is the track map for the Auto Club Speedway configuration used for the California Festival of Speed.

A handy web page for Schedule, Track Map, Time Trial entrants by PCA Class, & Results

Coronado Speed Festival

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Chet

Not having attended in a coupe of years, I forgot how much I enjoy the Coronado Speed Festival. For people in the San Diego area, it’s easy to reach, parking and getting in is a breeze, and there is a lot to see and do in a fairly compact area. I really like that the grandstand, car show, paddock, vendor row, and food & drink areas are so close together. And of course, the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) puts on a great show. Some really interesting cars showed up at this year’s festivities. With the passing of the great Carroll Shelby, there were many Cobras and GT 350s in attendance.

Car Show & Paddock

Lamborghini Espada

1971 AMC Javelin Trans-Am

Mercedes-Benz 300SL

Group 5 Race

Group 5 includes 1959 to 1966 Production Cars equipped with disc brakes. This is a large and diverse class ranging from a 1540cc Lotus S7 to a 5770cc Chevrolet Corvette. The race pictures are taken looking back into the last turn onto the front straight & start/finish.

1969 BMW 2002 & 1971 Alfa Romeo GTV

1958 Corvette, 1971 Alfa Romea GTV, & 1967 Porsche 912

Coronado Speed Festival Group 6 Race

Group 6 includes 1962 to 1966 Production Cars over 2500cc. This race had quite a few Shelby GT 350s as well as unusual cars such as the ISO Rivolta and a very fast Ginetta G4.

1965 Ford Mustang (#151) battles with 1966 Shelby GT 350 (#6)

1964 Cobra

1966 Shelby GT 350

Group 7 Race

Group 7 includes 1965 to 1988 FIA Manufacturer Championship Cars such as Ferraris, Lolas, and Porsches.

A couple of Porsche RSRs battle

1972 Ferrari 312PSPL

Coronado Speed Festival Group 8 Race

Group 8 is historic NASCAR.

Group 8 Race – Historic NASCAR

Historic NASCAR – 2004 Ford Taurus

Many more pics here.

Coronado Speed Festival – Fleet Week San Diego

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Chet

Coronado Speed Festival

Fleet Week San Diego brings the 15th Annual Coronado Speed Festival and 250 historic race cars to a 1.7 mile course on Naval Air Station North Island this weekend. In addition to benefitting a great cause, the Coronado Speed Festival, sanctioned by the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA), is a well run, very fan-friendly, genuine racing event – the only one in San Diego since IMSA left Del Mar after 1992.

Carroll Shelby Tribute

At this year’s Coronado Speed Festival, HMSA, the same organization that sanctions the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, celebrates the great cars of Carroll Shelby. Expect to see quite a few Cobras and Shelby GT350s out there.

Mazda MX-5 Cup

For the first time, the Mazda MX-5 Cup sponsored by Playboy will be part of the Coronado Speed Festival Weekend. The MX-5 Cup is the entry level of production car based competition in SCCA Pro Racing. The series runs on the premier road courses of North America, and many of their events are part of ALMS weekends.

Test Drives

BMW, VW, Mazda, and Chevrolet will be offering test drives on road courses laid out in areas adjacent to the race track and paddock.

Open, Friendly Paddock

The Coronado Speed Festival is know for an open and friendly paddock area where fans can get up close to some great cars and the competitors racing them. More cars can be found at a car show benefitting the Navy’s Morale Welfare & Recreation fund. Visitors will also find a vendor village, good food and drink, and a military static display. This year, Fleet Week San Diego is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Navy SEALS in San Diego.

More information, including directions, maps, schedules, and ticket information can be found in the calendar and the following links:

Coronado Speed Festival, Saturday, September 22

Coronado Speed Festival, Sunday, September 23

Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Chet

This week begins the annual pilgrimage of motorsports fans to the Monterey Peninsula for the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The week’s festivities have grown and grown over the years, and now there are multiple fabulous events on each day – from marque specific shows to auctions – really intensifying beginning with the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance on Wednesday the 16th and building throughout the rest of the week and weekend. What started as historic car races at Laguna Seca now includes marque specific events, car club gatherings, multiple auctions at various venues and times, and food, drink, & aircraft events. Although you easily could, you don’t need to spend a mint to have a great time. Just walking around Monterey and Carmel at the right times will treat you to some very cool sights and sounds.

Here are a few shots from the 2011 Monterey Motorsports Reunion week:

Monterey Motorsports Reunion Races At Laguna Seca

See the full gallery here.

Weekend Speed Scene – HSR West & Barrett-Jackson OC

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Chet

Lots of cool action in SoCal this weekend! Two of the best are Barrett-Jackson coming to the Orange County Fairgrounds and HSR West races at Auto Club Speedway.

Barrett-Jackson Saturday

Barrett-Jackson Sunday

HSR Saturday

HSR Sunday

Weather for both events should be great. Stories and pix to follow…

Irvine Cars & Coffee

Gallery

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Chet

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Cars & Coffee at Irvine A few more Shelby Cobras and Mustangs along several other interesting cars from Cars & Coffee at Irvine this past weekend…

Bimmerfest 2012 at the Rose Bowl!

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Chet

The biggest West Coast gathering of Ultimate Driving Machines is tomorrow at Bimmerfest 2012 at the Rose Bowl. Bimmerfest, sponsored by HorsepowerFreaks, is a must attend event for BMW fans, and this 13th Annual celebration of the BMW community promises to be among the best yet.

Details posted in the calendar.

Cars & Coffee Featuring Tribute To Carroll Shelby

Gallery

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Chet

This gallery contains 17 photos.

Cars & Coffee at Ford Premier Auto Group in Irvine featuring a tribute to the late, great Carroll Shelby. Several original Cobras and Mustangs were present:

SoCal Speed Scene

Motorsports & automotive news, action, and events in Southern California

Category Archives: Car Shows

California Festival of Speed