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(Click here to view David Hoopers photo gallery)
(Click here to view Peter Bowmans photo gallery)
Twenty-two Allards and upwards of fifty Allard owners, family members, and enthusiasts gathered at Watkins Glen on the 2nd weekend of September. Overseas visitors included Mike and Diana Knapman, David Hooper and Pat Lee from the UK; and Rob and Margie Boult from New Zealand.
By Bill Pollack
On September 10th twenty-two Allards assembled in this small village in upstate New York. They came from all over the United States, Canada and Great Britain with individuals from as far away as New Zealand. The gathering was to celebrate the victory sixty years ago by a J2 Allard driven by Erwin Goldschmidt. Allards have long since been an endangered species. Many of these Allard owners purchased their cars twenty or more years ago and the vehicles had become a part of the family. This exceptional group of people shared the Glen and its magnificent racing machines from vintage Sprites to 600 horsepower McLarens. As a guest of the Allard Owner’s Club I was privileged to experience this grand event. The following are some of my recollections of three exciting days.
Some changes have taken place with the “Monterey Historics” since General Racing turned the reins over to SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Ass’n of the Monterey Peninsula). They include:
Special thanks to Alan Patterson and his son Alan III for sharing this amazing on board video from practice at the most amazing street racing circuit in the world...Monaco! Enjoy the sights and sounds!!!
The J2 scale model shown here is from Bizarre (www.bizarremodel.com), which is a maker of very well finished mass-produced resin models. As the name suggests, subjects chosen are among the more unusual cars and marques. The models are developed by Fernando Pinto, and are made in China.
The model is a good representation of chassis J2 #1971 as restored by Wayne Adams .
The model is well proportioned, and offers a good general representation of the car. The paint finish is good, as is the general detailing for a car of this price bracket (under £40/$60), right down to the leather bonnet and spare wheel straps and the passenger grab handle on the dashboard.
(Click here or the photo above to view the gallery...)
The Monterey Classic Car Weekend has come and gone...Now it's time to look back at the photos to attempt to recapture the sights, sounds, and smells of a billion dollars worth of gorgeous metal, rubber, electrical bits. Unfortunately family obligations limited me to one day at the track, but that didn't keep me from making the most of it. This gallery contains a bunch of photos from the RM auction (Friday) and first annual Motorsports Reunion (under new ownership). You'll probably notice the photos look a little different... they were all taken on my Iphone 4 with the Hipstamatic camera application.
We'll post a more complete review of the Monterey Weekend in a few days, but for now...enjoy the memories!
I'm curious, why don't modern sports car magazines shoot their cars in the dirt anymore? Nothing says exagerated speed like a big plume of dirt...
The June 1950 issue of 'Motor Trend' is a must have if you're a fan of collecting Allard related magazines. Not only is there a great cover photo, but this issue also has a review & cut away drawing of a K1, coverage of the J2 introduction in New York, and a few great Allard distributor advertisements. I picked this issue up on Ebay for $10 (including shipping).
On August 13, RM Auctions will sell Allard J2X #3162 (Lot 230) . To most, this is just another J2X; to me however, this is one of the most important Allards ever made. Ever since I was a kid, my dad would take me to the Monterey Historics; then he bought a basket case Allard K3. From that point on, my dad developed a friendship with All Knowing Allard Nut, Bob Lytle; and I fell in love with his black #65 J2X. For many years I dreamt that Bob would call me up to tell me he couldn’t race at Monterey that year and would ask if I wanted to race his car. Sadly that call never came, and unfortunately my dad and I lost a great friend to cancer this past December.
I just posted a bunch of videos below that my dad shot back in 1990 at the Monterey Historics where Allard was the featured marque. This was the largest gathering of Allards ever, with over 70 cars present and 37 cars racing! To read more about the event, click here.
Enjoy!
Click here or the image above to download issue #55 of the Allard Register, we hope you enjoy!
By David Hooper
The ‘Atom’ project originated from Ronnie Green the promoter of Wimbledon Speedway who placed an order with the Company to build a prototype 500cc JAP powered small ‘dirt track’ style car. In the 50’s speedway was beginning to lose its appeal due to rather processional racing with little overtaking, and the winner usually being the leader after the first corner – nothing new!
On May 1st & 2nd, the streets of Monaco were closed for the 7th Edition of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. I’m a big fan of modern formula one, but nothing beats vintage race cars tearing through the tight, twisting, and undulating streets of Monaco. Racing at Monaco has largely been for Grand Prix Cars, but for a few years in the 1950’s they raced Sports Cars. It’s for this reason, that out of the 8 race groups, one is reserved for Sports Cars from the late 40’s & early 50’s. It should be noted that in 1952, two Allard J2X’s were raced by Anthony Hume and Fernando Mascarenhas, but did not finish.
I recently returned from a business trip to a city that I’ve wanted to visit for a long time…Philadelphia! There are three main reasons I wanted to visit Philly: 1) Pat’s King of Steaks, 2) Geno’s Steaks, and 3) the Simeone Foundation Museum. Once the business portion of my trip was complete, I quickly sampled the original Philly cheese steak sandwiches from 1 & 2 (Pat’s was the best!) before driving over to the museum to meet up with Dr. Frederick Simeone.
Bill Bauder and his J2X, the “Bitch”, drove away with the second place Silver Cup Trophy at the 2010 Keels & Wheels Concourse d’Elegance in the Vintage Race Car class. In the past, Bill’s excellent restoration job has meant that the “Bitch” lacked the patina to convince the judges to award the car. However, after several rallies and a few vintage races, the ‘Bitch’ has collected enough rock scars in to convince the judges otherwise…or perhaps it was the new set of white walls? To learn more about this year’s Keels & Wheels Concourse, visit their web site at www.keels-wheels.com. Congrats Bill!!!
P.S.: To learn why Bill’s J2X is called the “Bitch” click here!
Another great "Motorsport" magazine cover painting, sadly the the issue has no major Allard content. This issue is from November, 1952. As usual, copies of this magazine can be found for sale at www.ebay.com.
