Report and photos by Dennis Gray
The Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival 2013 was held the weekend of May 17-19 at Sonoma Raceway Sears Point in Sonoma, California. A strong crowd enjoyed the more than 350 historic racing cars participating in 15 race groups over the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course located in Northern California’s wine country.
The 4th annual Sonoma Historics honored the 60th anniversary of the Chevrolet Corvette, as a banner entry of 32 Corvettes were among the featured vintage race cars at the event.
Three Corvettes finished first overall in their respective classes — Noel Park’s 1958 Corvette and Ross Thompson took home two wins, one in his 1964 Corvette and the other in a 1976 Corvette. Larry Bowman’s 1963 Corvette Grand Sport chassis 003 was among the standout entries that also included Steve Earle’s famed ex-Bob Bondurant #614 Corvette from 1959. Additionally, the paddock throughout the weekend was filled with a variety of collector Corvettes, including a 1956 Corvette SR2 and a 1994 Guldstrand Corvette GS90 Coupe.
Honored guest Paul Reinhart, of Twain Harte, California, drove his purple-and-orange 1957 Corvette to second place in his group, and received the Sonoma Historic Cup – “The Phil Hill Trophy” – from event organizer Steve Earle. Reinhart, who raced Corvettes in the early days, competed against Carroll Shelby’s Cobras with his Sting Ray coupe. He began racing Corvettes in Northern California in the late 1950s and in 1962 was crowned Pacific Coast SCCA B-Production champion.
From the impressive line-up of Pre-War entrants to the fan-favorite Trans-Am and Can-Am cars, the crowd was treated to close competition among many classic race cars from the last 100 years at the 27th annual historic-car event organized by General Racing Ltd. Among the notable entrants at the 2013 Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival included the Cordell Bahn’s 1927 Bugatti Type 35C; 1935 Alfa Romeo 8C-35 of Peter Greenfield; center-seat 1959 Porsche 718 RSK of Neil Alexander; Jon Shirley’s 1934 Alfa Romeo Typo B P3; 1932 Alfa Romeo P3 driven by Greg Whitten; Peter Giddings in his 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C-35; Tom Price’s 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 MM and 1949 Aston Martin DB2 Prototype; Dean Meiling’s 1954 Jaguar D-Type; and the 1971 McLaren M8F and 1972 Gulf Mirage M6 of Chris MacAllister; among others.
Jeff Abramson posted double-header victories for the second consecutive year, taking the victory in both Group 2 (1955-1962 Production/GT under 2000cc) with his 1959 Morgan +4 and Group 11 (1959-1966 Sports Racing Cars) in his 1966 Lotus 23C. Additional group winners included a 1964 Ginetta G4, driven by Jeff Kline, David Swig in a 1957 Monsterati Special, Dan Luckow in a 1969 Mercury Cyclone, 1968 McLaren M6B of Steve Cook and Ken Epsman in a 1976 Dekon Monza.
The Sonoma Historic Trophy, Pre-1940 Category, presented for excellence in presentation, went to the 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C-35 of Peter Giddings, while the Post 1940 Category was awarded to Larry Bowman’s 1963 Grand Sport Corvette.
Steve Earle, President of General Racing, Ltd., said, “The weather was perfect for great racing today. Sonoma Raceway is a terrific venue to showcase these valuable and significant cars that continue to be enjoyed, and we’re extremely proud to have joined in Corvette’s 60th anniversary celebration.”
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Photographer Dennis Gray documented the 2013 Sonoma Historics, bringing the following photo gallery that shows the strong field entrants at this year’s event. We split up Dennis’ 300 pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite 100 images, all displayed in the full-width view of our website, while the second gallery (and race results) can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs.
Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival 2013 – Top 100 Photo Gallery
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Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival 2013 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)
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Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival 2013 – Race Results
Group 1 – 1962-1967 Production/GT under 2000cc
1. Jeff Kline, 1964 Ginetta G4
2. Dalmo de Vasconc, 1965 Lotus Elan
3. Robert Forbes, 1964 Ginetta G4R
Group 2 – 1955-1962 Production/GT under 2000cc
1. Jeff Abramson, 1959 Morgan +4
2. Leonard Turnbeaug, 1958 Porsche 356A
3. Brian Howlett, 1961 Morgan +4
Group 3 – 1956-1963 Formula Cars (F-Jr, F-2, F-1)
1. Art Hebert, 1963 Lola MK5A F-Jr.
2. Jimmy Domingos, 1962 Cooper T-59 F-Jr.
3. Maurice McCaig, 1961 Cooper T-51
Group 4 – 1955-1960 Sports Racing Cars
1. David Swig, 1957 Monsterati Special
2. Michael Malone, 1959 Lotus Mk15
3. Frank Zucchi, 1960 Piranha
Group 5 – 1946-1955 Sports Racing and Production Cars
1. Rob Manson, 1952 Manning Special
2. John Buddenbaum, 1949 Jaguar Parkinson Special
3. David Zurlinden, 1953 Tatum GMC Special
Group 6 – 1963-1973 Grand National Stock
1. Dan Luckow, 1969 Mercury Cyclone
2. Ron Myska, 1969 Ford Talladega
3. Craig Conley, 1971 Mercury Cyclone
Group 7 – 1982-1991 Historic IMSA GTO/SCCA
1. Peter Baljet, 1990 Chevrolet Beretta
2. Ken David, 1985 Ford Mustang Roush
3. Ron Tribble, 1986 Chevrolet Camaro
Group 8 – Pre-1941 Sports and Touring Cars and 1925-1941 Racing Cars
1. Paddins Dowling, 1939 Maserati 4CL
2. Peter Greenfield, 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C-35
3. Peter Giddings, 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C-35
Group 9 – 1955-1962 Production/GT over 2000cc
1. Noel Park, 1958 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Paul Reinhart, 1957 Chevrolet Corvette
3. Tom Price, 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato
Group 10 – 1962-1966 Production/GT over 2000cc
1. Ross Thompson, 1964 Chevrolet Corvette
2. John McKenna, 1963 Shelby Cobra 289
3. Don Lee, 1965 Shelby Cobra 427
Group 11 – 1959-1966 Sports Racing Cars
1. Jeff Abramson, 1966 Lotus 23C
2. Greg Meyer, 1962 Dailu MkII
3. Michael Malone, 1966 Elva Mk8
Group 12 – 1966-1972 Historic Trans-Am Cars
1. Ken Epsman, 1972 AMC Javelin
2. Forrest Straight, 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302
3. Chad Raynal, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Group 13 – 1966-1974 Historic Can-Am Cars
1. Steve Cook, 1968 McLaren M6B
2. Chris MacAllister, 1971 McLaren M8F
3. Bob Lee, 1968 McLaren M6B
Group 14 – 1973-1979 IMSA GT and 1964-1970 FIA Cars
1. Ross Thompson, 1976 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Ranson Webster, 1976 Porsche 935 K3
3. John Goodman, 1976 Greenwood Chevrolet Corvette
Group 15 – 1971-1982 FIA Sports Racing Cars
1. Chris MacAllister, 1972 Gulf Mirage M6
2. Keith Frieser, 1972 Lola T290
3. Randall Smith, 1971 Chevron B-19
For complete results, visit www.generalracing.com.
2013 Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival 2013 – Award Winners
The Sonoma Historic Cup – “The Phil Hill Trophy” – Presented for Best Presentation and Performance Overall
Winner: Paul Reinhart, Twain Harte, Calif., 1957 Chevrolet Corvette
The Sonoma Historic Trophy, Pre-1940 Category – Presented for Excellence in Presentation
Winner: Peter Giddings, Danville, Calif., 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C-35
The Sonoma Historic Trophy, Post 1940 Category – Presented for Excellence in Presentation
Winner: Larry Bowman, Redwood City, Calif., 1963 Chevrolet Grand Sport Corvette
The Sonoma Historic Award – Presented for Presentation and Performance in Race Group
Group 1 – Martin Lauber, Tiburon, Calif., 1967 Alfa Romeo Sprint GT
Group 2 – Paul Christensen, Sparks, Nev., 1956 Porsche 356A Speedster
Group 3 – Phillip Ribbs, Santa Cruz, Calif., 1963 Lotus 27 F-Jr.
Group 4 – Frank Zucchi, Livermore, Calif., 1960 Piranha
Group 5 – David Zurlinden, Redwood City, Calif., 1953 Tatum GMC Spl.
Group 6 – Craig Conley, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 1971 Mercury Cyclone
Group 7 – Mike Haemmig, Nevada City, Calif., 1988 Chevrolet Corvette
Group 8 – John Kerr, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 1932 Miller-Schofield/Ford
Group 9 – Greg Johnson, Irvine, Calif., 1960 Chevrolet Corvette
Group 10 – Tom Dyer, Santa Fe, N.M., 1965 Sunbeam Tiger
Group 11 – Michael Malone, Puyallup, Wash., 1966 Elva MK8
Group 12 – Bill Ockerlund, Holland, Mich., 1969 Chevrolet Camaro
Group 13 – Bob Lee, Rolling Hills, Calif., 1968 McLaren M6B
Group 14 – Ross Thompson, Phoenix, Ariz., 1976 Chevrolet Corvette
Group 15 – Keith Frieser, Puyallup, Wash., 1972 Lola 290
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[Source: General Racing]
Dennis,
Great images – really like Gallucci’s Scorpion!
Bill
Wonderful photo coverage as always Dennis.
Beautiful! that was a great weekend. Saw some fantastic racing, meet some great people, super weather! Love checking out all your beautifuil pics!
My dad ( Skip Fleming ) restored that there 63 grand sport #2 with Mike Pillsbury 🙂
And also restored the 1960 #2 24 hour Le Mans vette as well as a 57 sr2
Glad to have met mike when I did (age 5-6) and ride in the Le Mans vette before he died