This Sunday October 18th at the Berwyn Farmers Market , 511 Old Lancaster Rd Berwyn PA

Quinn deMenna

Celebrating its 44th year, the Lime Rock Historic Festival launched held over Labor Day tour through the area with Thursday’s Vintage Race Car and Sports Car Parade. Friday, Saturday and Monday featured non-stop, on-track competition across a diverse set of historic racing classes.

On Sunday, the Lime Rock Concours and Gathering of the Marques displayed nearly 1,000 enthusiast cars and motorcycles arranged around the Lime Rock circuit.  Gathering of the Marques, which hosted enthusiasts and clubs representing nearly every make and model, all arranged around the 1.5-mile Lime Rock course. With as many as 800 cars that were expected, the event showcased an incredibly diverse display of cars grouped by make, model or country of origin.

As part of the Historic Festival tradition, Lime Rock Park selects a featured marque to be celebrated throughout the weekend. For Lime Rock HF44, celebrated the illustrious history of Alfa Romeo!  In the paddock all weekend long, were unique concours classes celebrating the rich history of Alfa Romeo.  Here was my opportunity to see in person an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.

The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale was the fastest commercially available car upon its introduction. 18 examples were produced between 1967 and 1969. “Stradale” (Italian for “road-going”) is a term often used by Italian car manufacturers to indicate a street-legal version of a racing car.  It achieved this using an engine less than half the displacement of those in high-performance contemporary sports cars such as the Lamborghini Miura, Ferrari Daytona, and Maserati Ghibli.  In addition to the Stradale there were many other beautiful Alfa Romeo’s.  Many of these I have only seen in magazines.

1939 Alfa 6C 2300 “Pescara” This car was of special interest to me because Pescara is near where my family is from in Abruzzo Italy.  In 1934, Carrozzeria Brianza, under Zagato’s direction, built just two 6C 2300 spiders exclusively for Scuderia Ferrari, then functioning as Alfa Romeo’s factory competition arm. This chassis, 700265, is the sole survivor of the pair. Entered under Scuderia Ferrari colors for industrialist-driver Luigi Catalani and co-driver Polini, race number 183, it competed in the Gold Cup of the Littorio, the first Tour of Italy, over 5,700 kilometers in May and June 1934, followed by the VII Targa Abruzzo, the 24 Hours of Pescara, that August as race number 26 – the very event that gave the Pescara model its name after Scuderia Ferrari’s cars swept the podium.

The car’s ownership since has been meticulously documented through Italian registration records, passing through a first Roman Alfa Romeo dealer, a noble Neapolitan family descended from Pope Paul IV, a wartime aviation ace who once challenged Nuvolari, and a historiographer of Italian automotive history, among others, before settling under its current Rome plate, 57775, acquired in 2005. Nearly a century after its competition debut, the car retains a documented chain of ownership virtually unmatched among surviving prewar Alfa Romeo racers.  

In addition to the Concourse was an incredible car show.  I was thrilled but not surprised to see our neighboring chapter AROC-NJ member Richard Reina get first place in his class for his 1967 GT 1300 Jr.

If all of the eye candy fun wasn’t enough, my wife and I were invited into the Pit Crew from our previous president, Bob Brady along with his wife Marie, his son Mathew and the past member, Bill Shields.  Bob, Mathew and Bill were all racing there GTV’s. Here we got to experience Lime Rock from the Paddock. 

Friday night Bill found that his steering box broke from the mounting flanges.  Luckily there happens to be Keith Goring  (Alfas Unlimited (860) 485-8956 89 Greenwoods Rd W, Norfolk, CT 06058) less than a half hour from Lime Rock.  While Bill drove over to Keith’s to get another steering box Mathew and Bob began to remove the old broken box.   By the time Bill returned the broken Steering box was removed.  Within another hour the replacement box was installed and an alignment was completed.

To me it was unbelievable what these guys could do in a short time.  Afterwards we fired up the grill and prepared the evenings diner.  The next morning Bill was all set for the day’s races.

During Saturday and Monday’s racing I couldn’t help noticing a pale-yellow Alfa Romeo TZ1 screaming around the track and placing first in every race. The TZ1 is owned by Lawrence Auriana and the driver is Joe Colasacco who’s family owns Euro-Tec Motors.

This year’s Lime Rock 44 was my first experience at this track, and I was glad I made it.  I doubt I will ever see that many Alfas in one place.  What made this weekend even more fun was hanging out in the paddock and spending time with the crew and meeting up with many other AROC members.  I am grateful to Bob, Marie, Mathew Brady and Bill Shields for such a fantastic weekend!

Finally, I must mention some of our DVAROC members who also participated in Lime Rock Historic Festival 44.  

For example, our fellow member Barry Cross Jr. showed his beautiful 1994 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Commemorative Edition and took home a “Star of The Rock“ ribbon in the class.

DVAROC member Frank Gill brought his incredible 1966 Fiat 2300 S which is a luxury grand tourer designed by Sergio Sartorelli at Ghia. Frank Gill took home the ribbon in the Preservation class. 

“I bought it because the lines from Ghia were and are strikingly elegant, considering it first appeared at the Turin auto show in 1960. Automotive press and the public swooned and Fiat found itself in the position of selling a car they initially had no intention of selling. ”The car is incredibly original, with the Italian owner receiving ASI (Automotoclub Storico Italiano) designation in the early 1990s. The spare tire still has the Pirelli sticker along with the vent spews. Amazingly enough, it still held air as he needed to use it when he got a flat. “It worked like a champ,” Frank recalled. “I take it out as often as possible as these cars, in my opinion, should be driven regularly to maintain fluids and seals/gaskets fresh and supple. I’ve driven it as far as Philadelphia to south Florida with my wife. It’s like an Italian caddy, but better.”

DVAROC member John Goodman, prominent vintage racer and collector shared cars from his exceptional collection to headline the event’s massive celebration of Alfa Romeo, the festival’s featured marque.  His cars joined an amazing collection housed across two premier tents.  Two of John’s Alfa Romeo’s included a 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ (No. 240): 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA: A mainstay of his collection, this highly historic, track-focused competition machine.

In addition to the John’s cars featured in the combined showcase which featured incredibly rare, high-profile classics like the Alfa Romeo RL, Testa Fissa, Monza, 33 Stradale, TZ1, TZ2, GTA, and the Targa Florio-winning 33/3 John entered two distinct vehicles for on-track racing action:  1962 Cooper T-59 Formula Junior: John Goodman raced this car in Group 3 (The Jim Haynes Memorial for Formula Juniors). It is a legendary rear-engined, open-wheel British formula car powered by a highly tuned production-based engine, serving as a staple of historic open-wheel racing grid competitions.  1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ (No. 240): In celebration of the weekend’s featured marque, Goodman also raced this striking, lightweight Zagato-bodied Sprint Zagato. He campaigned the rare silver coupe directly in the Alfa Romeo Featured Marque race groups along with John’s pit crew member and our DVAROC dear friend Ruth Wolf.

The event has evolved into a spring tradition that features a family-friendly atmosphere with an exquisite display of local cars, trucks, and motorcycles, exciting activities, participating businesses and organizations, entertainment, great food featuring a pulled pork and best pizza contest, and lots of outdoor fun! 

Eight Alfas, classic and modern, a fantastic turnout of Alfa Romeo’s.  When was the last time you were at a car show where the Alfas outnumbered every other marque?

The DVAROC Spring Tech Session was held on April 11 along with a great turn out of chapter members and members of our neighbor chapter, Central Pennsylvania Alfa Romeo Owners Club. Domenic deMenna and Andy Kaufman (CPAROC) demonstrated front end alignment for a classic Alfa, specifically a 1972 GT Junior. The alignment tech session was presented with 1960 through 1970’s vintage alignment equipment (Bear – Automotive).

Alfisti, 

Our Summer Picnic and Rally at Ridley Creek State Park in July was a lot of fun.  Dan Shimberg won the coveted DVAROC Driver of the Year award with his skillful mastering of the challenging rally course.  Congratulations, Dan!

It was great to see a number of new faces.  I had a chance to learn a bit about Land Rovers as well as get some insider tips on Scotland.  I want to thank Bill Conway, Ellen Torpey and the Bossongs for all their help in supplying food, drinks and set-up.  Much appreciated!!!

​And now, for some upcoming events:

Sunday, August 10 – New Hope Auto Show – New Hope High School, New Hope PA

This Bucks County institution continues again this year.  It’s a two day event, but Sunday is Alfa Romeo day.  It’s the only car show I know of that features a specific class for Alfa Romeos.  Shine you Alfa, spend the day, bring home a trophy!  For more information and to register, go to: New Hope Auto Show

Skippack Cars and Cigars – August 17, September 21 – Parc Bistro, Skippack PA

Cars and Cigars at Skippack is back up and running.  It’s a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon among some interesting vehicles.  

Lime Rock Historic Festival #43 – August 28 – September 1 – Lime Rock Park, Lakeville CT

It might be a bit of a drive, but this is one fabulous event to attend.  Some of the finest vintage race cars will attend and there will be great racing on Saturday and Monday.  On Sunday, the track goes quiet but will be filled up with 1.5 miles of cars of every marque on display.  For more information, go to: Historic Festival #43  Hint – If you can’t make it this year, you really should put it on your calendar for next year when Alfa Romeo will be featured!

Radnor Concours – September 5-7 – Radnor PA

The Radnor Concours has been going on for 28 years now and is one of the east coast’s premier car shows.  The three day event culminates with the awards on Sunday.  For more information, go to: Radnor Concours

AROC National Convention – September 17-21 – Chicago IL

The national AROC convention is being held in Chicago this year.  For more information, go to: AROC Convention

Alfas at the Glen – September 19-21 – Watkins Glen NY

Alfa Romeos, and other vintage race cars, will descend on Watkins Glen to test their mettle and make some beautiful noise.  In addition to racing at the track, there will be car corral for non-racing Alfas and a dinner.  Note that this event is different from the annual Vintage Grand Prix at the Glen, which happens September 4-7.  If you want to come, you need to get on the guest list – admission is free.  Contact me if you want to attend.  For more information, go to: Alfas at the Glen

One last thing – I haven’t heard anything about the Coatesville Vintage Grand Prix and their website seems to be static.  So, I assume no event this year.  Hopefully it will return next.

For more information about upcoming events, go here: DVAROC Events Calendar

Ciao!

bob

Come join us as the DVAROC visits the world-famous Simeone Foundation Car Museum in Philadelphia. Our own Jim Hanna will lead the tour and will provide interesting and entertaining background about each fabulous car on display. Plan to be there when it opens, at 10am. We’ll meet at the first car on display and will get started shortly after 10. See you there!

As a follow up to my last update, our events schedule for 2025 continues to develop.  Our next scheduled event is Simeone Museum Tour on February 8th.  It will be led by a, fellow club member and Alfa owner.  He’s given us the tour before and always does a wonderful job bringing color commentary to each car on display.  I hope you can join us for it.

In addition, another club member is working to organize another visit to the fabulous, and ever expanding, David Markel Collection.  Look for updates in the future for more details, once we lock that down.

As if that wasn’t enough, Faulkner Alfa Romeo of Willow Grove wants to host an event for us.  Tentatively, it’s scheduled for April 12th.  I could really use a club member to serve as contact person for this event.  So, if you have interest, please, please reach out to me.  

And speaking of help, I’m looking for someone in the club to begin taking over our website from me.  It’s not a lot of work, but I need to start the transition this year. 

And speaking of websites, our classifieds section has been updated with a beautiful ’92 Spider that’s been put up for sale.  It’s not too early to think of spring!

Finally, while not an Alfa exhibition, the Academy Art Museum in Easton Maryland has a very special Bugatti Exhibition that runs until April 13th.  So, if you’re looking for an excuse to take a road trip, here you go.

Oh, and one more thing.  If you think winter and Alfas don’t mix, you might want to reconsider.  The International Concours d’ Elegance at St. Moritz is not your typical Concurs.  Check out the 2023 version here: 2023 St. Moritz ICE (the 2024 version was cancelled due to too much snow!  If you want to go to this year’s version, there’s still time: 2025 St. Moritz ICE

We’re in the planning stages for a great 2025. Our first scheduled event is a tour of the Simeone museum on February 8th and should be a warm way to start thinking about the spring driving season.

In addition, we’ve put together a draft calendar for the year, that will continue to develop over the following weeks. To see it, go to our events page here: Events

As usual, the fall months were the busiest of the year for the DVAROC. With abundant car shows and events, our annual picnic and tours to the east and west, there was something for everyone. The weather is still great, so go out and give your Alfa some exercise before winter sets in.

We’ll start planning events soon, so if you have any ideas or want to organize one, just reach out.

Best, bob

Somehow the summer heat took a break for us as we enjoyed the cool breeze and shade at our annual Summer Picnic and Rally at Ridley Creek State Park. We had an exceptional turnout with 30+ members and more than 15 Alfas, ranging from Dan Iannelli’s and the Millinghousen’s 70’s Spiders to a bunch of modern Giulias, including several Quadrafoglios.

Pete Wanko and Susan McIntire brought their beautiful black Alfa Spider and were awarded the unofficial Alfa Spirit Award for their matching Alfa Romeo shirts – nicely done!

The rally started, as usual, with a LeMans style start. Drivers and their navigators raced, or walked (?) to their cars, directions in hand. There was no GPS or car following cheating going on, as there were five different routes to keep everyone confused.

About a half hour later, the teams started to roll back in. Once again, they ran (or walked) to get their elapsed times recorded. After everyone made it back, the differences in elapsed times were masterfully calculated against the target times. When the dust settled, we had a new DVAROC Driver of the Year!

Congratulations to John Palumbo who came an amazing 27 seconds away from his target time!