The Palm Beach
Cavallino Classic 13:
January 20 to 25, 2004
The next event on the schedule was the Tour of Palm Beach on the Thursday morning, when around fifty Ferraris gathered in the driveway of The Breakers Hotel on the Palm Beach shoreline, to participate in a leisurely tour with a breakfast halt at SunTrust Bank, one of the event sponsors. The cavalcade of predominantly red cars attracted a great deal of interest from passers-by on route, and even though it is a very wealthy neighborhood, featuring no dearth of multi-million dollar homes and an abundance of expensive and exotic cars, the “red train” was something to open even the most jaded eyes. It is not quite the Mille Miglia, but more and more people turn out to watch the parade, and give a smile and a thumbs up. Hostess Alicia Barnes and her crew waved the cars off at The Breakers at one minute intervals, and everyone was off for two hours of scenic driving with stops at SunTrust Bank, Ocean Ridge Park, Mar-a-Lago, The Chesterfield Hotel, and then finally back to The Breakers for lunch. We thank all these checkpoints, who made their facilities available for this rolling pageant.
Also on Thursday morning, and at The Breakers, was the Coppa Bella Macchina competition, which is an extremely difficult contest for nine Ferraris and their owners. Each competes against himself, as the Ferrari has to pass a 100% operational test; in other words, everything, and we mean everything, has to work on the car, no exceptions. If one item doesn’t operate correctly, and can’t be fixed post haste, the test is over for that car and individual. This is not for the faint of heart, as each car has its own expert judge (all watched over by Chief Presiding Judge, Rick Race), who have test papers and pencil in hand, administering the test and documenting every step. It causes quite a bit of anxiety for both the owner and the mechanic/restorer of the car, but is evidently enjoyed by those so inclined. It is sponsored by Sandy Andrews, in memory of her late husband Donald, who started the Coppa at the Classic many years ago, and with support from the people at our favorite garage, Griot’s.
In the afternoon was the popular lecture series, with Chief Judge Ed Gilbertson giving his formidable insight into concours preparation, and here there is always something new to learn. Famous artist Jay Koka talked about the state of automotive art, what to look for, what’s valuable, and why. The final lecture was a return engagement actually. Two years ago, restorer Wayne Obry of Motion Products gave a hands-on look at a completely unrestored 375 America, the famous Agnelli car, showing everyone how a Ferrari was made in 1955. Now, after a complete restoration commissioned by owner Jack Thomas, the car was back and basked in the late Florida sun, all aglow as Wayne went over the car again, this time to detail all the things they learned while making the car perfect (it gained a rare 100 points at Pebble Beach in 2003).
For those with a more lively
and active spirit, there was the all day
track activity on Thursday at Moroso
Motorsports Park, where there were now the full sessions for a variety of
groups, dependent upon Ferrari type and driver experience. GT and Sports
divisions alternated each half hour all day, and interspersed was some practice
time for the Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge competitors. The variety of
Ferraris was unmatched, and you have only to scan the entry list to see all the
Ferraris present, and many of these were dedicated track cars, driven hard all
day.