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Welcome! On July 7th, I leave for London and will be meeting my sister and her husband, noted automotive journalist, Winston Goodfellow, who are coming in from Milan. On July 10th and 11th, we will be visiting the Aston Martin facilities in Newport Pagnell and Gaydon, UK. This journal will chronicle my trip. Buckle up!
Monday, July 21, 2003
EpilogueNow after nearly one week back in the "real world," I'm slowly getting back into the normal routine. It was, without a doubt, "the trip of a lifetime." Has it changed me? Well, let me just list a few things I've purchased in the week I've been back: Le Mans on DVD, the book Aston Martin by Rainer Schlegelmilch, and I put a deposit on the Scalextric Goodwood Ford GT40 Commemorative Set. In addition, I TiVo'ed everything on the Speed Channel having to do with Le Mans and got up early on Sunday morning to watch the British Grand Prix from Silverstone instead of the British Open golf. What's wrong with me? What ever it is, I think I like it!
In closing, I would again like to thank Denise and Winston for one of greatest birthday presents ever. I would also like to thank my incredible wife, Leslie, and my wonderful boys, Stuart and Scott, who made do without me for not only the week I was gone, but also the weeks heading into the trip and the week after as I prepared and then debriefed the adventure. And my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to my gracious and generous hosts, Mr. Wang, Ms. Prince and Mr. Watson of Aston Martin, and Mr. Dyble of the Premiere Auto Group.
I'm so very glad that I had the tools to document this amazing trip and means to share it with all of you as it happened. Although the subject matter may never be equaled, this will not be my last vacation adventure blog.
With Aston Martin memories,
Kurt
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Goodwood posts attendance figures for last weekend: 158,000 people over the three day festival!! See the offical press release, here.
Friday, July 18, 2003
A London Sunday
a recap of sunday, july 13th
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
After a long and well needed night of rest, Denise, Winston, and I took breakfast in our favorite French Cafe, Montparnasse on Thackeray Street. Outstanding. Winston wanted to hang out and catch up on some work, while Denise and I decided to take one of the walking tours of London. We choose "The London Walk" from the huge list of 21 different walks offered on Sundays by The Original London Walks.
For some reason we thought we were giving ourselves enough time to get from Kensington to the Westminster Tube station by leaving at 9:50 AM to make our meeting time of 10:15 AM. As we walked to the High Street Kensington Tube station, we realized time was tight, so we opted for a ride in a famous London cab to get us over to Westminster. Just when it became clear that we weren't going to make it, the driver informed us he could not take us all the way to the Tube station due to a marathon foot race that had the Westminster area all tangled up. By this time is was already 10:15 AM. Denise said, "no worries, I'm sure they will be around the meeting area collecting money, etc. until 10:25 or so."
We quickly made our way into the nearest entrance to the Westminster Tube station and searched for exit #4. Following the signs, in time we popped up the stairs right into the gathering of folks for the walking tour! Yeah! Once again, our timing was perfect. The tour took us by all the major sites: Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Place, the Changing of the Guard, etc. We had, of course, seen it all before, but it was great to be led down the quaint little back streets and alleys and hear the details and back stories from our guide. For example, the clock tower at the House of Parliament is not actually Big Ben. Big Ben is the bell within the tower that is not visible from the outside. I was not aware of that.
Our guide also told a few Winston anecdotes (Churchill that is, not Goodfellow): An woman adversary of Churchill's once said, "Churchill, if I was married to you, I would poison your tea." To which Churchill replied, "Madam, if I was married to you, I would gladly drink it." --- At a party, a woman once remarked, "Mr. Churchill, you're drunk!" Churchill answered, "Yes, I am and you, madam, are ugly. However, the difference between you and I is that in the morning I'll be sober, while you will still be ugly." --- A famous playwright once sent Churchill two tickets to opening night of his latest play with a note, "Churchill here are two tickets. Two tickets so that you can bring a friend, that is, of course, if you have one." Churchill wrote back, "I'm sorry, I will be unable to attend your opening night. But I do promise to attend to the second night, assuming there is one."
One good thing about the walk was its smart approach to the Changing of the Guards. Rather than wait the normally two hours before and then watch the long ceremony, our guide brought us right to the place where you can see the Palace Guards up close with just a couple of minutes to wait. And then we moved on to sweeping views of Buckingham Palace from The Mall.
After the 2-1/2 hour tour ended in Trafalgar Square with the outstanding weather, Denise and I did a little people watching and then walked down to the Embankment station where we tubed back to High Street Kensington to meet Winston for lunch at, where else, our little French Cafe. I bought an extra apple pastry to bring home to Leslie and the boys (it survived nicely). After lunch, Denise wanted to do "a little more" shopping, but luckily for Winston and I, it was Sunday and it really was just a "little" shopping because many of the stores were closed. However, that didn't stop us from Slone St., Harrods (surprisingly open on this Sunday), Bond St., Piccadilly, Oxford St., and Kensington High Street, where Winston and I ducked into a Virgin music store. Winston purchased, at my suggestion, the collector's edition of Curtis Mayfield's 1972 Superfly soundtrack. Winston explained that he and Denise are blaxploitation film aficionados, so it was a prefect fit. Plus Curtis Mayfield's music is fantasic. On our shopping venture, I was also able to pick up a few more items for Leslie.
I wanted to see Kensington Palace, so on our way out to shop, we walked up the broad walk though Kensington Park between the Round Pond and the Palace. It was, without a doubt, the best Sunday of the entire year weather-wise and the park was full of far too much searing white English flesh. It was shaping up to be a painful Monday at work for them with all that fried skin. We watched a few kids that were very impressive in-line skaters and then pressed on to the Queensway Tube station on the north side of the park.
At the end of the day, we ended up at the Notting Hill fish and chips restaurant, Geales, for dinner which you can read about and view pictures of, in what was a real-time post below. Our final full day in London was a glorious Sunday summer day capped by something I've always dreamed of, the finest English Fish and Chips!
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
After a long and well needed night of rest, Denise, Winston, and I took breakfast in our favorite French Cafe, Montparnasse on Thackeray Street. Outstanding. Winston wanted to hang out and catch up on some work, while Denise and I decided to take one of the walking tours of London. We choose "The London Walk" from the huge list of 21 different walks offered on Sundays by The Original London Walks.
For some reason we thought we were giving ourselves enough time to get from Kensington to the Westminster Tube station by leaving at 9:50 AM to make our meeting time of 10:15 AM. As we walked to the High Street Kensington Tube station, we realized time was tight, so we opted for a ride in a famous London cab to get us over to Westminster. Just when it became clear that we weren't going to make it, the driver informed us he could not take us all the way to the Tube station due to a marathon foot race that had the Westminster area all tangled up. By this time is was already 10:15 AM. Denise said, "no worries, I'm sure they will be around the meeting area collecting money, etc. until 10:25 or so."
We quickly made our way into the nearest entrance to the Westminster Tube station and searched for exit #4. Following the signs, in time we popped up the stairs right into the gathering of folks for the walking tour! Yeah! Once again, our timing was perfect. The tour took us by all the major sites: Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Place, the Changing of the Guard, etc. We had, of course, seen it all before, but it was great to be led down the quaint little back streets and alleys and hear the details and back stories from our guide. For example, the clock tower at the House of Parliament is not actually Big Ben. Big Ben is the bell within the tower that is not visible from the outside. I was not aware of that.
Our guide also told a few Winston anecdotes (Churchill that is, not Goodfellow): An woman adversary of Churchill's once said, "Churchill, if I was married to you, I would poison your tea." To which Churchill replied, "Madam, if I was married to you, I would gladly drink it." --- At a party, a woman once remarked, "Mr. Churchill, you're drunk!" Churchill answered, "Yes, I am and you, madam, are ugly. However, the difference between you and I is that in the morning I'll be sober, while you will still be ugly." --- A famous playwright once sent Churchill two tickets to opening night of his latest play with a note, "Churchill here are two tickets. Two tickets so that you can bring a friend, that is, of course, if you have one." Churchill wrote back, "I'm sorry, I will be unable to attend your opening night. But I do promise to attend to the second night, assuming there is one."
One good thing about the walk was its smart approach to the Changing of the Guards. Rather than wait the normally two hours before and then watch the long ceremony, our guide brought us right to the place where you can see the Palace Guards up close with just a couple of minutes to wait. And then we moved on to sweeping views of Buckingham Palace from The Mall.
After the 2-1/2 hour tour ended in Trafalgar Square with the outstanding weather, Denise and I did a little people watching and then walked down to the Embankment station where we tubed back to High Street Kensington to meet Winston for lunch at, where else, our little French Cafe. I bought an extra apple pastry to bring home to Leslie and the boys (it survived nicely). After lunch, Denise wanted to do "a little more" shopping, but luckily for Winston and I, it was Sunday and it really was just a "little" shopping because many of the stores were closed. However, that didn't stop us from Slone St., Harrods (surprisingly open on this Sunday), Bond St., Piccadilly, Oxford St., and Kensington High Street, where Winston and I ducked into a Virgin music store. Winston purchased, at my suggestion, the collector's edition of Curtis Mayfield's 1972 Superfly soundtrack. Winston explained that he and Denise are blaxploitation film aficionados, so it was a prefect fit. Plus Curtis Mayfield's music is fantasic. On our shopping venture, I was also able to pick up a few more items for Leslie.
I wanted to see Kensington Palace, so on our way out to shop, we walked up the broad walk though Kensington Park between the Round Pond and the Palace. It was, without a doubt, the best Sunday of the entire year weather-wise and the park was full of far too much searing white English flesh. It was shaping up to be a painful Monday at work for them with all that fried skin. We watched a few kids that were very impressive in-line skaters and then pressed on to the Queensway Tube station on the north side of the park.
At the end of the day, we ended up at the Notting Hill fish and chips restaurant, Geales, for dinner which you can read about and view pictures of, in what was a real-time post below. Our final full day in London was a glorious Sunday summer day capped by something I've always dreamed of, the finest English Fish and Chips!
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Rather than create a new entry to cover the rest of Goodwood, I have, instead, added more to the bottom of the previous post "Namedropping from Goodwood". Please scroll down and read it up!
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Namedropping from Goodwood
a recap of the saturday, july 12th afternoon
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
Give me Goodwood on a summer's day and you can forget the rest of the world. -- Roy Salvadori
Okay, well here we go: The Afternoon at Goodwood (actually occurred on Saturday, July 12th). Read the "Goodwood Festival of Speed" post from Monday, July 14th below for the recap of the morning at Goodwood. This is the afternoon recap.
After gawking at the wild street machines in the Bookland Supercar Paddock, we met up with Valentino Balboni, the legendary senior test driver from Lamborghini and, of course, also a very good friend of Winston. Mr. Balboni has only ever had one job and has been with Lamborghini for 35 years. Back in 1973, he was the apprentice of the Lamborghini's original test driver, the famous Bob Wallace. Since that time, Mr. Balboni has tested and assisted in the development of nearly every single Lamborghini. Including, of course, the new Lamborghini Gallardo. More on that in a bit.
When we finished our visit with Valentino Balboni, Winston suggested that we might be able to get lunch in the Ford hospitality pavilion. Every year at Goodwood, one automotive manufacturer is selected as "The Featured Marque". This year that distinction belonged to Ford. That meant that there were many special displays of Fords, such as the Goodwood Central Display that I discussed in a previous post. It also meant that the Ford hospitality pavilion was the best positioned hospitality pavilion on the Hillclimb course. The hospitality pavilions at Goodwood were very much like golf tournament hospitality pavilions -- great views, great food, giveaways, famous people, and private by special invitation only. Therefore making them the hottest ticket at the event. Did I have any doubt that Winston would get us in? After the events of this week, are you kidding? As we approached the huge Ford pavilion with the outside deck overlooking the Hillclimb track, Winston spotted someone he knew (surprise) out on the deck above us. Before the words, "There's our man" could escape his mouth, "Our Man" saw Winston and shouted out, "Hey Winston!! Come on up!!" "Our Man" met us at the security entrance and immediately directed the guard with "These people are free to come and go as they please all day as my guests." Without hesitation the guard replied, "Yes, sir!"
Introductions were made and I learn our host at the Ford hospitality pavilion is Stuart Dyble, Director of Worldwide Communications and Public Affairs of Ford's Premier Automotive Group. Mr. Dyble was wearing pulled-down racing coveralls, so clearly he was running one of the cars up the Hillclimb. As he and Winston take to chatting, he said, "Hey Winston, I'm going to run the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish up the Hillclimb, you should come with me. It will be great." In a gesture I will never forget, Winston says, "Oh, that's okay, I'm sure I would be able to do that with you anytime." Pointing at me, he says, "Here's the guy you should take on a run. He's a gonzo Aston Martin fan." I couldn't believe it! My mind starts to fill with images of waving at the crowds of thousands as Mr. Dyble rips us up the Hillclimb in the Aston Martin flagship. Talk about being in a parade. However, I come back down to Earth when he says, "Well, we've already gone off today, you guys are going to be here tomorrow, right?" Aahh! At this point I'm thinking screw Sunday in London, I'll sleep under a tree and hitch-hike back to London Sunday night. So close, but just how over the top can you be? Oh well, I guess I will have to just live with the half an hour V12 spin by the top factory test driver. Life is full of compromises. :-)
Entering the pavilion in search of food, we run into Jeremy Main, Aston Martin's Chief Engineer and Director of Product Development, whom Winston had interviewed the day before. He insists that we join his table for lunch with his son and Graham Humphreys and his wife. Graham Humphreys is the renown motor sport designer formerly with Williams Grand Prix Engineering. Mr. Humphreys designed the 1999 Le Mans-winning BMW V12 LMR along with 9 former Le Mans winners! He has been at the helm of motor sports engineering for Aston Martin since 2000. Perhaps they are plotting their way back into racing? Seated at the next table over was Robert Coucher, Editor of the hot, new UK-based, Octane magazine. Another close personal friend of Winston's? Yes, well, Winston is the U.S. Editor of the magazine. Here's a quote from a letter to the magazine regarding July's 1st issue: "It's like a breath of fresh air to read a well-written, well-informed, well-compiled magazine at long last, aimed at (and written by) people who know their stuff. In short, a class act!"
After a wonderful lunch, Denise and I settle into chairs on the deck sporting a King's view of the Goodwood Hillclimb track while Winston heads off on a schmoozing mission. Our timing was prefect, first up is the Supercar Run. I got a little camera happy with the Canon EOS 10D practicing my skills with the motor drive (3 pictures a second) and hand-held track panning of the high speed cars. After the Supercars and while we are waiting for the Goodwood Gravity Racing Club Dunhill Challenge of hi-tech soapbox racers (in pairs) to silently make their way down the Hillclimb, someone says, "Hey Denise, where's your hubby?" We turn and Denise says, "Hi J! How are you?" and then introduces me to J Mays, Design Chief of the entire Ford Motor Corporation (also see this article from USA Today). Where does it end? I'm halfway expecting the ghost of Henry Ford, himself, to appear and say, "Hi Kurt, Winston and Denise wanted me to take you for a ride through the English countryside in this Model A Ford..."
----
There's still more to come, check back again, when I will drop even more names from the Saturday afternoon at Goodwood.
----
I'm back! After our chat with J Mays, we turned our attention back to the soapbox racers. About that time, one of last racers entered the so-called "Molecomb" turn at the top of our view a bit too fast and with screaming brakes, crashed into the far hay bales. Within a few minutes the driver was up and about, raising his arm in a mock triumphant gesture to the cheers of the crowd. His soapbox, however, didn't fair quite as well and was smashed up, needing to be carried off the track.
Following the soapbox racers, was a crowd favorite: full size, running vehicles and characters from the Hanna Barbera cartoon series, "The Wacky Races". This year's Goodwood Festival of Speed added The Slag Brothers' Bouldermobile to collection of Dick Dastardly and Muttley's Mean Machine, The Gruesome Twosome's Creepy Coupe, Professor Pat Pending's Convert-a-Car, Penelope Pitstop's Compact Pusseycat, and Peter Perfect's Turbo Terrific. Fun! That was always one of my favorite cartoons as a kid and I don't deny the influence of Professor Pat Pending in making me the man I am today. ;-)
Denise and I watched part of the next batch of cars running the Hillclimb, Classes 1,2, and 3. Cars ranging from "The Precursors", including a wild 1920 Leyat Helica powered by a 4-1/2 foot wooden propeller, to "The Edwardian Road Racers" of 1900-1914 to "The International Oval and GP Racers" of 1907-1939. "The Heat and Dust" Class 2 was scheduled to include the 1917-type Hall-Scott A7A owned and driven by one of my Mother's closest friends, Dick DeLuna. Unfortunately, it was scratched from the running at the last minute. Mr. DeLuna is described as a Goodwood habitual visitor, is a regular exhibitor at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and has one hell of an amazing car collection! I spent this time using my DV video camera for the first and only time on the trip, so no photos. If anything stands out on the video, I will extract some frames and post as pictures.
About 3:20 PM, Denise and I reluctantly left the comforts of the Ford hospitality pavilion and went to met Winston back over at the Supercar Paddock. My only regret is that I only had a chance to see one Formula One racer scream its way up the Hillclimb. It was the 1986 Lotus-Renault 98T, the last JPS Lotus ever to compete in a Grand Prix when the late, great Ayrton Senna drove it in the Australian GP in 1986. I could have sat there all day, regardless how sunburned I got. Simply breathtaking.
Back at the Supercar Paddock, Winston chatting up a storm in Italian with one of his very best friends, the award-winning designer, Fabrizio Giugiaro, the head of Styling at Italdesign. Holy cow! One amazing man, Fabrizio Giugiaro is the designer the Corvette Moray concept car you see us in with him here, the previously mentioned new Lamborghini Gallardo, and many other exotics. Fabrizio's father, Giorgetto Giugiaro, founder of Italdesign, was recently voted Designer of the Century! I repeat, ...of the Century!! Here's a short list of his work (my hand picks): Volkwagen Scirocco, Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit, the De Lorean (!), Saab 9000 Turbo, ...
When Mr. Giugiaro had to run off on business, Denise, Winston and I finished our day at Goodwood exploring the many vendor tents where we picked up additional souvenirs, including some detailed Aston Martin scale models to adorn the bedroom shelves of two very lucky boys. All in all, a one-day experience not to be equaled any time soon, if ever. If you are ever able to attend Goodwood, even as a mere mortal :-), do it! Memories that will last a lifetime, well maybe: I want to attend many more times in my life. It was a dream!
We departed Goodwood and drove the Jag back to our accommodations in Kensington that evening, arriving around 8 PM. The plan was to freshen up and then go grab some dinner. At nine o'clock, Denise said I was nearly impossible to wake. I didn't and I spent the rest of the night sleeping in all my clothes on top of the bed with the all the lights on and the radio playing. I believe I also had a big smile on my face.
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
Give me Goodwood on a summer's day and you can forget the rest of the world. -- Roy Salvadori
Okay, well here we go: The Afternoon at Goodwood (actually occurred on Saturday, July 12th). Read the "Goodwood Festival of Speed" post from Monday, July 14th below for the recap of the morning at Goodwood. This is the afternoon recap.
After gawking at the wild street machines in the Bookland Supercar Paddock, we met up with Valentino Balboni, the legendary senior test driver from Lamborghini and, of course, also a very good friend of Winston. Mr. Balboni has only ever had one job and has been with Lamborghini for 35 years. Back in 1973, he was the apprentice of the Lamborghini's original test driver, the famous Bob Wallace. Since that time, Mr. Balboni has tested and assisted in the development of nearly every single Lamborghini. Including, of course, the new Lamborghini Gallardo. More on that in a bit.
When we finished our visit with Valentino Balboni, Winston suggested that we might be able to get lunch in the Ford hospitality pavilion. Every year at Goodwood, one automotive manufacturer is selected as "The Featured Marque". This year that distinction belonged to Ford. That meant that there were many special displays of Fords, such as the Goodwood Central Display that I discussed in a previous post. It also meant that the Ford hospitality pavilion was the best positioned hospitality pavilion on the Hillclimb course. The hospitality pavilions at Goodwood were very much like golf tournament hospitality pavilions -- great views, great food, giveaways, famous people, and private by special invitation only. Therefore making them the hottest ticket at the event. Did I have any doubt that Winston would get us in? After the events of this week, are you kidding? As we approached the huge Ford pavilion with the outside deck overlooking the Hillclimb track, Winston spotted someone he knew (surprise) out on the deck above us. Before the words, "There's our man" could escape his mouth, "Our Man" saw Winston and shouted out, "Hey Winston!! Come on up!!" "Our Man" met us at the security entrance and immediately directed the guard with "These people are free to come and go as they please all day as my guests." Without hesitation the guard replied, "Yes, sir!"
Introductions were made and I learn our host at the Ford hospitality pavilion is Stuart Dyble, Director of Worldwide Communications and Public Affairs of Ford's Premier Automotive Group. Mr. Dyble was wearing pulled-down racing coveralls, so clearly he was running one of the cars up the Hillclimb. As he and Winston take to chatting, he said, "Hey Winston, I'm going to run the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish up the Hillclimb, you should come with me. It will be great." In a gesture I will never forget, Winston says, "Oh, that's okay, I'm sure I would be able to do that with you anytime." Pointing at me, he says, "Here's the guy you should take on a run. He's a gonzo Aston Martin fan." I couldn't believe it! My mind starts to fill with images of waving at the crowds of thousands as Mr. Dyble rips us up the Hillclimb in the Aston Martin flagship. Talk about being in a parade. However, I come back down to Earth when he says, "Well, we've already gone off today, you guys are going to be here tomorrow, right?" Aahh! At this point I'm thinking screw Sunday in London, I'll sleep under a tree and hitch-hike back to London Sunday night. So close, but just how over the top can you be? Oh well, I guess I will have to just live with the half an hour V12 spin by the top factory test driver. Life is full of compromises. :-)
Entering the pavilion in search of food, we run into Jeremy Main, Aston Martin's Chief Engineer and Director of Product Development, whom Winston had interviewed the day before. He insists that we join his table for lunch with his son and Graham Humphreys and his wife. Graham Humphreys is the renown motor sport designer formerly with Williams Grand Prix Engineering. Mr. Humphreys designed the 1999 Le Mans-winning BMW V12 LMR along with 9 former Le Mans winners! He has been at the helm of motor sports engineering for Aston Martin since 2000. Perhaps they are plotting their way back into racing? Seated at the next table over was Robert Coucher, Editor of the hot, new UK-based, Octane magazine. Another close personal friend of Winston's? Yes, well, Winston is the U.S. Editor of the magazine. Here's a quote from a letter to the magazine regarding July's 1st issue: "It's like a breath of fresh air to read a well-written, well-informed, well-compiled magazine at long last, aimed at (and written by) people who know their stuff. In short, a class act!"
After a wonderful lunch, Denise and I settle into chairs on the deck sporting a King's view of the Goodwood Hillclimb track while Winston heads off on a schmoozing mission. Our timing was prefect, first up is the Supercar Run. I got a little camera happy with the Canon EOS 10D practicing my skills with the motor drive (3 pictures a second) and hand-held track panning of the high speed cars. After the Supercars and while we are waiting for the Goodwood Gravity Racing Club Dunhill Challenge of hi-tech soapbox racers (in pairs) to silently make their way down the Hillclimb, someone says, "Hey Denise, where's your hubby?" We turn and Denise says, "Hi J! How are you?" and then introduces me to J Mays, Design Chief of the entire Ford Motor Corporation (also see this article from USA Today). Where does it end? I'm halfway expecting the ghost of Henry Ford, himself, to appear and say, "Hi Kurt, Winston and Denise wanted me to take you for a ride through the English countryside in this Model A Ford..."
----
There's still more to come, check back again, when I will drop even more names from the Saturday afternoon at Goodwood.
----
I'm back! After our chat with J Mays, we turned our attention back to the soapbox racers. About that time, one of last racers entered the so-called "Molecomb" turn at the top of our view a bit too fast and with screaming brakes, crashed into the far hay bales. Within a few minutes the driver was up and about, raising his arm in a mock triumphant gesture to the cheers of the crowd. His soapbox, however, didn't fair quite as well and was smashed up, needing to be carried off the track.
Following the soapbox racers, was a crowd favorite: full size, running vehicles and characters from the Hanna Barbera cartoon series, "The Wacky Races". This year's Goodwood Festival of Speed added The Slag Brothers' Bouldermobile to collection of Dick Dastardly and Muttley's Mean Machine, The Gruesome Twosome's Creepy Coupe, Professor Pat Pending's Convert-a-Car, Penelope Pitstop's Compact Pusseycat, and Peter Perfect's Turbo Terrific. Fun! That was always one of my favorite cartoons as a kid and I don't deny the influence of Professor Pat Pending in making me the man I am today. ;-)
Denise and I watched part of the next batch of cars running the Hillclimb, Classes 1,2, and 3. Cars ranging from "The Precursors", including a wild 1920 Leyat Helica powered by a 4-1/2 foot wooden propeller, to "The Edwardian Road Racers" of 1900-1914 to "The International Oval and GP Racers" of 1907-1939. "The Heat and Dust" Class 2 was scheduled to include the 1917-type Hall-Scott A7A owned and driven by one of my Mother's closest friends, Dick DeLuna. Unfortunately, it was scratched from the running at the last minute. Mr. DeLuna is described as a Goodwood habitual visitor, is a regular exhibitor at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and has one hell of an amazing car collection! I spent this time using my DV video camera for the first and only time on the trip, so no photos. If anything stands out on the video, I will extract some frames and post as pictures.
About 3:20 PM, Denise and I reluctantly left the comforts of the Ford hospitality pavilion and went to met Winston back over at the Supercar Paddock. My only regret is that I only had a chance to see one Formula One racer scream its way up the Hillclimb. It was the 1986 Lotus-Renault 98T, the last JPS Lotus ever to compete in a Grand Prix when the late, great Ayrton Senna drove it in the Australian GP in 1986. I could have sat there all day, regardless how sunburned I got. Simply breathtaking.
Back at the Supercar Paddock, Winston chatting up a storm in Italian with one of his very best friends, the award-winning designer, Fabrizio Giugiaro, the head of Styling at Italdesign. Holy cow! One amazing man, Fabrizio Giugiaro is the designer the Corvette Moray concept car you see us in with him here, the previously mentioned new Lamborghini Gallardo, and many other exotics. Fabrizio's father, Giorgetto Giugiaro, founder of Italdesign, was recently voted Designer of the Century! I repeat, ...of the Century!! Here's a short list of his work (my hand picks): Volkwagen Scirocco, Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit, the De Lorean (!), Saab 9000 Turbo, ...
When Mr. Giugiaro had to run off on business, Denise, Winston and I finished our day at Goodwood exploring the many vendor tents where we picked up additional souvenirs, including some detailed Aston Martin scale models to adorn the bedroom shelves of two very lucky boys. All in all, a one-day experience not to be equaled any time soon, if ever. If you are ever able to attend Goodwood, even as a mere mortal :-), do it! Memories that will last a lifetime, well maybe: I want to attend many more times in my life. It was a dream!
We departed Goodwood and drove the Jag back to our accommodations in Kensington that evening, arriving around 8 PM. The plan was to freshen up and then go grab some dinner. At nine o'clock, Denise said I was nearly impossible to wake. I didn't and I spent the rest of the night sleeping in all my clothes on top of the bed with the all the lights on and the radio playing. I believe I also had a big smile on my face.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Home again, home again,...I did the right thing: spent the evening doing family time rather than typing away the rest of the story. Tomorrow should see the remaining recaps. I was able to squeak in some printing of a few select shots from the trip. Stunning!
Just wanted to let you know that now that I'm back to the world of broadband, I have posted some pictures of Goodwood and made some corrections and enhancements to some of previous posts. Feel free to re-read, if you are so inclined. You might learn something new! I will be continuing to do this for the next week or so. The promised afternoon at Goodwood and Sunday in London coming soon (maybe tonight). Plus more pictures!!
Monday, July 14, 2003
Well that week sure flew by. I got home about 6:30 PM Seattle time and I'm now ready to head to bed. I still owe you all the recap of the second half of Goodwood and the Sunday in London.
Let's see if I'm still awake after work tomorrow. I also need to post some of the amazing photos.
Chicago to Seattle, wheels up to touchdown: 4:22:04
Let's see if I'm still awake after work tomorrow. I also need to post some of the amazing photos.
Chicago to Seattle, wheels up to touchdown: 4:22:04
Here at O'Hare. Denise's plane to San Francisco leaves at 2:54 and mine to Seattle at 3:06 local. Just hanging out for a few minutes.
Goodwood Festival of Speed
a recap of saturday, july 12th
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
Over the last ten years, many of world's legendary drivers and riders have come to Goodwood to enjoy a truly unique and breathtaking collection of cars and bikes from all around the globe.
Thank you for your patience. Here it is the long awaited recap of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Wasup? b4 I start I want to give a shout out to my Doggz who don't think I know the lingo. cya when I get back homeboyz. TCCIC.
We woke up early and quickly departed for our 3 hour drive down from the Wroxton House (our hotel for two days) to the Goodwood House (somewhat near Portsmouth). It was quite a ride of luxury in the Jaguar XJ6 sedan, munching on croissants and other breakfast goodies we had picked the night before. We used my laptop with Microsoft MapPoint Europe, the AGPS plug-in software, and my Garmin GPS to navigate. Quite an effective tool for the co-pilot (or the backseat driver that I was).
Arrival at Goodwood is breathtaking. A valley of mowed grass with an mansion (or was that a castle) at the opposite end serves as the parking lot for nearly 47,000 cars. Several helicopters were in flight and taking off and landing, offering airborne tours of the setting. With the weather so amazing, 85 degrees, no wind, not a cloud in the sky, I kick myself for not splurging (but we are on a budget, right Les?).
After passing through the main entry gates we found ourselves adjacent to the "Hillclimb" course where all types of motor sport zip up the hill. The roar of the engines is intoxicating and would cause your head to automatically spin towards the track all day, no matter where you were, to try to catch a glimpse as cars ripped by.
After walking down past the main grandstands and across the track bridge (it is all enclosed to avoid the people traffic that would be caused by the incredible photo op), we were facing the vertical, soaring Goodwood kinetic sculpture. A massive sculpture, it had three, full size, Ford GT race cars mounted on it as if one end of a piece of race track had been lifted vertically into the sky, the cars racing toward the ground. Every so often, a mist of water would shoot out the back of each of the cars for several minutes, maybe ten, simulating smoke while at the same time providing a cooling mist of water for the nearby spectators. When this would happen, the windshield wipers would come on on each of the three cars. Acording to the official programme, the sculpture acurately recreates, complete with the rain and headlights, the finish of the 1966 Le Mans where three Ford GT40s (or three Ford GT MkIIs, to use their proper name) crossed the line in 1-2-3 formattion. The actual real GT40s cars that won 1-2-3 in the '66 Le Mans were on display below. The backdrop behind this cool sculpture was the wide expanse of the Goodwood House itself, called a "house", I'm sure it was actually a castle.
Past the castle and the sculpture we came to the Cartier 'Style et Luxe', a car show within Goodwood. I photographed many of the enteries including, the 1961 Corvette Mako Shark (making its first appearance in the UK), the 1956 Aston Martin DB2/4 Touring (one of only four ever made), and the 1956 Ferrari 250GT Zagato owned by Winston and Denise's close friend David Sydorick who was standing near by. We talked with Mr. Sydorick for a bit, took some photos and pressed on.
I should say that being with Winston at an event like Goodwood makes it hard to move quickly. Every 500 yards or so, he would run into another famous or important automotive person that was thrilled to see him and they would launch into immediate conversation. I met so many people that day that were either automotive legends of history or were making the current history. Incredible (have I used that word yet? :-))
It was on then to the Brookland Supercar Paddock, stocked full of the most incredible set of today's street machines and concept cars. See if any of these ring a bell: Ferrari 360M Challenge Stradale, Ferrari Enzo, Ford GT, Lamborghini Gallardo, Pininfarina Ferrari Rossa (Denise sweet talked her way into the drivers seat for a photo by using some of her Italian on the caretaker), Pagani Zonda C12S and, of course, the now very familiar Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.
Well, the battery is getting low so I must sign off in order to have enough juice to transmit this from the airport in Chicago. According to the visual map on the TV monitors in the plane, we are nearly across the Atlantic, almost over Goose Bay, Canada? on the eastern seaboard.
From my seat on the Boeing 777,
Kurt
Departures All Gates
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
Over the last ten years, many of world's legendary drivers and riders have come to Goodwood to enjoy a truly unique and breathtaking collection of cars and bikes from all around the globe.
Thank you for your patience. Here it is the long awaited recap of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Wasup? b4 I start I want to give a shout out to my Doggz who don't think I know the lingo. cya when I get back homeboyz. TCCIC.
We woke up early and quickly departed for our 3 hour drive down from the Wroxton House (our hotel for two days) to the Goodwood House (somewhat near Portsmouth). It was quite a ride of luxury in the Jaguar XJ6 sedan, munching on croissants and other breakfast goodies we had picked the night before. We used my laptop with Microsoft MapPoint Europe, the AGPS plug-in software, and my Garmin GPS to navigate. Quite an effective tool for the co-pilot (or the backseat driver that I was).
Arrival at Goodwood is breathtaking. A valley of mowed grass with an mansion (or was that a castle) at the opposite end serves as the parking lot for nearly 47,000 cars. Several helicopters were in flight and taking off and landing, offering airborne tours of the setting. With the weather so amazing, 85 degrees, no wind, not a cloud in the sky, I kick myself for not splurging (but we are on a budget, right Les?).
After passing through the main entry gates we found ourselves adjacent to the "Hillclimb" course where all types of motor sport zip up the hill. The roar of the engines is intoxicating and would cause your head to automatically spin towards the track all day, no matter where you were, to try to catch a glimpse as cars ripped by.
After walking down past the main grandstands and across the track bridge (it is all enclosed to avoid the people traffic that would be caused by the incredible photo op), we were facing the vertical, soaring Goodwood kinetic sculpture. A massive sculpture, it had three, full size, Ford GT race cars mounted on it as if one end of a piece of race track had been lifted vertically into the sky, the cars racing toward the ground. Every so often, a mist of water would shoot out the back of each of the cars for several minutes, maybe ten, simulating smoke while at the same time providing a cooling mist of water for the nearby spectators. When this would happen, the windshield wipers would come on on each of the three cars. Acording to the official programme, the sculpture acurately recreates, complete with the rain and headlights, the finish of the 1966 Le Mans where three Ford GT40s (or three Ford GT MkIIs, to use their proper name) crossed the line in 1-2-3 formattion. The actual real GT40s cars that won 1-2-3 in the '66 Le Mans were on display below. The backdrop behind this cool sculpture was the wide expanse of the Goodwood House itself, called a "house", I'm sure it was actually a castle.
Past the castle and the sculpture we came to the Cartier 'Style et Luxe', a car show within Goodwood. I photographed many of the enteries including, the 1961 Corvette Mako Shark (making its first appearance in the UK), the 1956 Aston Martin DB2/4 Touring (one of only four ever made), and the 1956 Ferrari 250GT Zagato owned by Winston and Denise's close friend David Sydorick who was standing near by. We talked with Mr. Sydorick for a bit, took some photos and pressed on.
I should say that being with Winston at an event like Goodwood makes it hard to move quickly. Every 500 yards or so, he would run into another famous or important automotive person that was thrilled to see him and they would launch into immediate conversation. I met so many people that day that were either automotive legends of history or were making the current history. Incredible (have I used that word yet? :-))
It was on then to the Brookland Supercar Paddock, stocked full of the most incredible set of today's street machines and concept cars. See if any of these ring a bell: Ferrari 360M Challenge Stradale, Ferrari Enzo, Ford GT, Lamborghini Gallardo, Pininfarina Ferrari Rossa (Denise sweet talked her way into the drivers seat for a photo by using some of her Italian on the caretaker), Pagani Zonda C12S and, of course, the now very familiar Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.
Well, the battery is getting low so I must sign off in order to have enough juice to transmit this from the airport in Chicago. According to the visual map on the TV monitors in the plane, we are nearly across the Atlantic, almost over Goose Bay, Canada? on the eastern seaboard.
From my seat on the Boeing 777,
Kurt
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
Here's a quick message as Denise and I are sitting on the plane at Heathrow. AA 87 bound for Chicago and then on to Seattle for me and San Francisco for Denise.
A two hour layover in Chicago, so more then.
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Goodbye KensingtonWell, my bags are packed and I'm ready to go. Sounds like a song. 7:00 AM in London and we are waiting for our car to Heathrow to arrive at 7:15. I can't believe I got all that stuff back into my bags. John and Martha would be proud. Speaking of Martha, I would like to say to her and JoAnn that although the data will need anaylsis back at the lab, the prototype seems to have performed perfectly. :-)
Winston departed last night to head back up to Newport Pagnell for another interview with an Aston Martin excutive. We said our goodbyes last night around 9 PM after we finished our Fish and Chips dinner.
Well, once again I'm out of time and must sign off. I'm sure Denise and I will be composing the much antisipated Goodwood recap at Heathrow, on the plane, and in Chicago perhaps.
So for now I say ta-ta to London.
Sorry to disappoint, but it's 11:52 PM in London and I just finished packing. Tomorrow, the car to the airport will be picking us up at 7:15 AM. So the recap of the awesome day at Goodwood and today's great day in London will have to wait.
Everybody kept saying to me, "sounds like the trip of a lifetime." They were right. The things I saw, the people I met, and the places we went were almost beyond reality. I'm so greatful to Winston and Denise and their many friends who extended their generousity to me creating so many great memories.
Just wait until I tell you about Goodwood. Amazing.
The place we stayed the first night and the last two presented a few challenges with regard to connectivity and power, so it was somewhat more difficult to blog here. Posting pictures was not feasable. I have the most incredible photos that I will share when I return home.
Thank you for reading my blog of this trip. Stay tuned for more when I get home as I will fully recap Goodwood and our last day in London.
From Kensington,
Kurt
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
After trapesing all over London this afternoon, we have landed at Geales, a splended fish and chips restaurant in Notting Hill. We are just about to order. Selection of 9 types of fish for your fish and chips.
I should be able to give a full recap of Goodwood and our day in London today later tonight look for an update around 3 PM PDT.
Cheery-oh!
No time to blog yesterday. Too much good Goodwood. Standing in a store with Winston on Oxford St. waiting for D as I tap and post this. Amazing world.
Friday, July 11, 2003
The Main Event, Pt. 2
a recap of friday, july 11th
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
Before I recap today's events (another incredible day), let me finish up on yesterday's (7/10) that I didn't have time to cover this morning. After the test drive and lunch, Winston and I shot tons of photos of the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish assembly line. A truly hand built car in a wonderful old factory. As the cars come together step by step, they are moved station to station on dollies by hand. Guys were hand tweaking the aluminum body panels with files and hammers. All of the pieces of the body are bonded to the aluminum tub chassis with an advanced adhesive (no welding). The massive V12 engines are delivery to the site pre-assembled and once the body is assembled it is lowered over the engine. The engine is so big that, for the first time in Aston Martin history, it could not be inserted into the car, but rather, the car has to be lowered over it.
Aston Martin moved to Newport Pagnell in 1958 when they purchased the Salmon/Tickfords coachworks that stood on the same site. The first Aston Martin built here was the DB4. This was followed by the DB4 GT and DB4 GT Zagato and the most famous Aston Martin of all time, the DB5, the James Bond car, in 1963. An excellent overview of the cars produced over the history of Aston Martin can be found on the UK Aston Martin Owners Club website. Click on "Features" and then "AM Model Guide" on the left hand side nav bar.
After we wrapped up the photography, our contact presented us all with wonderful gifts. Denise got a beautiful scarf with the AM logo and what looks like a V8 Volante. Winston and I received silver Aston Martin cufflinks in very cool Aston Martin monogrammed boxes. Quite unexpected, and very much appreciated. Thank you Barbara at Aston Martin!! Before we left the factory in Newport Pagnell, I was also able to acquire another special surprise item for a couple of kids I know. :-)
As we had already checked out of the hotel in the morning and loaded our wheels for the week, the Jag XJ6 (that car is nice), we drove straight over to another Aston Factory a little over an hour away (not the two hours I mentioned below). After checking in the very Shakespeare-like Inn, we walked into the village and ate dinner on a picnic table in the grassy courtyard of a nice pub. I had a pint of bitters and the steak pie with chips. Very British, baby. It was really good. The weather has just been amazing. I'm glad we packed lots of short sleeved shirts. Today I got a bit of a sunburn on my face.
Unfortunately I can't say much about the events of today, because almost everything we saw was top secret. And I'm not kidding. We got to see the research and development prototyping garage and I'm not allowed to talk about anything I saw in there. Winston is one of very few non-Aston Martin ever to go in there and even he was quite surprised that Denise and I were able to tag along. He thought we were going to be asked to wait outside. Quite a thrill and I would say the future of Aston Martin is going to be awesome.
After a tour of the facilities by the Director of Public Relations (reports directly to the CEO), Denise and I were able to sit in on Winston's private interviews with the Chief Engineer of the entire company and the Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez, himself. Both of interviews were quite fascinating and it was thrilling to meet all of these company executives. I'm not sure I am putting enough on this. It was really quite an experience.
On top of all this I got to see and photograph, with Winston, the new Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage concept car that was first shown at the most recent Detroit Auto Show. Let me just say, and mark my words, this is the Aston Martin I will one day own. In my mind it is the most beautiful Aston Martin of the current production of DB7 and the V12 Vanquish cars. And best of all (Leslie make note), it will be the most affordable priced AM. We spent hours photographing this car and I kid you not when I tell you that I took over 200 photos of this baby. The location and weather were just perfect and the subject matter breathtaking. Denise started to tire of me saying, "it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine."
To top off the day, Ian Callum, the legendary designer of the DB7, the V12 Vanquish, and many other amazing cars (he is now in charge of design at Jaguar), dropped by the photo shoot just to say hello to Winston. It was unbelievable to meet so many of these people in one day. What a thrill, is all I can say (for the third time).
After we wrapped and said our thanks and goodbyes, our AM contact handed us passes to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Too cool. Tomorrow we will be leaving about 6:30 AM to make the 2 hour or so drive down to Goodwood. It's going to be yet another amazing day.
Click on the photos for a bigger view, then use the back button on your browser to get back to this page.
Before I recap today's events (another incredible day), let me finish up on yesterday's (7/10) that I didn't have time to cover this morning. After the test drive and lunch, Winston and I shot tons of photos of the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish assembly line. A truly hand built car in a wonderful old factory. As the cars come together step by step, they are moved station to station on dollies by hand. Guys were hand tweaking the aluminum body panels with files and hammers. All of the pieces of the body are bonded to the aluminum tub chassis with an advanced adhesive (no welding). The massive V12 engines are delivery to the site pre-assembled and once the body is assembled it is lowered over the engine. The engine is so big that, for the first time in Aston Martin history, it could not be inserted into the car, but rather, the car has to be lowered over it.
Aston Martin moved to Newport Pagnell in 1958 when they purchased the Salmon/Tickfords coachworks that stood on the same site. The first Aston Martin built here was the DB4. This was followed by the DB4 GT and DB4 GT Zagato and the most famous Aston Martin of all time, the DB5, the James Bond car, in 1963. An excellent overview of the cars produced over the history of Aston Martin can be found on the UK Aston Martin Owners Club website. Click on "Features" and then "AM Model Guide" on the left hand side nav bar.
After we wrapped up the photography, our contact presented us all with wonderful gifts. Denise got a beautiful scarf with the AM logo and what looks like a V8 Volante. Winston and I received silver Aston Martin cufflinks in very cool Aston Martin monogrammed boxes. Quite unexpected, and very much appreciated. Thank you Barbara at Aston Martin!! Before we left the factory in Newport Pagnell, I was also able to acquire another special surprise item for a couple of kids I know. :-)
As we had already checked out of the hotel in the morning and loaded our wheels for the week, the Jag XJ6 (that car is nice), we drove straight over to another Aston Factory a little over an hour away (not the two hours I mentioned below). After checking in the very Shakespeare-like Inn, we walked into the village and ate dinner on a picnic table in the grassy courtyard of a nice pub. I had a pint of bitters and the steak pie with chips. Very British, baby. It was really good. The weather has just been amazing. I'm glad we packed lots of short sleeved shirts. Today I got a bit of a sunburn on my face.
Unfortunately I can't say much about the events of today, because almost everything we saw was top secret. And I'm not kidding. We got to see the research and development prototyping garage and I'm not allowed to talk about anything I saw in there. Winston is one of very few non-Aston Martin ever to go in there and even he was quite surprised that Denise and I were able to tag along. He thought we were going to be asked to wait outside. Quite a thrill and I would say the future of Aston Martin is going to be awesome.
After a tour of the facilities by the Director of Public Relations (reports directly to the CEO), Denise and I were able to sit in on Winston's private interviews with the Chief Engineer of the entire company and the Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez, himself. Both of interviews were quite fascinating and it was thrilling to meet all of these company executives. I'm not sure I am putting enough on this. It was really quite an experience.
On top of all this I got to see and photograph, with Winston, the new Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage concept car that was first shown at the most recent Detroit Auto Show. Let me just say, and mark my words, this is the Aston Martin I will one day own. In my mind it is the most beautiful Aston Martin of the current production of DB7 and the V12 Vanquish cars. And best of all (Leslie make note), it will be the most affordable priced AM. We spent hours photographing this car and I kid you not when I tell you that I took over 200 photos of this baby. The location and weather were just perfect and the subject matter breathtaking. Denise started to tire of me saying, "it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine."
To top off the day, Ian Callum, the legendary designer of the DB7, the V12 Vanquish, and many other amazing cars (he is now in charge of design at Jaguar), dropped by the photo shoot just to say hello to Winston. It was unbelievable to meet so many of these people in one day. What a thrill, is all I can say (for the third time).
After we wrapped and said our thanks and goodbyes, our AM contact handed us passes to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Too cool. Tomorrow we will be leaving about 6:30 AM to make the 2 hour or so drive down to Goodwood. It's going to be yet another amazing day.
