The afternoon Rolex Races went quickly Sunday at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The weather was mid-sixties, sunny but somewhat chilly and quite breezy.
The Thumper race had 30 starters out of a 37-car field. Group 7B race was 1963-1966 GT Cars over 2500c, and included Cobras, Corvettes, Shelbys, Tigers Jaguar E Type and an Iso Rivolta.
ROB WALTON of Paradise Valley AZ won from the pole in his 1965 Cobra Daytona, in a 10-lap race with several laps under caution for a front running 1965 Cobra 289 in the gravel – JIM BOUZAGLOU of North Hollywood CA. He had started fourth, but DNF.
One of the non-starters was JOHN MORTON of El Segundo CA. He was to have driven the 1964 Sunbeam Tiger owned by BUCK TRIPPEL. However, Morton was T-boned Saturday afternoon by LARRY BOWMAN of nearby Redwood City CA, driving a 1958 Lister Corvette. This was in Group 3A for Sports Racing Cars over 2000cc 1955-1961. Morton, driving a 1958 Scarab Sports Racer, went evasive of some spinning cars, but still ended up being T-boned by Bowman, flipping at least twice, landing upside down. Contrary to what I may have written earlier, Morton did not walk to the ambulance. He was awake and alert during the accident and remembers it all. He was strapped onto a gurney immediately and remained on it for several hours at the hospital while all the necessary tests were run. His doctor reviewed the Bowman’s in-car video and looked up the Scarab on the Internet so she could understand where Morton was hit in the car.
Morton was released after all the tests proved negative. He was cleared to drive Sunday and Morton was at the track, but only as a spectator – a role to which he is not accustomed. He did not wish to be considered as trying to be a die-hard hero by getting back into a race car after that accident. His left hand is slightly swollen and his right knee hurts a bit. But he’ll live. He’s already ordered a new helmet which will arrive next Friday.
The Scarab, one of three in the world, wasn’t scheduled for restoration. It was scheduled for destruction, although owner MILES COLLIER wasn’t expecting John to be the one to do it. Parts of the car were to be/will be removed and put on the original chassis. Only one wheel is still good. The whole left side of the car was destroyed.
Morton’s long-time companion, SYLVIA WILKINSON, wrote a racing odyssey book in 1973 called The Stainless Steel Carrot, chronicling the early years of Morton’s career especially with BRE and PETE BROCK. The book has long been out of print, but Wilkinson has the copyright. She’s updating the book and adding more photos and it should be out this year, coming to a book store near you. Any profits will go to the Humane Society.
TOMAS STEUER of Colombia was gridded in P29 in Group 7B due to a poor qualifying session from mechanical problems. He charged his 1965 Shelby GT 350 through the pack to finish fifteenth. Steuer possibly could have finished even higher had their not been three yellow laps in the 10-lap race. The nineteen-year old business college student (Suffolk College of Boston) has an impressive racing resume for someone so young. He’s been racing for eight years in Colombia, and two years in his Shelby. Steuer has raced in the 2010 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, the Rolex Six Hours at the Glen, the 25 Hours of Thunderhill by NASA, and a fifteen-day desert rally from Russia to Mongolia in a Porsche Cayenne – finished eighth overall. In December he and father will co-drive a six-hour Enduro Championship in Colombia. He’s looking forward to trying his hand at the 24 Hours of LeMons, running with an existing team run by HOWARD-22 and DAVID SWIG-24. Saturday Steuer went to the CrapCan Concours at nearby Toro Park, for LeMons cars. It is the antithesis of the Pebble Beach Concours, and emcee MARTIN SWIG started out by urging folks to go to Pebble Beach for a real concours, and his speech went down hill after that. Martin and David were also Judges. For once, promoters didn’t require the Judges to be appropriately garbed in costume – black robes and white wigs.
Father Steuer is CAMILO, and he raced Sunday afternoon in Group 4B for GT Cars 1955-1962. The big red 1959 Alfa Romeo SZ is owned by MARTIN SWIG. Camilo started at the back as he had not qualified. He finished thirty-first in a field of 40 cars and two DNS.
The Swig family and the Steuer family have been friends for many years and stay together in a Pebble Beach house two weeks every August, taking in all the activities including three concours, several auctions (David works at Bonham’s), both weekends of racing, many dinners and parties in between and generally having a swell time. The fathers met at a Miglia event in Argentina. Martin has been running the California Miglia for years, based in San Francisco Bay Area, and his sons help. Howard has just graduated with a history degree in Michigan, and is now working for Car and Driver. This weekend he’s on assignment to write about the Bugatti Varian unveiling.
Howard raced in 1B for Pre-War (1949) Sports and Racing Cars. He started eighth in the family 1931 Chrysler CDB LeMans and finished sixth. His dad was entered in that race but didn’t run his 1928 Alfa Romeo 6c l sport all weekend. Must have been too busy with all the many other activities.
David raced the family 1957 Monsterati B-Mod Special in Group 3A, starting from the back as he was too busy on Saturday to qualify. He finished sixth.
Mother Swig, ESTA, also races, but is taking a hiatus this year. The family reside in Sausalito.
Martin said it’s good that the sons (his and Camilo’s) are coming along, following in their footsteps as it were – a kind of passing on the baton.
Photos to follow