What a Day!

Written by Greg Sparkman | 27 April 2010

The Pirates of PV Storm the Peninsula in 2011 and Celebrate Oktoberfest with Legends Andy Granatelli, Parnelli Jones and Vic Edelbrock

The 2011 Tour d'Epicure Road Rallye was a tremendous success. With almost 120 registered entrants, this year featured our most ever awesome autos and perfect people fielded in  the 20 year history of this event! The Pirates followed some challenging navigational clues provided by the Cap'n, yet almost all found their way around the nooks and crannies of the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula to arrive at Vic's Garage—the Edelbrock's stunning private collection of racing heritage automobiles and memorabilia. It was a blast to see Andy Granatelli and Parnelli Jones, two racing legends, along with their wives as navigational aids, lead off the 107 autos that competed. 

On behalf of the Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance and its charitable beneficiaries, I'd like to thank our fun-loving participants, our fantastic sponsors*, and the more than 2 dozen generous volunteers that made this event possible. And let's not forget the elegance of Trump National Golf Club, their staff, and the natural beauty of the Palos Verdes Peninsula on a glorious Fall Southern California day.

Check out the fresh links on the left to view the finishing results and the answers to the route quiz questions.

Best Regards,
Greg Sparkman
Tour d'Epicure Road Rallye Chairman

*Farmers & Merchants Bank, Medawar Fine Jewelry, The Kitchen Collection, Edelbrock Racing Products, and the Chubb Insurance Group, with support from Yellow Vase Cafe — all 4 of them ;-)   

Pull out your sunglasses because this year’s Tour d’Epicure Road Rallye will be an Afternoon drive! And that’s just one of the elements to make the 2010 Rallye new, different and special.

The Tour d'Epicure  Road Rallye is an annual event that is held on the Saturday before each Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance. It combines food and fun with a drive that takes in the stunning Palos Verdes peninsula and its environs. This year it takes place on September 18th, so reserve that day right now.

I’ve taken part in most of this century’s Road Rallies, and have organized and managed the past two. Driving home after each of these events I find myself struck by the beauty of the Palos Verdes coastline in the late afternoon – Gorgeous! –  and thought how nice it would be to drive the Rallye at this time of day. So it's happened! This year I’ve gotten my wish to have an afternoon Rallye. Prepare to sleep in and party into the evening!

2-fer Deal of the Year

This brings me to the next big news. We’ve arranged for all of our Road Rallye participants to finish the drive at Vic’s Garage (also known as the Edelbrock Museum) in Torrance. There you will join in the Grand Marshal "Oktoberfest" with Andy Granatelli, the 2010 Palos Verdes Concours d’Elegance Grand Marshal. Granatelli is an icon in automotive engineering and racing. Having him as a Grand Marshal is very prestigious, but mingling with him at a reception is special.

So this year’s Rallye is really a 2-for-1 deal that you won’t want to miss. Being invited to party in the midst of the Edelbrock family’s storied history is worth the price of admission alone! It’s going to be great cap on a fun afternoon. Did I mention that space is limited? Don’t hesitate in signing up for this year’s Road Rallye.

Argh Matey

So on to this year’s Rallye. Just how do you follow up a murder mystery (2008-Murder on the Peninsula) and a ghostbuster challenge (2009-A Tale of Two Lights)? Well, our primary sponsors are Farmers & Merchants Bank and Medawar Fine Jewelry, bless their hearts. That screams “Treasure Hunt” to me! And you can’t have a treasure hunt without Pirates! The Pirates of PV, to be more specific. So, prepare to speak your best pirate lingo as we sprinkle a little Wealth and Treasure around the Palos Verdes Peninsula for you to find.

It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be memorable. Sign up here»

Schedule

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.: Arrive at Trump National for line up and check-in.

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Rallye Launch. First car off at 2 p.m. followed by remaining field at 30 second intervals.

4 p.m. - First cars finish at Edelbrock (Vic's Garage). The Grand Marshal 'fest' begins!

6 p.m. - Awards

8 p.m. - We kick out whoever is still standing.

Other than those for the check-in and start, all times are approximate. Beer and wine (with a German theme), and lite edibles (I can't spell hors d'oeuvres) will be available upon arrival at Vic's Garage. A more substantial meal, catered by Cigo's (yum!) will come online line a bit later after 5 p.m.