The Rothmans Porsche 956 of Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass on the field at Amelia Island. [Eddie LePine photo]
Penske M6A on the field at Amelia Island. Judge Al Unser, Sr. is in the background. [Eddie LePine photo]
Jochen Mass posing by the painting of him in the Rothmans Porsche at Amelia Island. [Eddie LePine photo]
Bruce McCaw’s 1973 STP Oil Treatment Eagle-Offy won best in class in the Offenhauser display at Amelia Island in 2014. [Photo by Jacques Dresang]
The 19th annual 2014 Amelia Island Concours proved once again to be a ‘don’t miss event.’ More than 330 outstanding cars and even some rare motorcycles from around the world made their way to the Ritz-Carlton located just north of Jacksonville, Florida. There were many highlights in this year’s event including, the cars of this year’s honoree, Jochen Mass. Some of cars the world class German driver drove that were at the event included his 1977 McLaren M23-Cosworth F1 car, the illustrious Rothman’s Porsche 962 and the LeMans winning Mercedes-Benz Sauber C9 World endurance car which were part of the “Cars of Jochen Mass” class. Mass (one of 15 drivers ever to win the prestigious 24 Hours of LeMans and a Formula 1 race) was honored on the 25th anniversary of his victory in the 24 Hours of LeMans
Many wonderful cars were featured such as the rare BMW “Batmobiles” racing coupes, which included Alexander Calder’s famed 1975 Le Mans 3.0 CSL, 1975 Sebring 12 Hour and 1976 Daytona 24 Hour winners. The rarely seen Maserati 450S Le Mans “Costin Coupe,” which Sir Stirling Moss raced at Le Mans in 1957 was a big hit with attendees. Other notable cars included the 1925 Indianapolis 500 winning Duesenberg Eight speedway car formerly owned by David Uihlein, now owned by Terrence Adderly of Bloomfield Hills, MI. Additionally, the 1968 “500” winning Leader Card Eagle-Offy driven by Bobby Unser was part of the Infiniti cars display. The 1930 16-Cyl Miller Sampson Special of Dano Davis won the Indianapolis Motor Speedway / Anton Hulman Memorial award for best Indianapolis race car. Many other notable cars appeared at this year’s show, too numerous to mention.
Winning trophy for best Indianapolis racer presented to Dano Davis for his 16-cyl Samson Miller. [Steve Zautke photo]
Motorsport enthusiasts also enjoyed two impressive seminars this year, a tradition that has become one of the hallmarks of the Amelia Island Concours. “The Great Offy Drivers” seminar included such racing legends as Parnelli Jones, Bobby and Al Unser, David Hobbs, Sam Posey and hall of fame engine builder Sonny Meyer delighted the capacity audience with memories of yesteryear. Speakers Ray Evernham, David Piper, John Mecom, Bobby Rahal, Alwin Springer and Bob Tullius led a lively discussion during the “Merchants of Speed” seminar, which gave a first person look at on-track race management and the sharp-edged business of racing.
The Offenhauser Power Group included the following championship cars,
#1 Boyle Special, 1939 Maserati 8CTF, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
#1 Sheraton-Thompson Spl. 1963 Watson-Offy, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
#3 Racing Associates, 1959 Lesovsky-Offy, Robert McConnell – Urbana, OH
#3 McLaren Cars, 1974 McLaren M16-Offy, Patrick Ryan – Montgomery, AL
#5 Bowes Seal Fast Special, 1959 Kurtis/Epperly-Offy, Phil Reilly – Corte Madera, CA
#12 Dean Van Lines, 1960 Ewing-Offy, Gary Bahre – Loudon, NH
#12 Sugaripe Prune 1974 Eagle-Offy, Chuck Haines – St. Louis MO
#14 Mid-Continent Financial Hopkins Racing 1959 Epperly-Offy, Bill Akin – Hermitage, TN
#14 Konstant Hot Special, 1963 Watson-Offy, Dano Davis – Jacksonville, FL
#16 Noc-Out Hose Special 1939 Wetteroth-Offy, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
#20 STP Patrick Racing 1972 Eagle Offy, Craig and Susan McCaw – Santa Barbara, CA
#21 Sarkes-Tarzian Special 1962 Lesovsky-Offy, Tom Malloy – Corona, CA
#66 Sunoco Special Penske Racing 1972 McLaren M16-Offy, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
#66 Sunoco-DX Penske Racing 1972 Eagle-Offy, UMW Motorwerks – Menomonee Falls, WI
#67 John Fray Special, Dirt Car-Offy – Joseph Freeman, Boston, MA
Mark your calendars! The 20th annual Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance will be held March 13-15, 2015 on the 10th and 18th fairways of The Golf Club of Amelia Island at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. The show’s Foundation has donated over $2.25 million to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Inc. and other charities on Florida’s First Coast since its inception in 1996. In 2013, the Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance won Octane Magazine’s EFG International Historic Motoring Event of the Year award.
Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance Media contributed to this report
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