HomeCar CultureCommentaryHell on Wheels describes Lemons Rally

Hell on Wheels describes Lemons Rally

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There are all sorts of collector car road rallies, from low-key events such as the Copperstate 1000 or Colorado Grand and more serious competitive events such as the Tour de Corse Historique (see below). And then there’s the Hell on Wheels: Monterey Car Weeak, speaking of which, since the word Week is purposefully misspelled, shouldn’t it be Wreak or perhaps Wreck in this context? 

Lemons event organizers say their automotive adventures are celebrations of “the oddball, mundane and truly awful” of the automotive world.

Among the rally’s mottos is: “Why break on track when you can break on the side of the road?”

The “track” is a reference to a related event, the 24 Hours of Lemons, a Le Mans-style series of races for inexpensive race cars, and we use the term “race cars” tongue in cheek. The 24 Hours of Lemons begat the Concours d’Lemons, think Concours sans d’Elegance, and also a series of Lemons rallies.

The rolling car wreck starts August 21 in Seaside, California, and takes its victims, er, we mean participants, on a route to San Pedro, California; Yuma, Arizona; and then back to Seaside (and the Concours d’Lemons) by way of Desert Camp and Santa Cruz. 

Points along the route are scored for such things as “creative roadside repairs,” best junkyard parts acquired along the route, best story told to police after being pulled over, for the age of your vehicle (with bonus points if you complete the entire day’s route), and for the most ridiculous clothing worn by driver and co-driver.

If you don’t find this to be totally obnoxious but rather a great automotive adventure and are interested in participating, you can register on the Lemons website.

Concorso Italiano’s next drive is July 28

In the run up to its big celebration of all things Italian — and especially automotive things —in August, organizers of Concorso Italiano are staging a series of “Magnificent Monterey Drives.”  

The next one is set for July 28, with cars leaving the Black Horse golf course in Seaside, California, for a drive to a winery for lunch. The event is open to 25 vehicles. Registration costs $25, with the money going to the Child Help charity. For information, visit the Magnificent Monterey Drive website.

Concorso Italiano, now in its 33rd year and featuring around 1,000 Italian vehicles, is scheduled for August 25. 

E-types to lap British isle

The Jaguar E-type Club stages its annual 19-day ‘Round Britain Costal Drive, this year starting September 17 from the historic Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire, again as a fund-raising event to support Prostate Cancer UK.

The tour, in its third year, will cover 4,000 miles of coastal roadway

“The aim was to give E-type Club members a great driving event at the same time as raising funds for, and awareness of, prostate cancer,” said event co-founder Philip Porter. “It was meant to be a one-off event but proved so popular that we’re now running it for the third consecutive year. 

“We have cars and crews coming from abroad, including the States, and even have people who have bought an E-type so they can take part.”

Land Rover celebrates at Goodwood

70 Land Rovers | Land Rover photos

The first Land Rover, the Centre Steer prototype — led a parade of 70 Land Rovers up the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill this past weekend. The parade included not only the oldest and newest of the British maker’s vehicles, but round-the-world expedition vehicles and those specially modified for police and fire use.

Why were 70 vehicles included? Because 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the off-road marque.

Revived stages for Tour de Corse Historique

The 18th Tour de Corse Historique, scheduled for October 9-13 on the island of Corsica, will include 10 special stages that are either brand new or that have not been used in recent years, organizers report. Among them will be the special stage at Notre Dame de la Serra, a daunting, 35-mile seaside challenge. 

“The Tour de Corse Historique is a magical rally where past and present meet to revive the legend,” said Jose Andreani, president of the organizing committee. “Our one and only goal is to share the passion for motorsport.”

Corsica hosted a grand prix race in 1921 and its first Tour de Corse rally in 1956. The Tour de Corse Historique for vintage vehicles launched in 2001.

Tour de Corse Historique action | Frederic Chambert photo courtesy tour committee
Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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