Coronado Speed Festival 2013

Once again I was reminded why this is one of my favorite SoCal motorsports events: the Coronado Speed Festival 2013 featured fabulous weather (no surprise), friendly & fun paddock, cool car show, good food court & beer garden, and of course the racing.  Hats off to the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) for another super weekend!

This year’s Coronado Speed Festival celebrated 50 years of the Porsche 911, with Tony Adamowicz, winner of the 1968 Trans-Am Championship in a 911, serving as Honorary Grand Marshall.  Other notable features of the ‘Race at the Base’ included honoring the 40th Anniversary of the release of Vietnam POWs, tours of the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), and an autograph signing event with Scott Pruett.

Coronado Speed Festival – Car Show & Corral

Classic, awesome, or just plain odd, in the area behind the main grandstands you see all sorts of interesting cars in the Car Show and Corral area.

Parked next to the Ferrari Club area was this perfect example of a F360 Challenge Stradale:

Coronado Speed Festival 2013

As usual, there were lots of Shelby Cobras around:

Coronado Speed Festival 2013

An excellent example of a low mileage 1976 BMW 2002:

Coronado Speed Festival 2013

A rare bird indeed:

Coronado Speed Festival 2013

Coronado Speed Festival 2013 – The Races

From the Group 4 Race – 1962 to 1972 Sports Racing and Formula Cars Under 2000 cc:

Coronado Speed Festival 2013
1967 Porsche 910

Coronado Speed Festival 2013
1966 Elva Mk8
From the Group 6 Race – 1962 to 1966 Production Cars Over 2500 cc:

Coronado Speed Festival 2013

Coronado Speed Festival 2013
1964 Cobra

Coronado Speed Festival 2013
1968 Chevrolet Camaro

 

From Group 7 Race – 1965 to 1988 FIA Manufacturer Championship Cars:

Coronad Speed Festival 2013
1973 Porsche 911 RSR

Coronado Speed Festival 2013
1972 Porsche 911 RSR

Coronado Speed Festival 2013
1968 McLaren M6B

Many more pics here: Coronado Speed Festival 2013

Coronado Speed Festival

Not having attended in a coupe of years, I forgot how much I enjoy the Coronado Speed Festival.  For people in the San Diego area, it’s easy to reach, parking and getting in is a breeze, and there is a lot to see and do in a fairly compact area.  I really like that the grandstand, car show, paddock, vendor row, and food & drink areas are so close together. And of course, the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) puts on a great show.  Some really interesting cars showed up at this year’s festivities.  With the passing of the great Carroll Shelby, there were many Cobras and GT 350s in attendance.

Car Show & Paddock

Coronado Speed Festival

Lamborghini Espada

Coronado Speed Festival

1971 AMC Javelin Trans-Am

Coronado Speed Festival

Mercedes-Benz 300SL

Group 5 Race

Group 5 includes 1959 to 1966 Production Cars equipped with disc brakes.  This is a large and diverse class ranging from a 1540cc Lotus S7 to a 5770cc Chevrolet Corvette.  The race pictures are taken looking back into the last turn onto the front straight & start/finish.

Coronado Speed Festival

1969 BMW 2002 & 1971 Alfa Romeo GTV

Coronado Speed Festival

1958 Corvette, 1971 Alfa Romea GTV, & 1967 Porsche 912

Coronado Speed Festival Group 6 Race

Group 6 includes 1962 to 1966 Production Cars over 2500cc.  This race had quite a few Shelby GT 350s as well as unusual cars such as the ISO Rivolta and a very fast Ginetta G4.

Coronado Speed Festival

1965 Ford Mustang (#151) battles with 1966 Shelby GT 350 (#6)

Coronado Speed Festival

1964 Cobra

Coronado Speed Festival

1966 Shelby GT 350

Group 7 Race

Group 7 includes 1965 to 1988  FIA Manufacturer Championship Cars such as Ferraris, Lolas, and Porsches.

Coronado Speed Festival

A couple of Porsche RSRs battle

Coronad Speed Festival

1972 Ferrari 312PSPL

Coronado Speed Festival Group 8 Race

Group 8 is historic NASCAR.

Coronado Speed Festival

Group 8 Race – Historic NASCAR

Coronado Speed Festival

Historic NASCAR – 2004 Ford Taurus

Many more pics here.

Coronado Speed Festival – Fleet Week San Diego

 

Coronado Speed FestivalCoronado Speed Festival

Fleet Week San Diego brings the 15th Annual Coronado Speed Festival and 250 historic race cars to a 1.7 mile course on Naval Air Station North Island this weekend.  In addition to benefitting a great cause, the Coronado Speed Festival, sanctioned by the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA), is a well run, very fan-friendly, genuine racing event – the only one in San Diego since IMSA left Del Mar after 1992.

Carroll Shelby Tribute

At this year’s Coronado Speed Festival, HMSA, the same organization that sanctions the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, celebrates the great cars of Carroll Shelby.  Expect to see quite a few Cobras and Shelby GT350s out there.

Mazda MX-5 Cup

For the first time, the Mazda MX-5 Cup sponsored by Playboy will be part of the Coronado Speed Festival Weekend.  The MX-5 Cup is the entry level of production car based competition in SCCA Pro Racing.  The series runs on the premier road courses of North America, and many of their events are part of ALMS weekends.

Test Drives

BMW, VW, Mazda, and Chevrolet will be offering test drives on road courses laid out in areas adjacent to the race track and paddock.

Open, Friendly Paddock

The Coronado Speed Festival is know for an open and friendly paddock area where fans can get up close to some great cars and the competitors racing them.  More cars can be found at a car show benefitting the Navy’s Morale Welfare & Recreation fund.  Visitors will also find a vendor village, good food and drink, and a military static display.  This year, Fleet Week San Diego is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Navy SEALS in San Diego.

More information, including directions, maps, schedules, and ticket information can be found in the calendar and the following links:

Coronado Speed Festival, Saturday, September 22

Coronado Speed Festival, Sunday, September 23