6 replies to this topic

[Mike Argetsinger]

I am very happy to report that Michael Oliver will be the featured speaker on October 3 at the annual Open House of the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen. On display that day at the Center will be the Lotus 49 (R6) in which Jochen Rindt won the the 1969 United States Grand Prix - 35 years to the weekend (the GP was on October 5). This was Jochen's first GP win and is the same car in which he won Monaco in 1970.

Michael Oliver - a regular contributor to TNF - is the perfect guest for the occasion. His books on the Lotus 49 and the 72 are considered the definitive works on the subjects. This is a rare opportunity for U.S. residents to meet Michael. It is likewise a very rare view of R6 which has never previously been publicly displayed. It is that rarest of significant historic race cars - it has never been restored or altered. Its post-race history is a fascinating story in itself. It arrives at the Center on August 1 and will be with us until late October. It then goes to England for some very light freshening and on to Austria where it will permanently reside in a Jochen Rindt Museum.

I hope many TNF members will take the opportunity to visit the Center that weekend. On this same date last year, Doug Nye visited the Center and we had a wonderful turn out with TNF'ers from all over the country. How many TNF badges may we see this October?

That day we will also draw the winning ticket for the raffle for a Porsche 911. This is the major fund raiser in our year. The prize is exquisite. It is a 1981 Porsche 911 SC coupe direct from the Brumos Museum. It has been prepared to 100 point condition and is breathtaking. Raffle tickets are $59 (the famous Brumos number being 59) or two for $100. Less than 1000 tickets will be sold so the odds are more than decent as these things go. It would be great if a TNF member won. You do not need to be present to win. I have tickets so you can contact me (773/472-1911) michael.argetsinger@rcn.com or you can go direct to the Center by phone (607/535-9040) or to the secure web site at www.racingarchives.org . The support to the mission of the Center will be greatly appreciated and I hope you win!

Here is the full text of the press release on Michael Oliver's appearance.

Jochen Rindt, his Lotus Celebrated at the Center


For immediate release

July 8, 2004


WATKINS GLEN – In 1969, Jochen Rindt achieved his first Formula 1 victory in the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, driving the revolutionary Lotus Ford.

Thirty-five years later, the same Lotus 49 and the man who would become 1970 World Champion are being celebrated at the annual Open House of the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen on Oct. 2.

Michael Oliver, considered the foremost published authority on the Lotus race car, will be the featured speaker. An overview of Rindt’s career also will be part of the program.

The Open House on Saturday, Oct. 2, coincides with the stay at the Center of the Lotus 49, chassis number R6. Rindt won the Grand Prix of Monaco in the car in 1970, the year he became World Champion. The championship came posthumously, as Rindt was killed Sept. 5, 1970, in a crash in practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The Lotus 49 is privately owned and is on display from late July through the end of October.

The open house will be from 1-6 p.m. Oliver’s talk will be at 3 p.m. No admission is charged, and all are welcome.

Oliver, of Witney, Oxfordshire, England, wrote “Lotus 49: The Story of a Legend” in 1999. It was followed in 2003 by “Lotus 72: Formula One Icon.”

Oliver has been following Formula 1 since he was a child and reckons he probably learned to count from the numbers on the sides of racing cars. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s he attended many major Formula 1, sports car and motorbike races in both the United Kingdom and Europe, and it is the memories of these events that have fuelled his desire to research, record and write about motor sport during that period.

He has contributed features to a wide range of magazines including Motor Sport, Classic Cars, Chequered Flag and Vintage Racecar Journal.

Oliver has also carried out road tests and product reviews for publications such as the Oxford Times, Bristol Evening Post and Birmingham Evening Mail.

Open in Watkins Glen since June 1999, the International Motor Racing Research Center is an archival library preserving the history of all forms of international motor sport. The Center is open to the public and welcomes serious researchers and casual fans alike to use the collections that include books, video and film, fine art, periodicals, photographs, personal papers and corporate documents.

The International Motor Racing Research Center is located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen, N.Y. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The Center’s Web site may be found at www.racingarchives.org. The telephone number is 607-535-9044.


***


For more information:

Glenda Gephart, Communications Director 607-535-9044

Photo attached is of the car as it looks today. A digital file of the car at Watkins Glen in 1969 is also available.




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[Gary C]

this sounds really good.................if only I could be there !

[Don Capps]

Barring some unforeseen cataclysm, I shall once again make the trek northward to the jewel of Seneca Lake....

.....and hope to have the problem of how to get the 911 back home.... It is a lovely machine. I have had several hops in it and it is something to shell out the $$$ for, a typically first class Brumos job. Just a super example of the type. Buy an opportunity to be a very Happy Camper.....

Plus, of course, I very much looking forward to meeting Michael!

[Lotus23]

Mike and Don, yr hmbl svnt is going to make a Serious Effort to be there. I saw R6 win Monaco in '70 and would welcome the chance to reacquaint myself with 'er.

The date is on my calendar.

Joel

[Paul Medici]

One week to go
Anyone else plan on attending?

Hard to believe it has been a year since the Doug Nye presentation.
I now have to begin organizing my garage to make room for a new addition.

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[Don Capps]

I have made no end of effort to ensure that I am able to be present that weekend. I am really looking forward to it and delighted that Paul and others will be making the trek as well.

If you make only one visit a year to Watkins Glen, this is the weekend to be there....

[rdrcr]

Originally posted by Paul Medici


'... I now have to begin organizing my garage to make room for a new addition."
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You too huh?

;)