August 2012 - GGC BMW CCA

LASTING MEMORIES FROM THE
SONOMA HISTORIC RACES
Ryan Rich
Luis Martinez
Luis Martinez
After we got our entry
tickets, my daughter
Nicole and I headed
out to the BMW CCA corral to start
putting up all of the tents and flags.
Once the volunteer duties were complete,
I took off with my daughter in
tow to the paddock to look at the wide
variety of race cars. We were able to
see and photograph so may great
old race cars, including BMWs—like
the 3.0CSL and 700—Ferraris, lots of
Mustangs and Cobras, many modified
classic Mini Coopers, Jaguars, and a
Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing.
It absolutely made my day when
we came upon a 1963 Alfa Romeo
Guilietta Spyder—just like the first
car I ever owned. Of course, the one
in front of me was heavily modified
as a race car, but in essence it was my
car! I froze in my tracks, staring at this
vision from my past.
Quickly I began regaling the
owner and Nicole with stories about
my first car. It had been a gift from my
older brother when I was fourteen;
he gave me the car totally incomplete
and disassembled. The engine
and transmission were in the trunk
(disassembled), the seats and interior
did not exist, and the body had a
light-gray paint job with a lot of rust.
It took me about two full years
of hard work—a lot of Bondo and
fiberglass, and a full paint job—to get
the car rolling and out of the garage.
I also rebuilt the engine and worked
on the transmission to verify that it
was working. This was probably the
best gift anyone could have given me
at that age, but I just didn’t know it
at the time. Now I do!–Luis Martinez
12
Die Flüsternde Bombe
August 2012