35,000 FANS DUE FOR 2-DAY TORREY PINES ROAD RACES Author: Lester Nehamkin Publication: MotoRacing Date: 21 October 1955 Topic: Torrey Pines Road Races

PAYS TO WIN—Here's the reigning sensation in the sports car world today—and that includes the entire U.S.—Ernie McAfee, Beverly Hills. He has won the last three CSCC big-bore main events,—two at Santa Barbara, another at Hansen Dam. And he's a hot choice again Sunday at Torrey in the over-1500, going in either Bill Doheny's famed 3-liter Ferrari Monza or a 4412cc 6-cylinder Ferrari. He drives the little Moretti in Saturday's enduro. Here he reaps part of his reward from Actress Jeannie Baird for one of his Santa Barbara victories.

TORREY PINES State Park, located just north of San Diego, becomes the mecca of sports car enthusiasts from all over the country and Mexico too, when the California Sports Car Club and San Diego Junior Chamber of Commerce stage a two-day race program there Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22 and 23.

Nearly 200 sports cars of every known make and model will compete in the weekend program which starts off Saturday 11 a.m., with the nationally-famous six hour endurance race. This enduro kicks off with a Le Mans type of start, with the drivers running to their mounts, fastening their safety belt, startin the engine and bursting off down the straight.

Some 35,000 fans should see the two-day program. Last year 60 cars started and only 28 finished the gruelling grind. The pilots had circled the 2.7-mile nine-turn course 139 times during the six hours. All of the cars had to make at least one pit stop and many made two and three during the 375 miles covered by the sportsters.

This year 64 cars and eight reserves are entered—close to the original objective of 70 starters and five reserves.

Since Mobilgas products are used wherever speed and endurance require the utmost in performance, the CSCC has invited the General Petroleum Corp. to furnish the approximately 4000 gallons of Mobilgas Special and the 500 gallons of oil that will be consumed during the running of this interesting program of sports car jousting.

Ferraris should dominate the racing card in the Sunday feature as seven of these potent bombs are entered, the most powerful of which is John Edgar's 4.9 Mexico Spyder going in the Class C competition, with affable Jack McAfee listed as pilot.

For the six-hour Saturday enduro, J. McAfee drives Edgar's Porsche “550” Spyder in Class F.

Three main event winner Ernie McAfee goes after his fourth straight in a Bill Doheny Ferrari. This time he will be in the seat of either the famous No. 76, the 2.9 Monza Ferrari, or the brand new (created especially for the Mexican Road Race) 4.4 Italian six-cylinder Ferrari.

Also piloting these famed sports machines will be Terry Hall, Temple Buell, Lou Brero and Gary Laughlin, who will come from Ft. Worth to compete.

Center of much interest in the small car field will be the four 1956 Model A MGs. These little 1489 speedsters will be driven by Jim Parkinson, E. Forbes-Robinson, Ken Miles, and Jerry Conroe of San Diego. Miles is teamed with Cy Yedor in the enduro—and they'll be tough.

Two more new cars bearing watching are the Lotus Coventry Climax, a 1098 cc class G entrant and the Swedish sports car, the Volvo Sedan, a 1414 cc class F speedster to be driven by Ron Pearson of North Hollywood.

Three of the Continent's plush cars, the Mercedes, also vie for honors. Lance Reventlow and Bruce Kessler of Hollywood share driving time in Reventlow's new 300-SL sedan. Phill Hill and Paul O'Shea share time behind the wheel of George Tilp's 300-SL which is coming all the way from Union N. J. This last combo is one of the hot favorites in the six-hour.

How will it perform against hot cars on a tricky course? This question and many others will be answered by Sunday sundown regarding the capabilities of the newest import, the Mercedes 190 SL entered by Nick Pastor of South Gate and driven by veteran racer, Ed Kretz, Sr., of Monterey Park. He will also compete in the swift No. 149, Pastor's renowned hot TR-2 roadster.

Completely overhauled since it won the Index of Performance in the last six-hour race in November, 1954, and trying for a repeat this year will be Ernie McAfee's Moretti roadster.

Renaults, Porsches, Citroens, Lancias, a Frazer Nash, a D.K.W. and many other cars compete Sunday for honors over the winding, twisting, turning seashore course. Small sedans were excluded from the enduro.

Most powerful of the many special creations is Bill Murphy's new Buick-Kurtis roadster.

Another tough threat is due to be Chuck Daigh of Long Beach in the rapid Troutman-Barnes Mercury-powered Special. A new special has been readied for this race by Joe Rosan of Newport Beach. It's the Bohman-built Rosan Engineering Special on Maserati running gear powered with a 1998 cc Bristol engine.