News Flash! JCW MCS Takes a 1st Place Prize at Huntington Beach, California Concours d'Elegance on 1 June 2008!

On the lawn

Waiting for the judges

Nervous time... Judges at work!

Keith (Concours Class Winner) on the left and I (Street Class Winner and Mr. Jet Lag) congratulated by famed MINI Hot Rod and Hollywood Vehicle Builder Fireball Tim

Parade of winners. Good company! Notice Keith's 2005 MINI Cooper S JCW/Alta right behind me.

Getting ready to take the spotlight and receive my trophy!

The 2008 Huntington Beach Concours d'Elegance 1st Place Glass Trophy

Ok, I knew it was going to be tough to get to the Huntington Beach Concours d'Elegance Car Show this year. I've missed it in the past because of the need to travel for business but the event has become a fairly regular show to attend and/or show a vehicle for me. I sent in my registration and fee just in-case I still wanted to attend even though it was just a day after my return from Europe. I knew that I'd be in no shape whatsoever to self-detail my MINI as I usually do for these types of events, so I contacted my friend Bill Debever at Transhine in Whittier, California (http://www.transhine.com/) while in Europe to see if he could take my car in on Saturday and detail it for Sunday's show. The car was already in need of a good detail (I detailed it last November upon the car's return from Europe) and Bill was going to have a stand at the show as well. The crew did an excellent job and suffice it to say the detail helped me garner a 1st place trophy and a bucket of detailing supplies for Best Modern MINI Cooper S in the "Street" (vehicle regulary driven) class. I showed JCW MCS at the HB show in 2005 in the "Concours" class and managed a third place trophy. Many miles and kilometers later it is satisfying to achieve a 1st place trophy. Bleary-eyed and jet-lagged I drove JCW MCS up to the stand to take the prize. It was worth the extra effort this year. Definitely!

Charley Boorman's bike from his and Ewan McGregor's latest motorcycle adventure. Love those guys!

Mid-1970's vintage bevel drive, square case, Conti exhaust, Ducati 750 Supersport. Bellissima!

For more info on the Huntington Beach Concours d'Elegance go to: http://www.hbconcours.org/. It usually takes a few weeks before the full winners list is posted.