Club News

    How far would you drive for a little bit of Awesome? What about for a lot of Awesome? What if that Awesome were a combination of more than 300 BMW CCA members’ cars on display, more than 500 enthusiastic club members (are there any other kind?!), more than twelve hours of vintage racing and 400-plus rolling, grassy acres hosting more than 2,500 cars? When it comes to the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, many of the hundreds of attendees answered, “more than 500 miles.”

    The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix (PVGP) is actually a ten-day event held at the beautiful Schenley Park. The event itself continues to support two charities, the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Valley School. The park is listed as an historic park, which suits it fine on the wrap-up weekend of the event when it hosts 150 vintage racers whipping around a 2.33-mile city road winding around the park’s Bob O’Connor Golf Course. While dodging manhole covers and strategically placed haybales was important, the racers were also there for the crowds, and they did not disappoint.

     

    As the cars power through the 23 turns—Turn 13, German Hill, is maybe 20 feet from our Allegheny Chapter-hosted corral’s front line of featured five-series cars—heads turn and conversations pause, or more often, repeat, and repeat, and repeat during heat after heat of vintage cars testing their limits on this usually serene park road.

    There at Turn 13, the quiet pause after each heat was pleasantly—depending on whom you ask—interrupted by the roar of a car familiar to many club members. Mike Renner was in his One Lap of America car that he piloted more than 500 miles from Greer, SC, providing highly sought hot laps all weekend long. Many of the vintage racing fans hanging on the fence surrounding the course were not expecting Mike to get sideways back and forth, floating clouds of tire smoke and smell over the lawn, but they sure cheered him after he passed!

    This was the 35th year of the PVGP and it was clear that this was also not the Allegheny Chapter’s first time hosting their corral at this fantastic event. Allegheny Chapter president, George Snyder, was certainly active throughout the weekend. “I thoroughly enjoy seeing members from other Chapters coming to the PVGP and joining the Allegheny Chapter to celebrate BMWs and each other, make new friends, talk to old friends and watch unique race cars speed thru the streets at Schenley Park,” he said. “We at the Allegheny Chapter welcome all of our chapters and their members to come join us next year for not only the PVGP weekends but also for O’Fest 2018.”

    As George indicated, this year’s PVGP again drew members from all over—some as far as Maine (great seeing you and Athena again, Andrew!) and plenty of attendees from Chicago, Virginia, the D.C. area and even Canada (I see you, Ted!). Paul Seto, National Capital Chapter president, made the 300-plus mile drive out from D.C. “We had another awesome weekend at PVGP,” he stated. “NCC had more than 40 people make the short drive up to Pittsburgh and it did not disappoint. The entire event, from the races, the car show, and the hospitality tent that the Allegheny chapter runs, is top notch. But most importantly, the people you meet and spend time with makes the experience so memorable. While there were some incredible and rare cars, I love seeing my extended CCA family at different events each year. Cars will always come and go, but the friendships last a lifetime. I look forward to seeing them all at O'Fest [in New Orleans] in October, and then again in Pittsburgh next year!”—Kyle van Hoften