at Play on what is now part of the UCSD campus and/or
Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course or maybe even
Torrey Pines State Park

This particular car (XKD 528) was said to be the first D-Type on the West Coast. Pearce Woods was the owner and driver, if I remember correctly. The car behind him looks like the 4.9 Ferrari of Ernie MacAfee, the usual favorite in these days.

When we went into the pits after racing was done, I was particularly interested in learning the reason for a D-type's honking of his horn every time he went around Turn 1. In order to comply with homologation requirements, these race cars barely disguised as road cars had to have full road equipment on board. The add-on horn button was mounted on the right side of the cockpit. When G-forces in left corners were sufficient, the driver's right knee was perfectly placed to sound the horn.

Here at Torrey Pines we employed a technique learned at Santa Barbara: if you get there early enough there are no ticket sellers or collectors on the scene, and you get in free. I think the only place we ever paid was at Palm Springs. Not that we were late, but they hunted us down and collected their due.

If you click on the left picture and look at the enlarged center section of that photo you will recognize the second car as an Austin-Healey 100S, the racing model with an oval grill rather than the fan-shaped one on the 100-4. The 100S had an aluminum body and was quite the hotrod. Check out the 100-4's racing debut at Healeys 3.


You may not be able to identify the driver. I know Stirling Moss was there that day, and that he made a few laps in that car. I hope this is one of them, but I can't be sure. I do know he was driver when I was spectating at another turn, a lefthander located at about 4:30 from this viewpoint, if the approximately North-South main straight was also approximately 12:00 looking South.

Partly hidden is what looks like a Crosley special. They were popular at the time, one winning the Index of Performance prize at the first Sebring 12-hour race. Their engines were inline OHC fours of about 750cc, fabricated crankcases for lightness. The original production of the engines was to run generators on B-19 bombers. There were plenty left over, and I saw many of them in pits and paddocks in Southern California. Sometimes in the laps of mechanics as they did overhaul, maintenance, or modifications on these tiny powerplants.

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