Bahamas Speed Week Revival

[mxp01]

Gentlmen:

For a humble Sprite owner I had one of those rare once-in-a-lifetime opportunities this weekend. About 19 months ago I was assigned to the US Embassy in Nassau, the Bahamas. About a year ago I joined the Antique Auto Club of the Bahamas and immediately got involved in Bahamas Speed Week Revival 2011. This weekend I actually had the opportunity to race my 1960 BE in a series of time trials with the likes of Sir Stirling Moss, Rob Walton (Chairman of WalMart), and a number of other notables. We ran a timed hill climb on Saturday (I actually beat Sir Stirling in that one) and then a timed 1.1 mile circuit along the beach and through the streets of Nassau. There were Ferraris (I beat one in the hill climb), Maseratis (Walton's is valued at $7 mill), Lotus, a Lister, and a number of super cars (a Ford GT40 was the fastest).

The Sprite ran behind the leaders, of course, but the hill climb and the circuit were designed with very tight corners (one turn on the circuit was 175 degrees) so the nimbleness and lightweight of the car made it, jokingly, competitive. I finished tied for 21st place (out of 28 entrants) in the hill climb, and did manage to beat a few cars (at least one Camaro and Corvette) in the race circuit. All-in-all it was a great opportunity to get out and let the car run.

Here's a link to look at photos of the event:

https://www.bahamaslocal.com/images/speed-week-hill-climb/index5.html

Mike Pennell
Nassau, the Bahamas

 

[jlaird]

Super good stuff, you will remember the day your whole life.

What a great assignment, how come I always got to go to Sudan or Oman or some place like that.

 

[61frogeye]

What a great adventure for you!

I met Stirling Moss many years ago in the pits at Daytona during Motorcycle Speed Week. He was so unassuming and friendly that I did not realize who I was talking to for quite some time. I hope you got to spend some time with him.

 

[aeronca65t]

That is absolutely Über-cool!

I will pass that link on to other friends on a vintage-race e-mail list.
I've never met Moss, but over the years, I met others (Redman, Elford, Phil Hill, Fitch, etc) and to man, they are all friendly and unassuming.

Thanks for posting; great stuff! :thumbsup:

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EDIT--I just looked again and the link is now dead. :frown:

 

[mxp01]

Stirling was the guest of honor/patron. I said hello a few times. He was very friendly to everyone and was very active as a driver. I also was able to meet his co-driver (Ian Nuthall) who was nice enough to help me with a few things on my car.

Overall, it was a really great event. While I don't want to come across as "selling" the event, you should consider attending next year. We set up a roll on/roll off ship carrier that went directly out of West Palm Beach right to Nassau. Some drivers brought their pick-up trucks/trailers right on the ship. The whole trip over is about 6 hours. The cost of the entire package was about $7500, which included transport, lodging, and all the events. It was actually pretty afordable, considering the costs of many vacations.

I was lucky to already be here with my car. I transfer out in April. I'm looking at the possibility of returning to compete again in 2013.

Mike Pennell

 

[mxp01]

The link still seems to be working for me.

MXP

 

[aeronca65t]

Yeah, link works for me now too.