Memoir: Missing Two Thrill Rides

Missing Two Thrill Rides

A Racing Memory by Barry Bronson

So I'm riding in a Ford van traveling from Monaco to Sospel in the French Maritime Alps. It's late January 1999 and that means time for the World Rally Championship opening round, the Rallye Monte-Carlo. Fellow passengers include Italian Guenther Steiner, technical manager for Ford Racing's M-sport team; Nick Wilmer of khp Consulting, Valvoline's marketing and hospitality agency in WRC; and legendary Martini Racing honcho (and Valvoline Racing partner) Escania (his last name is too long to include here!), who was also, according to him, an Italian count. Driving the van was the khp operative known by Valvoline and Martini guests that season as "The English Patient" for his habit of getting lost.

Ford has always introduced new models with great fanfare and this rally event was the debut of the compact Focus, Ford's WRC campaigner. To introduce the Focus they invited VIPs to the Monte Carlo harbor the night before the competition — to the Stars 'N' Bars sports-themed restaurant. With searchlights shining and Richard Wagner blaring, a helicopter hovered over the party and two men in Ford rally driving suits and helmets rappelled to the quay. After removing helmets behind a curtain Ford's current drivers and former WRC World Champions Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz emerged to applause. Talk about a Grand Entrance!

As sports marketing director I was representing Valvoline at the rally and was promised a ride on a shakedown run that morning in the competition Focus with McRae. I was looking forward to riding with the rally legend, but fate left skid marks over those plans when McRae's Focus required some repairs thus cancelling the joy ride for this American.

Although the event was the Monte Carlo Rally, the competitive stages were run in France. By 1999 EU commercial rules prohibited cigarette or alcohol sponsorship ID on the cars so, once the cars took the ceremonial starting flag at two-minute intervals at Monte Carlo's Casino Square — waved by Prince Albert himself — as soon as they reached the nearby French border, crewmen took off acceptable-in-Monaco Martini ID and the cars proceeded up the mountains to the actual stages which were to be run over three days in rugged conditions. It was not a great debut event for Ford and the Focus. But the team did win some events that season.

I missed another ride, this time in 2000 at Hockenheim, Germany. The Hockenheimrings racing circuit is situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg. This day it was the site of the DTM series where Valvoline was a sponsor of the Opel factory team. The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a grand touring car series. Team technical director was (again) Guenther Steiner (Steiner, by the way, currently is technical director of the Haas F1 team). At DTM special guests were given pre-race "taxi rides" around the twisting track by race drivers in close-to-competition Mercedes, Audi, Opel and BMW racers). Anyway, I was looking forward to the joyride when I slipped in the shower in my Frankfurt hotel room that morning and twisted my neck which limited my movement. When I got to the track the team doctor gave me some pills which helped a bit — but I still waived my passenger opportunity — in favor of a deserving Valvoline-Europe colleague. So I got the pills and he got the thrills.

Riding in — and driving — race cars was nothing new to me. I was a graduate of the Skip Barber Racing School at Laguna Seca in Monterey driving Formula Dodge open wheel racers. Valvoline was a Barber sponsor in those days. And I'd driven a Ferrari Modena 360 and a Dodge Viper V-10 on the road course at Indianapolis Raceway Park. I'd come awfully close to the wall in NASCAR stock cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kentucky Speedway. Driving high performance cars was a perk of the position at America's iconic racing sponsor and I took full advantage.

Valvoline's rich racing heritage was a key component of the great international brand, the oldest trademark in the petroleum industry. In retirement it is the wonderful people I worked with that stand out. That and the opportunity to experience all that high performance first-hand in a race car.