Kurt Furger & Derek MacNeil

Day 1
The following Bentleys entered: 1924 3 Speed, W. & T. van Huystee; 1928 4-1/2, W. & C. Koehne; 1929 4 1/2, Roger Morrison, 1931 4/8, Kurt Furger & Derek MacNeil, 1933 4-1/4 Offord, Miles & Parker Collier.

On Monday afternoon Sept 15th Derek & Kurt set off from Conifer, Co to Vail for the start of the 20th Colorado Grand Rally. 80 cars were invited from 150 applications. 25 Ferrari’s (incl. a TR 59 one of 4), 15 Jags (D-type, 3 C - types, XKSS’s, SS 100, and XK’s), 13 Alfa’s (2 8C’s, 2 6C’s. 6 Bugatti’s (37A, Type 57), 5-Bentley’s and many other great racing and sport cars (Delahaye, MG, Maserati, Aston Martin etc.) One of the main attractions is the ability to use the cars to the full extent on public roads of Colorado with the supervision and authority of the Colorado State Troopers. A drivers meeting in the afternoon and a formal welcome dinner set the stage. It reminded us of a sales meeting with loud music, car slide show and speeches.

3 and 4½ Bentley

Day 2
On Tuesday we left Vail for Paonia and Durango, covered 350 miles across several mountain passes. Lunch was provided by the whole town with 24 home made desserts and local pears, apples and peaches. Derek got used to the clutch and gearbox allowing Kurt to relax and enjoy the wonderful scenery. One of the F cars was a little over zealous and met the side of the mountain and then the guard rail, no injuries but a hurt ego and some expensive body work, However he continued and finished the Grand. Going into Durango Kurt was chased by an XKSS requiring a spurt to a three digit speed to keep him at bay. The morning parking lot activities were fascinating, A lot of noise and smoke starting up the Bugattis and Ferraris, pushing the Delahaye and last minute cleaning of spark plugs.

Day 3
The third day started with 35°F temperature requiring full gear driving to Lake City and Crested Butte. Lake City is an old mining town and the whole town came out to provide lunch in the town square. Motoring was fantastic over more mountain passes and thru canyons. Derek begged Kurt to slow down on top of the ridges with no guard rails (omitted in Colorado to facilitate snow removal). Under the helm of Kurt we were able to overtake uphill four Ferraris and a 4½ liter Bentley (Swiss alpine driving skills!). Sea levels cars seem to loose up to 40% horsepower above 10000 ft; our 8 litre engine is apparently immune to that having acclimatized well. Kurt and Derek enjoyed the Bentley so much they took a 50 mile detour in Amont along the river with fly fisherman and cows on the road. (picking up a quantity of cow shit on the fenders.) A cold front hit us as we drove into Crested Butte requiring full gear again. Another day of 10 hours of motoring.

New Friends

Day 4
Today we went from Crested Butte to Hotchkiss to Grand Junction. Derek took the wheel in the morning leading the pack thru the fastest run of the rally. Guided by the trooper we were waved on to go!!! Averaging XX mph for several hours enjoying the Rio Grande and the other cars in the rear view mirror. In all the excitement Derek yelled “Bears” and Kurt went for the camera hitting the race driver with the elbow in the face, only to find out that we passed two cows from behind. Kurt had to put cold water on Derek as he was starting to confuse the Bentley with his Dodge Viper.

The Grand social scene is 80% male and 20% fast trophy wives. Even though a lot of the participants participated 10 or 20 times before, we were welcome into this fraternity. Obviously when it came to discuss the number of cars one owned we had to steer the conversation to today’s economic issues. The average value of the cars was around a million, however all the cars were driven hard dispite their value. Germans, Argentineans, British and Italoamericans driving Ferraris — in some cases... that section should be cut.

Dental Staff of Hotchkiss, CO

Day 5
Today we took on a couple of guest passengers allowing Derek to ride in an Alfa and Ferrari. The ride took us from 90°F to Grand Junction to Meeker, Rifle and back to Vail. Each morning started with the Grand Gazette on the breakfast table and this edition warned drivers of local police activity on route 13. Unfortunately 2 drivers did not read the warning and almost got jailed. Again had lunch on the lawn with the local dental staff from Meeker enjoying peach cobbler and barbeque. The town of Vail turned out to welcome the safe return of the 75 remaining cars. Only 5 did not make it and were terminated on day one. Some 25 cars experienced technical difficulties, including fires, electrical problems and ignition issues and many flat tires. We were spared of problems, even though we started without a dynamo, running on spare batteries, the first W.O. hybrid. The car started up every time on the first click and was tuned to perfection; John (Swiss tech) had the Bentley humming along the Colorado skyways. We were complimented as the first ones to drive a vintage Bentley hard and fast for most of the time. The new Blockley tires were fantastic in the corners adding to additional traction.

The Beast & the Bentley Boys

Day 6
50% of the entry fees go to charity complimented by sponsors and auctions. The contribution this year amount to $230.000. The quality of the cars was exceptional. On departure day, after covering some 1100 miles in four driving days, the cars were displayed in Lionshead village in a nonconcourse event; respecting the founder Donald Sutherland wish not to clean the cars during the rally. We had the opportunity to chat to many visiting enthusiasts about the fantastic Grand experience.

The organization of the event was exceptional with the Board members making an effort to talk to all participants. The half dozen mechanics were always ready to help. The luggage was put into a van every morning, so the time consuming packing of the Bentley we experienced on previous tours was a non issue. The administrative staff kept us well informed of what was going on and when. The tour book is a piece of art with maps, directions and detailed descriptions of points of interest. The state troopers kept us safe and out of trouble. The professional photographers came from as far away as Japan. We were on adrenalin most of the time with little sleep, now requiring a couple of days of rest.

We made it back safely to Conifer starting to write down our once in a life time experience... hope you enjoy reading the Colorado Grand experience. Kurt & Derek