Legends of Riverside Racing Film Festival

One of the highlights of the "Legends of Riverside" weekend is a demonstration (and you'll get to play on it yourself) of the best racing simulator ever, The CXC Motion Pro II. Designer / owner Chris Considine will be on hand to showcase the finer points of it's operation and you can challenge the likes of our veteran racer attendees to see who's faster at a variety of world class racing circuits.

And our "host" hotel has history of it's own. The brand new, just opened Hampton Inn, just off Day Street in Moreno Valley, is located about where Riverside Raceway's Turn Two used to be. There isn't a vestige of the racetrack remaining but the view of Box Springs Mountain will remind you of your location. Plus we get a special rate on rooms; just mention that you're there for "Legends."

Sponsors of this years event include Maserati, who will be showing off an assortment of new models, Hagerty Collector Car Insurance and Plycar Vehicle Transportation. Word on the street is that this is the largest gathering of racing veterans ever assembled. We won't argue with that !! Along with our chief honoree, Dan Gurney, who needs no introduction; you'll get to meet and talk to luminaries of the racing world (not in any particular order) like Jerry Grant, the first guy to turn a 200mph lap in an Indy car, Trans Am and Formula 5000 champ Tony Adamowicz, and racing stars like Bob Bondurant, Elliott Forbes – Robinson, Jerry Entin, Bill Kraus, Chuck Jones, George Follmer, Eric Haga, Davey Jordan, Scooter Patrick, Skeeter McKitterick, Bill Pollack, John Morton, Oscar Koveleski, Lothar Motschenbacher, Howden Ganley, Dick Guldstrand, Jim Jeffords, Pete Lovely, Jerry Entin, George Keck, Andy Porterfield, Tony Settember, Joe Playan, Doug Hooper and Joe Leonard. And these are just the ones we're sure will be there. See our website; www.legendsofriverside.com for a complete list and schedule of events.

Exhibitors include authors, photographers and artists who's books you've read and art you've seen such as Art Evans, Dave Friedman and Pete Lyons. The aforementioned Lyons will also introduce his latest DVD, "Can Am Thunder" and preside over an extended Can Am Q&A session. Then there's Bruce Kessler, Scarab driver of the fifties, then a world class TV producer (The Monkee's etc.) and now a world class yachtsman who will introduce his Cannes Film Festival winning short film; "Sound of Speed" and speak a bit about both his racing and film careers. Can Am designer Peter Bryant will not only showcase his new book but also share some of his winning design and preparation secrets. And racing industry icon Linda Vaughn of "Miss Hurst" fame and Shelby Daytona Coupe designer Peter Brock are among the other luminaries you'll find on hand.

Friday afternoon's complement of films includes such classics as "Thunder Road" and "The Big Wheel". One of cars from "The Big Wheel", from the Tom Malloy Collection, will be on hand and you can try to guess which of our veteran drivers puts in an appearance in "The Big Wheel", driving a midget. That evening's "Tribute to Paul Newman" will include a cocktail hour, superb buffet and rarely seen racing footage plus recollections of Newman by many of his friends in the racing community, emceed by Motor Trend Executive Editor Matt Stone.

Saturday will start out with an introduction of each of our racing celebrities (they've been told to tell only 1 short story each !!), followed by "Can Am Thunder", "Sound of Speed" and lunch. Interspersed with all these will be commentaries and racing stories told by Can Am and USRRC veterans. Then we'll get to the Fabulous 50's group; whose stories of racing at Santa Barbara and Pomona in the 50's will thrill, shock and surprise (and maybe embarrass) you. Further stories of racing from Can Am, Trans Am, Formula 5000, Indianapolis and Formula One drivers will keep you glued to your seat; the only interruptions coming from additional short racing films and the obligatory autograph signing session. Emceeing all this will be Fabulous 50's announcer Don Rutherford, P.R. man extraordinaire Doug Stokes and Casey Annis of Vintage Racecar Magazine.

We'll be presenting a variety of awards throughout the day, ranging from the "Harry Morrow Award" for Formula 500 competitors along with a discussion of 500cc formula car racing to the "Lee Iacocca Award", to be presented to someone who best epitomizes the combination of the spirit of the automotive performance industry and charity.

A roundtable discussion of the Cannonball Run, will be led by a number of competitors from the legendary event, whose stories are amazing even today. Ask about the guys dressed as priests and the nurses in the ambulance. Then we'll be honoring the drivers of the "Times Grand Prix" of '58 and '59, including Dan Gurney, Bruce Kessler, Carroll Shelby, Bill Krause, Joe Playan, Scooter Patrick, John Fitch, Stirling Moss, Peter Brock, Bob Bondurant, Andy Porterfield, Augie Pabst, Tony Settember and the Seattle Team Empire group of George Keck, Tom Meehan, Ralph Ormsbee and Pete Lovely

Dan Gurney will be the primary honoree at the 2009 "Memories of Riverside" gala to be held on Saturday night. Gurney's career as a driver, car constructor team owner is unparalled in racing history; as the only F-1 driver to win a Grand Prix in a car he built but also as an the first driver ever to win races in the four major categories of motorsports: Grand Prix, Indy Car, NASCAR and Sports Cars in the modern era. And if course there's the Riverside connection – Dan grew up in Riverside and won 5 stock car races and 2 Indy Car races at Riverside International Raceway. In honor of Gurney, numerous Eagle racecars and other significant cars from Gurney's racing career will be on display, in addition to Can Am and Formula 5000 cars and the numerous cars from the Riverside International Automotive Museum collection. Additional cars on display will include ex Jo Bonnier McLaren M6 and the ex Horst Kwech Alfa from Bob Lee's collection, the Andy Boone Trans Am Barracuda, more cars from Tom Malloy's collection and a variety of historically significant cars from Riverside Raceway's history.

This exclusive happening, takes place inside the Riverside International Automotive Museum, surrounded by numerous exotic and unusual cars and, most importantly, all proceeds from this inaugural event will go to charities including the Parkinson's Institute, the Lee Iacocca Foundation, "Hole In the Wall" Camps and the CHP 11-99 Foundation. Our silent auction features one of a kind memorabilia, much of autographed specially for this event.

This is a limited attendance event, only 150 tickets are available and they're going fast.

For complete information, ticket purchases and accommodation availability and a detailed schedule of events; visit www.legendsofriverside.com or call us at 951.369.6966.

Riverside International Automotive Museum – 815 Marlborough Ste 200 – Riverside, CA 92507