Moss Motors British Car Festival

Fun-and-games time comes early this year with the Moss British Car Festival moving into its new summer slot. Scheduled for June 16-19, British Car folk will return to Southern California’s beautiful Santa Ynez Valley for their second annual gathering.

Moss Chairman, Howard Goldman, has again invited all British Car enthusiasts to come to Flag Is Up Farms for a weekend of relaxation, fiendishly clever funkhana events, a wine country tour, the Rally de Santa Ynez, a slalom through the streets of nearby Buellton and a variety of other events that will let you be just as busy as you want to be

Flag Is Up Farms, an operating thoroughbred breeding and training facility, has hosted vintage automobile auctions, rock concerts, and is equipped for camping and motorhome parking (no hookups). Extensive, grassy, paddock areas will be used for funkhana events and car displays. Tours over the Farms shady, tree-lined paths by horse-drawn wagons were very popular with kids and adults during last years event. If you find you want to spend some time away from cars, you can watch future Santa Anita hopefuls train. If you get really lucky, you will see young race horses under saddle for the first time. Sometimes horse and trainer find themselves at cross purposes during this process.

A certain amount of attitude adjustment is welcome after a long drive, or a short one for that matter. Thursday arrivals will have a chance to meet old friends, tell lies, get registered and listen to one of our local disk jockeys get crazy.

If you’re one of those people who want to do everything on the program you’ll need all the energy you can get. So, on Friday and Saturday ranch-style breakfasts and dinners will be available on a pay-as you-go basis. Some of the more serious trenchermen, and trencher ladies, who were with us last year thought it would be nice if food was available throughout the day. Harry Haigh. our Operations genius, has arranged with several nice people to cater food and beverage (adult and otherwise) stands. Bangers or hot dogs, burgers or Cornish pastys, whatever suits your taste, will be served during the day.

The word has probably gotten out since last year. Entrants in the GTE Mobilnet Slalom can expect a few more spectators as they try and bend their machines around the pylons. Because of the increased interest in the Festival, Jamie Pfeifer, slalom Chief Steward, says a new class will be created for the more “stately” marques and the course will be altered accordingly. If the Ferrari driver who sneaked onto the course last year shows up again, he will not qualify as a “stately” marque! Buellton has again made the dual carriageway through the center of town available as the venue . GTE will provide cellular communications for the weekend events and joins our growing list of sponsors for the second year.

The Wine Country Fun Rally, a favorite in 1993, will be supported this year by Austin Cellars, Fess Parker Winery, Carey Cellars Zaca Mesa Winery and some surprise additions. As the name implies this is a no pressure event. We want you to see some of Southern California’s premium wineries and enjoy the great scenery that surrounds the vineyards.

Peter Arakalian, our own “Dr. Diablo” will supervise the Funkhana events on Friday and Saturday afternoon. Did you ever try and drive a slalom on grass with a paper bag over your head? Now you know why we call him Dr. Diablo!

For those of you who would prefer a different kind of challenge The Castrol Rally de Santa Ynez, a proper time – distance event, will be staged again this year by Rally masters John Self and Karl Grimm. Run over a new course, the three hour long, event will be designed for the novice as well as the go-for-broke competitor.

Two bands, entertainment, door prizes and non-prize awards will keep the toe tappers busy on Friday and Saturday night. Again, returned by popular demand, Line Dance lessons will happen on Friday and Saturday afternoon. Yes, Donna Cooper, our master instructor was dancing on the table before the afternoon lessons were over. The group got so large, it was the only way everyone could seethe moves.

Our far-flung goodwill ambassador, Ken Smith, will be on hand to manage Event Central. If you need information or help of any kind, dial’s the place to go. He also has a challenging collection of contests at Event Central to test both brain and brawn. Ken reminds everyone to start work on their Pinewood Derby cars now. The track Ls fast and there will be prizes.Tours to the Moss facility in Goleta, busses to the Danish village of Solvang for shopping, and about three minutes of free time each day will round out the weekend activities. Since the rally events will only accommodate so many entrants because of time constraints, please get your registration forms in early and let us know which events you will enter. As an added incentive, the first 200 people to return their entry forms will receive free raffle tickets for various items contributed by some of our sponsors. Festival registration packets are available from:

British Festival, Moss Motors Ltd.
P.O. Box 847, Goleta, Ca. 93116
800-235-6953

By Jack Brady