This weekend is race weekend for the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix at Shenley Park. It is the 39th year for the event. Practice heats are held Saturday with the races on Sunday. Being that F-Types are not vintage (yet!) they are not eligible to race. I have seen E-Types and other older Jaguars racing in prior years though. There are several E-Types and an XK140 scheduled to race this year.

Every year one of the Jaguar dealers in the area has someone who takes a hot lap on the track in an F-Type in between each race. I have also seen F-Types and other Jaguars in the car shows.

The main site for the event is:

www.pvgp.org

Additionally many of the racers strap cameras to their roll bars as they race and post the videos on YouTube. There are many videos from prior years already posted.

 

Wow. Had no idea this was going on. If I was not already heavily committed this weekend I’d drive out from the York area to take in the events. Thanks for sharing, will try to plan for next year.

 

I went to the Shadyside car show on Monday and Jaguar was well represented. I saw an XK140 or two, several E-Types and a nice 3.4S sedan. Yesterday I participated in the Countryside Tour, a 100 plus mile road rally starting in Ligonier and ending at Jamison's sheep farm near Crabtree. I drove a Morgan 4/4, but again, Jaguar was well represented. Several Series I E-types participated and a Series III OTS. British car day is this coming Saturday and new Jaguars are welcome. You can register at the gate and park on the Schenley Park golf course where you have a great view of the racing practice rounds. If you enter the car show on Saturday, you can use your window card to park on the golf course on Sunday. This is a bonus because parking for the races on Sunday is usually at a premium. If you have the time this coming weekend, the PVGP is definitely an event you don't want to miss.

John

 

I would be up for going next year.

 

Thanks for the info. My daughter and her boyfriend just moved to Pittsburg last week and the park for the event is right next to where they live. I'm jealous I can't go.

 

Anybody want to consider this event for this year?

 

If the timeframe works I’m definitely in. A short 3-4 hour drive from where 8 am.

 

When is it scheduled?

 

July 23rd is the British Car Show

 

I have attended almost all of them over the last 40 years. I go on race weekend for either the practice heats on Saturday or the races on Sunday. I usually wander around on the golf course as well and check out all the cars. I will be there Saturday or Sunday.

For the last ten years I have had tickets for the Bobby Rahal Courtesy Tent (he owns two local Jag dealerships and two local Volvo dealerships) where they serve a free lunch. Not sure what happened last year (maybe the pandemic?) but Bobby Rahal had no courtesy tent.

Note that this is actually a 10 day event. Below is a link to the event calendar:

https://www.pvgp.org/calendar/

 

CPQ,
you’re the reason I know about this event. I want to do what you recommended when you started the thread. Show the car on Saturday on the golf course, park on the golf course on Sunday and see the race. I would be interested in Rahal tent if you have a lead on those tickets. I started looking at places to stay last night. I would travel on Friday and Monday

 

I would love to help on showing the car but unfortunately I am unable to. I have never shown a car at the event. I have a 2018 which I bought new in November 2019. There was no GP in 2020 due to the pandemic and last year I was ill on race weekend and did not make it.

I can tell you that the golf course is packed with cars both days. As far as racing is concerned there is not much difference between the practice heats Saturday and the races Sunday. Nobody is taking parade laps, despite the value of some of the cars they are actually racing.

There are usually delays between the races due to cars crashing, breaking down and parts falling off. They have to retrieve all the stranded cars between heats and check the track.

I should be on the list for courtesy tent tickets as all my vehicles are serviced at Rahal dealerships. My DD is a Volvo. I usually get an email a month or so before the event about tickets. Both vehicles are due for annual maintenance visits in May. I will ask at the dealership about tickets then.


Details on British Car Day are below. Note the rules and regulations for showing your car.

https://www.pvgp.org/car-shows/schen...itish-car-day/

 

Like CPQ100, I have been attending the PVGP and British Car Day since the 1980's. IMHO, if you are planning the trip, preregister your car with the Western Pennsylvania Triumph Assoc., the sponsor of British Car Day. They will mail your entrance pass for Saturday, so you cruise through registration, pick up your event bag and proceed to the parking area. I have always taken at least one car to British Car Day. As far as showing the car is concerned, the show is not a concours, but a peoples choice for judging. No pressure, drive in, park, set up your picnic, wander around the car displays and watch the qualifying on Saturday. You don't even have to wash your car if you are traveling. It is a really laid back event, especially in the British Car section. It attracts a lot of car people who like to BS, ogle, admire each others cars and have fun. The British cars are separated by make, model and usually a few hundred show up. The international car show, corvette show, mustang show, US car show and the others are close by. The Porsche club has a big show as do the Mercedes and BMW clubs. There is a lot to see. Rahal didn't have its tent last year. Usually they have a food tent with a nice catered lunch and several other tents with all the new models there for people to sit in, touch and talk to the salesman about. Maybe it will be back to normal this year. On Sunday you can use your windshield card from Saturday to go back to the British Car Day area and park for the races. There are plenty of great spots to watch the races from nearby where you would park. I know people who register for saturday, don't bring a car on saturday, but use the windshield card for sunday parking. There are events every day/evening for around 10 days, with vintage racing at Beaver Run, car shows on Monday in Shadyside, tuesday or wednesday in Homestead and another by Heinz field or on the Southside. During the week vintage cars are displayed around downtown Pittsburgh and there is a neat countryside tour around the laurel highlands. The event benefits the Autism Society and is a must attend, in my opinion, for anyone interested in cars/vintage racing. John

 

hi
There are several fantastic places to view the races from surrounding parking lots. I know folks who register for Saturday, don't bring a car on Saturday, then park on Sunday using the windshield card. <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->real estate turkey <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->villa for sale in turkey

 

The 40th Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix kicks off one month from today.

Details -> https://pvgp.org/

British Car Day is July 23 -> https://pvgp.org/schenley/british-car-day/