AROC-USA Convention Lexington KY, July 2011

A group from NYAROC, Mike Bange, George Pezold, David Rivkin & John Catera attended as well as Mike, George, John and Frank LaSala from the AROC-CT chapter. AROCNY members drove down together in a caravan of 2 Alfa 164’s and a Nissan(!) with an Alfa Rally logo on the driver door!!. We started our drive from the Molly Pitcher Rest stop on the NJ Turnpike on July 13th and completed half the drive stopping over in Fairmont, Va for an overnighter.

The drive through Western Maryland and West Virginia was unbelievable. The roads wound their way through green mountains and valley’s perfect for Alfa’s. The views were stunning. We actually drove thorough the Cumberland Gap. Continuing our drive on July 14th, we arrived in Lexington late afternoon at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The Convention was well attended. The keynote speaker was Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market magazine and host of the cable TV program, What’s My Car Worth. Keith gave a terrific speech on his involvement with sports cars and Alfa’s and the collector car market. His main point was that buyers should not be afraid to pay up for a car in top condition, rather than spending less and having to invest 1000’s to get the cheaper car in top condition.

The Concorso was held at the historic Keeneland Race Track and was well attended. The attached pics show the large number or Alfa’s on display and the quality of the cars. The Gimmick Rally was a great time, unfortunately your NYAROC teams did not finish in the money!!!

Congratulations go out to Frank LaSala from the Connecticut Alfa Club whose ’94 Alfa 164 LS was judged 1stin class at the Concorso.

AROC 2010 National Convention - Frederick Maryland

This was the 1st National Convention I attended in many years and it was a blast. Sorry for all the folks who missed out on the fun. We started out at 10:00am on Weds., with Mike Bange and myself caravanning to Morristown, NJ to meet up with 9 other Alfa’s from AONE, NJ, Ct clubs and one brave soul, Phil, from Montreal who had been on the road since 5:00am that mornng. Mike & I now hold the club record for the smallest Alfa caravan ever seen on the Cross Bronx Expressway!! Other NYAROC members attending the 100 year celebration included George Linton, David Rivkin, George Pezold, Mike Davias, Rob Rizzo, Pino Fiduli, and Gino & John Agostino. We arrived in Frederick about 5:00pm on Weds where we all promptly checked in at the Convention Registration desk. Mike had enough time to have his ’73 GTV tech inspected at the Hotel for Thurs. track events. The time trials were held at Summit Point raceway on a very hot Thursday – ideal racing weather for Alfa’s and their drivers. The track time trials were followed on Fri. with an Auto Cross and beginners TSD Rallye. Besides the regular convention events, attendees were also afforded the opportunity to take self directed tours to the Eisenhower Farm, Gettysburg and a night bus tour of Washington DC. At the Friday evening banquet, we had the pleasure of hearing Jamie Kitman give the keynote address. He had a receptive crowd laughing in the aisles. Jamie spoke about how he had agreed to deliver the keynote address but forgot he had already booked 2 other events for the same day. So after finishing up an early day event, he hopped into his trusty non air conditioned Alfa Giulia TI and made the drive down to Frederick in 95 degree heat in several traffic jams along the way!!! Saturday was the largest crowd attending the convention. Over 600 Alfisti had 200+ Alfa’s on display at the Stone Manor Concorso outside of Frederick. The sight of waves of Alfa’s on display was breathtaking. After the Concorso, a Gimmick Rallye was run from Stone Manor back to the Convention Hotel. The Rallye ran for about 75 miles across farmland, quaint towns and Civil War battlefields. A terrific route. The Convention concluded on Sunday with the presentation of awards. NYAROC was well represented as Mike Bange and Pino Fiduli walked away with Concorso plaques for their respective Alfa’s -- John Catera