L.A. Grand Prix Falters at the Start

The Los Angeles Grand Prix sputtered to a start Saturday as construction crews rushed to finish fencing the track, only leaving time for practice runs as all 10 official races were canceled late in the day.

Practice runs began almost four hours late as drivers wound out their engines through the stifling downtown air. Spectators in the half-filled bleachers had to wait still longer as crews cleaned up an oil spill from the first group.

But once the Ford Cobras roared down Aliso Street--though little faster than the traffic just below on the Hollywood Freeway--some fans forgot the thwarted start.

“It’s just good American horsepower,” said Mike Dey of West Hills. Still, he was heading home after the second practice run, saying he wasn’t surprised there were problems at the first-ever event.

Because fans only got to see the drivers testing the course, race organizers announced that Saturday’s tickets will be good for today when they hope the real races will begin at 12:30 p.m. Racing is also scheduled for Monday.

But some race fans said they were so disappointed they won’t come back today even though they can get in free.

“L.A. can definitely do better,” said Sigmund Fertiz of Whittier.

Fertiz, who said he paid $30 for a ticket through an agency, called the course good and the racing displays great. The organization of the event was a different matter, he added.

He had to wait well over an hour just to get in because the gates weren’t open on time. Then it was after noon before the first practice runs began. “If you have racing in your blood like I do, that’s not enough. I wouldn’t go back on Monday even if I could,” said Fertiz, explaining that he will be in church and at a wedding.

Grand Prix officials said chain link safety fences that were late in being installed caused the problems. “We just didn’t have it finished in time,” said spokesman Jack Gerken, adding that crews had been working through the night.

As the noon sun beat down, Jerry Moorehead grew tired of watching only construction equipment roll up and down the track. “It’s good to watch the backhoe races,” he griped to his girlfriend.

As the first group--vintage Porsches, MGs, Alfa Romeos and Triumphs--headed around the 1.6-mile, 11-turn track, an announcement was made saying that the races would be delayed until today.

But at a ticket booth on Main Street, attendants confidently told buyers that races, not practice runs, had begun. “All I know is that we’ve had two races,” said one ticket seller about 2 p.m.

The confusion bothered even die-hard Cobra fans such as David Berger, who owns a kit version of the monster V-8 convertibles and joined those around Carroll Shelby, the car’s designer, to have his program signed.

“The promotion part of [this event] has been really bad,” said Berger. “I called early this morning and they didn’t know anything about it. They couldn’t tell me prices or anything.

“But the cars are cool,” he said, echoing the sentiments of many others.

All morning in the paddock, the racers chatted and opened their hoods for curious passersby. Robert Kann took a photo for a parking enforcement officer who wanted to sit in a 1958 Porsche Speedster.

Wearing a blue jumpsuit with his name and blood type embroidered on the pocket for emergencies, Kann said he was going to take it slow and get a feel for the track. He has raced and done the maintenance on his Porsche for 20 years.

“I would hate to hit the concrete barrier,” he said. “It hurts the wallet and it means you’re out of control.”

After his practice run, Kann said he thought that the crisscross over the Hollywood Freeway was too tight and that there was a big hump at a hairpin turn, but that overall the track was fine.

The owner of an industrial tool business estimated that he topped out at 75 mph on the long straight-away on Alameda Street, which heads into the hairpin past Union Station. His car ran a little hot, and he didn’t know if he would race later in the day.

By 4 p.m., two Formula cars had crashed. There were no injuries and the cars were expected to race today, said Gerken.

Other drivers shared Kann’s concern for the safety of their cars.

“I guess it’s what you call gentlemanly racing,” said Joe Plascencia, a financial analyst who drives a small Formula car. “We have to work next week, but those professional [drivers] are paid to push it to the limit.”

Vintage racing is about having a good time, one driver noted. “I enjoy the sound and the other drivers around me,” Kann said. “It’s a spectacle.”