Skip to main content
Please wait...

Benzzz by the Beach

Submitted by Diana Quinn on Mon, 2022-07-11 01:07
Wednesday, Nov 02, 2022 - 06:00pm to Sunday, Nov 06, 2022 - 01:00pm
Hilton Head Concours
Hilton Head
South Carolina
29925
Jane Martinez
5022803851

The MBCA - Carolinas Section is hosting an Eastern Regional Event in conjunction with the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance  from Thursday, November 3 thru Sunday November 6.


Come join us for lots of FUN, food and comradery! You can REGISTER HERE for a package deal or individual activities.  Our line-up includes:

 

Thursday, November 3 - MBCA VIP Welcome Reception and the Grand Motoring Film Festival Night

The Film Festival is an evening of automotive and cinematic artistry that enters its sixth year - bigger and better than ever!  This activity includes early admission to the gala, special VIP parking for our MBCA members and selected seating in the theatre to view the films.  The Festival offers a display of fine automobiles, hors d’oeuvres and cocktails culminating with the fascinating motoring film amid red carpet sophistication!

 

Friday, November 4

Driving Events -You will have a choice of one of the following three uniquely different driving rallies: 

  • Crisscross Rally
  • Lost in the Lowcountry Rally
  • Poker Rally to Savannah

 Optional activities:

  • A Day in Old Town Bluffton – 2 different tours and lunch
  • Indigo Tie-Dye – a hands-on class

 

Friday Dinner at Alfred’s Restaurant

Join us at Alfred’s, a local favorite, where we have reserved the entire restaurant for our dinner. This superb restaurant features Chef Heath Prosser. He has over 30 years' experience in international cuisines, so he and his team are sure to tempt your palate with mouthwatering German and European dishes. 

 

Saturday, November 5 - Awards Dinner at Flora’s Italian Café

Flora’s Italian Café is an award-winning local restaurant, and again, we have reserved the entire restaurant for our Awards Dinner. Branco and Flora Raiac, originally from Romania, have been restaurateurs for close to 20 years and have made a name for themselves by serving fine Italian and European dishes with  extensive wine selections, in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.   In addition to the great meal, we will feature a guest speaker, present the award for the “People's Favorite Roadster” from the Car Club Showcase, as well as the awards for the winners of Friday’s Driving Events.  

 

Saturday & Sunday – 20th Anniversary Hilton Head Island Car Club Showcase & Concours d’Elegance

Rain is not invited this year!! MBCA-Carolinas Section will present “The History of the Mercedes-Benz Roadster” at the Car Club Showcase on Saturday, November 5. The display will tell the story of the Mercedes-Benz Roadster, featuring ten (10) beautiful Mercedes-Benz roadsters in all of their glory, beginning from the iconic 300SL Roadster in 1957 to the modern 2020 AMG GTR Roadster! The Legends of the Autobahn – East will also be held on Saturday, where MBCA will display vehicles with BMWCCA, and Audi Club NA. This year MBCA celebrates the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the W116 S class. 

The grand finale will be the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, celebrating its 20th Anniversary! This show always has some beautiful cars displayed. One of the featured special displays is the BEST IN SHOW HALL OF FAME!

 

LODGING INFORMATION:

We have a limited number of rooms reserved at the following hotels that are available now:

Sonesta Resort ($164 + $10 resort fee) at this SONESTA LINK

Hampton Inn ($169) at this HAMPTON LINK


Vacation rentals are also available on Hilton Head Island that may interest our members.  Check them out at vrbo.com, airbnb.com and other similar websites.

 

REGISTER HERE for the Benzzz By the Beach Regional Event

 

Read more

Drivers Education at Rockingham Speedway

Submitted by jertoothsaver on Mon, 2022-06-20 02:06
Saturday, May 28, 2022 - 02:00am to Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 02:00am
Rockingham
North Carolina

Rockingham Speedway

Jim Roberts, DMD

 

The MBCA Sportfahrer Verein (Sporting Drivers’ Association) staged a driving education event at Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, NC on 28-29 May chaired by Virginia Section President, Don LaBar.

There were 10-12 Mercedes-Benz/AMG cars plus another 1-12 MBCA members including instructors and those who chose to use another brand of car.

Total attendance was 50-60 over the two days.

All non-solo participants has an instructor including MBCA members Don LaBar, Gary Edwards, and Jim Roberts.

There was no crash damage to any vehicle and no mechanical problems for any Mercedes-Benz.

Safety measurers included 2 advanced life support paramedics as well as their fully equipped ambulance, corner workers, flaggers and a control marshal.

2 driver meetings and 3 student classroom meetings were staged.

Every participant expressed appreciation to MBCA for staging this great event, and we expressed our appreciation to Don LaBar and his team for arranging and executing this great experience.

Committee members Edwards and Roberts expressed concerns about the jersey barrier placement near two of the turns.  They told the event chair that these must be moved back to where the original road course beams were before we could use this course again.  Chairman LeBar agreed.

The other issue was timing:

Having this event just two days before Watkins Glen made it very arduous for Edwards and Roberts to instruct in both.  It was also only 2 weeks before the long-scheduled Talladega, Al Sportfahrer event.  These two events compete for the same pool of participants, since Talladega drew participants from the Charlotte, NC area last year. 

Finally: this was scheduled on the same 2 days as the Triangle section’s Pinehurst car show.  It is only 25 miles between them.

This long weekend could accommodate both events if Rockingham were Sat-Sun and the 1-day car show were the Monday holiday.   Evening events could be shared.  This would enhance total attendance and allow those who have an interest in both (e.g. Edwards and Roberts) to attend both.  Virginia Section is willing to work with Triangle Section to accomplish this.

 

Read more

Weekend in Charleston - including a Charleston Harbor Tour and the Kiawah Car Show

Submitted by [email protected] on Sat, 2021-07-17 11:07
Thursday, Oct 14, 2021 - 11:00pm to Sunday, Oct 17, 2021 - 03:00am
Charleston, South Carolina
10 Wharfside Street,
Charleston
South Carolina
29401
Michele Stine
19149247948

Welcome to Charleston!           

We have a wonderful weekend waiting for you in the Low Country. We have reserved a set of rooms at the Hampton Inn in Patriot's Point, which is located a the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor. It is also the site of the Naval &  Maritime Museum, as well as the home of the USS Yorktown. 

On Friday evening, we have arranged for a history tour of the harbor on the Carolina Belle, which will depart at 6:00 pm and return at 7:30 pm.

On Saturday afternoon, Cars on Kiawah, a premier regional car show at Ocean Park, Kiawah Island is scheduled from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. There will be a display of over 250 automobiles representing the history and evolution of the automobile. The only cost is a parking fee of $20 per vehicle, cash only. For those of you that would prefer otherwise, you can visit the city of Charleston or take advantage of the events at Patriots Point. 

On Saturday evening, we have arranged a dinner at 7:00 pm, at the Charleston Harbor Fish House - located at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, located at Patriot's Point. 

 

 

 

 

Read more

MBCA Performance Drivers School

Submitted by Alabama-Newsle… on Tue, 2021-05-25 06:05
Saturday, May 15, 2021 - 01:00am to Saturday, May 15, 2021 - 11:00am
Munford / Talladega
Alabama

Mercedes-Benz Club of America

Performance Drivers School,   May 15, 2021

 

The Alabama/NW Florida and Peachtree MBCA Sections, sponsored a Performance Drivers School at “Talladega Grand Prix Raceway” on May 15, 2021.

The Alabama/NW Florida Section partnered with the Peachtree Section in planning and organizing this MBCA Performance Drivers School.  Dr. James Roberts, MBCA Director at Large & Alabama/NW Florida Membership Chair, and Gary Edwards, Peachtree Vice President, were the lead organizers. Both competent race drivers with many years’ experience.

Saturday 7 AM, 39 drivers and instructors entered the track along with 20 other enthusiasts, while completing event registration we made new friends, met with old buds too. It was a cold Alabama Morning 43 degrees, but sunny and light fluffy clouds, with the promise that it would warm up to a very pleasant 80 degrees with a light wind.

Once registered, cars and helmets were inspected. For MBCA events your car must be pre-inspected before arriving at the track, by a competent mechanic. Your helmet had to meet current SNELL 2015 2020 Car type helmet safety dates.  A final check to see if the battery was secure, and floor mats removed. Now you and the Mercedes are good to go.

Prior to our driving we were called to the classroom.  Here the first of 4 classes were attended. Each class built upon what we had experienced in each driving session. The primary message was...

  1. Be Safe
  2. Learn Something
  3. Have Fun

As beginners we were advised to brake while in a straight line, before entering the turn, and accelerate out of the turn. The turn itself is viewed in 3 parts. The Turn-IN, the Apex, and the Track-Out.  We were shown where our car should be for each of these points in a turn.  Also, it was pointed out no two turns were alike, we had to adapt. The various flags and their significance were demonstrated.

Out to the track.  “Talladega Gran Prix Raceway” is in Munford, Alabama a short distance from NASCAR’S Famous Banked Oval.  The track is 1.4 miles long about 40 feet wide, 7 turns.  Designed originally for Motorcycles, there are No Steel barriers, ample runoff room, Little chance for severe damage should anyone go off track.  Nobody went off track this day!

The 21 student drivers, split into 3 groups. There were 17 instructors. It was a varied group; most had not had Performance Driving experience.  MBCA members were from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South and North Carolina, and Tennessee.  Out of the student drivers, 16 drove Mercedes-Benz’s, a Lotus Evora, an Alfa Romero 4C, a Corvette, and a Porsche Boxster rounded out the cars. Oldest Mercedes was 1984 300TD, most unique Mercedes a 1999 12-cylinder SL600, Smallest car was a Fiat 500 Abarth (an instructor’s car).  Also, there was a Mercedes C230 Sport Coupe. Also note, most of the Mercedes-Benz were AMG’s.   AMG’s were designed and built to do exactly what we did on that Saturday. They each did it well, there were no issues.

 Four of the 19 Students were female drivers.  Ladies come on out to Performance Drivers Day. Learn, have FUN!   

Thank you to the sections for sponsoring this event, Gary Edwards and Steve Mina, from Rocket City Miata Club for the class room sessions. Cheryl Edwards for keeping everything together. Thanks to the instructors who were MBCA members, Porsche, and BMW club members     A grateful Thank You to Dr Jim Roberts and Gary Edwards for organizing the entire weekend.

BTW, each MBCA student was awarded the "MBCA Sport Fahrer Werein" certificate, or “Sports Drivers Badge” which allows us to display a grill badge signifying our new skill as a Mercedes Driver.

 

 

 


 

Read more
Subscribe to Eastern Regional Event