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2006 Le Belle Macchine d'Italia
By: Nathan Leach-Proffer
Photos by the author
July 07, 2006

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The 2006 LeBelle Macchine d’Italia marked the 20th annual gathering of Italian car owners that makes its home in the Pocono Mountains. This event hosts the gathering of several clubs including national meets of the Lamborghini and Maserati Owners Club as well the East Coast meets of Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Iso Bizzarrini. The event also hosted the Sports Car Market Magazine Historic Maserati Reunion as well as the New England Pantera and De Tomaso Owners Meet. With so many car clubs gathering for the three day event, the selection of cars makes for beautifully diverse scenery. This year, however, an unwelcome guest showed up in the form of torrential rains that plagued the northeast for nearly two weeks. The result was the cancellation of both track days and quite a few disappointed owners and spectators.

Concorso d’Eleganza

The first of the three day event is the Concorso d’Eleganza that was held at the Skytop Lodge. With thunderstorms in the forecast and a 90% chance of rain, everyone was glad that the rain held off until the evening so that the show could go on. The main highlight of this year’s event was the gathering of the only three Maserati 8CTFs ever built. All three cars competed at the Indianapolis in 1939 and 1940, with chassis number 3032 winning the race both years. This was the first time they have been presented together in 58 years. The show also included many other historic and modern Maseratis including a gorgeous 1957 Maserati 450S Zagato Coupe and the MC12 supercar. Other marques celebrated in different ways, with Lamborghini owners bringing several Miuras to celebrate the car’s fortieth anniversary, and De Tomaso fans celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Pantera.

Pocono International Raceway

While the weather held off for the Concorso, it unfortunately did not cooperate on Sunday or Monday, causing the track event to become essentially a second Concorso. Despite the weather many drivers still came with high hopes of getting onto the track, but nature had no plans of granting any wishes. In the morning the track was immersed in fog and rain, and even though the fog lifted by afternoon, the track remained covered with puddles of water. Despite the drivers’ patience throughout the day, they were not able to get onto the track. Arriving again early on Monday morning, many drivers had given up and the garage had emptied out. Less than twenty cars remained with the hope of being able to get onto the track. It was a true shame, especially since the track days were a large part of the event, and it was a favorite for the drivers. Even worse, legendary Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni was unavailable to offer rides at speed in a new Lamborghini. Perhaps most disappointing was that the brand new Ferrari Challenge Cars ready to race did not get the opportunity to take to the track.

While the weather prematurely ended a promising LeBelle Macchine d’Italia, it will only build the excitement for next year’s event when Italian car owners will once again gather to celebrate their amazing machines.