Olympia Charger

Oly Express at Monza'08: first DNF since '06

Our 2008 vintage racing season started at Monza this week-end. After unloading the car, we had a good first day of free practice. The added brake cooling ducts worked fine, the engine ran very strong. Only the harder compound GOODYEAR's were...well, too hard and I was drifting in Curva Grande and in the Parabolica! Saturday Qualifying went great and we improved our 2007 best time by 1.5 seconds.

Our American Crewmembers Tour Vaduz

While the race week-end gets closer, Dick and Sally take a few days of in Germany and Switzerland to get in the right groove. Thanks to Moesi, they had a nice evening in Liechtenstein. Judging by these pictures here, it was even more than just a nice evening!

Hershel McGriff back at Le Mans

Today was sure a day to remember for Team Oly Express as Hershel McGriff came back to the Le Mans track. After racing the Charger here in 1976 and one of Billy Hagan's Camaro's in 1982, Hershel, alongside with wife Sherrie, daughter Marilyn and son-in-law Tex Powell (yes, THE Tex Powell), came to France, 25 years after his last 24 hours drive.

Italian artist Oscar Morisini paints Charger

Our Charger keeps getting the fans attention. One of them, Italy's Oscar Morisini, has chosen the Oly Express as a subject for his latest artistic inspiration. As you can read on Virtual Car dot It, the Charger was the crowd's favourite at Monza. The painting will be soon shown at the famous Lugazzo Motoring Art Gallery in Brescia.

Monza's gruelsome first chicane

Monza is really a cool and fast track, except for that first chicane between the main straightaway and Curva Grande. The Charger got up to 170 mph on the straight, but I had to slow it down to as little as 40 mph to get through here. Trying to keep the momentum made the Dodge roll quite a bit. If you look close (or click on the picture to enlarge it), you can see that the front right tyre is barely touching the ground!

Photo: Don Cann (Vintage Motorsports Magazine)

Olympia Charger races at Monza (Italy)

To say that we had a great week-end would almost be an understatement. Monza was a blast! The car had its troubles with the brakes, but performed very well thanks to our pit crews relentless efforts and ingenuity.

The 2007 race dates are out!

The team at Classic Endurance Racing has just released the 2007 race dates! The Classic races will again be run as an opening event to the LMES racing series.
We intend to be at the following three events:
Monza, Italy - April 13, 14 and 15
Nürburgring, Germany - June 29 and 30, July 1st
Spa, Belgium - August 17, 18 and 19

Become a supporting fan of our team and be with us at these races! Contact us via e-mail at oly.express@free.fr

Where to race the Oly Express in 2007

After our great racing at Le Mans Classic, we are all set to be back there in 2008. Now you may ask where we will race in 2007? Well, we give you a chance to help us make that choice. Leave a comment below to tell us where you'd like to see the Oly Express next year!

The Oly Express has landed

After an extensive sea and land travel, our Charger has arrived in France. It is now at the shop of one of our sponsors. It will appear to the french public at Le Mans on saturday June 24. Stay online to learn where you'll get a chance to see it in action!

Dodge Charger on its way to Los Angeles

After our extensive photo session, we called Eric Lemignot at SDV Le Havre to handle the shipping of our Charger to Europe. Eric's partner in the USA sent a truck to Olympia in order to bring it to the port of Long Beach in Los Angeles. From where it will be shipped in a container to France. As you can see on the trailer, our Charger is in good company with a 1961 Ford Galaxie and a 1963 Chevrolet Impala.

Rainier Dodge at Olympia

Our final stop of that Monday tour was at Olympia’s Dodge dealership, Rainier Dodge. Owned and operated by the Eugene Johnson family, Rainier Dodge sells all the latest models from the brand with the Ram. They not only cleared some space for us to photograph our Charger in front of the dealership, but also pulled up a brand new 2006 Dodge Charger to sit right next to it!

Getting ready for Le Mans Classic 2006

Before shipping our Charger to Europe, where it will be fitted with all FIA safety equipement, we took the occasion to take a couple of pictures. As you can see, it is now completely in its former Le Mans livery and we also managed to get a couple of racing suits in the same color as Hershel and Doug wore in 1976.

Getting the Charger to Le Mans

In order to get the Charger to Le Mans, Herschel McGriff had a special trailer built by his crew. As Dick Pierson recalls it, this trailer, when loaded, was quite a challenge to tow, due to its weight and the extra length.