The Targa Trophy is this weekend and to kick things off teams ran the I-5 gauntlet from Beverly Hills to San Francisco. Surprisingly no Ferraris burned to the ground and nobody went to jail.
The parking lot at Black and White Car Rental in Beverly Hills was filled with high-end machines as teams prepared for their road trip from Southern California to the Targa Trophy Bay Area Rally Fest official start at the W Hotel in San Francisco.
To make things particularly easy for Johnny Law each team camouflaged their street cars as racecars.
After covering their expensive car's expensive paint jobs with inexpensive stickers (NOS Energy Drink, BR Racing, HRE Wheels to name a few of the decals that covered nearly every inch of real estate on our car) drivers headed down the twisty curves of scenic Sunset Drive on their way to the open freeway.
The Targa Trophy Bay Area Rally Fest promises to take drivers and navigators along some of the best Bay Area back roads. Teams will be scored on their ability to stay on a predetermined route (through checkpoints and mileage confirmation) and by completing the rally within a certain time.
The route is unknown by the teams until their front wheels hit the start line and they are handed the route instructions.
Coverage of the event for Jalopnik will come from the bucket seat of a 2011 Ford Shelby GT 500. The number 38 entry, representing all that is good about America (540 horsepower!) in a rally filled with European exotics, will be driven by Shelby Mustang racers Krider Racing.
Outstanding photography by Mo Satarzadeh.