The main events at Monterey Week kicked off in earnest with the Pebble Beach Concours Tour d'Elegance on Thursday morning.
A relatively recent addition to the prestige West Coast event, the tour gives entrants an opportunity to exercise their cars… and gives the public a sneak preview of what is going to be on the fairways on Sunday.
It isn't just a quick spin round the block for trailer queens either, but a testing 60-mile jaunt around the peninsula, heading down Highway 1 towards Big Sur before returning to Carmel where the cars take over the closed high street during lunch.
The popularity of the tour with the public and the entrants – most of whom take part – is immense and the attrition rate remarkably low, though a few cars (including an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750) failed to make it back to Pebble Beach under their own power yesterday.
Most importantly of all, the tour decides who wins the Classic & Sports Car Elegance in Motion trophy at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, but we're not giving the game away – you'll have to wait until Sunday to find out who won.
James Elliott is a former Editor of Classic & Sports Car