Monterey 2012: Tour d’Elegance kicks off busy weekend

We were out the door early Thursday morning, arriving at the Pebble Beach Polo Field before 6 a.m. – that’s before sunrise, in case you were wondering – to greet drivers and fans who gathered for the annual Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance. It seems there’s no better way to start the day than with coffee, doughnuts and some of the finest collector cars in the world.

Wayne Carini, of the Velocity Channel’s “Chasing Classic Cars,” stopped by and spent a half hour with our video crew, offering his take on Pebble Beach and sharing his earliest memories of the spectacle than began in 1950.

With legendary race car driver Sir Stirling Moss leading the Tour off the start line, dozens of Concours classics headed out 17-Mile Drive and eventually onto Highway 1, enjoying a leisurely drive along the Pacific Ocean coastline and offering stunning photo opportunities at every turn.