[jmz]

...I hope I am reading an excerpt from your soon to be released new book!

Originally Posted by Banning

Good question. We all know that Grandstands was not the start or finish technically, but many races started there because it's where everyone was hanging out. The course lies between Skyline and Coldwater where you would turn around, change places and race back the other way.
For example, lets say you come up to Mul one evening in your fastest car and you are driving west from Hollywood. You would be coming up the racecourse towards Grandstands. Everyone would be hearing and seeing you coming up. If you were to stop at Grandstands someone might challenge you to a race in which case you would probably go back down the course to Skyline, turn around and race back. If it was a close race you might go all the way to Coldwater and then back to Grandstands. Some races were spontaneous where just passing Grandstands was an invitation to start a race. This happened to me many times in the early 70's.

However if you were going east on Mul from Coldwater and you didn't stop at Grandstands you may not have been heard early enough for someone to challenge you. So after coming back from turning around at Skyline you would likely have a challenger. Some guys like John Hall would race in an inferior car like a VW Beetle and surprise the crapp out of some Dude in a Vette or other fast car. Knowing the course and taking it to the limit is the winning game.

My fastest night race on Mulholland went like this:
I was with Bruce Kusada (the guy with me in the photo of the Carrera in my Living Room). We went east on Mul, saw all the guys hanging out at Grandstands, kept going and turned around at Skyline and came back up the course as we had done many times before. We were in my Silver 1973 "Mulholland prepped" 911S. We slowed somewhat as we passed Grandstands to look at the group because sometimes someone would pull out and want to race. No one there was competitive with me in the 911S. I raced Mulholland since I was 12 years old in my moms 1966 Fastback Mustang.
This night was different. I was not ready to get my ego squashed.
As we passed Grandstands and slowed to look at the guys there, an old primer grey pickup passed me like I was standing still. His headlights were off so I could not see him coming. As passed me in front of Grandstands to humiliate me, he turned his headlights back on.
It was Charlie! I had no idea who it was at this time or that it was the same guy I had heard late at night (while in bed) tearing up Mul in his uncorked racing Corvette.
I pulled out all the stops and raced like never before. I could not believe I was being bested by an old Pickup. Bruce and I were in awe seeing this old truck sliding from the dirt on the right to the dirt on the left while stradling all of Mulholland. In the big left before lower Coldwater we saw a Beer can fly out the window of the truck. Bruce and I just looked and thought, "What?" Beer can? I could no way pass this Truck. Too crazy of a driver.
We got to European Straight. I gave the little 911 all she had and we started to overtake the Pickup. Neck and neck we proceeded thru the straight. Charlie was not going to let me in. I realized this was a race to the death and I was the one likely to die. At the end of the straight are three blind turns, left, right, and sharp left.
The pickup had to slow slightly and I got my chance to pass. Into the first sharp left the 911 lifted up on it's right hand wheels and almost flipped over. Barely made the next two turns due to speed. Bruce then slugged me in my right shoulder yelling, You almost killed me! After that I was on home turf and raced like the devil possessed me. I was able to gain some car-lengths in the sharp turns. At the bottom the S'ss I saw him entering the top of the S'ss. After the bottom blind turn, I shut off my headlights and disappeared up Java in the same manner Charlie had appeared.
Bruce would never get into a car with me again, still true to this day.

That evening showed me the 911S was not fast enough and it was my inspiration to go to Germany with photos of Mulholland Drive and ask for help designing a car built specifically for Mulholland. The birth of the Mulholland Carrera followed a year and a half later.

As for your question about documented times,
Only a few racers kept times and it was difficult to monitor since you can't see the start and finsh from Grandstands. The idea of a stopwatch being used by Charlie like in the movie is not true. Charlie did not need to use any timekeeper. He ruled Mulholland for many years in his Corvette and was the original King of the Hill.