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Re: Ron Yates's Death

To: healeys@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Re: Ron Yates's Death
From: Rick Snover <rsnover@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 16:46:18 -0700
Damn it! Why is it always the good guys?

I knew both Rons, slightly. Ron Yates used to stop by our pit to chat 
whenever I was racing at Vegas or Buttonwillow, and I think he was at 
Fontana this Spring, too. I was really looking forward to his book, and 
it's truly sad that it won't get finished. He worked so hard on it for so 
long. I didn't bump into Ron Burnett nearly as often, but I think he was 
usually at Calif. Healey Week, including Ventura this Spring.

This is turning into a rather tragic year for the Healeyphiles out here.

There've been several incidents coming off Magic Mountain at Buttonwillow, 
including a Tiger that rolled itself into a ball after losing a wheel while 
cresting the hill. That driver walked away though. I've been off-track once 
there myself, but without suffering any damage. It's a challenging corner, 
and fun, but if something goes wrong, it will bite you.

Rick

At 12:08 PM 9/28/2004, Editorgary@aol.com wrote:
>We just read the item on the list digest reporting the death of Ron Yates and
>Ron Burnett at Buttonwillow on Sunday. We didn't know Ron Burnett, but we
>offer our condolences to his family.
>
>Ron Yates was a very good friend of ours, and well known to probably every
>older active member of the West Coast Austin-Healey clubs. He had been an 
>active
>member of the clubs, attending many of the events since at least the early
>eighties, when we first met him.
>
>Ron was a recognized authority on the history of Austin-Healey racing in
>California. For many years Ron had been working on a book on that topic, 
>which
>sadly will go unfinished...

--
Rick Snover, San Diego, CA, USA <http://people.qualcomm.com/rsnover>
Vice President, Austin-Healey Club of San Diego <http://www.sdhealey.org>
1964 Sprite Mk III driver
1959 Speedwell Sprite vintage racer (VARA <http://www.vararacing.com>)
1961 3000 Mk II "Tri-Carb" (being restored) and 1955 100 (pieces in storage)

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