AN AUCTIONEER'S KILLING FIELD; What you should expect from the changes this year to the Monterey auctions.(News)(Calendar)

Byline: LARRY EDSALL

With new events and new locations, you will need more than catalogs to follow the auction action at Monterey. You'll need a significantly revised schedule and a map with all the shortcuts across the Peninsula.

Traditionally, the Christie's auction capped the weekend and was a short walk or shuttle ride from the concours awards ceremony at Pebble Beach. Now, Christie's follows on the heels of Thursday's Tour, and while you may not be able to get there on foot, you can fly in for the occasion.

"We found that being the trailing end of a very long weekend wasn't always advantageous,'' said Rupert Banner of Christie's motor car department.

So Christie's jumps to the front of the line this year, moving to the Monterey Jet Center, venue of Gordon McCall's exclusive Motorworks party that traditionally kicks off the Pebble Beach weekend on Wednesday evening. McCall's A-list party should help produce what Banner calls "bubbling enthusiasm'' for Christie's auction the following evening.

Not that the auction can't generate its own enthusiasm. Among the cars consigned are the first customer Ferrari, a 1947 166 Spyder Corsa, chassis No. 002-C, and the 1959 250GT LWB California Spyder originally owned by racer Jo Siffert.

Pebble Beach had no trouble filling Christie's slot. David Gooding, formerly of Christie's and RM, "jumped at the chance'' to stage an auction at the Equestrian Center on the grounds at Pebble Beach.