It would be the year John Bishop and his wife would retire, as they sold their interests to Mike Cone and Jeff Parker. The IMSA would lose its original spirit, going downhill very rapidly. Racing was getting a Japanese business, as Nissan would sweep another Championship. Their sole valuable contender was Toyota, led by AAR and their Eagle GTP car. Nissan had dominated the racing season but, while doing so, they had built another new, and more efficient car. This car would be introduced by mid-season. The first race, as per usual, would take place at Daytona, with the classical 24 Hour race. This race would be a remake of the previous season, with Jaguar eagerly willing to revenge. The race featured an interesting field of fifty five cars. NPTI entered two cars, driven by Bob Earl, Chip Robinson, Geoff Brabham and Derek Daly. The four of them would drive the two cars according to the race facts. These two cars were supported, for the first time, by a private entry, which was Jim Busby's. He had purchased last year's car, and had secured John Paul as lead driver. He would be co-driven by Kevin Cogan and Mauro Baldi. It was for sure an entry not to be forgotten! TWR had two cars entered, with Price Cobb, John Nielsen and Martin Brundle on the first one, and Davy Jones, Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace on the second one. The cars were XJR12s, which were improved versions of the former XJR9s. A single Toyota, which was a HF89, would face these two manufacturer's entries. Porsche, of course, had some valuable chances at the win in such a race. Eight cars showed up at the start, which proved it was not over for the German make. The strongest entry appeared to be the Bayside Motorsport car, with Bob Wollek, Sarel van der Merwe and Dominic Dobson at the wheel. Dyson Racing had James Weaver, Scott Pruett and Vern Schuppan share the wheel with team owner. John Hotschkis had brought his Fabcar built car. He would drive it with his son and Jim Adams. René Herzog, a Swiss driver, had purchased a 962 and would enter his car, which was built by Jim Chapman. Hans Stuck, Harald Grohs and Hurley Haywood would drive his car along with him. David Seabroke, a Canadian entrant, had a 962 too, and he was co-driven by Bill Adam, Richard Laporte and Scott Goodyear. Joest Racing, not to be underestimated, had a strong entry, with Frank Jelinski, Henri Pescarolo and Jean Louis Ricci. Another new IMSA entrant was Dauer Racing, which was used to the European fields, making its first ever appearance in the series. Raul Boesel, Al Unser Jr and Johnny Unser would try their hands at this car. Gianpiero Moretti was here again, with Derek Bell, Stanley Dickens, Costas Los and Steve Phillips. It was a very ecclectic team indeed. A sole Spice SE90P Chevrolet, but it was a works car, was to be entered. Bernard Jourdain, Jeff Kline, Hiro Matsushita and Scott Atchison were at the wheel of this car. Many Lights cars were entered, and it would provide plenty of action. Spices, from different types, were amongst the favorites. Scott Schubot, who was the IMSA Lights 1989 Champion, fielded his usual car. He was partnered by Linda Ludeman and Tomas Lopez. Essex Racing, managed by Mike Gue, had two cars. Charles Morgan, Tom Hessert and Hendrick ten Cate drove the first car while Ferdinand de Lesseps, Jay Cochran and John Morrison drove the second one. The two of them were Buick powered. Rocketsports entered a SE87P Pontiac powered for John Heinricy, Tim Beverly, Andy Swett and Tommy Morrison. Martino Finotto, Paolo Guaitamacchi and Loris Kessel were at the wheel of the Ferrari powered Spice SE88P. George Sutcliffe had entered an older car. He would share it with Michael Allison, Andrew Hepworth, Michael Dow and Chris Hodgetts. David Rocha was at the wheel of the Huffaker entered car, co-driven by Les Delano, Andy Peterey, Craig Carter and Oscar Manautou. This huge contingent of Spices would be opposed a pair of Argos. Two Mazda powered old JM16s and a more recent JM19, which was also Mazda powered. Max Schmidt, Jim Briody, Rusty Schmidt and Jorge Mendoza would drive the car. Uli Bieri, David Tennyson and John Graham would share the wheel of the Tiga GT286 Ferrari entered by Uli Bieri. Gary Wonzer had entered an old Lola T616 Mazda, which he would be driven by Bill Bean, Don Abreu and Bill Wolfe. A reliable Fabcar Porsche was entered by John Higgins, and Howard Cherry, Charles Monk and Tim McAdam were his co-drivers. The GTO class had a lot to offer, with a big Mazda-Lincoln Mercury battle. Jim Downing had left the Lights fray and would fight off the big guns. His car was a quadrirotor version of the Mazda RX7, and could be as fast as you could hope, and its noise was kind of extraordinary. Amos Johnson, John O'steen and Pete Halsmer would round out this factory effort, which was the first ever, in an attempt to clinch the GTO Championship. The second car was driven by Elliot Forbes Robinson, John Morton and Pete Halsmer. Jack Roush was the winningest team owner in this class, and he had high hopes for getting another one in 1990. The cars, which were Cougar XR7s, now were sporting Whistler colors. Robby Gordon, Calvin Fish and Lyn St James were at the wheel of one car, while Dorsey Schroeder, Max Jones, Robert Lappalainen and Scott Pruett drove the second car.
The stunning Mercury Cougar XR7, which won the GTO class at Daytona. Robby Gordon, Calvin Fish and Lyn St James drove it.Copyright Mike Birch, courtesy Racingsportscars
A third car, which was a semi-works entry, was devoted to Jim Stevens, Bob Schneider, James Jaeger and Robert Lappalainen. A bunch of less developed Chevrolet Camaros would try to compensate their lack of speed with a bit of unsuspected reliability. Richard McDill was the quickest amongst these cars. An interesting Chevrolet Beretta was fielded by Clay Young. Joe Cogbill, Mark Gibson and Dale Kreider drove it. The GTU class featured a much awaited duel between two Japanese manufacturers, and Mazda was no more the outright favorite for the win. Bob Leitzinger entered a very fast Nissan 240SX, which was driven by David Loring, Butch Leitzinger, Chuck Kurtz and himself. The other car was entered by Kryderacing, and was driven by Reed Kryder, Henry Camferdam, Alistair Oag and Phil Pate. The Mazda contingent was somewhat less impressive than it used to be, but you still found some strong entries. Dick Greer had an RX7 which he shared with Colin Trueman and Mike Mees, the car being sponsored by Wendy's. Peter Uria had purchased the former Team Highball car, and he would drive it with Bob Dotson, Jim Pace and Rusty Scott. The last car was an MX6, entered by Roger Mandeville, and driven by Al Bacon, John Hogdal, John Finger and Lance Stewart. An old Nissan 240Z was to be seen while two Dodge Daytonas could do well. Kal Showket was supervising the cars, which were driven by Don Knowles, Neil Hanneman and Mike Davies and himself, the second car being driven by Stu Hayner, Robbie Buhl and Mike Davies. A lonely Porsche 911 would take the green, it was the Alex Job entry, Peter Kraft, Tommy Johnson, Buz McCall and Alex Job would try to reiterate their previous year win. Bob Wollek won the pole in the Texaco backed Bayside Motorsport Porsche 962. Second was the Nissan ZX T GTP driven by Geoff Brabham while Oscar Larrauri, who had qualified third, flipped his car and could not take the green. The race promised a lot, and Bob Wollek was ahead of everybody as the green flag was waved. He was leading the two Nissan ZX T GTPs, which were soon overtaken by Frank Jelinski. The latter was to grab the first position from Bob Wollek, while Rob Dyson destroyed his Porsche 962 when hitting a guardrail. The Nissans, opting to run smoothly, would experience one loss when car #84 had a misfire, eventually leading the car to a fore retirement. Bob Wollek and Frank Jelinski would trade the lead for the first hour, but they would be struck with problems very soon. Sarel Van der Merwe collided with Mark Montgomery's Chevrolet Camaro, and Henri Pescarolo had to limp back to the pit with a broken lower control arm. John Nielsen could inherit the lead of the race. He was followed by his teammate Jan Lammers, who was just ahead of Geoff Brabham's Nissan ZX T GTP. The first Porsche was next, and it was Raul Boesel and the Unsers on the Dauer car. The Toyota was running smoothly, just behind them. Later in the race, it was Derek Bell who ended up on the roof after a tire burst. After six hours of racing, the four leading cars were still the same ones. The GTO class was featuring an unawaited domination of the Mercury Cougars, which had a five lap advantage over the Mazda RX7. The Lights class was led by John Higgins Fabcar Porsche, but he would then by overtaken by Ferdinand de Lesseps' Spice Buick. Unfortunately, the engine would expire in the night. The lead was always held by the two TWR cars, with Bob Earl in third place. The Nissan would be out of the race by mid-race when the engine blew. The race was over with a third place now held by the Busby Nissan ZX T GTP, twelve laps down. They would retire at 5:48, with a broken valve. While Martin Brundle had some trouble with a guardrail, it was Davy Jones-Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace who took the chequered and won the first race of the 1990 season. John Grooms, Frank Jellinek and Michael Greenfield finally took the Lights honors on their old Argo JM16 Mazda. Robby Gordon, Calvin Fish and Lyn St James easily took the GTO class win over Jim Downing's Mazda RX7. In GTU, it was another victory for Peter Uria's ex Team Highball Mazda RX7, Bob Dotson, Jim Pace and Rusty Scott shared Victory Lane for the very first time with an unbreakable car!
Jan Lammers, Davy Jones and Andy Wallace won the race, at the wheel of the V12 TWR Jaguar XJR12
Copyright Mike Birch, courtesy Racingsportscars
The next race was held at Miami, for a 3Hour race. Thirty two cars would be entered but twenty cars would be really racing. The two NPTI cars were driven by Bob Earl-Derek Daly and Geoff Brabham-Chip Robinson. They were strongly backed by the Busby Racing '89 car, driven by John Paul and Kevin Cogan. AAR had Drake Olson and Rocky Moran driving each car solo. TWR had entered the two usual cars, but one car would actually be running, as Price Cobb and John Nielsen's engine would collapse before the race. That left Davy Jones and Jan Lammers running for the win. Spice had three cars, and a works car was entered for Albert Naon Jr and Bernard Jourdain. Jim Miller fielded his own car, with Wayne Taylor as co-driver. A new car was to be entered by Koll Motorsports, it was a Spice SE88P Pontiac, which would be driven by Dan Marvin and Jeff Kline. Five Porsche 962s were still entered, with strong entries by Dauer Racing, with Bob Wollek and Raul Boesel. Dyson Racing had their familiar car, which was driven by James Weaver and Scott Pruett. Gianpiero Moretti was co-driven by Derek Bell and Almo Coppelli, and the two other cars were not so fast, with René Herzog partnered by Hurley Haywood, and David Seabroke teaming up with Bill Adam. An interesting car was the Gebhardt Audi entered by Gianpiero Moretti, with Costas Los and Almo Coppelli driving. The car was attractive, and powered by the ex-Audi 200 Quattro engine. It appeared very difficult to sort out, and never seemed to run for the win. With Geoff Brabham still on the pole, it seemed like it would be yet another Nissan domination. In fact, it was Drake Olson who jumped in the lead at the start, and he will build a very consistent lead within a few laps. Geoff Brabham pitted after fourteen laps, with an ailing gearbox. He was followed by Davy Jones, on the sole Jaguar, whose engine was out. There was no more Jaguar running! In fact, it seemed that Porsche was the only valuable opponent to Toyota, still dominating. Drake Olson pitted for fuel on lap 44, and Raul Boesel was now in the lead. Geoff Brabham was third, as he jumped in the second car. A full caution period was to happen, following an off-course by Brent o'neill. Everyone would then stop for a refueling. At the restart, Bob Wollek was in the lead, followed by James Weaver, Drake Olson and Chip Robinson. A late minute collision between Drake Olson and James Weaver would nullify their chances at the win, and it seemed that Bob Wollek had his victory held on a silver plateau. But his engine was losing power and he was caught by Drake Olson and sent into the wall. Chip Robinson, who stalked the two leaders, swept by and went on to win the race. The Lights class was utterly dominated by Firmin Velez and Tomas Lopez, whose Spice SE90P Buick had two laps over the Spice SE90P Ferrari driven by Martino Finotto and Ruggero Melgrati.
The Lights class was still attractive, and a new very fast car was entered by Spice Engineering, for Firmin Velez and Tomas Lopez. They would have to face the usual top runners of the small prototypes class. Essex Racing fielded two cars for Charles Morgan and Tom Hessert on one car, and Ferdinand de Lesseps and Howard Katz on the other one. Martino Finotto and Ruggero Melgrati had a new Spice SE90P Ferrari, which proved very fast, while David Tennyson was partnered by Calvin Fish on his Denon sponsored Spice SE90P Ferrari. Whitehall Rocketsports had an older car, driven by Ken Knott and Rob Wilson, Huffaker Racing also entered an older car, driven by David Rocha and Oscar Manautou. The last three cars, which were the only non-Spice, were a Tiga GT286 Ferrari, and a pair of Argo JM19s. The first one, entered by Max Schmidt, was powered by a Mazda powerplant, and the other car, which was Buick powered, was driven by Brent O'neill and Jean de la Moussaye.
Next round was to be held at Sebring, for the toughest race of the season. This second race was to feature fifty seven cars that would pound the Floridian tarmac. Nissan was willing to make it two in a row. Two cars were entered with Derek Daly and Bob Earl at the wheel of car #83, Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson on #84. Their strongest opponents would be, as per usual, the two Jaguar XJR12s. Davy Jones, Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace, as well as Price Cobb and John Nielsen were eagerly willing to make it two in a row after their Daytona triumph. Six Porsche 962s would oppose their reliability to pure speed. The Bayside car, backed by Havoline, had the best team of drivers, with Bob Wollek, Dominic Dobson and Sarel van der Merwe. John Winter and Henri Pescarolo were entered on the Joest Racing car. Raul Boesel was co-driven by Hans Stuck on the Dauer car while René Herzog was with Hurley Haywood and Scott Schubot who was new to the car. Bill Adam and Scott Harrington drove the DSR 962, slightly slower, as well as the Wynn's car, driven John Hotschkis Sr and Jr, with longtime friend Jim Adams. A works Spice tried to prove as fast as reliable, with Tom Kendall, Bernard Jourdain and Albert Naon Jr. AAR had brought two Eagle Toyota HF89s, with Drake Olson and Juan Fangio on the first car, and Rocky Moran and Willy T Ribbs on the second one.
Henri Pescarolo, Jean Louis Ricci and Bob Wollek could have won, but they were sent into the wall by a backmarker while leading the race.Copyright Mark Windecker, courtesy Racingsportscars
The Lights class was less attractive, with only ten cars showing up. Essex Racing fielded two cars, with Tom Hessert and Charles Morgan running on a Spice SE89P Buick, Howard Katz, Ferdinand de Lesseps and Jay Cochran at the wheel of the second entry. Martino Finotto, Paulo Guaitamacchi and Ruggero Melgrati were quite confident about their Spice SE89P Ferrari. George Sutcliffe and Mike Dow ran an older Spice 87P, Pontiac powered, as well as David Rocha, Bob Lesnett and Bruce Quale, on the Huffaker car. Uli Bieri was relying on his faithful Tiga, which he shared with David Tennyson. Brent O'neill entered the only Argo, a JM19B Buick, which had been rebuilt after the Miami crash. He drove it with Jean de la Moussaye. Gary Wonzer had the older car, a Lola T616 Mazda, co-driven by Bill Bean. The GTO class would still be a Lincoln Mercury-Mazda battle. Two cars were entered from both manufacturers. They were closer than ever. Robby Gordon, Calvin Fish and Lyn St James leading Dorsey Schroeder and Max Jones for LM, while Jim Downing, Amos Johnson and John O'steen, alongside Pete Halsmer, Elliot Forbes Robinson and John Morton for the Japanese. A very strong Ford Mustang, entered by 74 Ranch, with George Robinson, Johnny Unser and Paul Dallenbach was a valuable runner-up. A string of slower Chevrolet Camaros rounded out the entry list. The GTU class was undergoing some tremendous changes.
A few Mazda RX7s had to beware of the mighty Nissan 240SX entered by Bob Leitzinger, for son Butch, David Loring and Chuck Kurtz. The most threatening car appeared to be the MX6 entered by Mazda Motorsport for Al Bacon, Lance Stewart and John Finger. Peter Uria, again co-driven by Jim Pace and Bob Dotson, would have to be very lucky. Dick Greer, along with Mike Mees and John Hogdal, was a runner up. Two Dodge Daytonas were entered by Full Time Racing, but they were not suited to long distance races. Kal Showket, Don Knowles and Neil Hanneman on the first one, and Mike Davies and Stu Hayner on the other one. A very unusual entry was to be issued by Redline Imported, which fielded an underpowered BMW 325. Mike Graham and Cameron Worth were happy to be on the starting grid.
A very unusual entry for the 12 Hour of Sebring race was this BMW 325 entered by Redline Imported. The car would retire with gearbox problems on lap thirty one. Mike Graham and Cameron Worth drove it.Copyright Mark Windecker, courtesy Racingsportscars
A forty nine car field would show up for the race, which was the shortest since long. Geoff Brabham put his Nissan ZX T GTP on the pole, with Bob Wollek on the outside of row one. Just behind them were the second Nissan and the first Jaguar XJR12 driven by John Nielsen. The race started with an early lead by Bob Wollek, who maintained it for one hour. Behind him, Geoff Brabham and Derek Daly and Jan Lammers Jaguar XJR12. The end of the first hour was to be run under a yellow, thanks to a collision between Chris Kraft Porsche 911 and Bill Bean Lola T616 Mazda. Bob Earl had lost two laps to have his hood replaced after six laps. Raul Boesel was second, Jan Lammers, John Nielsen, John Paul Jr, Bob Earl was next. The Bayside Motorsport car would maintain its position until the third hour. Then, it would retire with an engine failure. Price Cobb and John Nielsen would retire a few minutes later for the same reasons. Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson were now in the lead, followed by Bob Earl and Derek Daly. The Jaguar driven by Davy Jones and Jan Lammers followed next, and one could notice the fact that the Joest car was running consistently. Bob Wollek, who was left without a drive after the reyirement of the Bayside Porsche 962, would suddenly be found at the wheel of car #0! Perfectly driven by two experienced drivers, the car would rise up the charts. After five hours, Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson led the race until pitting for radiator repairs. They lost six laps, dropping to seventh place. Their teammates took over, and led the race until the eighth hour, when the Joest Porsche 962 drifted past. With the two NPTI cars delayed, it seemed that Porsche could grab just another win, but it was not to be. As Henri Pescarolo was overtaking Alistair Oag's Nissan 240SX, he was hit from behind by the slower car, who sent the German racer into the wall. It was over. Sixty three minutes were required to clean up the mess, and Derek Daly and Bob Earl took back the lead. Davy Jones, Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace were second, but they were running low on fuel, and Geoff Brabham was pushing very hard to get past the Jaguar. He would finally succeed, and it was an unexpected 1-2 for Nissan. The Jaguar was third. The GTO class was won again by Roush Racing, who swept the two top positions, Robby Gordon, Lyn St James and Calvin Fish powered their car to a very effective sixth place overall, eight laps ahead of the sister car. The Mazda RX7s were outpaced and finished very low in the standings. The Lights class was won in a very convincing manner by Tom Hessert and Charles Morgan, who were trailed by the Fuji backed Spice Firebird driven by David Rocha, Bob Lesnett and Bruce Quale. The GTU class was probably the most dominated class, as the Bob Leitzinger Nissan 240SX did not meet any competition, winning the race by an astonishing thirteen laps over their closest contender. Butch Leitzinger, David Loring and Chuck Kurtz were happy men by the end of that perfect day for them!
