IMSAblog

1978 : Peter Gregg domination

For 1978, a new step was to be made with the new GTX category. These cars were basically the same as their European group 5 counterparts. Thse rules were perfect for the newly introduced Porsche 935s, that immediately dominated the racing scene. It would be the first time a Porsche Carrera would not win a single race.
1978 was a Peter Gregg domination : he came back with a Brumos Racing Porsche 935 and won the Championship. He won eight races out of fourteen and set up no fewer than sixteen qualifying or race laps records. The BMW 320i Turbo proved a little too short of horsepower and he won two races with the new car when Peter Gregg had trouble. The new GT class was a welcome place for the Porsche Carreras and it was a battle throughout the season between David Cowart, Diego Febles, Howard Meister et all. The GTU class was a very good year with Dave White, Dennis Aase, Sam Posey putting a new Porsche-Datsun battle.  John Bishop had introduced the new GTX category but the 935 dominance really became a problem. For 1979, there would be some rules change at stake.
The 24  Hours of Daytona kicked off the new season with a new Porsche domination. Twelve Porsche Turbos would make for the start, some of them were European teams who had made the costly trip to Florida. The main question was : which Porsche would win? Danny Ongais was on the pole and the rainy weather did not permit him to break Jacky Ickx record. The BMW was third on the grid but everyone would wonder if the car could keep up with the Porsches as the qualifying sessions were run under a wet track. Danny Ongais took the lead at the start but it did not last for long as Rolf Stommelen took the lead on the fourteenth lap, definitively! The BMW driven by David Hobbs did show its abilities in the infield, but the car experienced cooling problems : it lasted until the fourty seventh lap. The Jolly Club car driven by Carlo Facetti-Martini Finotto was the first car to retire from the race, and the Kremer Racing car too retired with racing legends Bob Wollek-Henri Pescarolo at the wheel. The Hurley Haywood-Bob Hagestad car challenged the leaders for the first hour, and the Peter Gregg-Claude Ballot Léna-Brad Frisselle car was the main contender for the leaders, but the car blew its engjne on sunday morning. Peter Gregg then went on to drive the winning car, driven by Rolf Stommelen and Toine Hezemans for one hour and take the victory.

Rolf Stommelen, Toine Hezemans and Peter Gregg went on to win the 1978 Daytona 24 Hours

Copyright Dave Kutz

Second overall was the Dick Barbour car, driven by Dick Barbour himself, Johnny Rutherford and Manfred Schurti. Despite many early race problems, they overcame these setbacks to finish at a well deserved second place after an excellent race. Third overall was the first GT car driven by Diego Febles and Alec Poole, who had a very neat race on their Porsche Carrera RSR. They did demonstrate the car's capabilities to finish high placed in endurance races. In GTU, it was a Porsche 911, driven by Dave White, Kurt Roehrig and Gary Mesnick who claimed the win over two other 911s, and the Bob Speakman Datsun.

John Morton and Tony Adamowicz finished eighth in this Ferrari 365GTB4

Courtesy Tony Adamowicz

Next race at Sebring was quite different, with a stellar 74 car field. A huge crowd was to be seen for a very successful event.The race started in a bad way for the Brumos car as Peter Gregg ended up on his roof after twelve laps. Hurley Haywood-Bob Hagestad took an early lead and had built up a five laps lead over their closest pursuers. Then a brake caliper let go and the Brian Redman-Charles Mendez-Bob Garretson took the lead. The Hagestad owned car would close in on the Dick Barbour car,  but a turbo unit had to be replaced. The four lap advantage went down to 92s at the finish, and the Redman-Mendez-Garretson car won. In GT, it was a Porsche Carrera, as expected, driven by Bonky Fernandez and John Paul who took the win and well-deserved fourth overall. Sixth overall was the GTU winning car driven by Francisco Romero and Ernesto Soto. They finished just ahead of Chiqui Soldevilla-Luis Gordillo similar car. Ninth overall was the remarkable Buick Skylark driven by Gene Felton and Vince Gimondo. They won the American Challenge class in a most remarkable way.
Charles Mendez and David Cowart had taken the job of promoting the race and did it quite effectively.
Next race was a new Talledega 6Hour race. There the Peter Gregg-Brad Frisselle duo had a race of their own as they won by an amazing eight lap margin. The car suffered from a softening tyre as Peter perfect made a swoop on the backstretch to come back to the pits, but it did not affect their winning march. The beginning of the race had just been a Gregg-Haywood show and the Bob Hagestad car managed to stay on the lead for 86 laps. A broken suspension then put the car out of contention for the lead. Second overall was the Whittington Bros car who were just running their third professional race. They did a great job on their Porsche 935. They were just ahead of Dick Barbour and Johnny Rutherford car. Bonky Fernandez and David Cowart went on to win the GT category and fourth overall on their reliable Porsche Carrera. They easily won over Richard Valentine-Roger Pierce Chevrolet Corvette, who grabbed the 20th place overall. The GTU class win went to the Dave White-Dana Roehrig Porsche 911S, two laps ahead of the George Drolsom-Hugh Davenport car and three over Bill Koll-David Hamren Porsche 914/6. This race was a premiere too, allowing RS cars to run with GT cars. This class was won by the AMC Pacer driven by Amos Johnson-Roger Mandeville, second was the other car, driven by Dennis Shaw-Jim Woodward. This was the only race it would happen.
Next race at Road Atlanta was a classical sprint race. Peter Gregg entered a twin turbo Porsche, and was never challenged. Danny Ongais, the sole driver able to defeat Peter Gregg, missed the first practice session and would start eleventh on the grid. As the race went on, Danny Ongais quickly worked his way through the field to second, but an off course prevented him to get closer to Peter Gregg. Third place was a great battle between Carl Shafer, in his big block Camaro, Gianpiero Moretti in a single turbo Porsche 935, and John Paul, who entered a new Greenwood Chevrolet Corvette. Carl Shafer won this battle. David Hobbs broke a wheel on his BMW320i Turbo. The GT category was won by Kenper Miller, whose ex-Gregg BMW 3.0CSL proved efficient to win over Randy Blessing in his Chevrolet Corvette, and Babe Headley in a Corvette too. The first Porsche Carrera was only fourth. It was David Cowart who led Diego Febles in a Ford Capri.
The next race was a swing to the west coast and George Follmer was on the pole with Danny Ongais alongside him. At the start, Danny Ongais was not here as he ran over some debris on the pace lap. Then it was Peter Gregg who took the lead over George Follmer, Hurley Haywood, Chris Cord in his Monza, Dick Barbour and David Hobbs. Traffic allowed George Follmer to take the lead, as he worked his way with dexterity. The duo Follmer-Gregg had a clear advantage over Hurley Haywood single turbo car. Chris Cord and David Hobbs had a big battle for fourth. Suddenly it started to rain and Peter Gregg was overtaken by Hurley Haywood, who finished second. George Follmer won the over Hurley Haywood, Peter Gregg and David Hobbs. John Morton had an easy GT victory in the Vasek Polak BMW 3.0CSL, and he was never challenged. Howard Meister took second in his neat Porsche Carrera. It was a very good day for Vasek Polak, who had the overall and GT win.

John Morton dominated the GT class at Laguna Seca, driving this Vasek Polak BMW 3.0CSL.

Courtesy John Morton

The next race was held at Hallett, and it was David Hobbs who took the win after Peter Gregg broke an axle. Second was John Paul who brought his new Greenwood Corvette to second. Third was Gianpiero Moretti, who had one of his best finishes of the season. The GT class was won by Kenper Miller BMW 3.0CSL. He had to fight a tough chase by Howard Meister, who had a fine run in his Porsche Carrera.

John Paul had his best race at Hallett in his Greenwood tubeframe Chevrolet Corvette

Courtesy Tony Mezzacca and Greenwood Corvettes

On Memorial Day at Lime Rock, Peter Gregg was again unbeatable. He won by a one lap margin over Bill Whittington, and two laps over John Paul, who had a new excellent run on his Corvette. David Hobbs took fifth on a brand new car. After starting last, he came back to fifth with a car that showed a good potential. The GT category was won by Diego Febles, who drove a fine looking Ford Capri. Kenper Miller led the race in the early stages, but he had to retire. Second was David Cowart who held off Howard Meister to take second. Gene Rutherford won the American Challenge over Pat Bedard, both of them driving Oldsmobile Cutlasses.
Brainerd saw a new victory by Peter Gregg but he had to wait until David Hobbs BMW burned a piston. He was then in front and finished first ahead of Gianpiero Moretti, Don Whittington and Carl Shafer, again posting a good race on his Camaro. Dave Cowart won the GTO class over Paul Brand, who drove a Camaro. Dave White won the GTU category in his Porsche, beating Don Devendorf in his Datsun, Bill Koll was third.
The Paul Revere night race held at Daytona saw another victory by Peter Gregg. However, he had a flat tyre early in the race that put him in the pack. He turned up the boost to quickly gain on the leaders and then was in front on lap thirty. Ted Field and Danny Ongais were second until the car went off course on lap 46. A big shunt involved five cars, the pace-car was out again for five laps. At the restart, Peter Gregg was still ahead, Cliff Kearns and Milt Minter were second in a Porsche 935 Turbo, the Whittington bros were third. The GT category was won by Kenper Miller who finished ahead of Mauricio de Narvaez and Diego Febles, both driving Porsche Carreras. Once again, Dave White won the GTU category. Tom Ashby and Bill Bean were second and Rusty Bond-Ren Tilton were third. Gene Felton won the American Challenge class in his Buick Skylark.
Sears Point was the next race on the schedule, and it was not to be Peter Gregg's race. The practice sessions had begun with one blown engine and a blown turbo seal on the new engine. He started last on the grid. David Hobbs proved extremely fast in practice, and he easily won his heat. John Paul had won his too and started on the front row. At the start, he pulled ahead of David Hobbs BMW. He held the lead for four laps. Then the little bimmer took the lead, as John Paul retired with a broken differential. Peter Gregg pitted early in the race with a missing front end, this time it was due to brakes problems. Then Bill Whittington took the chase to retire later. Don Whittington took over to finish second, Gianpiero Moretti was third and Rich Sloma, in a AAGT Corvette, took an excellent fourth. Howard Meister was back to the winner's circle in GT, he defeated Kenper Miller's BMW 3.0CSL, while Mauricio de Narvaez took third in his Porsche.
Portland was to be a good day for Peter Gregg. He won the race and subsequently clinched the Championship. Portland was a hard track for the BMW which was outpowered by the Porsche 935s. Peter Gregg won the pole and easily flew away. David Hobbs did his best to keep his second place, holding off John Paul, who had a good race in his Corvette. He soon was to have a broken driveshaft and a fire finally led to his retirement. David Hobbs followed, with a seized metering unit. Gianpiero Moretti then took second and kept his place until the end. Bill Whittington finished third and Rich Sloma was fourth in his big Corvette. David Cowart won again the GT class, ahead of Bob Bergstrom Jr and Ren Tilton, running on a Porsche 911 fitted with a bigger engine. Roy Woods had brought his Chevrolet Monza Turbo. He had qualified ninth but did not last more than sixteen laps in the race.
The next race was the Mid Ohio 250 Mile race. As per usual, Peter Gregg had blown everything in practice, and the race seemed to be his again. But it was not to be. He took an easy lead early in the race, but had to pit after 32 laps for a long repair to replace an injector part. He got back to the race but he retired later with refueling problems. Milt Minter had taken the lead from Peter Gregg on Cliff Kearns Porsche 935. David Hobbs was close behind. They would put up a good show, but when they pitted later, they would be exhausted, both suffering from the heat. As their co-drivers took the wheel, Jim Busby was closing in on the leaders, and he took the lead on lap 56. The leading Whittington-Busby pair would never be caught again. As an exhausted Tom Klausler came back to the pits, he was still second and David Hobbs would try to catch the leaders. But a late ninety second pit stop for an alternator repair would definitively stick him to second place. Third were Cliff Kearns-Milt Minter, Gianpiero Moretti-Charles Mendez were fourth. Phil Currin was next on his Corvette, which was a great result. David Cowart was partnered by Mauricio de Narvaez to win the GT class, Bonky Fernandez and Walt Bohren were second and Diego Febles ran solo to take third. All of them drove Porsche Carreras. Bill Bean won the GTU class on the Bullwinkle Porsche 911. Bob Speakman finished second on his Datsun, which was his best finish of the season. George Drolsom and Mark Greb took third on their Porsche 911. This race saw the debut of the first ever Mazda RX7 to be entered in IMSA. It was Al Cosentino's car, Craig Fisher co-drove it.
At Road Atlanta, it was again all Peter Gregg. He had qualified behind Danny Ongais and Bill Whittington. In the race, he took the lead from Danny Ongais and the Whittington bros. David Hobbs was just behind, but a flat tyre brought him to the pits. He would retire later. The race would go on this way and the final classification saw Peter Gregg first, Don and Bill Whiitington were two-three, Gianpiero Moretti and Ted Field followed. It was a twin turbo sweep for the leading trio. The GT class went to Howard Meister, who defeated Kenper Miller on his BMW in a very convincing way. David Cowart took third and clinched the GT Championship.
The Daytona Finale was yet another victory for Peter Gregg who won every race at the Superspeedway this year. Once again he took the pole, and he had to fight a challenge from Danny Ongais, who started from eleventh on the grid. After three laps, he was second and determined to finish that damned race. Yet he never managed to close in on Peter Gregg but he was still second at the finish, forty four seconds down. John Paul took third, this time driving a Porsche 935, while Gianpiero Moretti shared his ride with Hurley Haywood to take fourth. The GT class was quite different from those usual races as Rick Thompkins won in his wild Corvette, just ahead of Bob Tullius in his Jaguar XJS. Mauricio de Narvaez took third in his Porsche Carrera. Richard Kendrick and Scott Hoerr won an unusual GTU race too on a Datsun 240Z, second were Ray Mummery and Tom Sheehy on a Porsche 911S. Dave White took third on another Porsche 911. Don Yenko took the American Challenge class, beating Gene Felton's Buick.
The 1978 season was over and it looked again like a Porsche domination. A change of rules seemed to be the way to go. A new set of rules according to a better balance between car makes should be welcomed by the competitors and the attendance would be better off these changes.

Al Holbert : excellence was always expected

Al Holbert began his professional career in 1973, driving a Porsche Carrera.  Holbert studied mechanical engineering at Lehigh University and after graduation he went to work in the family business, selling cars. He worked for Roger Penske and started designing components for racing cars. His career was launched as Mark Donohue really influenced him about driving race cars.
With such a background, he was very good at working on race cars, as well as driving them. His first one was a Porsche 914/6 he used in C Production. He drove Porsche Carreras from 1973, in Trans Am and from 1974 to 1976 in IMSA. He switched to a Chevrolet Monza in 1976 and 1977. He had joined forces with Dekon Engineering, who provided the car, and Holbert Racing built it. But he did his share of work, not only while driving the car but he did the construction of the car and worked on the race plan. After winning two IMSA Championships with the Monza, Al Holbert's team was not to be seen in IMSA until 1983. He made some sporadical appearances in the Championship driving the Bayside Disposal car at Sebring, and winning the race in 1981. When he came back in 1983, it was the winning way. He entered the new March 83G powered by a flat 6 turbo Porsche engine. That same powerplant found on the Porsche 935s, adapted to suit a prototype need. At the end of the season, it was Al Holbert's third title. In 1984, he acquired the new Porsche 962, a car that needed a high degree of development. The car was really competitive by the second half of the season. That year the Championship went to Randy Lanier, driving a March Chevrolet. In 1985, Al Holbert returned to business and won a fourth Championship. In spite of an unwelcomed weight increase, the team handled that very professionaly and the car did not lose its efficiency. Al had the abilty to cope with different kind of challenges. Tuning cars was what he liked and he did it so well. In 1986, he again won the IMSA Championship, his fifth one but his last one too. 1987 was a season in which he won the Championship as a team owner, as Chip Robinson emerged as a rising star and the new IMSA Champion. Al Holbert finished fourth in a reduced schedule. In 1988, he was named Director of Porsche Motorsport North America, a new challenge he was willing to embrace. This new challenge was to reduce his time as a driver as he took this new task really seriously. Unfortunately, on September 30, 1988, Al Holbert was at the IMSA Columbus Ford Dealers 500. That evening, Holbert was fatally injured when his plane crashed shortly after takeoff near Columbus, Ohio. In 1993, Al Holbert was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Holbert is America's winningest professional road racing drivers with 63 career victories, including 49 career IMSA wins. His excellence has always been an example for all of us. We miss him very much.

1974 Results : 4th

Car : Porsche Carrera RSR Holbert Racing #14

Al Holbert at Mid Ohio 1974

 

Copyright Mark Windecker

Atlanta	1
Laguna Seca	36+4
Ontario	31
Mid Ohio	1
Daytona	4
Charlotte	6
Lime Rock	DNS
Mexico City	DNS
Daytona	2

1975 Results : 3rd

Car : Porsche Carrera RSR Holbert Racing #14

Daytona	8
Sebring	12
Atlanta	2+1
Laguna Seca	42+5
Riverside	11
Lime Rock	3+1
Mid Ohio	1
Mosport	9
Daytona	3
Mid America	1+1
Talladega	4
Mid Ohio	1
Daytona	13

1976 Results : IMSA Champion

Car : Porsche Carrera RSR and Chevrolet Monza Holbert Racing #14

Daytona	2
Sebring	1
Atlanta	1
Laguna Seca	1
Ontario	DNS
Lime Rock	22
Mid Ohio	2
Daytona	1
Sears Point	4
Talladega	4
Pocono	1
Mid Ohio	3
Atlanta	1
Laguna Seca	5
Daytona	41

1977 Results : IMSA Champion

Car : Chevrolet Monza Holbert Racing #14 and JLP Racing(Daytona Finale) #38

Al Holbert driving his Chevrolet Monza in 1977 at Mid Ohio

Copyright Mark Windecker

Daytona	33
Sebring	DNS
Atlanta	1
Laguna Seca	DNS
Mid America	1
Lime Rock	1
Mid Ohio	2
Brainerd	3
Daytona	DNS
Sears Point	2
Pocono	1
Mid Ohio	15
Atlanta	2
Atlanta	1
Laguna Seca	2
Daytona	54

1978 Results : 47th

Car : Porsche 935 JLP Racing #18

Daytona

5

1979 Results : 24th

Car : Porsche 935 JLP Racing #18

Daytona	65
Sebring	24
Riverside	2

1980 Results : 20th

Car : Porsche 935 Bayside Disposal Racing #86

Daytona	2
Sebring	4

1981 Results : 17th

Car : Porsche 935 JLP Racing #18

 

Sebring	1

1982 Results : 13th

Car : Porsche 935 Bayside Disposal Racing #86 and Andial Racing #3(Riverside)

 

Sebring	5
Riverside	2

1983 Results : IMSA Champion

Car : March 83G Chevrolet and March 83G Porsche Holbert Racing #14

Daytona	16
Miami	1
Sebring	3
Atlanta	DNS
Riverside	2
Laguna Seca	1
Charlotte	1
Lime Rock	4
Mid Ohio	DNS
Daytona	DNS
Brainerd	1
Sears Point	1
Portland	1
Mosport	7
Road America	15
Pocono	36
Daytona	1

1984 Results : 4th

Car : Porsche 935 and Porsche 962 Holbert Racing #14

Daytona	4
Miami	27
Sebring	6
Atlanta	DNS
Riverside	2
Laguna Seca	DNS
Charlotte	17
Lime Rock	4
Mid Ohio	DNS
Daytona	DNS
Brainerd	1
Sears Point	1
Portland	1
Mosport	7
Road America	15
Pocono	36
Daytona	1

1985 Results : IMSA Champion

Car : Porsche 962 Holbert Racing #14

Daytona	2
Miami	1
Sebring	2
Atlanta	5
Riverside	11
Laguna Seca	1
Charlotte	1
Lime Rock	4
Mid Ohio	1
Watkins Glen	1
Portland	1
Sears Point	7
Road America	26
Pocono	1
Watkins Glen	1
Columbus	22
Daytona	1

1986 Results : IMSA Champion

Car : Porsche 962 Holbert Racing #14

Al Holbert at Mid Ohio in 1986, driving the fantastic Porsche 962. He won the race.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Daytona	1
Miami	6
Sebring	3
Atlanta	3
Riverside	28
Laguna Seca	4
Charlotte	18
Lime Rock	1
Mid Ohio	1
West Palm Beach	4
Watkins Glen	1
Portland	1
Sears Point	2
Road America	1
Watkins Glen	2
Columbus	DNS
Daytona	6

1987 Results : 4th

Car : Porsche 962 Holbert Racing #14

Daytona	1
Miami	4
Sebring	2
Atlanta	2
Riverside	1
Laguna Seca	DNS
Lime Rock	1
Mid Ohio	4
West Palm Beach	DNS
Watkins Glen	20
Portland	DNS
Sears Point	DNS
Road America	3
San Antonio	1 and 2
Columbus	5
Daytona	6

1988 Results : 46th

Car : Porsche 962 Holbert Racing #14

Daytona	7
Sebring	46

Al Holbert will always be remembered

Copyright Mark Windecker

Trans Am series : the rival

John Bishop joined the SCCA staff in 1955 as its director of competition. He became the club's executive director in 1956 and ran  the SCCA until 1969. When politics cost the backing of SCCA board, he quit and founded IMSA.
Trans Am racing has been from 1966 to 1971 the first road racing series in the US. When introduced in the US, the series had appeared as a very attractive one. The 1966 season was a mix of under and over 2,0L cars. Alfa Romeos, Ford Cortinas, Ford Mustangs, Dodge Darts, Plymouth Barracudas were a very appreciated field. Many drivers made their debut in this series which was gaining momentum at that point. Drivers such as Jacky Ickx, Sir John Whitmore, Jochen Rindt, Hubert Hahne were the European drivers who drove the small works cars. Races were essentially small enduros, which enabled small sedans to beat bigger cars.  For 1967, plans were made to limit the series to about 8 races, but finally there were 12 races run. The series became the Trans Am as the name "Sedan" was dropped. Big cars became the way to go and Lincoln Mercury entered the series with big names. Ed Leslie, Parnelli Jones and Dan Gurney were the drivers.
The first Camaros appeared in 1967. Roger Penske had a pair of them for Mark Donohue and Craig Fisher. Jerry Titus drove a Ford Mustang. Bob Tullius had a Dodge Dart and the Under 2,0L was a battle between Peter Gregg's Porsche 911 and Horst Kwech Alfa Romeo. At the end of the season, Ford won the manufacturers championship,just two points ahead of the Mercury cousin factory. Chevrolet was third with its Camaro. The 1968 saw some changes as Mercury did nof enter the series. Bigger tyres could be used and cars could use full 5,0Liter engines. Some adjustments were made on the weight, but nothing drastic. Some early races were coupled with the World Championship for Makes races. American Motors was the newcomer to this series. John Bishop had copyrighted the Can Am and Trans Am names. This well foseseen decision had helped keep the SCCA afloat with the Pontiac dollars. The 1968 season was a Mark and Jerry show and showed the Trans Am beginning to grow as a major road racing series. Roger Penske was fighting hard against the Ford factory effort, if was hard times for one of Amsrica's most renowned auto racing manager. Mark Donohue began his winning streak by winning that first championship. He would win the next year too. In 1969, Pontiac introduced the Firebird. It would be the last year Under and Over 2,0L cars would run together. The SCCA was having trouble with its staff and incessant changes would lead John Bishop to his resignment. However, the series itself provided a stiff competition between pony cars and 1970 would be the best year ever. It was the year Dodge, Plymouth, American Motors, Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Ford would have a great year. Dan Gurney, Sam Posey, Parnelli Jones, George Follmer, Jim Hall, Mark Donohue, Ed Leslie and many others made the Trans Am become the reference in road racing. Mark Donohue won the championship and AMC won for the first time the manufacturer's title. 1971 was the year everything changed with nearly every works team dropping from the series. American Motors was the sole works team and Mark Donohue would dominate the series. Many independant drivers began to make for a mixed field of drivers. The Trans Am series was losing its aura quietly but surely. George Follmer had three wins to finish second overall. As the series lost its appeal, it became obvious for many team owners that gaining sponsorship would become more and more difficult. George Follmer would inherit a Javelin drive. The Penske cars had been sold to Roy Woods, who fielded them. At that point, the series provided a relative good field of drivers, but the purses remained quite poor. Quality seemed to be the real major problem. Even though talented drivers such as Warren Tope, Warren Agor or Milt Minter would start your classical race, it was not enough to attract crowds. Many race venues would be cancelled and the series really had  hard times.At the end and as expected, it was Javelin who took the series honors. The SCCA Trans Am future laid in a drastic chanbe of rules. As John Bishop's new series was taking off, it was clear that things would have to change.
It actually did as cars such as Chevrolet Corvettes, Porsche Carreras, De Tomaso Panteras and the usual Camaros and Mustangs now would be the new Trans Am cars. The Trans Am series had become IMSA's far cousin! In fact, it was a period when teams and drivers would have a return on investment with their cars. Most of the top teams would participate in the two series. The cars would be adapted to the two series very fast as rules looked quite the same. It was a great benefit for the traveling fan who could see his favorite cars and drivers every week. Peter Gregg won the 1973 and 1974 Championships in the same car that he ran in the IMSA series. In 1975, a reverse of rules made the series a home series for A,B and C production cars. In fact, the series was a far cry from expected, and a total failure. John Greenwood was an easy 1975 Champion. It changed a lot from 1976 to 1979 when the SCCA introduced a new set of rules. Two categories would be introduced. The problem was that the rules were difficult to understand, even for the race teams! The category II cars would produce the winners with Porsche 935s and 934s Turbos, hairy Chevrolet Corvettes and Monzas. The same cars found in the IMSA Championship. However, the 1976 season had begun in a strange way. IMSA had not approved the 934 homologation , and Porsche's Joe Hoppen had been happy to find a home for the newly acquired Porsche 934s. The SCCA's Trans Am had regained some kind of interest as the best IMSA drivers could be found in the Trans Am. Again, the cars would be completely race ready for the two series, with some minor changes. At the end of the 1976 season, the 934 was allowed to enter IMSA. George Follmer won the 1976 Championship category II in a Porsche 934 and Jocko Maggiacomo the category I.1977 seemed to go the same way and races were quite the same as what you could find in IMSA. Ludwig Heimrath  was the 1977 Champion, Bob Tullius winning Category I on his Group 44 Jaguar XJS. Greg Pickett the 1978 Champion. However, racing costs would lead the series to a new fiasco, and the attendance again began to drop to a low point. John Paul easily won the 1979 Championship Category II driving a Porsche 935, while Gene Bothello won Category I on his Corvette. Fields began to lose any consistency and the SCCA again was having bad times. In the meantime, IMSA was becoming a World Class series. Many European drivers were to be found at the start of the races. Purses were increasing and regularly paid. For the SCCA again, it was time to go another way and 1980 saw a new set of regulations. Performance-handicapping via a weight to displacement table. Largely based upon the category I from the 1976-1979 period, the series consisted of domestic and imported cars. Every car was stock-appearing and this fact made a lot for the series new health. It really seemed the way to go and quite promising. Porsche won that first season as John Bauer won over a bunch of Corvettes. Now the Trans Am was different from the IMSA series and gaining a new identity. The 1981 season would show an improvement and Eppie Wietzes emerged as the series champion. The series new appeal came from the welcome variety of cars as well as a bunch of excellent drivers. Many different winners proved the series was on the verge of success. 1982 saw a new make emerge as a winner, and one excellent driver win the Championship. Elliot Forbes Robinson won in a Joe Huffaker Pontiac Firebird. New drivers went to victory lane as Paul Newman, Jerry Hansen or Tom Gloy each won a race. You could even find a Mercedes 450SL! For 1983, was the return to big time racing, with a De Atley first class team. David Hobbs won the Championship in a highly disputed Championship. The year was a return for Lincoln Mercury, Tom Gloy fought hard to finish third in points behind Hobbs and Willy T Ribbs. For1984, they would take their revenge. Tom Gloy powered his Capri to a well deserved title. Greg Pickett finished second and Willy T Ribbs was third. From that period, the series remained unchanged, and a late wheel width adjustment was made in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, it was the Roush Racing period, Wally Dallenbach Jr won the 1985 and 1986 Championship and Scott Pruett the 1987 one. Then the Audi Quattro appeared to dominate the 1988 Championship, and Hurley Haywood won. This dominance led to another change as the backbone of the fields then consisted of domestic cars as imported cars were not to be seen. This was quite a pity as fields looked like some single make series. The series had regained a new but domestic identity. The American spectator surely liked it but it was clearly going a different way the IMSA series went. But it has remained from that period one of the best racing series in the US.

Interscope Racing

Ted Field was born in a world of affluence and someone not quite aloof, but he was just a bit different. He had just begun his racing career in driving Porsche 911s or Carreras. Danny Ongais was an ex-drag racer who worked his way into oval track racing and road racing. He was a completely devoted man, with a lot of talent. Their relationship would be somewhat strained. In the early 80s, the team had a huge shop in Santa Ana, California. The cars that they entered in IMSA were Porsche 934s in the beginning. Danny Ongais was involved in a wide program including Indycar racing, the IMSA Championship as well as Formula 5000.
He was the one who taught Ted Field how a racecar did work, because he knew how to deal with horsepower. He was certainly used to it. In 1977, he posted some very good results with the Porsche 934.

Ted Field finished 24th at Mid Ohio in 1977 with this Porsche 934

Copyright Mark Windecker

Switching to the Porsche 935 was no trouble to him. In 1978, the Hawaiian driver was probably the only one able to contest Peter Gregg's superiority. In 1979, the team had ordered a new single turbo Porsche 935. At Daytona, the Danny Ongais-Ted Field-Hurley Haywood team cruised to a well deserved victory. Then they brought a bunch of seconds and thirds but no other victory. Ted Field finished third overall in 1979 and 1980, mainly because of his many top five results.

Ted Field and Milt Minter drove this Porsche 935 to a fourth place overall at Mid Ohio in 1979

Copyright Mark Windecker

Their car had been updated to the latest K3 specificities. In 1981, things did not improve for the team as the new GTP cars were being introduced. It was clear that things would not improve with the now ageing Porsche 935. After Danny Ongais' accident at Indianapolis and a quick recovery, Ted Field decided to make the move up to the GTP category. He had acquired three brand new Lola T600s! It was a new challenge for a team who was not used to this type of race cars. They got help from the guys who were working on the Indycar, and they learnt the whole stuff rapidly. In fact, the team won their first race at Riverside, almost three years after their last win. Ted Field and Bill Whittington won driving a normally aspirated Lola T600.

Ted Field and Danny Ongais drove two cars at Mid Ohio in 1982, but they started the race with the other one to finish 25th

Copyright Mark Windecker

They finally won two other races, at Pocono and Daytona for the Finale. Ted Field was second overall in the final 1982 standings behind John Paul Jr, who dominated the series, and Danny Ongais finished fifth. For that last race, they were entering the third car, fitted with a 3,4L turbo engine prepared by Ryan Falconer. The car proved extremely efficient and showed great potential for the year to come. The 3,4L V6 Chevrolet twin turbo engine proved extremeley powerful. Rules were to change for the next year with twin turbos being banished. Ryan Falconer could certainly work on a single turbo engine but many setbacks were to happen early in the development of the car. The beginning of the 1983 was quite disappointing for the team and after a fire at Daytona, the team and Chevrolet had some disagreements. No one seemed willing to spend money anymore and Ted Field suddenly dropped the whole thing. At that point, it was clear enough that road racing was no more fun to the team. It had turned into something of a work, and the spirit was definitively gone.

Ted Field found then other interests in movies.

12 Hours of Sebring 1988 : Porsche last victory

The third race of the 1988 Championship was the third round of the Jaguar-Porsche battle. It was to be one of the best field in years. Porsche, which dominated the series since the beginnings of the GTP era, had found a challenger. However, they outnumber their opponents in a four to one proportion.
The track had been modified and was now 6,610km long. It seemed that, in spite of all the changes, not every one seemed willing to come and destroy his car. But Jaguar was here, with an all-star lineup of drivers. Jan Lammers, Davy Jones and Danny Sullivan drove the car #61 and Martin Brundle and John Nielsen the #60. Seven Porsche 962 were entered, with many talented drivers at their wheels. The rest of the GTP field was made with a single March 86G Buick for Whitney Ganz-Doc Bundy and Bill Cooper, a Spice Pontiac Firebird driven by Steve Durst-Mike Brockman and Jeff Kline, an old March 84G Chevrolet for Bill McDill-Richard McDill and Tom Juckette, a Phoenix Chevrolet for John Gunn-Gary Belcher. Gianpiero Moretti had entered two March 86G Buick that were still uncompetitive. The Chevrolet Corvette GTP driven by Sarel van der Merwe and Elliot Forbes Robinson could be an outsider.
Fourteen Lights cars would be having a hard fight, as well as eighteen GTO cars and sixteen GTUs. As you can see, it was a very well balanced field, and plenty of close racing should be expected.
The practice sessions would enable the Porsche to boost up and Chip Robinson took the pole in 1m55s846. This practice pole time was quite astonishing, as Chip Robinson broke the previous record by no less than seven seconds! Quite unbelievable, but it seemed that the track coating was more efficient that year, and surely less new. Even the Lights were clearly faster, the Ferrari Alba was four seconds quicker than the previous year. The Merkur driven by Lyn St James-Deborah Gregg and Pete Halsmer was the fastest GTO qualifier, slightly ahead of the Corvettes and the sister car, while the best GTU car was already the Amos Johnson-Dennis Shaw car.

Tom Hessert and David Loring won the Lights class driving this Tiga GT286 Buick

Copyright Mark Windecker

A well driven Pontiac Fiero was just behind. Two Dodge Daytonas were entered and could be dangerous, as well as the new Chevrolet Beretta driven by Tom Kendall and Max Jones.
The practice sessions would be saddened by the death of Bob Copeman, who hit the wall after turn one and was killed after losing control of his Porsche 911. The weather was not very shiny and rain showers flooded the track during the friday session. Water puddles had to be swept by corner workers. But it was to be shiny on race day and the start would take place with a twenty minutes delay. Right from the start, three drivers would fly away from the others as Price Cobb, Chip Robinson and Hans Stuck would put up a fight. The race was to be stopped after three laps when a Porsche Fabcar took fire in turn one.

The Fabcar driven by Chip Mead took fire early in the race

Copyright Mark Windecker

After three laps, the field was out again and the groups that were previously built again looked the same. Martin Brundle(Jaguar XJR9) had pitted to replace a tyre due to a puncture, he would restart dead last!  The big field of 65 cars looked like rush hour at 5PM and many collisions were to happen in the early stages of the race. Willy T Ribbs(Toyota Celica Turbo) retired after sixteen laps when hit by another car. Later, Jim Rothbarth(Porsche 962) was hit by Scott Pruett's Merkur. The GTP Porsche 962 would be sent afloat and would fall down in the space between the track and the spectators. No one, even the driver, would be hurt in the course of this dramatic action, but the Porsche was destroyed. After one hour, it was the Rob Dyson-Price Cobb-James Weaver Porsche 962 who was on the lead. They were a few seconds ahead of Chip Robinson-Al Holbert(replacing Derek Bell, who was undisposed), Klaus Ludwig-Hans Stuck and Jan Lammers-Davy Jones-Danny Sullivan. The second Jaguar would retire on the thirty first lap with Martin Brundle driving. Then Chip Robinson would hit the wall after an off-course, he would lose twenty minutes to come back to the pits and thirty five minutes for suspension repairs. That left four cars for the win. The Dyson Racing car battling with the Bayside Racing car. Third was the Jaguar driven by the John Nielsen-Jan Lammers-Davy Jones-Danny Sullivan quatuor. The Joest car was a good fourth with John Winter-Paolo Barilla-Frank Jelinski after a very careful start. Then Rob Dyson would stop with gearbox problems. The remaining Jaguar would stop for the same reason a few minutes later.
The Holbert Racing car dropped from the race after less than five hours with an engine failure. It would be the very last race for Al Holbert as a race driver as he would be killed a few months later in a plane crash.
As the night fell on the Sebring circuit, the Hans Stuck-Klaus Ludwig car was a clear leader. The Joest car was seven laps down and had not suffered any trouble but was clearly slower. The gaps were now too much for the following cars. Price Cobb, Rob Dyson and James Weaver drove to a third place finish, eleven laps down. They were followed by two other Porsches, the AJ Foyt-Hurley Haywood and the Jim Adams-John Hotschkis car, but they were fourteen and fifteen laps down. Next came the GTO winning car, the Protofab Chevrolet Corvette driven by Wally Dallenbach Jr and John Jones. They finished just ahead of the first Jaguar, who had a very disappointing race.

Wally Dallenbach and John Jones won the GTO class and finished 6th overall

Copyright Mark Windecker

They finished one lap ahead of the Lyn Saint James-Deborah Gregg and Pete Halsmer Merkur. The Tiga Buick driven by Tom Hessert and David Loring won the Lights class and the Team Highball Mazda RX7 driven by Amos Johnson and Dennis Shaw.

Amos Johnson and Dennis Shaw clearly dominated the GTU class and won easily on their Mazda RX7

Copyright Mark Windecker

Porsche had once again set its mark on the Floridian race. It was to change later as Nissan began to dominate the series later in the year. Full results here

1979 : Peter Gregg last title, part 1

1979 was to be Peter Gregg's last Championship, but he dominated the series as per usual, winning eight races out of fifteen. The series had a slightly different look from the outside as it was not Camel which appeared as the main sponsor but Winston. The rules did evolve and favoured now single-turbo cars. It allowed them to be lighter and thus, these cars proved more efficient. Peter Gregg had switched to a single turbo car, as did many others. The opposition would materialize in the form of two BMW 320 Turbos. The usual MacLaren car and Jim Busby newly acquired car. David Hobbs had the new car and Jim Busby purchased Hobbs' previous car. He definitely loved this car. The AAGT cars were now out of contention for victory and this season clearly became a German affair. The GTO class was no different from the former years as a flock of Porsche Carreras were opposed to a single but very efficient BMW 3.0CSL and some Chevrolet Corvettes and Camaros. But it was still a Carrera that emerged from the pack. The GTU class was to undergo the biggest changes as Mazda appeared as a potential winner as soon as the rotary cars appeared on a track. It was however a Datsun 280ZX that beat everything with Don Devendorf the 1979 GTU Champion. Porsche was defeated for the first time in this class. It was a very competitive season though and, in spite of the Porsche domination, crowds were bigger than ever.
The first race, held at Daytona, was a perfect race for the Porsche 935s. Many of them were entered, and it would be hard to find a winner amongst these cars. The usual cars, entered by IMSA regulars, were facing four European entered cars, all of them driven by top drivers. It seemed that it would be a domination from those cars, as the Gelo Racing entered two brand new cars for Bob Wollek-Jacky Ickx and Peter Gregg, and the second for John Fitzpatrick-Manfred Schurti and Bob Wollek! Surely an all-star team! Joest Racing was there with Rolf Stommelen-Volkert Merl and Reinhold Joest and the last European Porsche was the usual Jolly Club entry for Martino Finotto-Carlo Facetti and Gianpiero Moretti. The Whittington Bros had two cars, Interscope too, as Dick Barbour Racing, Bruce Canepa, Hal Shaw, John Paul and Budweiser Racing. The only opposition was to be made by three Ferrari 512BBs. Two cars were entered by French Team JMS Racing and the last car was backed by the NART. They could count on their reliability. BMW did not enter any 320 Turbo, so it was a clear path for the Porsches. The GTO field was interesting as Porsche Carreras would face a Ferrari 365GTB4, some Camaros and a pair of BMW CSLs. The GTU class was quite different with the new Mazda RX7s now entered to win. The usual Porsche 911s were present as well as a single Datsun and an Alfa Romeo GTV.
The start of the race was the usual sprint race by many of the top drivers. Rolf Stommelen led the #6 Dick Barbour car before retiring. By midnight, the #1 car was the sole European survivor. The Ferrari 512BBs were in the top ten standings after less than three hours but they were to have an unusual end as they had to retire thanks to tyre problems. The Bob Tullius-Jean Pierre Delaunay-Pat Bedard car had a big crash on the banking after a tyre went. Fearing the same for the other cars, Team Manager Jean Marc Smadja decided to withdraw the two remaining cars. Turbochargers were to cause many retirements and the Interscope car, driven by Ted Field, Danny Ongais and Hurley Haywood was on the lead by 1AM. Cruising as Ted Field had instructed, their lead stretched from a two lap advantage after 12 hours to eighteen laps after 15 hours over the Charles Mendez car. The followers were even further, as a forty minutes stop kept the Mendez car on the second spot!  The Otto Zipper Ferrari 365GTB4 now appeared at the third place, slowly working its way in the capable hands of John Morton and Tony Adamowicz. Now clearly ahead of anything, the black Porsche could ease slowly to the finish line. The Mendez car ended its race with ignition trouble and it was the old Ferrari Daytona which inherited the second place overall, winning the GTO class.

John Morton and Tony Adamowicz had a fantastic race to finish second overall in their ageing Ferrari 365GTB4

Photo courtesy Tony Adamowicz

The GTU class was won by the works Mazda  RX7 driven by Yoshimi Katayama-Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino. Second place went to the American  car driven by Roger Mandeville-Jim Downing and Walt Bohren. It was a fantastic debut for the Japanese make!
The second race of the season was the usual 12 Hours of Sebring. A huge 72 car field was to bring plenty of close racing to the spectators. Exit the European teams and the usual contenders were here to put up a big show. Rolf Stommelen was on the pole with the Dick Barbour car while Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood were partnering Preston Henn on the latter's car. While Dick Barbour, asides Stommelen's car, had brought two other cars, you could find Charles Mendez Budweiser car, Hal Shaw-Norm Ridgely, John Paul-Al Holbert, Cliff Kearns-Gianpiero Moretti, Ted Field-Danny Ongais, Don and Bill Whittington. Ricardo Londono-John Gunn-George Garces and that was it! As for Daytona, no BMW was to take the start, concentrating on the sprint races. The Charlie Kemp-Carson Baird-Kees Nierop was here too, it would be its last race. The GTO field consisted of many well driven Porsche Carreras, while Gordon Oftedahl entered a pair of very efficient Chevrolet Camaros. Carl Shafer would later set a new class record for the race. Preston Henn had entered a Ferrari 365GTB4 for an all female team of drivers. Daughter Bonnie drove the Budweiser backed car with Janet Guthrie and Lyn St James. The GTU class seemed to be coming back to Porsche, as the Mazdas, being added extra weight following the Daytona domination, were "upgraded" to the GTX class when this extra weight was withdrawn.
The start of the race was a sprint race between Rolf Stommelen and Peter Gregg who clearly forgot anybody else and built up a 25s lead after only six laps. John Paul-Al Holbert were third but took the lead after the second refueling session. After three hours, they were still in the lead, just ahead of Rolf Stommelen-Dick Barbour-Rick Mears car and the Danny Ongais-Ted Field car. The Charles Mendez-Brian Redman-Paul Miller car had had an off course and lost eighteen minutes in the process. Positions were to be maintained until the halfway mark. Then the leaders began to be struck with trouble, as Rolf Stommelen lost a master cylinder and had throttle cable repaired. The Whittington's car went over a pile of tyres, Danny Ongais broke a wheel bearing and Peter Gregg's car retired with an oil leak. Only John Paul-Al Holbert did survive and the Bob Akin-Rob McFarlin-Roy Woods car was now second, and carefully driven. Then it was the leading car that lost a transmission and had to retire. Suddenly, it was Bob Akin's car that was on the lead. This car had a four lap advantage over the Charles Mendez car. When Brian Redman took the wheel for the last two hours of the race, he turned up the boost and drove in a magnificent way. At the end of the race, the gap between the two cars was down to one lap! Surely they could have won, if they had had one more hour.
The GTO class was won by the very reliable Bonky Fernandez-Tato Ferrer-Chiqui Soldevilla car. They had a neat race to finish fifth overall. As expected, the GTU class was all Porsche too and it was the Rusty Bond-Ren Tilton car who finished first, ahead of the Jim Trueman-John Higgins-Chip Mead similar car.
The first sprint race, at Road Atlanta, was to bring some fresh news which were good news. Two BMW 320i Turbos were entered and would serious contenders to the Porsche Turbos. Mo Carter entered a new AAGT Camaro, which was relatively fast. Dan Furey was here with his AAGT Chevrolet Vega as was Herb Jones, with his usual Camaro. But the remainder of the field was Porsche 935s. Amongst them was Peter Gregg who had brought his own car. At the start of the race, he took the lead and had a comfortable margin when the rain began to fall. He pitted quickly while no one did it. David Hobbs took the lead then and waited seven laps before switching for rain tyres. Danny Ongais then was first, ahead of Don Whittington and Peter Gregg, now third. Danny Ongais spun, letting Don Whittington take first place. Then, Don Whittington spun too and lost the race to Peter Gregg, who had cruised to a clever victory. David Hobbs could have been just behind but his battery went flat so he had to finish slowly. But it was Jim Busby who finally had the
second place after passing Don Whittington at the end of the race. Gianpiero Moretti was fourth. The GTO class was all Howard Meister, who won by a one lap margin over Mauricio de Narvaez and Carl Shafer on a Camaro.

Howard Meister clearly dominated the GTO category in 1979.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Next race was a 6 Hour race at Riverside, with a big 54 car field. The practice sessions had been very hard on engines, as Gianpiero Moretti, George Follmer and David Hobbs each lost one. Once again, Peter Gregg, who was partnered by German ace Klaus Ludwig, won the pole by a two second margin. John Paul was behind and the pair started the race in the same order. Peter Gregg led the race for the first hour but he had to pit for repairs after being hit by a slower car. The stop proved desastrous as the car was lowered on a jack that punctured the oil cooler. As everyone pitted for fuel, the lead then switched for four times in three laps. The beautifully driven Chevrolet Monza of Chris Cord-Jim Adams took the lead for a while. After the refueling was over, it was the Rolf Stommelen-Brian Redman-Dick Barbour car that was on the lead, only to be passed by the John Paul-Al Holbert car. But it was for a very short period, as a slow car incident brought the car to the pits with a puncture. Brian Redman was again in the lead but the Whittington bros were just behind, waiting for the right moment. It happened later, after three hours, when Brian Redman was blocked by a slower car, again, and lost his rear wing. The Whittington car was now on the lead. As the race came to an end, the car driven by John Paul-Al Holbert, in second place, was gaining on the leading car, and, despite a last refueling pitstop, the #94 car went on to win the race with a very slight margin. The GTO class seemed to be all Howard Meister-Rick Knoop, but a rod let go and David Cowart-Kenper Miller went on to win their class. The GTU was something new as the Don Devendorf-Tony Adamowicz Datsun 280ZX clearly dominated the race, beating the private Bob Bergstrom-Brad Frisselle Mazda RX7 entry.
At Laguna Seca, Peter Gregg was again a favorite, while Danny Ongais had set a new qualifying record, starting from the pole with Peter Gregg once again alongside. Following them were the two BMW 320s which play a good role at the California track. Then Bill Whittington and Chris Cord were not so far. At the start, Danny Ongais was on the lead but it was to last one lap as Peter Gregg took it from the Hawaiian, and that was it! As Peter Gregg was pulling away from the rest of the field, Danny Ongais was fighting with a sick turbo and David Hobbs was behind Jim Busby. Not for long as he had his crankshaft break on the track, David Hobbs barely avoiding him. As traffic prevented him from overtaking Danny Ongais, David Hobbs was waiting for the right moment to pass the black Porsche. On the forty fifth lap, though David Hobbs finally swept by to finish second. The GTO class was again an Howard Meister victory, second was the Porsche Carrera driven by Honorato Espinosa.
Hallett seemed to be a good track for the little BMW 320 Turbo. Starting from the third spot, David Hobbs was in second place, tailing Peter Gregg. On the fourteenth lap, they fell on Preston Henn's spinning Porsche. As the pair closed on the Porsche, David Hobbs cleverly slipped by as Peter Gregg hit the unhappy Henn. He spun too and would restart behind Don Whittington. David Hobbs had the time to fly away from his pursuers, and Peter Gregg had to push hard to pass Don Whittington, which he did after a hard metal to metal battle. Don Whittington had to pit for a tyre and finished third. David Hobbs easily won the race with a thirty second margin over Peter Gregg. The GTO class saw a good start from Carl Shafer, who led until lap eighteen. Then Howard Meister got by and was never to be seen again. Carl Shafer got into trouble and David Cowart finally took second.
The Lime Rock race was to be run under heavy rains. Again starting from the pole, Peter Gregg proved how good he was  under the rain. At the start, he was in the lead and David Hobbs seemed to be the only contender, but he had to pit
to have his windshield wiped! Many of the top drivers had to pit for that same problem, and the race turned into a Peter Gregg demonstration. Behind, Bill Whittington was out with a broken oil line, Jim Busby stopped definitively on the forty fourth lap and Don Whittington ended up his race hitting a guard rail. Clearly dominating the race, Peter Gregg won easily over David Hobbs, while Charles Mendez and Ted Field were next. Fifth overall and first in GTO was Howard Meister, easily winning again his class over David Cowart.
At Brainerd, Peter Gregg continued to dominate the series, as he won the race over David Hobbs. At the start, a melee involving Danny Ongais, Charles Mendez, Gianpiero Moretti and Ludwig Heimrath was to happen. Danny Ongais survived, only to find that Peter Gregg was clearly on the lead at the end of lap one. The three other drivers tried to pit for repairs, but Gianpiero Moretti's car was parked on the track as well. Peter Gregg kept his position as Danny Ongais was eight seconds down on lap 19. Then the Hawaiian had to pit with turbo troubles and his pace was to be slowed down. David Hobbs was now second, with Jim Busby third. But Jim Busby's car had a sudden fire. He was extremely fast at getting out of it! The race went on with Peter Gregg firmly on top of the standings, while David Hobbs could not hope to catch the Porsche with a poor handling car. Ted Field and Charles Mendez finished next. Once again Howard Meister was on top of the field in GTO. He easily held off a challenge from Tony de Lorenzo, driving a Chevrolet Corvette. Phil Currin was third, one lap down.(to be continued)

1979 : Peter Gregg last title, part 2

The next race was the usual Paul Revere 250 held at Daytona. It was a night race and the start was to take place at Midnight. Peter Gregg shattered the previous lap record and was two seconds faster than last year. After a second pace lap led by the polesitter, the race was on with Peter Gregg and Don Whittington swapping the first place many times. However, Peter Gregg had to pit on the ninth lap to have his windshield wiped. Don Whittington was on the lead until Emory Donaldson driving a Chevrolet Corvette and Mauricio de Narvaez on a Porsche Carrera RSR met in turn one. The track was blocked and the safety car had to be out. Peter Gregg was able to catch up the leader when he lost a wheel. He had to three-wheel to the pits for two miles. Don and Bill Whittington were clearly on the lead with David Hobbs second and Charles Mendez in third place. On the fortieth lap, David Hobbs broke a turbo and had to retire. With Charles Mendez suffering from the humidity, his crew looked for an unemployed co-driver. They found Hurley Haywood who climbed into the Budweiser Porsche. He was very fast right from the start of his new ride! As he caught Bill Whittington, the latter hit the guard rail. The Mendez-Haywood pair was on the lead and went on to win over Danny Ongais-Ted Field and Peter Gregg, back in third place. The GTO had seen a great battle between Phil Currin, Jorge Cortes and Howard Meister. This time, it was the Corvette that emerged as the winner. Howard Meister was third. Don Devendorf had a race of his own and was never challenged. He was followed by the two Mazdas driven by Bob Bergstrom and Walt Bohren.
The Mid Ohio 250 was a perfect race for the re-united Peter Gregg-Hurley Haywood pair. They were on the pole with David Hobbs alongside, co-driven by Derek Bell. Then came the Whittingtons, Chris Cord-Jim Adams Chevrolet Monza, and Ted Field-Danny Ongais. This race was the new BMW M1 debut and the Jim Busby-Dennis Aase pair starting seventh.

The new BMW M1 proved perfect for the long distance races, with its low fuel consumption

Copyright Mark Windecker

At the start, Peter Gregg led Don Whittington and David Hobbs. The Charles Mendez-Ted Field duo had a battle of his own. Then David Hobbs lost his brakes and hit the rail : he pitted for repairs and lost five laps. As the race went on, the first refueling session took place and the M1 worked its way to the top. After 39 laps, the Chevrolet Monza was out and Bill Whittington was in the lead, followed by Hurley Haywood and Jim Busby, who had not refueled yet. He pitted for fuel after fifty laps and handed the car to Dennis Aase. Hurley Haywood was clearly aiming at the leading position, and charging hard. Milt Minter had taken the wheel of the Interscope car, and had passed the M1. On lap seventy, the two leaders were nose to tail, and Hurley Haywood pitted. Peter Gregg took the wheel and Bill Whittington pitted four laps later. When he restarted, the Brumos car was ahead, definitively. The GTO scenario was a usual Howard Meister-Alan Johnson win, the pair finishing ahead of Luis Mendez. Don Devendorf again won the GTU category, beating Walt Bohren's Mazda by one lap.

Don Devendorf was the class of the 1979 GTU field

Copyright Mark Windecker

At Sears Point, an incredible field of eighteen Turbocharged cars could be seen for the first time. Fifteen Porsche 935s against two BMW 320s and even a Porsche 914/6! The usual Porsche Teams were joined by Vasek Polak who had two cars and Randolph Townsend had his own car. Harald von Keszycki entered a very unusual 914/6 turbo which did not prove fast at all. Peter Gregg was again on the pole with Jim Busby alongside. Hurley Haywood was third on a Vasek Polak car and David Hobbs was fourth.
At the start, Peter Gregg was on the lead and Bill Whittington trailed him. Danny Ongais would last only three laps before retiring. David Hobbs was charging hard on Bill Whittington but it would take a long time before he would get past. Hurley Haywood was behind but he had to pit on the fifteenth lap with a puncture. It was always Peter Gregg, Bill Whittington and David Hobbs but Hurley Haywood was soon between the two of them. David Hobbs finally was able to overtake Bill Whittington and was now second on lap 26. But they had a rough tangle and David Hobbs had to pit and retire. Bill Whittington was out of contention for the win as he had to slow down. He finally retired too. His brother had met the same final fate and broke a wheel. That left Peter Gregg far away from anybody, Ted Field, whose race was flawless too, was now second and Charles Mendez third. Hurley Haywood was fourth and Milt Minter fifth. This guy had started dead last, and had a fantastic race. A last race event due to a tremendous heat exhaustion was to be brought by Bob Akin, who sent Charles Mendez on his roof, after brushing Rob McFarlin, and ended up on the side onf the track. It was Gregg-Field and Haywood at the end. The GTO class was all Howard Meister, who fighted off a challenge from Phil Currin early in the race. Then he would have a race of his own. Luis Mendez and Mauricio de Narvaez followed for a 1-2-3 Porsche sweep.
Portland was again all Gregg. He was on the pole, one second faster than David Hobbs. Twelve turbocharged cars followed and promised some close racing. Actually it did not. At the start, Peter Gregg took the lead, David Hobbs was second with Hurley Haywood and Bruce Canepa following. Unfortunately, David Hobbs' car was not to last more than four laps, as the water pump belt let go. As it was, Peter Gregg went his way and pulled ahead of everybody. Hurley Haywood followed with Bruce Canepa behind. The race then was flawless for everyone, except for Jim Busby, who had to pit to change a tyre. Gianpiero Moretti spun on lap 24 and retired. Milt Minter was fourth, followed by Charles Mendez and Ted Field. The GTO race was quite different from the usual fixture as Howard Meister was beaten by Neil Shelton. He ended up the race third after a big spin. Phil Currin was between the two men on his Chevrolet Corvette.
The Lumbermen 500 at Mid Ohio was a special race, as Group 5 and 6 2,0L and Group 6 and 8 cars were entered, for prize money only as they could not get any IMSA points. Six of them were entered in a scant twenty six car field. One Mirage M10 was entered for Vern Schuppan-Derek Bell, one Lola for John Gunn-Gary Belcher, an Elfin MR8A for Chip Mead-Vern Schuppan, a Ralt for Brian Redman-Bobby Rahal. A Lola T292 for Steve Payne Herbert-Don Chab and a March 741 for Tom Jones-Pat Garmyn and that was all. They were opposed to the usual GT field, seven of them were Porsche 935s. No BMWs were to be seen. The only possible challenger could be the Dodge Challenger entered by Glenn Bunch. The car was outrageously modified and aroused a lot of interest amongst the spectators. He was partnered by Phil Currin for this race. John Gunn was the best qualifyer in his Lola but Peter Gregg once again took the lead of the race. He was followed by Elliot Forbes Robinson and Bobby Rahal on the Ralt fighting with John Gunn's Lola. Bobby Rahal took the lead in the second hour, but he had to pit for a nose job. Brian Redman took over, he was back in fourth position when the rain did change the race conditions. In fact, the race was all Brian Redman, who had a marvelous drive. The Bobby Rahal-Brian Redman pair took the lead on the 149th lap, when Hurley Haywood retired with a smoking car. After that, they led the race until the end, winning with a three lap margin. Don and Bill Whittington were second, winning the Championship points, Randolph Townsend-Elliot Forbes Robinson and Brett Lunger were third. The Porsche Carrera driven by Mandy Gonzales-Tato Ferrer and Ulrich Lange was next, winning the GTO class. The stunning Dodge Challenger managed to finish fifth, which was quite a good result.

Glenn Bunch entered a very special Dodge Challenger at some selected events

Copyright Mark Windecker

The next race was a first ever at Road America. Forty two cars took the green at the Wisconsin race track. Peter Gregg was on the pole on Bruce Leven's car. In fact, the race turned out to be a BMW win. David Hobbs was partnered by Derek Bell on the fast 320i Turbo. The start of the race was a battle between the Brian Redman-Dick Barbour-Skeeter McKitterick Porsche 935, the Peter Gregg-Bruce Leven-Hurley Haywood car and the BMW. The BMW quickly experienced fuel pickup problems, which meant the car would have to stop every seventeen lap! Brian Redman was a great challenger, but ignition troubles finally slowed the team. Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood were fighting for the lead until midpoint when they retired due to an ignition problem and a loose wheel. The BMW was now clearly on the lead, followed by a bunch of Porsches. Charles Mendez and Paul Miller were finally second after a fine drive, followed by Ted Field and Milt Minter. Fourth the BMW M1 driven by Jim Busby and Dennis Aase that proved once again it was a serious contender in long distance races. The GTO category was the Group 44 Triumph TR8 debut, driven by Bob Tullius-Brian Fuerstenau. They led throughout and won easily over the Porsche Carrera driven by Tony Garcia and Terry Herman. Howard Meister did not enter, but he had clinched the championship. He would not enter the next few races. The GTU seemed to go to the Electramotive Datsun 280ZX, as the pair Don Devendorf-Tony Adamowicz dominated, but they had to pit for forty five minutes. So the win went  to Mazda with Bob Bergstrom-Rick Knoop winning over Roger Mandeville-Jim Downing and Jeff Kline-Jim Mederer. Don Devendorf had clinched the GTU Championship too.
The fall Road Atlanta race was a new Peter Gregg victory, but he was very lucky to win this time. Don Whittington had led most of the race and Peter Gregg was second when the race leader fell out of fuel. Peter Gregg inherited a late unawaited victory. John Paul was second and David Hobbs third. He was happy with Hurley Haywood's pit stop for refueling on the last lap too! Don Whittington was finally fifth behind Hurley Haywood. The GTO was something different as Kenper Miller dominated the race on his usual BMW 3.0CSL. Behind him was Bob Tullius Triumph TR8 who had a good fight with Tony de Lorenzo on his Corvette. They finished in that order. The best Porsche was Francisco Romero's who finished fourth.
The Daytona Finale saw the first ever Porsche 935K3s entered in an IMSA race. Don Whittington started on the pole with his K3, leading Peter Gregg and Bill Whittington. At the start, Don Whittington took the lead with Peter Gregg second. After a safety car period due to John Caruso's off course, the race was on after five laps. The race order looked the same when Peter Gregg tangled with a slower car. After that, it was all Whittingtons. Danny Ongais, Charles Mendez-Brian Redman, John Paul-Paul Miller, Preston Henn and Bob Akin-Roy Woods and Ricardo Londono were the followers. The BMW 320i was out very soon. The refueling pit stops made the brothers switch position. They ran quite close. Then the rain came, and it got very strong. On lap forty eight, the leading duo arrived on the backstretch, where three cars had spun and blocked it. They could not brake and spun into the whole stuff, followed by a dozen cars!  It was an enormous pileup. Only Don Whittington and Brian Redman could make it to the pits. No one was really hurt in that memorable story. So the race was definitively stopped with the Whittingtons doing a one-two. The GTO class was dominated by Carl Shafer who stopped to switch for rain tyres, giving the class win to Mauricio de Narvaez when the race was red-flagged. The GTU was a Don Devendorf new victory, not to be denied his newly acquired GTU title. Walt Bohren was second on his Mazda RX7. The season was over with a new title for Peter Gregg, it would be his last one too. The series now entered a new decade, that decade would bring some great changes.

1979 GTU : Datsun

From the beginning of the IMSA Camel GT, GT and GTU cars had always run together, but it was to change in 1977. Some GTU races were run separately in order to accomodate the bigger fields and make everyone run. The Endurance races were always run with a mix of every class but the shorter events would now host two different races. It was the third year GTU races were run separately and they were now very attractive races. 
Road Atlanta was the first race in the GTU schedule. Dennis Aase was the best qualifyer with his new Porsche 911. A new interesting car to be entered was the new BMW 320 entered by Roehrig Racing for Dave White. Three Mazda RX7s were entered for Bob Bergstrom, Walt Bohren and Roger Mandeville. They would face a bunch of well driven Datsuns, Don Devendorf, Sam Posey, Jim Fitzgerald were real contenders for victory. Some Porsche 911s and 914s, an Alfa Romeo, a BMW 2002 and some old Datsun Zs and you had an honest 22 car field. The race started under rain and Don Devendorf took the lead. At the end of lap one, Bob Bergstrom pitted for rain tyres and lost a lap. As Don Devendorf was pulling ahead of everybody, Jim Fitzgerald was second followed by Dennis Aase. Dave White retired from the race on lap seven. Sam Posey pitted for tyres on lap twelve and could run better after that. The leader would pit on lap eighteen, losing the lead to Dennis Aase. Jim Fitzgerald was second. The leading Porsche would spin on lap twenty, and "Fitzy" was now the new leader. Don Devendorf, on rain tyres, was now storming back. He took the lead on lap twenty four. Also on rain tyres, Sam Posey and Bob Bergstrom would easily pass Dennis Aase, who did the whole race on slicks. Don Devendorf won the race over Sam Posey, Bob Bergstrom and Dennis Aase.
Next race was held at Laguna Seca, with a record twenty seven car field. Sam Posey set a new record and started from the pole. He pulled ahead of Don Devendorf, Frank Leary and Dennis Aase. As he easily led the race, Sam Posey became involved in an incident that lost him the race. He spun and Don Devendorf passed him, to win the race. Dennis Aase had retired from the race as did Dave White. Walt Bohren finished fifth, only to be disqualified at the end for being too light.
Hallett was quite different in many aspects. Fifteen cars only took part of the race. The practice session had seen a new lap record for Don Devendorf, leading Bob Bergstrom, Dennis Aase and Dave White, the four of them breaking last year's record. At the start, it was over for Don Devendorf and Bob Bergstrom who had a serious collision ending their race as it only began! Dennis Aase and Dave White were ahead, and the BMW took the lead on lap five. Walt Bohren was not far and closing the leading duo. As Dave White built up a four second advantage, one could think that he had the race to himself, but a vibration finally slowed him. Dennis Aase got past him on lap thirty one and that was it. Walt Bohren did the same one lap later. They finished the race in that order, Dennis Aase winning his first race of the season. Walt Bohren was second, Dave White third and an excellent Rodd Harrison was fourth in his Porsche 914/6.
Lime Rock saw a very scant seventeen car field. Bob Bergstrom started on the pole on his Mazda RX7, Dennis Aase was second and Don Devendorf third. At the start, it was the usual Dennis Aase-Bob Bergstrom-Don Devendorf-Dave White-Walt Bohren show. Sam Posey started dead last, but he was to have the big race. Bob Bergstrom was on the lead but he did not last more than fourteen laps. Don Devendorf took the lead with Walt Bohren now in second place. But Sam Posey was already third and overtook him on lap twenty one! The Mazda would retire four laps later. Sam Posey was now second but running faster than anybody. On lap twenty eight, he passed Don Devendorf to go to an easy five seconds lead and win the race. It was a clear domination for someone supposed to be exhausted by a man who had not slept for forty five hours!

Don Devendorf won the GTU Championship by winning no less than nine races

Copyright Mark Windecker

Sears Point was the next race on the schedule. Mazda, looking quite disappointed with the numerous Datsun victories, was willing to reverse the odds and had hired Yoshimi Katayama to ensure a win. He did qualify on the pole with Sam Posey second and Don Devendorf third. At the start, he jumped to the lead, followed by Bob Bergstrom, Sam Posey and Don Devendorf. Soon, Don Devendorf would pass Sam Posey and was now third. He was closing in on Bob Bergstrom's Mazda, and Yoshimi Katayama was the leader for the next few laps. But his tyres were wearing out, and Bob Bergstrom soon was the new leader on lap eight. The leading Mazda-Mazda-Datsun trio was having a race of his own. Don Devendorf was trying harder to pass the Japanese driver, and he did it on lap twenty two. Then he was on Bob Bergstrom's tail, only to pass him one lap later. The race'was over, and Don Devendorf won the race over Bob Bergstrom and Yoshimi Katayama. Sam Posey was fourth with Jeff Kline just behind. Dennis Aase did not took part of the race, after a collision with Bill Koll's Porsche 914/6.

Bob Bergstrom posted some very good races in his own Mazda RX7

Copyright Mark Windecker

Portland was a Sears Point replica as Yoshimi Katayama was again on pole for the race. He had wet a new GTU record and started out in front, followed by Don Devendorf. Jeff Kline and Ed Parks were just behind. Yoshimi Katayama built up a three second lead over Don Devendorf. Bob Bergstrom suddenly seemed willing to climb up the standings and passed Dennis Aase and Sam Posey. Everyone was quite close. As Yoshimi Katayama set up a new lap record, he suddenly spun, and saw Don Devendorf, Jeff Kline, Ed Parks, Bob Bergstrom and Sam Posey pass him. However, it seemed that it would be his day, as he set up a chase of his own. He passed every driver, one by one, to finish second. Only Don Devendorf could keep his position as he won the race once again. It was a fantastic race by Yoshimi Katayama, though. Jeff Kline and Ed Parks were third and fourth, respectively.
The last race of the season was held at Road Atlanta, on a dry course. Don Devendorf, the GTU champion, set a new qualifying record and started first, Jeff Kline'was'second and Dennis Aase was third, while Bob Bergstrom followed with newcomer Paul Newman on the new Bob Sharp Racing Datsun 280ZX. Don Devendorf was on the lead from the beginning, and never was to be threatened in the race. Behind, Paul Newman had a great race and fought off Jeff Kline. Bob Bergstrom, Walt Bohren, Roger Mandeville and Jim Fitzgerald were behind and finished in that order. As the gap between him and his followers came down to less than one second at the finish, Don Devendorf was never really challenged and won again easily. Driving the Electramotive Datsun 280ZX, he was the 1979 GTU Champion and really deserved it.

A tribute to John Bishop

John Bishop nowadays

Charismatic leader of the IMSA of which he is the founder. John Bishop got tightly acquainted with auto racing while attending a race at Watkins Glen in 1950. After having worked at Sikorsky (the helicopters) then at Martin Company, he was contacted by Dave Allen, from the SCCA, with whom he wanted to purchase a Volkswagen. The latter spoke to him about a job which was vacant, which consisted in managing the SCCA Contest Board. John Bishop accepted and took his quarters in Westport, Connecticut. His career in automobile racing had just begun. His work consisted in setting up technical rules for the various classes of the SCCA. Much administrative work also awaited him (checking of the licences, recording of entries etc...). He got himself known in a world implied in auto racing and these relations would prove very useful in the future. He had good relations with Jim Kimberly, the President of the club and this, in spite of his rather unforeseeable character. In 1958, great changes were going to intervene within the SCCA where the elections of the leaders would occur in each local area. A new job was created: that of executive director, who would manage the whole staff. This one, Hugo Rush, was going to be at the root of the Dave Allen's departure. His relationship with Hugo Rush was not always good but these years spent with him were made profitable because he learned a lot. As soon as the tensions appeared, they only had to speak about aviation and everything would then be alright. He accumulated an incomparable experience. He was going indeed to show his qualities of manager, whenever it appeared at every level, management, troubles or dealing with people, he was always good at it. Later, the dissensions which would agitate the SCCA would later lead to Hugo Rush's departure. The most important point in these discussions was to know if it were or not necessary to step into professionalism. John Bishop would be propelled then to the rank of executive director. Responsible for the new Pro program within the SCCA, he was charged to rewrite considerable technical rules, a task of which he was obviously particularly gifted. Also charged of the amateur program, he was overwhelmed with numerous tasks, but never to surrender. From 1962, the SCCA would be charged to manage the races of the World Championship for Makes with the three top races : Daytona, Sebring, Bridgehampton and Watkins Glen with the US Grand Prix. The creation of the USRRC championship for sports cars also showed his tenacity to recover the races "stolen" by the USAC. His diary more than was provided at that time and he proved he had fantastic working capacities. The SCCA was on the good way and the creation of the Trans Am and the Can Am showed that the club was on the good way. He helped these two series at their beginning. John Bishop took part in the development of part of the rules. He was also member of many technical commissions, those being primarily centered on the installation of technical rules for all types of cars. The influence of the SCCA, at this time, was at its paroxysm. In 1968, members in charge of the management of the Can Am, Trans Am and USRRC let know that they wished to get more autonomy, and John Bishop, as a burning defender of the system then in place, placed himself like the principal opponent. The quarrels then became more personal. In 1969, the staff, helped by some personalities, decided in their favour. Consequently, John Bishop had nothing more to do but one alternative: he resigned. He found himself then personaly implied and decided to think about his future. In fact, this period really was to change his future because he accepted a call from Bill France, the owner of the NASCAR, who invited him at Daytona "to drink Scotch, go fishing and discuss", dixit Bill. This last knew that John had left the SCCA and he wished to create his own organization. In fact, many circuits were in construction at the time and it was necessary to promote new events... and to create a new series. The conditions were perfect to create a new organization. Bill France knew that John was the right man for the job and he wanted to launch it as such: he gave him unlimited power. John thus accepted. This organization would be a professional organization, with prices for all the participants, and it would be managed as such. Bill France could finance it and give him the autonomy which he needed. The NASCAR would have three quarter of the shares and John one quarter. He came back to Connecticut and rented a modest office. It is at that time that he created the name International Motor Sport Association, drew the famous logo, traced the broad outline of the organization and contacted banks, insurance companies. He was to deal with the legal actions due to such a creation. He was also put at work to set up the future rules for the IMSA. He recruited soon his former secretary Edythe Hindle, then Bob Gilmartin, who was to take care of the advertisement. The official date of creation of the IMSA was on May 9, 1969, it would mark history. One of John Bishop's main concern was to create technical rules which would be easy to understand, while remaining quite precise and clear. The SCCA had some rancours then when the IMSA settled in Fairfield, Connecticut, not far from its own headquarters. Some official bulletins circulated then, threatening its members with penalties, if those were going to take part in any IMSA event. The IMSA made its own promotion then and used the local press while inserting applying bulletins in newspapers such as "Competition Press". The first series which the IMSA could set up was a program of Formula V and Formula Ford. The enthusiasm which followed was significant and the first race took place with Pocono. There still, the SCCA still showed its reserve and threatened the direction of the circuit to withdraw him its eligibility for the next SCCA races but, fortunately, that did not last and Pocono could nevertheless be rent, for an additional $10000 fee, for this very first race. John Bishop knew that if IMSA were to undergo such pressures, its credibility would be reached, and he then decided to borrow more money to be able to rent Pocono. The race thus took place and was run without any trouble. 328 witnesses had showed up for this inaugural race. This race, won by Jim Clark of Michigan, counted 23 participants of which some pilots who were going to become accustomed series. Thus, one could see Fred Opert, Carson Baird or Skip Barber, to name a few. The technical inspection took place in the paddock and the drivers were treated with doughnuts by the ladies responsible for the inscriptions. One month later, a second race took place at Talladega, Alabama and one could see that the word of mouth had well worked because beautiful Formula Ford, Vee or sedans fields were displayed. Larry Dent was chief steward at this race and he introduced Bob Zuehlke to John Bishop. Bob Zuehlke acted as his assistant for this race and then went on to work for IMSA after that, but Larry Dent did not do so. However, John Bishop and Larry Dent remained good friends but Larry wanted to get back his SCCA membership after a quarrel with the sanctioning body and that was all. All the competitors could have fun but there were yet only 500 spectators The first season was already finished but the IMSA had already prepared the following one and 10 races were set. Bill France, following some financial setbacks, would reduce his investments but would make it possible to new investors to give their support. Those investors purchased many of Bill France's assets and, in the end, they made a good bargain. The season 1970 was on its way, but the races did not attract large crowd, with share on the races organized jointly with the NASCAR, where the witnesses "were somewhat taken as an hostage". Some accidents took place, without gravity fortunately. But an awakening took place at this time, and it decided really future of the series. It started from an observation: the single-seaters did not attract crowd. Then John Bishop, while thinking about the issue, remembered that he had helped establish the fundations of the "J appendix". Those related to the cars taking part in the World Championship for Makes. He started from an obvious observation: put aside Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen, these cars did not have any other race where to run. As of the end of the season 1970, the advertisement of the organization of a new Championship was made. The allowed cars would be those of groups 2 and 4, that is to say Touring and GT Cars. Would be then allowed Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs, Porsche 911s and 914s, Alfa Romeos like much of other cars. The races would be enough long to give its chances to everyone, in short the main word was: equity. The advertisement of this new series was welcomed with happiness by Joseph Hoppen, of Porsche-Audi, who could foresee that his cars could shine. The future gave him reason. The IMSA had all the ingredients to produce a great series and it used them with happiness. John Bishop was a leading man and he knew how to use and make profitable his experiment within the SCCA to manage the IMSA. His qualities made the remainder. His relationship with the pilots or the various partners proved that he was a tremendous leader and he proved the right man in managing the different aspects of his organization. According to the pilots, the mechanics, of the teams, he was an exceptional fellow and he knew how to get the best out of everyone. He deserves our respect. He is a great man.

24 Hours of Daytona 1977 : Porsche Carrera last victory

The 24 Hours of Daytona was the first event of the 1977 season. It was the first time that Porsche 935s were to enter an IMSA race. The race could boast for a strong 66 car entry list. This entry list was highlighted by the works Porsche 935 driven by Jacky Ickx-Jochen Mass. It was obviously the best car of the field. Two other Porsche 935s were entered for German team Kremer Racing for Bob Wollek-Reinhold Joest-Albrecht Krebs and the Jolly Club car for Carlo Facetti-Martino Finotto-Romeo Camathias. Another Porsche Turbo was entered, it was the former works 1974 car, now owned by Vasek Polak, and driven by Danny Ongais-George Follmer. Peter Gregg was here with his Brumos car, but it was a group 4 car which he shared with Jim Busby. For the remainder of the season, he was supposed to run a more effective car, with the latest IMSA specs. Two Chevrolet Monzas were entered, and they would try to do their best against the European contingent. But reliability has always been one of the domestic cars' main concern. However, Al Holbert was here and had some good hopes for the race. Fitted with a V8 6,0L given for 560hp, it could play second fiddles in such a race. Michael Keyser and French driver Claude Ballot Léna would co-drive this car. A second Monza was entered for Jim Trueman-Jerry Thompson and Don Yenko. A big disappointment was to be brought by John Greenwood who had sold his Corvette to Rick Mancuso, an honest SCCA driver, but it was clear that it would not be a threat to the Porsches. John Greenwood was supposed to build a new Mulsanne car, but it would debut later in the season. BMW had entered a fantastic 320, driven by David Hobbs-Sam Posey and formula 1 star Ronnie Peterson. This car was fitted with a Formula 2 engine and was very slow on the banking. Later in the season, this car would be fitted with a turbocharged engine, and David Hobbs would prove very efficient at his wheel. One BMW 3.0CSL, last year's works car, was driven by John Fitzpatrick-Kenper Miller and Paul Miller and could do well too.
Two Inaltera Fords were entered too, but it was a Le Mans test race, as they were not supposed to earn any point for this race. Jean Pierre Beltoise-Jean Rondeau drove the first car and Lella Lombardi-Christine Beckers drove the second one. They were entered in the GTP class as the Porsche Turbo was. They would prove quite fast with a third and fourth on the grid. A lot of Porsche Carreras were entered, as usual, and some of them were very well driven, and could hope some good results. George Dyer-Brad Frisselle, John Graves-Dave Helmick-Hurley Haywood drove the ex-Peter Gregg car, prepared by Franz Blam, a very good car indeed, Tom Frank-Carl Shafer and Diego Febles-Hiram Cruz were amongst the best. A trio of Ferrari 365GTB4 was to be witnessed and this fact was obviously due to the presence of an all-star team of drivers. Paul Newman-Elliot Forbes Robinson-Milt Minter were on the #64, John Morton-Bobby Carradine-Roy Woods on the #65 and John Cannon-Tony Adamowicz-Dick Barbour on the third one. Counting on their reliability, they could do well in such a race. Some Corvettes were here too, and the best were for Phil Currin-Rob Hoskins-Peter Knab, John Carusso-Emory Donaldson-Luis Sereix and Babe Headley-Sammy Feinstein-Frank Panzarella but many other cars would be here only for fun. The same could be told for the Camaros, which were diversely prepared and driven. The best were for Herb Jones-Steve Faul and Gene Felton-Buzz Cason-James Reeves, this car was completely rebuilt and had a special look, mainly due to a chopped front end.

Gene Felton entered a special Chevrolet Camaro for himself, Buzz Cason and James Reeves

Photo courtesy Gene Felton

Many Porsche 911s, a single BMW 2002, an AMC Javelin, an AMC Gremlin, a single Ford Mustang, a Lancia Stratos and a Lotus Europa could be seen on the track for the practice sessions.
Three of them were set to allow the cars to qualify for the race. The first session was crucial for the top cars and set the top ten positions. The Porsche 935 driven by Jochen Mass would set the pole position in 1m48s289, being approached by Bob Wollek by less than one second, which was a real feat by the French driver, as the track was completely dry for Jochen Mass when doing the pole. The two Inalteras were behind, Carlo Facetti was fifth on his Porsche 935, just ahead of the old Porsche Turbo, well driven by Danny Ongais. Peter Gregg did follow on his new Porsche 934, he was trailed by Al Holbert. They were the two IMSA leaders of the race. You could find the BMW 3.0CSL, well driven by John Fitzpatrick and the second Chevrolet Monza driven by Jerry Thompson. The BMW 320 would start on the nineteenth spot on the grid. During these sessions, one of the Ferraris was destroyed by Bobby Carradine, it would not be repaired for the race. The weather had been quite changing, and it seemed that things would go better for the race. As it was, the crowd was bigger than the previous years. Fifty seven cars took the green, plus one Fiat X1.9 trying to delude the officials' watchfulness, but the car would be stopped very soon. After one pace lap, the cars were left and Jacky Ickx immediately took the lead. Bob Wollek was behind but Danny Ongais seemed to be willing to take a commanding position. Soon, he passed Jean Pierre Beltoise, then Bob Wollek after seven laps. He would then be threatening to the leader and overtook him on lap nine. From that moment, it was one for you, one for me until the first refueling session. The Martini car was faster on the banking, but Danny Ongais really wanted to show his teeth. The Inaltera #1 was the first car to go refueling.The two leaders both pitted on lap twenty nine. That gave the lead to Bob Wollek for a while. Ongais would lose 1m30s with a damaged bodywork, probably due to a shunt with a slower car. Bob Wollek would pit for refueling after one hour and six minutes. After everyone had refueled, Jacky Ickx was the leader and Bob Wollek was now second, Jean Pierre Beltoise was third and Danny Ongais fourth, John Fitzpatrick was fifth, but he had to refuel. Al Holbert was sixth, one lap down, followed by Peter Gregg and Lella Lombardi.
It was to come to an end for the old Porsche Turbo as it broke a piston on lap thirty six. Behind the leader, Jean Pierre Beltoise, who was now in third place, was aiming at a better position. He soon was able to attack Bob Wollek, and passed him to claim the second position. John Fitzpatrick pitted after 1H23mn for refueling and lost one place in the process. He was now fifth. The leading order was now : Jacky Ickx, Jean Pierre Beltoise, Bob Wollek and Al Holbert. The latter would soon be delayed by a tyre puncture, which made him stop twice. He was black-flagged the second time. The second refueling session saw a change of drivers and Jean Rondeau took the wheel from Jean Pierre Beltoise on the second place Inaltera. Slower than Jean Pierre Beltoise, Jean Rondeau would be overtaken by Reinhold Joest, who had taken the wheel of the Kremer Porsche 935. A remarkable fact was that the third Porsche 935, driven by Carlo Facetti, was much slower than the German cars. The second Inaltera, driven by Christine Beckers, would hit a Porsche Carrera driven by Adrian Gang, who had just punctured on the banking. Jon Woodner was passing by and got involved in that mess. Hurley Haywood would avoid this shunt and slipped by. The Inaltera retired and Christine Beckers was led to the hospital, where nothing serious was to be diagnosed and she left very early. Jacky Ickx was an easy leader and was one lap ahead of everybody. Bob Wollek was second. Jochen Mass took the wheel and had a puncture on the banking, he could make it to the pits but he lost six laps for repairs. Bob Wollek was the new leader of the race. Jacky Ickx would run for a while without any side door, then would stop to be accomodated with Danny Ongais' one. Then the Martini Porsche would be struck with more trouble, and after six hours of race, the car would not appear in a better position than twentieth overall, twenty three laps down. Bob Wollek was the clear leader of the race, leading Peter Gregg, the second Porsche 935 driven by Carlo Facetti-Martino Finotto-Romeo Camathias and the Porsche Carrera RSR driven by Dave Helmick-John Graves and Hurley Haywood. This car would have the race of its life.

John Cannon, Tony Adamowicz and Dick Barbour drove this Ferrari 365GTB4 to an unusual engine failure

Photo courtesy Tony Adamowicz

The best Inaltera driven by Jean Pierre Beltoise-Jean Rondeau was no more a contender and had lost a lot of time in the pits. The exhaust bearings, a coil, bodywork had caused many stops and the car was now fifteenth. The Kremer Porsche was a solid leader but had to stop for a while after nine hours. Brakes pads had to be changed but the team had trouble with them. The car would lose its position for a while, letting the Porsche 934 driven by Peter Gregg-Jim Busby take over the lead, but Bob Wollek would soon recover his leading position. At this point of the race, one thing appear as a clear evidence to the leaders, the works Porsche 935 was very fast and recovering on the leaders. It became clear that it would claim the lead before the end of the race. Before mid race, the Chevrolet Monza was stopped in its pits for an engine swapping after experiencing trouble. In spite of this fact, the car would later in the night retire with a broken transmission. The BMW 320 was quickly running without any clutch, then a big oil leak exiting from the engine caused its retirement. The other BMW, the 3.0CSL retired with a broken oil line, which caused a fire, leading to a retirement. At mid race, the situation seemed quite clear :
Bob Wollek-Reinhold Joest-Albrecht Krebs 346laps, 2nd Peter Gregg-Jim Busby 344laps, 3rd John Graves-Dave Helmick-Hurley Haywood, 4th George Dyer-Brad Frisselle 336laps, 5th Jacky Ickx-Jochen Mass 335laps, 6th Carlo Facetti-Martino Finotto-Romeo Camathias 335laps, Elliot Forbes Robinson-Paul Newman-Milt Minter 325laps.
The Brumos Porsche 934 then had to undergo a gear linkage problem and would lose three hours in the process, instead of changing it, the failing one had to be repaired.  After fourteen hours, the works Porsche 935 had recovered the second position. The leading car, mainly driven by Bob Wollek was now in trouble with its clutch. However, as everyone expected the Kremer machine to be overtaken, it was the works Porsche 935 that would be hit. Jochen Mass would have a tyre problem which caused the suspension to be torn open after hitting the wall. It was a retirement for the fastest car in the race. The Kremer Porsche 935 was now a clear leader and had no real opponent for the race. The Porsche Carrera RSR driven by John Graves-Dave Helmick and Hurley Haywood was an excellent second overall, this car was leading the second Porsche 935, which was running slowly when not driven by Carlo Facetti! Hurley Haywood would drive twelve hours and did a fantastic job. The other Porsche Carrera, driven by George Dyer and Brad Frisselle was running very well in third place, but had to stop for a new engine. The first Ferrari 365GTB4 was next, driven by Paul Newman-Elliot Forbes Robinson and Milt Minter. This car will be slowed by an overheating engine, but would make it to the finish. As it seemed that the leading car would have a race of its own, the leader was stopped for a brake problem, losing eighteen minutes and the lead. The Ecurie Escargot Porsche Carrera took the lead at 11:57, definitively! The Kremer Porsche could have had its chances, but clutch problems, coupled with gearbox problems did slowed the car for good. In fact, the main challenger for the Porsche Carrera appeared to be the Italian Jolly Club Porsche 935 which took second place from the Kremer car later in the afternoon. The end of the race was a quiet one, but the leading car was still running very strong. John Graves thought that the Porsche 935 was catching him, and he ran faster than ever. Ill-informed by his team, he did his best to remain ahead of the following car. But the gap was about three laps, so he did not have to really worry. The Porsche Carrera RSR driven by Hurley Haywood-John Graves and Dave Helmick earned a much deserved victory, over more powerful cars. The second place Porsche 935 had a quiet race but did not manage to win the race, with 300hp more than the winning car. It was the reliability victory.
The Kremer Porsche 935 managed to finish third overall, eleven laps down. Peter Gregg and Jim Busby had worked their way back to tenth, which was an excellent result after their three hour stop. The GTU class was won by a Porsche 911S driven by Bob Hindson-Frank Carney and Dick Davenport, which finished seventh overall. It would be the last victory for a normally aspirated car for long. The Porsche 935s had arrived and would dominate the next years.

Final results