Next race at Laguna Seca was a perfect race. A fine weather contributed a lot to this fact. John Fitzpatrick and Peter Gregg were alongside each other and the race seemed to be a matter of boost at the start between the two drivers. They went off and pulled ahead of anybody, Danny Ongais being the closest pursuer. They had a ten second lead at mid race when the Hawaiian retired from the race after setting a new lap record. John Fitzpatrick had built a five second lead over Peter Gregg when he spun. Peter Gregg was soon past the Englishman but in five laps, John Fitzpatrick was again in the lead. He ended up the race with a fifteen second margin over Peter Gregg. John Paul was next, leading Ted Field and Rich Sloma, who brought his AAGT Chevrolet Corvette to a fine result. The GTO category was another duel between Tony Garcia and Bob Tullius who finished one-two. Luis Mendez was third in his Porsche Carrera.
The next race, on Memorial Day, took place at Lime Rock Park. It was to be a special event as John Fitzpatrick was not there and Peter Gregg looked like the man to beat for this race. A scant nineteen car field took the start of the two forty five minute sprints. The first heat of the race was a neat victory for Peter Gregg winning with a twenty four second margin over John Paul Sr. Ted Field was next. The start of the race had seen an off course from Phil Currin who ended up his race after running on oil. The GTO category saw a big fight between Luis Mendez, driving a Porsche Carrera, and the two Triumph TR8s driven by Bob Tullius and Bill Adam. The result was almost a dead heat for the three of them. Race number 2 saw the first ever GT ride for John Paul Jr. Peter Gregg was still ahead but a softening tyre resulted in a damaged suspension. He finally retired. Then it was Ted Field who took the lead as he passed John Paul Jr on lap six. After that, John Paul Jr and Ted Field had a show of them. Ted Field held his rank while John Paul Jr hounded him. After many tries, he finally passed him and took the lead while the Interscope car was down on brakes. It was the first ever father and son victory. Third and first in GTO, Luis Mendez took a well deserved class win, beating a pair of well-driven Triumph TR8s.
The next race was a first ever race with a GTO-GTU race, held at Brainerd, Minnesota. That meant that the GTX cars would not be the stars of the race. One remarkable fact was that the pole position was set by a GTU car, Walt Bohren being the fastest qualifyer. Brad Frisselle was next. Twenty three cars took the start of a very open race. The top GTO contenders were just behind with Luis Mendez leading Bob Tullius. At the start, it was Bob Tullius who won the drag race and took the lead. Things were close as Walt Bohren could take the lead on lap nine. Earlier in the race, Paul Newman and Mauricio de Narvaez retired from the race after colliding. Walt Bohren was ahead of Bob Tullius, Luis Mendez and Brad Frisselle were close. The latter would spin and lose two places trying to overtake Luis Mendez. Don Devendorf was out of contention for the lead, after suffering from flats, as was Dennis Aase. After seventeen laps, Bob Tullius, running in second place, pitted with a V8 looking like a V7. Unwilling to destroy his engine, he decided not to go further and spare some money. Walt Bohren suddenly was six seconds ahead of Luis Mendez. Jeff Kline was third but Brad Frisselle was now aiming at his position. Unfortunately for Walt Bohren, his car did not hold until the finish line. Luis Mendez was now the leader and took the overall win over Jeff Kline and Brad Frisselle, both running on Mazda RX7s.
Luis Mendez was the overall winner at the Brainerd GTO-GTU event and the 1980 GTO Champion
Copyright Mark Windecker
The next race was the usual Paul Revere 250 at Daytona, which was run at night. Hurley Haywood was on the pole and he took the lead right from the start. John Fitzpatrick could not run as he might have as he had too rich a fuel which prevented him from turning up the boost. So he had to refuel early in the race. Hurley Haywood then suffered from the heat and to stop to hand the car to Peter Gregg. They were finally third overall as John Fitzpatrick cruised to victory, in spite of his settings. Behind, John Paul Sr and Jr charged back at the Kremer Porsche and they would lose the race for 0.5 second at the end! The GTO category was another Triumph versus Porsche battle but this time, the British V8s took the advantage. Bob Tullius won over Bill Adam with Ernesto Soto taking third in his Carrera. It was a one-two-three for Mazda as Walt Bohren won over Jeff Kline, who experienced gearbox problems, and Brad Frisselle.
A swing to the west coast for the next race held at Sears Point. A very hot race indeed, as Danny Ongais broke the existing record in his Interscope Porsche 935. He could take full advantage of his position as he spun in his very first lap. John Fitzpatrick was in the lead with Bobby Rahal right behind him. John Paul was forced to pit with a cut tyre on the first lap : he would lose one lap. Third was Gianpiero Moretti who had his best drive of the season when he was put off course by a lapped car. The leaders were having a goid fight when Bobby Rahal had to pit on lap twenty to refresh himself with water. Ted Field got past but Bobby Rahal would finally regain his position after nine laps. Chris Cord was a fine fourth overall in his Chevrolet Monza. John Fitzpatrick won again over Bobby Rahal. The GTO class was won by Luis Mendez who took the win over Casey Mollett on a Datsun 280Z and Tom Marx on a Porsche Carrera. Tony Garcia was a challenger but suffered from the heat, while Phil Currin had a flat tyre in his Chevrolet Corvette. No Triumph were to be seen.
At Portland, John Fitzpatrick was on the pole with Gianpiero Moretti alongside. At the start, it was a contest that was won by John Fitzpatrick, but the Italian was close behind. Hurley Haywood was third while John Paul Sr was running a low boost, trying to do the race without refueling. The race was set until the fiftieth lap when Gianpiero Moretti pitted for fuel, say a splosh. Hurley Haywood and Jim Busby did the same, but not John Fitzpatrick who won by a nineteen second margin. John Paul did it too to finish fourth. Once again, the GTO category was won by Luis Mendez, driving an ex-Holbert Porsche Carrera. Bill Craine on a Chevrolet Corvette had the best start, then Phil Currin(Chevrolet Corvette), Tony Garcia and Luis Mendez(Porsche Carrera) got past him. A big fight was to be seen as nobody was willing to give an inch. Phil Currin and Luis Mendez would then pull ahead of Tony Garcia. They would have a relentless duel. On the last lap, Luis Mendez would play one of his trick and got past Phil Currin for yet another victory.
The next race was held at Mosport, for a 1000kilometer race. A new challenge was awaiting the dominating Dick Barbour Porsche driver in the form of three Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbos. However, the Englishman was again on the pole but he had to settle for second at the start when Bobby Rahal took the lead. He trailed him during sixteen laps and then got past. He handed the car to Brian Redman who maintained their position. Hurley Haywood and Bruce Leven did appear in second position when Bob Garretson crashed Bobby Rahal's car. But overheating brakes meant that they could not go further after the car caught fire. It was finally John Paul Jr and Sr who inherited the second place in the last hour. Running wild and catching nearly three seconds per lap off Brian Redman, John Paul Jr had to settle for second definitively after a late pit stop. They were 1m20s down the winning car at the chequered. The GTO battle did not last more than fifty six laps when Luis Mendez crashed his Porsche, giving Bob Tullius and Bill Adam an easy victory with a strong eighth overall. Mauricio de Narvaez and Tony Garcia were second but eight laps down. The GTU category saw a grueling first hour between the Mazdas when Jim Downing and John Morton had a big fight. It ended in a hard way when Jim Downing crashed his car on lap thirty three. Then John Morton was joined by Walt Bohren and Jeff Kline to earn a well deserved victory, cleaely ahead of Brad Frisselle and Roger Mandeville who were plagued by injection trouble. The Lancias were not so competitive as the best car, the Hans Heyer-Walter Rohrl car, did not end better than fourth. The other cars were seventh and eighteenth with a retirement for the second works car.
At Mid Ohio, it was not your usual GT field as Les Griebling had once again set up a special race. It was the Lumbermens 500. With a bunch of Can Am cars, the GTX cars would not have an easy task. Thirty eight cars made for a strong field of machinery. Five Can Am cars took the green and six Group six cars faced GTX cars, renamed Group five for the occasion, and the GTO cars were now Group four cars. Only three Porsche 935s were entered. Many of the top drivers were entered on the top prototypes. GTX cars would have trouble defeating those single seaters. The pole position went to the Frissbee driven by John Morton and Hurley Haywood, easily fastest qualifyer over the Brian Redman-David Hobbs Roy Woods entered Lola T333CS. At the start, John Morton flew away from everybody. He pitted for fuel after fifty minutes or so, and never lost the lead. After one hour, he was still ahead of Brian Redman by twenty seconds. However, it was not to be John Morton's day as he collided with a slower car. Crawling back to the pits to change a tyre, it was to be diagnosed a broken suspension. Then, the Elfin driven by Howdy Holmes-Vern Schuppan took the lead, but the Lola was not so far and Brian Redman took the lead soon. The best Porsche 935 was the Gianpiero Moretti-Jim Busby car which was running strong, waiting for the Can Am cars to falter. Behind, the Ludwig Heimrath Porsche 935 and the Kenper Miller BMW M1 were threatened by the fast John Carusso-Phil Currin Chevrolet Corvette. The Lola would lose the lead on lap eighty one to the Elfin. But this car had a late pit stop to change his brake pads. Brian Redman took the lead, and kept it until the chequered. Gianpiero Moretti-Jim Busby took the GT points. Werner Frank and Rudy Bartling were the Group four winners on their Porsche 934. The best Group six car was the little Marguey driven by Richard Guider-John David Briggs.
The Pabst 500 at Road America was the next race. The pole had been set by John Fitzpatrick but it was Brian Redman who led first in Bob Akin's Porsche 935K3. John Fitzpatrick had to wait for the eleventh lap to take the command of the race. Gianpiero Moretti had lost his fuel injection pump belt, it will cost him many laps. Behind, John Paul Jr was storming back from a seventh on the grid. An interesting new entry was the Bob Sharp Racing Datsun ZX Turbo driven by Paul Newman and Sam Posey. The car was just fresh out of the box and the race was a series of pit stops leading to a retirement after thirty eight laps. John Fitzpatrick led easily but when Dick Barbour handed the car to the Englishman after his relay , the pair was no longer in the lead. John Paul Jr was now the new leader. When his father took the wheel, John Fitzpatrick was able to get closer, thirty seconds behind. He continued pushing hard and would be six seconds behind, just before refueling. But this time, he was unlucky and blew a turbo, slowing definitively his pace. The race was over then, and John Paul could even go for a splash before going to the chequered as the winner. In GTO, a new Porsche Carrera driven by Dennis Aase-Bob Bergstrom looked unbeatable. The duel with the Triumph TR8 would be fine but the Porsche was finally slowed by brake and throttle problems, and the Triumph went on to win the class with Bob Tullius and Bill Adam driving. In GTU, the Electramotive Datsun 280ZX was back to the winner's circle and had a neat victory, beating the Mazda contingent led by Jeff Kline-Walt Bohren. Pierre Honegger and Ernesto Soto were next in the Z and W Racing Mazda RX7.
The Road Atlanta fall race went to John Fitzpatrick who clinched the Championship in the process. He won the first heat over Dale Whittington, who had his best result ever, the latter beating John Paul Jr, who went spinning while fighting hard with him. It was a eight out of eight for the Porsche 935s, the ninth place going to Dave Cowart's BMW M1 . The GTO class went to Phil Currin, who beat Bob Tullius in his Chevrolet Corvette. The second heat was quite different as rain came and Gianpiero Moretti was the luckiest as he gambled for rain tyres. Then Danny Ongais crashed his Porsche 935K3 and the race was quite over, after thirteen laps. Everyone finally got half points and Terry Herman won the GTO class on his Porsche Carrera. Luis Mendez was the new GTO Champion in his Porsche Carrera, finishing second in this rain-shortened event.
The Daytona Finale was a very hard fought race, which saw no more than four lead changes. The practice session saw a new track record by Danny Ongais in 1m43s073 which broke the previous mark by more than one second. At the start, it was Danny Ongais, leading Dale Whittington, Gianpiero Moretti, John Paul Jr, Hurley Haywood who were in the top spots. Bill Whittington retired right from the start. Danny Ongais held the lead until lap eleven. Then Bob Akin and Preston Henn came together, and this action resulted in a safety car parade. The leaders would go refueling and Mo Carter took the lead, which was quite a feat! Shortly after, Danny Ongais would pass the Camaro, he held the lead until the two third mark. Gianpiero Moretti was now in second place, ahead of Dale Whittington who had a great race, and Hurley Haywood. Shortly after, a big change was to happen as Danny Ongais and Dale Whittington would collide resulting in a dnf for both of them. Gianpiero Moretti handed his car to Reinhold Joest and Hurley Haywood took the lead. Then Hurley Haywood went in to refuel and did not lose his position, but he had a tangle with a slower car which resulted in a pit stop and another one : it was over for the Bayside Disposal car which lost the race to the Momo car. John Paul Sr and Jr finished second but never theatened the leaders.
Gianpiero Moretti and Reinhold Joest won the Daytona Finale on this Porsche 935
Copyright Dave Kutz
The GTO category seemed to belong to the Chevrolet Camaros of Craig Carter and Carl Shafer, but Craig Carter had to retire and Carl Shafer had to slow down due to a tyre wear. The class win finally went to the Triumph TR8s driven by Bill Adam and Bob Tullius, Carl Shafer finishing third. In GTU, the dominating Mazda driven by Walt Bohren took fire while refueling and George Alderman took his first GTU win in his Datsun 280Z, he finished ahead of Charles Morgan and Jim Miller in a similar car.
George Alderman had his sole GTU victory at the Daytona Finale, driving his Datsun 280Z
Copyright Dave Kutz
John Fitzpatrick, the series Champion, was not present in this very last race. He had dominated the 1980 Championship and was willing to create in own racing team, which he did. He had won eight races out of twelve, and had accumulated 179,5 points. John Paul Sr was second with 158 points. Luis Mendez was the GTO Champion and Walt Bohren won the GTU Championship in his Mazda RX7. It was the first title for a Mazda driver, and more were to come.
The end of the season had been saddened by the unexpected death of Peter Gregg, who had committed suicide. He had a road accident when going to the Le Mans race and had vision troubles since, he seemed not to have recovered and his morale had been largely affected. It was a great loss for the racing community.
