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Porsche 935 : part 3(1983-1986)

1983  would be the last great year for the Porsche 935. The GTPs were getting stronger and would surpass the 935s which would be no more developed. Furthermore, Porsche would help March develop a 83G for Al Holbert, who would clinch the 1983 Championship. This car was powered by a single turbo version of the 935 powerplant. Preston Henn had purchased a special Porsche 935 from Andial and Bob Wollek, AJ Foyt and himself had driven this car to an easy victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Bob Wollek, Preston Henn and AJ Foyt drove this Porsche 935 to victory at Daytona in 1983

Copyright Mike Smith

At Sebring, it was a Porsche 934, which had grown as a Porsche 935, who took a surprise victory. This car would later be transformed in a Porsche 935 again. This car has a very special history.
Second place was the Bob Akin Porsche 935K3, which overcame a couple of transmission changes to finish second on the same lap as the winning 934. It was certainly a missed occasion for the Coke machine. Third was the Bayside Disposal 935, driven by Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood.

Pepe Romero, Frank Rubino and Doc Bundy drove this Pink Panzer Porsche 935 at Daytona in 1983

Copyright Mike Smith

In 1983, various Porsche 935s were still running, if not for the overall, here they are :

#1 Porsche 935JLP3 JLP Racing
#2 Porsche 935K4 John Fitzpatrick
#5 Porsche 935K3 Bob Akin
#6 Porsche 935L Preston Henn
#8 Porsche 935JLP2 JLP Racing
#9 Porsche 935K3 TBird Swap Shop
#17 Porsche 935K3 Frank Rubino
#23 Porsche 935K3 Marty Hinze
#24 Porsche 935JLP2 Pegasus Racing
#30 Porsche 935L Momo Corse
#49 Porsche 935K3 Paul Goral
#50 Porsche 935K3 Drax Racing
#86 Porsche 935/80 Bayside Disposal
#05 Porsche 935J T & R Racing
#09 Porsche 935L Preston Henn

John Fitzpatrick and David Hobbs would take a sorrowful victory at Riverside following Rolf Stommelen's death in the sister 935L car. They drove the Kremer K4. Later in the season, Preston Henn and Hurley Haywood would grab the Paul Revere night race victory. It would be one of the last win for the powerful Porsche 935. Soon, the GTP cars would take over and write a new page in IMSA history. However, if they would not win any more race in 1983, plenty of them could be seen on the tracks, with various results. As the GTPs would make wealthy customers happy, the 935s would be run by privateers willing to have fun with thrilling cars. Although Gianpiero Moretti still entered his faithful Moby Dick 935L, it would never be able to fight for the overall. It captured some honest results though.

In 1984, there would be still Porsche 935s running but the first race of the season was to be a milestone in Porsche racing history. Following the request from many customers willing to race a GTP car, Porsche entered a brand new Porsche 962 for Michael and Mario Andretti. This car was an easy fastest qualifier and demonstrated that the future lay in this brand new prototype. However, many 935s were to be entered in the next races and these cars would prove they were still efficient racers. At Sebring, a Joest built Porsche 935J would win the race overall with Mauricio de Narvaez, Stefan Johansson and Hans Heyer. More interesting, Porsche 935s would fill rank three to six, with the Daytona 1983 winning car placing third with AJ Foyt, Bob Wollek and Derek Bell.

Hurley Haywood, Claude Ballot Léna, Al Holbert and Bruce Leven drove this Porsche 935 to a fourth place at Daytona in 1984. It would be run at Sebring and then the 962 would take over.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Most of the great cars that made history were there, and it would be the very last Porsche 935 victory in IMSA racing. The big teams were awaiting for their customer 962 to be delivered. The  Bayside Disposal Racing would enter its new car at Riverside. At Road Atlanta, the best 935 placed sixth with Bob Akin and John O'steen at the wheel. They drove the latest evolution of the Porsche 935, a very special one, dubbed the Porsche 935-84. This car was some kind of home made K4, and would be built according to Bob Akin's will. Unfortunately, this car proved too heavy and was no match for the Porsche 962s and other GTP cars. Bob Akin had ordered a 962 too which would debut at Charlotte. The 935-84 would be run on occasional selected events. Later, this car would be sold to Jerry Kendall. The best customer 935, in the course of the 1984 season appeared to be the Toyota Village entered car which placed sixth at Watkins Glen with Werner Frank and Dave White driving.  The Porsche 935s had entered a new era in which they would now play second fiddle. This would last until 1986.

#5 Porsche 935-84 Bob Akin
#6 Porsche 935L Preston Henn
#9 Porsche 935K3 Personalized Autohaus
#14 Porsche 935K4 John Fitzpatrick
#24 Porsche 935K3 Pegasus Racing
#26 Porsche 935J Toyota Village
#29 Porsche 935 Florco Racing
#33 Porsche 935 BCW Racing
#46 Porsche 935J Mauricio de Narvaez
#49 Porsche 935K3 Paul Goral
#86 Porsche 935/80 Bayside Disposal
#02 Porsche 935 Wildwood Racing
#05 Porsche 935J T and R Racing

In 1985, however, you could see at the beginning of the season a bunch of well known cars that were entered by the top teams willing to capitalize on their investment. Preston Henn entered his car along with his newly aquired 962 as well as Bob Akin who entered both the 935 and 962. The ather cars had been purchased by private customers who appeared for the time at their wheels. Chuck Kendall had his own K 3 that he entered in the enduro events, when he did not drive his Lola T600. Jim Mullen, Ray McIntyre and Kees Nierop placed fifth overall behind four Porsche 962s at Daytona with the Porsche 935-84 back by Polo Ralph Lauren. Wayne Baker and Jack Newsum were ninth with their faithful K3.

Werner Frank and Dave White drove this special Porsche 935 to some honest results in 1984 and 1985

Copyright Michael Crews

Chuck Kendall, John Hotschkis and Bob Kirby were eighth at Sebring on a K3, but they were behind the best GTO placing Roush Ford Mustang. It was now clear that they were definitively out of the pace.

#7 Porsche 935-84 Bob Akin
#9 Porsche 935K3 Wayne Baker
#11 Porsche 935K3 Chuck Kendall
#31 Porsche 935K3 Paul Goral
#95 Porsche 935K3 Lance van Every
#16 Porsche 935L Preston Henn
#05 Porsche 935J T and R Racing
#48 Porsche 935J de Narvaez
#00 Porsche 935K3 Spirit of Cleveland
#26 Porsche 935 Toyota Village
#90 Porsche 935K3 John Klug

Those cars then posted anonymous results and were no more the cars to watch. As were those ones seen in 1986. It was the last year you could see them Porsche 935s on the tracks. Marty Hinze, Jack Newsum and Tom Blackhaller drove the car entered by Marty Hinze Racing to an honest fifteenth overall after starting from the thirty first spot while Jerry Kendall, Dave White and Werner Frank had a dnf, after starting from the twenty second position, on the Porsche 935-84.

Jerry Kendall, Dave White and Werner Frank drove this Porsche 935-84 to a dnf in what was to be the last race for a Porsche 935 in IMSA.

Copyright Michael Crews

Nonetheless, this car was such a glorious one! The Porsche 935 has left its mark on IMSA and remains one of the most successful in IMSA history. The Porsche 935s dominated the 1978 thru 1980 Championships, and took again the 1982 Championship after a Lola interruption. Crude horsepower and big wings were the trademarks of those cars which brought GT Racing to a new dimension. The Porsche 935s were real men machines and will be never forgotten by the teams and the drivers. Nowadays, they are still raced by amateurs willing to know what it was to drive such cars. The Porsche 935s would simply never die!

Porsche 935 : technical evolution

The Porsche 935 differed not much, in the beginning, from the standard Carrera RSR. A new whale-tail wing, a new four-speed transaxle, the 935 inherited very much of the Porsche Carrera Turbo philosophy. It featured the same coilover suspension, a full cockpit rollcage and a separate X-member stiffing frame that fitted between the inner front bodyshell sheet metal. The two components were made from aluminium alloy. The cars sported too the ventilated, cross-drilled disc brakes from the legendary 917 car.  The wheels were 16 inches in diameter with a 12,5 inches width in front and 19 inches in diameter with 15 inches width in the rear. The engine horsepower was supposed to deliver some 650hpn which seemed, according to many, under the truth. It was probably much closer to the 750hp. A dual ignition system and its air-to-air intercooler were installed on the car. The 935-77 car roof was flatter than that of the other 911 based cars. Thus it improved the air flow, and the rear wing efficiency. The cars with single turbo dominated the Championship.

A Porsche 935.77 entered by Vasek Polak at Mid Ohio in 1977

Copyright Mark Windecker

Porsche 935.77
Cars were identical to the Factory 1976 cars. Basic drive train, four-speed gearbox and fhe 2,9L turbo engine. The water-based cooler system had been improved for a better efficiency. It had been moved to the rear of the engine comparrment. The rear bulkhead had been moved forward by 200mm. The floor pan of the passenger compartment had been raised by three inches. The 935.77 roof wzs flatter than that of the other 911 based cars. This was meant to improve aerodynamics. The rear wing could be more efficient. The front suspension featured improved geometry and lighter McPherson-type strut units. The adjustable anti-roll bar was moved to the front while the rear suspension remained unchanged. The engine received a twin KKK turbocharger, giving a slight power increase, but reducing turbo lag. The tail section was a new piece that fitted over the original body and rear window.

The 935.78 sported an inverted transmission, which proved quite effective on the Works car. Customer cars were powered by twin turbo versions of the powerplant.

The Interscope entered car was a single turbo version of the 935 in 1979

Copyright Mark Windecker

However, the rules for 1979 were modified in order to slow them. Therefore, single turbo versions of the 935 were introduced, with less weight to carry. Peter Gregg became the 1979 Champion with such a car. However, in Europe, the Kremer brothers had introduced the K3, a Porsche 935 fitted with a more radical bodywork. A similar car won the pestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans with Klaus Ludwig driving. He was partnered by brothers Bill and Don Whittington.  The two brothers purchased the car and introduced it in the middle of the 1979 season. This car featured a flatter fiberglass roof as well as the deep wing fences to better control the air flow over them. One of the biggest improvement was the use of an air to air intercooler, keeping temperatures at a lower level. The power was more usable and for longer periods. An overall stiffening of the structure, achieved by aluminium tubing from the rollcage to each of the suspension points. Engine removal was much easier, and this was due to the rear crossmember, now replaced by two aluminium tubes bolted in place. A 3,2L engine was used in shorter events and it could give 800hp. Fences ran the length of the front and rear fenders. The air could flow over the top of the car to the rear intakes and spoilers. The rear window was covered with a roof extension containing another window and serving as a mount for the spoiler.

The Joest 935J car won overall at Daytona in 1980, the car was later sold to Gianpiero Moretti

Copyright Wayne Ellwood

In 1980, the K3 cars were widely spread and many cars were to be seen. From complete cars to conversion kits or bodt parts, K3s became the standard. Dick Barbour had purchased three cars, including John Fitzpatrick's one, who clinched the Championship.
The 935K3-80 apeared later, with new improvements. The rear suspension pickups were revised. The injection was now from Kugelfisher with a new induction system with larger inlets. Fences had been added to the sides of the engine cover/rear window and this car became one of the most successful in history.
Reinhold Joest had built personal versions of the 935. They were called 935Js. These cars featured 935-77 bodywork and a space frame engine compartment similar to the 935 Baby. The air to air intercooler was housed between the engine and bulkhead. The front bodywork was slightly altered. Lower profile fenders would produce a smaller frontal area and small fences on all four fenders and louvres over the front wheels. Such a car won at Daytona with Reinhold Joest, Volkert Merl and Rolf Stommelen driving. They did not win any other race in the year until the Daytona Finale, where Gianpiero Moretti won with Reinhold Joest. The Italian had purchased the car which sported the famous Momo colours.
The Bayside Disposal team, owned by Bruce Leven, had purchased the car previously owned by Peter Gregg. They had a very difficult season. The cars, which were updated, were old cars and the season ended with no success and the death of their driver-star Peter Gregg, who had experienced vision troubles and commited suicide.
In 1981, new cars appeared. The first one was the Andial built car. Run by German expatriates Alwin Springer, Arnold Wagner and Dieter Inzenhofer, the Santa Ana shop had built a special car. It was a 1978 car which had been thoroughly modified. The nose and rear fenders were longer and edged with fences and the rear spoiler incorporated side panels which were very wide. A bigger wing made this car look quite different from the other cars. Powered by a special homebuilt  3,2L, it was extremely fast.

Rolf Stommelen and Harald Grohs drove this Andial built Porsche 935 to two wins at the end of the 1981 season. Here, they take the Road America victory.

Copyright Mark Windecker

While very fast, this car proved much unreliable. Rolf Stommelen and Harald Grohs had a couple of dnfs. Then the car disappeared to be heavily improved. When the car reappeared, it was to produce back to back wins at Mosport and Road America.
More radical were the Joest built Moby Dick replicas. Purchased by Gianpiero Moretti and John Fitzpatrick, they would have different fates. While the car proved fast, it would never win in the hands of Gianpiero Moretti , partnered by Jochen Mass, Jim Busby or Bobby Rahal in 1981. It would not be seen in 1982, except in Europe, but was back in 1983, with the Kreepy Krauly support, brought along by talented driver Sarel van der Merwe. The doors were different from the original Works car.

Gianpiero Moretti ran a Moby Dick Joest replica, the JR001, in 1981. He is seen here at Sears Point.

Copyright Van Zannis

JLP Racing had entered their personal idea of the K3, they had modified themselves the car with a Kremer built engine and some parts. Called the JLP2, it still bore a resemblance with the K3, but the cars would then evolve with time. The JLP3 would appear in 1981, which was built by Chuck Gaa in Atlanta. It featured a space frame construction chassis with a high floor sill and the underside area was used as a ground effect wing section. The body shell was still based on K3 parts. A large rear wing was mounted on the back of the standard window/engine cover flanked by two slightly modified rear fenders. The extreme front of the K3 nose  was lowered. It would be lowered further later! The doors featured fairings running out of the rear fenders.
The Bayside Disposal Racing had their own evolution of the 935 bodywork. It had standard 935-77 type rear engine cover and nose sections. The tail section had been modified and featured distinctive flip out flay sections on top. They won at Sebring with Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert but it was their sole 1981 victory.
John Fitzpatrick had set up his own team in 1981, after Dick Barbour's financial setbacks forced him to retire from racing. He had one the latest K3-80, he would have to modify his car, after experiencing efficiency problems. He incorporated small ground effect tunnels behind the rear wheels, which proved efficient as speed was improved. 
Bob Akin had a standard K3 in 1981, but he entered a more radical car, called the L1, in 1982. It was some kind of hybrid as the chassis was a complete aluminium monocoque with the motor supported on two side braces. The front section of the car was mated to a Lola T600 nose section. The roof line and engine were the only original parts. According to Derek Bell, who drove the car on some occasions, it was the worst car he had ever driven. The car was eventually destroyed at the Daytona Finale, and was never raced again.

Bob Akin's radical Porsche 935L1 proved fast but quite unreliable. It was
destroyed at the end of the season.

Copyright Mark Windecker

John Fitzpatrick had a new K4 in 1982. The car was based on the Moby Dick car, but it featured some differences. The chassis was constructed as a complete aluminium tubing space frame. It used a wider front track, and the under body featured ground effect tunnels. These tunnels were concealed by full body width, upward slanted, slats at the back. The front fenders were even wider and the font spoiler more swept back. Rear fenders were a one piece unit incorporating the rear wing on one central mounting and a secondary rear window. Large section sills joined front fenders to rear and an outlet duct for the front radiator situated on the front lid, and full width doors. Max Crawford re-engineered the Porsche K4 for John Fitzpatrick Racing.

John Fitzpatrick entered a Porsche 935K4 in 1982, winning four races, but not the title.

Copyright Dave Kutz

The powerplant was a 3,2L twin turbocharged engine with an air to air intercooler. He would eventually win four races with this car. Later in the season, he would race the JR002, which was the second Joest Moby Dick replica. The car would wind up an excellent fourth overall at the Le Mans race, behind the three Works Porsche 956s.
JLP Racing entered the JLP4 in 1982, which was more radical. This car was designed by Lee Dykstra and built by Dave Klym.  It featured a space frame chassis, but the front suspension was altered to a pure race car type. The springs and shocks were incorporated inboard, which allowed a clean airflow to the full length ground effect Venturis beneath the car. The car was now a right hand drive. The bodywork was completely reshaped, with slab sides and a low nose with no front bib spoiler. This car was mainly aimed at the shorter event races, while the JLP3 was used for the endurance races. John Paul Jr won at Brainerd and Portland with JLP4. However, the car was finally destroyed in a test driving session at Road Atlanta, when the rear wing took off. The Pauls father and son finished the season with JLP3, and Jr easily won the 1982 crown.

John Paul Jr drove this JLP3 car after the JLP4 was destroyed in a test session
Copyright Mark Windecker

Interscope Racing had a pair of K3s and two K4s, but these ones were never actually used by the team. They concentrated on their newly acquired Lola T600s.
The old JLP2 was run by Mark Speer and Terry Wolters, with little success though. The Bayside Disposal Racing entered some selected events with a slightly evolving car.
Charles Ivey Racing entered some races with a standard K3 car.
Preston Henn supported several cars during the season, but the most impressive one was undoubtedly the Andial built car. This was some kind of Moby Dick replica but had a lowered space frame chassis, wider front track and a long tail body with full width door panels. The tail section was a single moulding aft of the rear wheel arches incorporating the rear window. This section was hinged at the top of the window to tilt up for maintenance. The rear end was completely open. Al Holbert and Harald Grohs powered this car to an impressive second overall at Riverside. Later it would reappear at the end of the season in the hands of different drivers, but its greatest achievement would take place the following year when winning the 24 Hours of Daytona with Bob Wollek, Claude Ballot Léna, AJ Foyt and Preston Henn driving.
In 1983, the IMSA series was the only Championship where you could find 935s running, and still running strong!
Bob Akin had switched back to his old faithful K3 for most of the season, but at the Daytona Finale, he had a new car, the 935-84. This car had a wider front track, a Kremer K4 front end, wide doors and a special tail which was something between the K3 and the K4. The rear window/engine cover piece had a reduced height and an open tail end fitted with full width upward swept slats.
The John Fitpatrick K4 won at Riverside but this event was marred by Rolf Stommelen's death. He was driving the JR002 car which was written off in the process.
The Bayside Disposal team entered a car that displayed a lowered tube frame chassis, wide front track and fenders and most of all, a distinctive tail section.
Gianpiero Moretti entered JR001 alternatively with the March 83G Porsche, with some consistent results, but no win.
In 1984, some of the 935s were still running, but it would be difficult for these cars to be as efficient as they were, because of the now widely spread GTPs. The 962 was now available to the top teams and the 935s would be sold to less efficient ones. However, the beginning of the season brought its share of good surprises when Preston Henn's faithful Andial built 935L nearly won the 24 Hours of Daytona. AJ Foyt, Bob Wollek and Derek Bell took a strong second behind the winning March Porsche.

Preston Henn's faithful Andial built Porsche 935L finished second in 1984 at Daytona.
Copyright Mark Windecker

Sebring was still more upsetting with the overall win for a Joest built 935J. Stefan Johansson, Hans Heyer and Mauricio de Narvaez  drove an outdated car to victory, just in front of Bob Akin 935-84.
The remainder of the season was to be a big fight between the Holbert Racing Porsche 962 and the Blue Thunder Racing March 84G Chevrolet, which eventually won. The 935s were no longer developed, and were to be seen in new liveries, according to their new owners sponsors.

Richard Silver and Joe Varde drove this Porsche 935K3 to an anonymous 17th at the 1985 Columbus 500.

Copyright Mark Windecker

The same could be said about the 1985 and 1986 seasons. Preston Henn still entered his old Porsche 935L, which would be driven by Bob Wollek, Don Whittington and Preston Henn, along with the new Porsche 962. Starting fourteenth, it was still able to run fast, but it was obviously the end of a glorious career. The car would no longer be entered in the season. Marty Hinze had acquired the JLP2 running under his yellow colors, and it started seventeenth. The Toyota Village car, with a special design, started twentieth and would not finish. It was probably the latest modified 935, with a special front end and a very high wing.
The Paul Goral entered car would simply run with the GTU cars! The days of the 935 were gone!

This fantastic machine would be seen for two last appearances in 1986, with some very anonymous results. Then, no car would be entered in the IMSA Championship. But they would simply be never forgotten, and they remain very popular today with a lot of fans and collectors still running them in Vintage races.

Serengeti Drivers at Watkins Glen 1985 : Al Holbert

1985 was the year you could find many Porsche 962s. They had been introduced the previous year and they began to dominate IMSA as soon as they were sorted out.
The entry list was quite attractive, and every class had its share of good cars. Seven Porsche 962s were entered, and Al Holbert's car still appeared as the one to beat. Holbert Racing had entered its backup car for Al Unser Jr. Dyson Racing had one car for Rob Dyson himself, Drake Olson and Price Cobb. This car could be the real contender for the overall after two wins in Lime Rock and Road America. Bob Akin had entered his Coca Cola backed 962 with Hans Stuck as a co-driver. With such a driver, you could expect the best race as possible. BF Goodrich had two cars, with Jochen Mass and Jim Busby on the first one, and Pete Halsmer and John Morton on the second. A very good team indeed, but plagued with tyre problems throughout the season. Bayside Disposal had a car for Bruce Leven, who was partnered by French star Bob Wollek. The opposition was materialized by two Jaguar XJR5s for Hurley Haywood and Brian Redman on the #04, and Bob Tullius and Chip Robinson on the #44. They had won the Road Atlanta race at the beginning of the season and were desperately searching for another success.
Ford had entered a Probe prototype for drivers Klaus Ludwig and Doc Bundy. The car was fast in practice but had trouble finishing the races. The car needed to improve its reliability. Conte Racing had entered a single car for Bill Adam. The car had proved fast too but was plagued too by reliability problems.
The new Corvette GTP was here too and David Hobbs and Vern Schuppan were the drivers. It was still under developed and was beginning its racing career. A second car was entered by Lee Racing, quite similar visually, it was an independant effort with semi-pro drivers. Lew Price and Carson Baird were at the wheel. John Kalagian had a Porsche powered March 85G for himself and the Leon Bros had two cars for Skeeter McKitterick and Sarel van der Merwe. That looked like an attractive GTP field!
The new Camel Lights class had been intorduced at the beginning of the season and many cars were to be seen at the Glen.
A Mazda GTP was here with David Loring driving could be a nice contender for the two Mazda Argo JM19s. Jim Downing and John Maffucci were the favorites while Kelly Marsh with brother Don Marsh and Ron Pawley would be there too. One Alba and two Tigas were there and had some hopes.
The GTO class was the home of the Ford Mustangs entered by Jack Roush. Three cars were entered for John Jones on the #65, Lyn St James on the #07 and Fernando Robles and Chris Marte on the #62. Another independant car was here driven by Jim Robbins and Dave Watson. The opposition was to be the Brooks Racing Ford Thunderbird driven by talented Darin Brassfield and the beautiful Peerless Racing Chevrolet Camaro which was driven by Craig Carter and Gene Felton.
Electrodyne Performance entered its efficient Porsche 934 that could do well on such a track. Chet Vincentz had won the previous year race on this track. His co-driver was Dutchman Kees Nierop.
A bunch of Chevrolet Camaros, a single Chevrolet Monza and some Corvettes were the usual GTO fixture along with three Pontiac Firebirds. Tommy Riggins was here but not on the usual Dingman Bros car. He was partnered by Andy Peterey on the Road Circuit Technology car.
The GTU class had a lot to promise. The Mazda RX7s were still the favorites, but Pontiac had the Fiero now, and the cars proved to be real contenders for the win. So Roger Mandeville, Al Bacon and Jack Baldwin had to be very cautious about  their opponents.
Terry Visger and Bob Earl were the Huffaker Racing Pontiac Fiero drivers. Bob Leitzinger had a brand new Nissan 300ZX that was still a new car, but it would provide soon some stiff opposition. A pair of Porsche 911s and 914s did complete the GTU field.

Fifty two cars would take the green for their second visit of the year at the Watkins Glen 500km race. Al Holbert was not on the pole but not too far from fast Hans Stuck , who was driving the Bob Akin Porsche 962. Plenty of close action was to be awaited, and it was Al Holbert who jumped in the lead at the start of the race. A March driven by Sarel van der Merwe was to avoid Bill Adam's March Buick and hit another March driven by John Kalagian, who landed in the pits in a quite odd fashion. Sarel van der Merwe would not go much farther and stopped to replace his torn bodywork. Up in front, Hans Stuck did not see it the Al Holbert's way, and he was back in the lead, trying to pull ahead of his closest opponent. A lot of close action was to be seen on the track with Darin Brassfield, Chris Cord and Kelly Marsh fighting hard. Unfortunately, this battle was not to last for long, as Chris Cord hit the Armco barrier at turn eleven. This resulting in a safety car period, with many cars coming to the pits for refueling. When the safety car went out, Hans Stuck was always in the lead, but he would soon experience a broken halfshaft, and he retired later.

Al Holbert dominated the race in his Holbert Racing Porsche 962.

Copyright unknown

Al Holbert was now in the lead, and for good. Behind him, the Dyson Racing Porsche 962, driven by talented Drake Olson, seemed willing to get in contention for the lead, but he would have his windshield covered with oil from another car, and Drake Olson would have to literally crawl back to the pits, and lose a great deal of time. That left the BF Goodrich Porsche 962 driven by Jochen Mass and Jim Busby in second place, but they could not run as fast as Al Holbert. In third place was the Group 44 Jaguar XJR5 driven by Brian Redman and Hurley Haywood, just ahead of the fast qualifying Ford Probe of Klaus Ludwig and Doc Bundy, which running not so fast. The GTO category was dominated by the two Fords : the Mustang driven by John Jones and the Thunderbird driven by Darin Brassfield and Scott Pruett. Leading the way, the Mustang would break after thirty five laps, and it would be Lyn St James who would take the lead and finally won the race. She would hold off a challenge by Craig Carter's Chevrolet Camaro. The GTU category was dominated by Bob Earl driving a Pontiac Fiero. But he broke too and Jack Baldwin was suddenly leading his class. The same could be told about Pierre Honegger, leading the Camel Lights class who retired at mid race, leading the Marsh brothers in the lead with their Argo JM19 Mazda. They would hold it until the last refueling pit stop and lose their position to the similar car driven by Jim Downing and John Maffucci. The end of the race was to be some kind of routine for the Al Holbert and Derek Bell duo. Al Unser Jr, who was driving the Holbert Racing Porsche 962 backup car, was doing a great job in a car that was probably less efficient than Al Holbert's car. At the end of the race however, he did receive a piece of debris that shot from his bulkhead in the final lap. Slightly injured, he would remember that race. Al Holbert had won again, and clinched the IMSA Championship for the fourth time in his career. Lyn St James had won the GTO class. In doing so, she became the first female driver to win a GTO race in IMSA history.

Jack Baldwin finally won the race on his CCR Mazda RX7, but he had to beat Bob Earl, who retired.

Copyright unknown

Jack Baldwin won the GTU class over Terry Visger who finished on the same lap.
According to many, such a promising race quickly turned into a bore as Al Holbert dominated the event, but nobody could blame him, right?

1982 : John Paul Jr, part 2

The next race was to be held in Charlotte, NC. It was the first time the competitors were to race on the speedway since 1974. John Paul Jr and Sr had brought their JLP3. The race was in a 500km format and perfectly suited for the twin turbo Porsche. Their main opponent for that race seemed to be once again the Interscope Lola T600 Chevrolet driven by Danny Ongais and Ted Field. Chris Cord and Jim Adams were aagain on the pole with their Lola T600  Chevrolet, but the car would retire after forty two laps. Danny Ongais and Ted Field were in the lead during most of the race and they seemed to have the race won, when a lapped car sent the Lola into the wall.
But they would fail to finish the race. At the end, the JLP3 Porsche finished  one lap ahead of the March 82G BMW driven by Kenper Miller and David Cowart. The GTO class went to the Stratagraph Chevrolet Camaro driven by Billy Hagan and Gene Felton. This car managed to finish sixth overall, which was quite an exciting result. However, the following car was the Datsun 280ZX driven by Logan Blackburn and George Alderman, winning the GTU class and defeating the Mazda RX7 squad. Jim Downing and John Maffucci were next.
The first Mid Ohio race, held at the end of May, saw John Fitzpatrick back in winning form with his Porsche 935K4. There he dominated the race, winning ahead of Danny Ongais, driving the hastily repaired car, Ted Field and John Paul Jr, the three of them driving Lola T600s. Next was Don Devendorf who took the GTO win with his little Datsun 280ZX Turbo. René Rodriguez followed on his Chevrolet Corvette.

The Mid Ohio start with the two Lolas driven by John Paul Jr and Danny Ongais still ahead of eventual race winner John Fitzpatrick, driving the Porsche 935K4.

Copyright Mark Windecker

At Lime Rock, it was John Fitzpatrick again who won overall. After thoroughly improving his car, he showed he was someone not to forget. John Paul Jr was second, driving his Lola T600 Chevrolet, with Ted Field following, just ahead of teammate Danny Ongais. The GTO class was won again by Don Devendorf, whose Datsun 280ZX Turbo was at home on this tricky track. Gene Felton was next, this time driving his own Chevrolet Camaro. For this event many GTU entrants had bigger engines on their cars and run with the GTP-GTO cars. George Alderman managed to place tenth overall in his 2,8L Datsun 280ZX, Roger Mandeville came in eleventh.
The next race race was held at Daytona for the Paul Revere night race. It was a convincing victory for the Interscope car over a very thin opposition. Second was the JLP2 car driven by Mark Speer and Terry Wolters who were two laps down at the chequered. Third was the BMW M1 driven by Diego Montoya who easily won the GTO class. A very good surprise was the fifth position earned by Logan Blackburn on his Datsun 280ZX who once again defeated the rotary Mazdas. Jim Downing and Roger Mandeville followed him in the standings.
At the next race, a surprise was awaiting the competitors as John Paul Jr was driving his long awaited Porsche 935JLP4. It was  a very special car built by Dave Klym. Danny Ongais had won the pole and had gambled he could do the race without a single pit stop, while running at a relatively reduced pace. John Paul Jr, in spite of his pit stop, had enough margin to keep his commanding position. Danny Ongais finished second, still ahead of his boss Ted Field, and Bill Koll, driving the Rondeau M382 Chevrolet. Surprisingly fifth was the Chevron B36 Buick driven by Del Russo Taylor, who was followed by Logan Blackburn, once again the GTU class winner. Second was Joe Varde on the Trinity Racing Mazda RX7 and Roger Mandeville. Next came the GTO class winner Tico Almeida, driving the T and R Racing Ford Mustang. A remarkable fact was that GTU were often faster on that very particular course, a not so slow one, however!
Next race was another swing back to the west coast, for the Sears Point round. Here Zakspeed USA had hired Klaus Ludwig services, the former year winner. The Ford Mustang Turbo was well suited to that winding track and he wanted probably to do as well as in 1981. The competition was stiffer, with Danny Ongais and John Fitzpatrick. The race proved tough to John Paul Jr, who retired after ten laps. In fact, Klaus Ludwig was no match to his competitors and he dominated the racen winning with a margin of one lap plus one minute over Danny Ongais and Skeeter McKitterick on the Rondeau !  Don Devendorf won again the GTO class on the Datsun. Chuck Kendall was second in his BMW and Larry Park third in his Chevrolet Corvette.

Klaus Ludwig crushed the opposition at Sears Point, easily winning the sole race he entered.
Copyright Van Zannis

At Portland, John Paul Jr was back in winning form and took the win over Ted Field, again  driving JLP4. A very thin field allowed Don Devendorf, again taking the GTO honours, to finish third, over Chuck Kendall and Pat Usher in a Chevrolet Corvette.

Don Devendorf won at Sears Point and Portland, driving his Electramotive Datsun 280ZX Turbo. He was the 1982 GTO Champion.

Copyright Van Zannis

At Mosport, John Paul Jr and his father won again, driving the JLP3 car. The second place'was taken by Chris Cord and Jim Adams who finished four laps down and Marty Hinze and Randy Lanier, who were driving a new March 82G powered by a Chevrolet engine. Ted Field and Danny Ongais did not finish that race.

Marty Hinze and Randy Lanier drove this March 82G Chevrolet to some fine results. Here at Mosport.

Copyright Wayne Ellwood

The GTO class saw  new winners as Chet Vincentz and Mark Hutchins emerged on top driving their Porsche 934. Second were René Rodriguez, this time driving a Porsche Carrera with Ernesto Soto. It was a Porsche sweep in GTO as Roger Schramm, Rainer Brezinka and Fritz Hochreuter took third on their Carrera. The GTU class was a bit different as it was Roger Mandeville and Amos Johnson who took the win. Second was the Kent Racing Toyota Celica driven by Rick Knoop and Ron Grable. Once again the GTUs proved fast and finished ahead of the top GTO contenders.

A look at the grid of the Mosport race. David Deacon is about to take the start, and the Electrodyne Porsche 934 is just behind him on the grid. This car won the GTO class.

Copyright Wayne Ellwood

At Elkhart Lake, an interesting field of forty seven cars could be seen. Two new cars were entering their first IMSA race as Emilio de Villota and Fred Stiff drove the Cosworth powered Grid Plaza to a dnf, and most of all, the brand new Jaguar XJR5, entered by Group 44, and driven by Bob Tullius and Bill Adam. On that specific track, the car proved relatively efficient, but it lacked power and torque. Nonetheless, it was a very good debut. At the end, John Fitzpatrick and David Hobbs were the winners on the Porsche 935K4. John Paul Jr had Mauricio de Narvaez as a co-driver and the car sported a new livery, according to the Colombia. They finished two laps down while the Jaguar was on the same lap as the second place. The GTO class was interesting and saw a new winner : Bob Raub and Chris Gleason drove the Oftedahl Racing Pontiac Firebird to a class win over the Electrodyne Porsche 934 driven by Chet Vincentz, this time partnered by Mark Hutchins. John Morton and Tom Klausler followed next on their Ford Mustang. Joe Varde and Jeff Kline took the GTU class win, finishing just ahead of Logan Blackburn and George Alderman, driving a Datsun 280ZX.
The next race was held at Mid Ohio for the Lumbermens 6Hour race. Here again, it was John Fitzpatrick who took the win over Chris Cord and Jim Adams on their Lola T600 Chevrolet. The race was back in a traditional format and only allowed IMSA GT cars to run. Exit the group 5 and 8 cars. Third was the honestly driven March 82G Chevrolet driven by Marty Hinze and Randy Lanier. John Paul Jr did not grab any point in that race as he was the first retirement of the race, but, ironically, he clinched the Championship in this very race as Danny Ongais and Ted Field also registered a dnf, this time it was an elctrical fault that put the car out of the race. The GTO class was all Datsun once again, as Don Devendorf, partnered by Tony Adamowicz, won easily over Chet Vincentz and Wayne Baker in a Oorsche 934, and Billy Hagan and Gene Felton on the very fast Stratagraph Chevrolet Camaro. It was a new Datsun success in GTU as Logan Blackburn and George Alderman won again, this time driving the latter's car, over Joe Varde and Jeff Kline, on the Trinity Racing Mazda RX7. Rick Knoop and Ron Grable had a good run on the Kent Racing Toyota Celica.
At the Road Atlanta fall race, John Paul Jr won again, this time partnered by his father. The race had begun in a strange fashion as John Paul Sr wrote off the car in a qualifying session. The pole position had been set by the Bob Akin Porsche 935L1, which proved that the car was fast. But the race was not to confirm this fact, and Bob Akin and Derek Bell finished sixth overall.

Preston Henn and Doc Bundy finished second at the Road Atlanta fall event on this Porsche 935K3.

Copyright Dave Kutz

The father and son team had to switch to JLP3. In second place was the TBird Swap Shop Porsche 935K3 driven by Preston Henn and Doc Bundy who finished one lap down. The March 82G BMW driven by Kenper Miller and David Cowart was next. Fifth overall and first in the GTO class was the very fast Chevrolet Corvette driven by René Rodriguez, partnered by John Greenwood. They easily won over Ken Murray and Chris Doyle who drove a Chevrolet Camaro. Don Devendorf was an early retirement, as well Gene Felton. The GTU class went to Roger Mandeville and Amos Johnson on a Mazda RX7, they won over Rick Knoop and Ron Grable on the Kent Racing Toyota Celica and Jim Downing and John Maffucci on the Haynes Manuals Mazda RX7.
At Pocono, Ted Field and Danny Ongais were back in the winner's circle and they won a race that was struck with many off courses. John Paul Jr and Sr were second in JLP3. Third and winning the GTO class was the Porsche 934 driven by Chet Vincentz and Wayne Baker. Second in class was the Montura BMW M1 driven by Tony Garcia, Diego Mintoya and Garth Ullom. Werner Frank and Rudy Bartling took third in the former's car. Jim Downing and John Maffucci won the GTU class, while Jack Dunham and Jim Mullen took second and George Alderman and Carson Baird were third in a Datsun 280ZX.

George Alderman had a his best season ever in 1982, driving either Logan Blackburn's car, or his Alderman Nissan car, as here at Mid Ohio, with Logan Blackburn where he won in a convincing manner.

Copyright Mark Windecker

The Daytona Finale was to a very special race, and John Paul Jr, who was already crowned, was aiming at the Camel GT Endurance title too. Unfortunately, the race would be shortened very fast as a tyre burst put him out of the points chase early in the race. His father, who had not still run, could rent a ride on Chip Mead's Pontiac Firebird. It was obviously a good choice as he managed to finish at the seventh place, securing the Endurance title over Mark Speer and Terry Wolters, second driving the JLP2 car. For that race, Interscope Racing had entered two cars. One was fitted with a new V6 twin turbo that was given for 700hp. The car proved extremely fast, and eventually led the race, but a flat tyre caused damage to an oil cooler, leading Danny Ongais to a retirement. He was also entered on the backup car, which started in the middle of the pack. After a very quiet start, the car seemed to run very well, and eventually won the race, overtaking the John Fitzpatrick entered Porsche 935L in the last half hour of the race. The race was to feature the beginnings of the all new March 83G Chevrolet, driven by Bobby Rahal and Jim Trueman. This car would get into the wall and retire early in the race. The Jaguar would do the same, and the safety car was out. As the race saw many accidents, it seemed that the normally aspirated Lola would easily win over John Fitzpatrick and Bob Wollek, driving JR002, and Derek Bell, who was sharing the driving duties with Randy Lanier on the TBird Porsche 935K3. The GTO was won by Billy Hagan and Gene Felton, but the title was for Don Devendorf, securing the GTO title, Diego Montoya was third, co-driven Roberto Guerrero.
Jim Downing and John Maffucci were the last GTU winners of the season, and Jim Downing emerged as the 1982 GTU Champion. Doug Carmean and Ed Pimm finished second, with Jack Dunham and Jim Mullen third.
The season was ending with some regrets for Interscope Racing, losing the points title due to a couple of dnfs. The future would unfortunately prove that the team was at the very end of its existence. For 1983, twin turbos would be banned and fate would strike this legendary team. After a survey about the races length, it seemed that Endurance races were the public's favorites, so it was decided that every 1983 race, except one, would have a minimum 3Hour format. It was a big change in the way to manage the Championship in terms of costs or teams. However, the season to come would prove exciting with many new cars and teams, and the advent of the GTPs.

1982 : John Paul Jr, part 1

It was to be the year of John Paul Jr, at the age of twenty two, he became the youngest driver to clinch the IMSA Camel GT Series. And he did it in a quite significant way : he won no less than nine events out of eighteen, driving three different cars. Meanwhile, his father who co-drove him in the longer events, became the IMSA Camel Endurance Championship, a new title created over the winter to compensate the non-participation of IMSA competitors in the FISA series. The season began traditionaly at Daytona, for the usual 24 Hours. For the first time in IMSA History, Porsche 935s would not be the favorites. They still outnumbered their opponents, but you could find Lola, March, Chevron and Rondeau. It was a new era that was to begin, and GTPs would grow in number in the following years. 
A big sixty nine car field was to be starting the race. Amongst them were two new March 82Gs. The first one was powered by a Chevrolet engine and driven by Bobby Rahal, Bruce Canepa and Jim Trueman. This car was the fastest in the qualifying session and would start from the pole. The other one was powered by a BMW engine, a 3,5L L6 originally found on the M1. David Cowart and Kenper Miller were the 1981 GTO Champions and had made the move to the upper category. However, the engine output looked short compared to the 600hp of the opposition. Two Rondeau M382s were entered, both powered by Ford engines. It was their first appearance on a US track and had absolutely no background as they were new cars. Gary Belcher and Koll Motorsports were the entrants. A trio of trusty Ferrari 512BBs were entered including the car entered by the NART for Bob Wollek, Randy Lanier and Edgar Dören.

Bob Wollek and Edgar Dören had a fantastic race driving this Ferrari 512BB at Daytona, but they had to retire after Randy Lanier damaged it
Copyright Dave Kutz

This car would be the surprise of the race. A Chevron Mazda and one powered by a Buick. The remainder of the GTP entry list was all Porsche 935s. John Fitzpatrick had his usual K3 for himself, David Hobbs and Wayne Baker. Bayside Disposal had his usual car for Hurley Haywood, Al Holbert and Bruce Leven. JLP Racing was here with John Paul Jr and Sr, they were partnered by Rolf Stommelen : they were overlooked by their opponents as the race favorites. Interscope Racing had Ted Field, Bill Whittington and Danny Ongais. Bob Garretson had brought his personal K3, which he drove with Mauricio de Narvaez and Jeff Wood, as Bob Akin with his familiar Coca Cola K3, and Preston Henn, running with Désiré Wilson and Marty Hinze. Some AAGT cars were there, but it was mainly for fun, as they were now completely outdated. The same could be told of the Jaguar XJS, a true GTO car that was too modified to run with the GTOs and it was a GTP car!
The GTO category could provide its deal of excitement. Following their 1981 domination, the BMW M1s were now slowed down by the means of new rules and they were suddenly not so dominant. Chuck Kendall was running with Dennis Aase and John Hotschkis on his personal car, Tony Garcia had his Montura Racing car which he drove with Albert Naon and Fred Stiff. Joe Crevier had his car entred too. A new attraction was to be displayed in the form of the new Pontiac Firebird, entered by Oftedahl Racing, and driven by Bob Raub, Bob Leitzinger and Art Pasmas. A very interesting car, and promising indeed. Herb Adams was equally entering a Firebird, but it was an older car. As per usual, many Chevrolet Corvettes and Camaros were to be seen. The most efficient car being obviously the one entered by Auriga Racing, with Tom Nehl, Nelson Silcox and Jerry Hansen driving. In fact, this car proved very fast, and was actually the best GTO qualifier! Stratagraph Inc had a new 1982 car, driven by Gene Felton, Billy Hagan and Terry Labonte. You could expect close racing with such guys! Only two Corvettes were entered, and you could not expect to find your winner among them. The same could not be told about the Mazda RX7 entered by Mazda of North America, which was a true works car, powered by a 13B engine, and driven by Yoshimi Katayama, Takashi Yorino and Yojiro Terada. It would be the true surprise of the race. Marketing Corp of America brought two new Ford Mustangs powered by 5,0L engines. Still underpowered, they could do well in such a long race. John Morton and Tom Klausler were on the first one, and John Bauer, Milt Minter and Gary Pratt on the second one. A pair of AMC Spirits, a BMW 3.0CSL and five well driven Porsche 924GTRs, along with some Porsche Carreras and a good Porsche 934 made for a good GTO entry list.
The GTU category was no different as Mazda RX7s were still the dominant force. Roger Mandeville had now set up his own team asvwell as well as Jim Downing, his rival. Kent Racing still entered a fast RX7 for Walt Bohren, Lee Mueller and Ron Grable. Some other usual entrants, as well as new teams fielded RX7s that were still the cars to beat in this class. A single but reliable Datsun 280ZX was their sole strong opponent. A bunch of old Porsche 911s were a part of this realively big field, but none could nurse any hope for victory. The usual Lancia Stratos and one single Porsche 914/6 would take the green. 50000 spectators attended this race, which was quite a record figure for this race.
At the start, it was a big fight between the usual top guns, John Fitzpatrick, Danny Ongais and Hurley Haywood pushing hard their engines. The JLP Racing car was quietly running behind, waiting for the leaders to collapse. The refueling session let the three leaders ahead of the field, while Bob Wollek, in the Ferrari, appeared in fourth position, having to refuel later. The two leaders would hold their position until the end of the second hour, but would not go any further. Danny Ongais stopped with a broken connecting rod while John Fitzpatrick had a cam-drive failure. As engine changes were no longer admitted, both cars were out. At that point, John Paul Jr took the lead, and it would be quite definitive. Behind them, it apperaed that the Bayside Disposal car was the only challenger for the overall. This car would last until 1AM, then it was over. Losing fourteen laps, it was no longer in contention for victory. The car would then have a very hard end of race, when both turbos went out, and the car would then crawl to the finish. It was dark well before 6PM and the JLP car was already a solid leader. As it happened, the new Chevrolet March, entered by Garretson Enterprises, was not really a candidate for the overall. The car struggled throughout the race with vibrations, but the drivers were not too much disappointed, as it was a new car, and they finally went further than they expected to. The race rapidly turned into some kind of procession, as many of the top teams were experiencing troubles. In fact, the main interest of the race was lying in the fact that the Ferrari 512BB was running very strong, and navigated around the fourth place. Preston Henn was running in eleventh position, and hired Bill Whittington, without a drive after the Interscope car retirement. It appeared as a mistake as he exploded the engine ten laps later. The Kegel Racing Rondeau, which was not running too bad, retired after a bad repair. It was too much for the metering unit. The Bob Akin Porsche 935K3 was running second and held this position, just in front of the Ferrari. The Bob Garretson Porsche 935, running third, stopped with alternator problems and did lose some ground.
At 2.30AM, the Ferrari 512BB was running third, and faster than the Coke Porsche! Then it would be over as Randy Lanier, the third driver, missed  a shift and damaged the transmission. The JLP Racing Porsche 935 then cruised to an easy victory while Bob Akin finished second for rhe second year in a row. Third was the Garretson Enterprise car, just ahead of the leading GTO car, the Works entered Mazda RX7 driven by Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino. The car was two laps ahead of the T and R Racing Porsche Carrera driven by Ernesto Soto, Tico Almeida and Miguel Morejon. Winner in the GTU class, the Kent Racing Mazda RX7 driven by defending Champion  Lee Mueller, Walt Bohren and Ron Grable. At the end, a really disappointing race for most of the competitors, except for the winners.
The next race, was to be held at Sebring, celebrating the 30th anniversary for the Floridian classic. The field was less attractive than Daytona, but you had your bunch of competitive cars making for the start. Ten Porsche 935s were entered, and they would have to face two March 82Gs. The Cooke Racing Lola T600 was here and it was driven by Ralph Cooke, Jim Adams and David Hobbs. Apart from the two Ferrari 512BBs and a host of AAGT cars, the opposition to the turbo Porsches appeared to be very thin. However, it was the Garretson Enterprise March 82G Chevrolet, driven by Bobby Rahal, which took the pole position, and broke the existing lap record.

Bobby Rahal broke the existing record at Sebring, at the wheel of the Garretson Enterprise March 82G Chevrolet, he managed to finish second with Mauricio de Narvaez and Jim Trueman

Copyright Martin Spetz

John Fitzpatrick was second, followed by Hurley Haywood and Danny Ongais, Bob Akin and John Paul were behind. Then came the Lola and the BMW March. A well known scenario, as it was. The GTO category featured some BMW M1s, with the Montura and the Kendall Racing cars leading the field. The Oftedahl Pontiac Firebirds were there and many Porsche Carreras could make it to the finish on such a track. The Stratagraph Racing Camaro driven by Gene Felton and Billy Hagan was here, but had to start from the back of the field.
The GTU class seemed not to escape Mazda RX7s, as no valuable competitors had entered the race. The usual top teams were here, and willing to win that particular race. The Mandeville Auto Tech car was the fastest qualifier, and would confirm its pretentions during the race.
Sixty seven starters took the green, and it was the T Bird car, driven by Bill Whittington, which took the lead of the race. He was challenged by Danny Ongais and Bobby Rahal. The beginning of the race was marked by the accident of John Fitzpatrick, who flipped his car on the seventh lap. The car driven by the Whittington Bros would lead until the end of the third hour, then the engine expired. The JLP car, driven by John Paul Jr and Sr, took the lead, but was challenged by the Interscope car, with the Bayside Disposal car waiting behind. With the Whittington Bros car charging back, the race seemed to keep going strong, but then the Porsche 935 driven Bill Whittington retired with a broken engine. The JLP car was on the lead, and would make it to the finish. It was not an easy end of race as the car was forced to slow down due to a dropped cylinder. But the major surprise of the race appeared to be the new March 82G, driven by Bobby Rahal, Mauricio de Narvaez and Jim Trueman. The car ran the main part of the race on third gear, and finally ended up second.

Tico Almeida and Ernesto Soto finished tenth at Sebring, driving their reliable Porsche Carrera RSR

Copyright Martin Spetz

The GTO class was a revenge for the Porsche contingent as Diego Febles, Tato Ferrer and Chiqui Soldevilla were the easy winners, ahead of Rainer Brezinka, Rudy Bartling and Fritz Hochreuter, finishing fourteen laps down. The GTU class belonged to the Roger Mandeville, Jeff Kline and Amos Johnson car, which finished a very good sixth overall, and easily beating rivals Jim Downing, Tom Waugh and John Maffucci. That was just the beginning for Mazda drivers who would fight all year long. The JLP had swept the two first rounds, and would simply continue their winning streak.
The next round was the Road Atlanta sprint race. Once again, John Paul Jr was dominant, but this time, he would start from the pole position. Bobby Rahal started second in his March but would not last more than ten laps. A new entry was to be seen as Zakspeed had a Ford Mustang Turbo for young Kevin Cogan. Interscope Racing entered two cars : the usual Porsche 935K3 and a brand new Lola T600 Chevrolet for Ted Field. Danny Ongais had a new K4 and was never able to challenge John Paul Jr. Ted Field finished fourth after stopping several times in an under developed car just behind Kevin Cogan. Dennis Aase won the GTO class in a convincing manner with his BMW M1.
The next race was a swing to the west coast for the Riverside 6Hour race. There, a new car appeared: Chris Cord and Jim Adams had a Lola T600 Chevrolet which proved very fast in practice as Jim Adams took the pole. Interscope entered once again the Porsche and the Lola. Danny Ongais was not present, running in Indycar and Bill Whittington was Ted Field's co-driver for that race. They won the race in a convincing manner, and it was the team's first victory after a three year shortage. Second was the new car made in Andial, with a new Porsche 935L and driven by Al Holbert and Harald Grohs. The car was fresh out of of the box and started dead last. But the race was just another story as Al Holbert and Harald Grohs drove an impressive race to finish second overall. Once again, the March driven by Bobby Rahal did well in qualifying, but it was not able to finish the race, as Jim Adams, driving Chris Cord Lola, retiring at the end of lap one! Tico Almeida and Ernesto Soto won the GTO despite the fact that  John Greenwood was back with one of his fast Corvette. Jim Cook and Jim Mullen won the GTU class with their Trinity Racing Mazda RX7 while Jack Dunham and Jeff Kline finished on the same lap.
The next race was held at Laguna Seca, a very tricky circuit for a 100Miler. There, John Paul Jr decided to drive his Lola T600 Chevrolet, instead of the usual Porsche 935. He was to face Danny Ongais and Ted Field, both driving Lola T600s for the first time. John Fitzpatrick was entering his new Porsche 935K4 and Zakspeed had a Ford Mustang Turbo for Kevin Cogan. That was quite an exciting field! John Paul Jr and Danny Ongais forgot everybody in the race and John Paul Jr emerged as the winner, second was Danny Ongais who finished just ahead of John Firzpatrick, one lap down. At that point, it became clear that the GTP cars were just taking over. In GTO, a new car was entered by Electramotive who had a Datsun 280ZX Turbo for Don Devendorf. The little car proved too much for the opposition and Don Devendorf won over René Rodriguez, who was driving a Greenwood Chevrolet Corvette. Bruno Beilcke was third on a BMW M1.

1982 GTU : Jim Downing

The GTU Championship was now used to run separate races in conjunction with the traditional GT races, mixing every category. This season had reached a new peak, with a lot of racing actions and three drivers winning most of the races. At the end, it was Jim Downing who clinched the GTU Championship, but it was mainly due to his ability to finish all but one race. He won three races and earned many top five finishes. Two drivers may have had some regrets not entering more events : Logan Blackburn and Joe Varde who could have won both the Championship. They had five wins and were runner ups to Jim Downing. It was a very competitive season, with a lot of action and the arrival of Toyota Celicas entered by Kent Racing. A special mention should be made to Wayne Baker, who accomplished great feats with his underpowered Personalized Autohaus Porsche 914/4.

The 1982 GTU season had begun as per usual, with the Daytona and Sebring rounds. These two races had seen two different Mazda wins : the Kent Racing car driven by Lee Mueller-Alan Moffat-Kathy Rude at Daytona and the Roger Mandeville-Amos Johnson-Jeff Kline at Sebring. It seemed once again that Mazda would still hold the GTU points one more year. Unlike many GTO teams, most of the factory-backed cars were to enter every race.
However, things were to change as soon as for the Road Atlanta round. Logan Blackburn, already the fastest qualifyer, won easily the race over George Alderman, who drove a Datsun too. Third was the best Mazda driver, Jim Downing, in the Haynes Manuals car, who edged his rival Roger Mandeville. The next race was a classical GT race and Jim Cook and Jim Mullen won the GTU class over Jack Dunham and Jeff Kline. Both teams drove Mazda RX7s.
The next race was held at Laguna Seca, in California. It would be a perfect sweep for Mazdas, but the winner was not the expected one. It was the first time Kent Racing entered a pair of Toyota Celicas. Unfortunately, the cars were completely new ones and needed to be further developed.The pole position was held by Wayne Baker, who drove his Personalized Autohaus Porsche 914/4, but he would not finish the race. Joe Varde drove the Trinity Racing Mazda RX7 to a win, beating Jim Downing and Jack Dunham, who drove similar cars. The best Datsun was Frank Carney's car, who placed only sixth. This race was to feature SP2 cars, which are less developed cars. Danny May won this category, driving a Datsun 710. A strong thirty seven car field took the start of the race.
At Charlotte, Logan Blackburn and George Alderman won the race in the Columbus Datsun 280ZX, entered by Alderman Racing over Jim Downing and John Maffucci who drove a Mazda RX7.
At Mid Ohio, twenty three cars were to take the start of the race, again with Wayne Baker on the pole!

The Mid Ohio race start with Wayne Baker on the pole. He would not last more than one lap.

Copyright Mark Windecker

But this time, he would not last for more than one lap. Jim Downing emerged as the winner over Bob Leitzinger on his Datsun 280ZX. Joe Varde set the fastest lap but had to settle only for eighth. Don Anderson won the SP2 class in his Datsun 510.
A very thin sixteen car field was to be seen at Lime Rock but the main title contenders were present. At the end, it was again Joe Varde who took the win over George Alderman and Roger Mandeville. Kurt Roehrig had entered his beautiful BMW 320, but he could not do better than eleventh, with a dnf.
The next race was held at Summit Point, for a special GTU race, with twenty one starters. Once again, it seemed that Joe Varde would dominate the race, as he was the fastest qualifier. He actually did dominate the race, and set the fastest lap in the process. Second was Roger Mandeville who finished seventeen seconds behind him. Logan Blackburn was third with Rick Knoop fourth in his Kent Racing Toyota Celica. It was a very encouraging result for the new car. Bill Coykendall won the SP2 class in his Datsun 200SX.

Joe Varde won five races in 1982, but he finished third after missing four races

Copyright Mark Windecker

The Paul Revere 250 Miler was won by Logan Blackburn and George Alderman who drove a Datsun 280ZX turbo. They won over Jim Downing and Roger Mandeville finished third. Both soloed in that particular night race.
At Brainerd, it was again Logan Blackburn who took the class win in his non turbo Datsun over Joe Varde and Roger Mandeville. At Sears Point, the same scenario was nearly seen with Joe Varde again winning the race after been fastest in practice, and winning overall over Roger Mandeville and Jim Downing. Casey Mollett was the best Datsun finisher in his 280ZX. Doug Peterson was the winner in the SP2 class with his Renault 5 Le Car.
At Portland, Roger Mandeville took his revenge and won the race over Joe Varde who was again the fastest in practice. Third was Lee Mueller in his Toyota Celica. Mike Rickman was the SP2 winner in a Datsun 200SX.

The remainder of the season was a string of six Camel GT races, including every GT class. The next race was held at Mosport for the now traditional 6Hour race and it was Roger Mandeville and Amos Johnson who won the class, but the Toyota Celica driven by Rick Knoop and Ron Grable had its best race of the season and took a very good second place in class. Third was the New Raytown Datsun driven by Frank Carney and Dick Davenport. A very unusual entry for that race was the Alps Restoration Audi 80 Coupé driven by Peter Aschenbrenner, who was partnered by German driver Edgar Dören and Vicki Smith. They finished sixth in GTU, twenty eight laps down.
At Road America, Mazda won again with Joe Varde and Jeff Kline took the class win over Logan Blackburn and George Alderman. They were very far away from third place finisher, a Porsche 914/6 driven by Tim Selby and Earl Roe.
At the Mid Ohio 6Hour race, Logan Blackburn and George Alderman were again the winners, driving the #32 car, this time easily ahead of Joe Varde and Jeff Kline. Rick Knoop and Ron Grable took third in their Toyota Celica.

Lee Mueller had a very tough season with his Kent Racing Toyota Celica. He is seen here at Mid Ohio.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Things were a little bit different at Road Atlanta where Mazda took over. Roger Mandeville and Amos Johnson were the class winners on this very fast course. Rick Knoop and Ron Grable were again second and ahead of the two Mazdas driven by Jim Downing and John Maffucci and the Dunham Trucking car driven by Jack Dunham and Jim Mullen. Logan Blackburn and George Alderman took only fifth. At that point, Roger Mandeville was the series GTU leader, and two races were left.
At Pocono, it was Jim Downing and John Maffucci who took the win with Jack Dunham and Jim Mullen second. George Alderman was partnered by Carson Baird to take third in his Alderman Racing Datsun 280ZX. Logan Blackburn had entered his own car, but had moved to the GTO class, intentionally or not,  for that race. He took no GTU point, of course.
The last race of the season was the Daytona Finale, which secured JIm Downing the Championship. He effectively won the race over Doug Carmean and Ed Pimm, driving the Red Roof Inns Mazda RX7, and Jack Dunham and Jim Mullen, who drove consistently to a third place finish. Logan Blackburn was partnered by Bob Leitzinger on the latter's car, but he could do no better than sixth.

Jim Downing finally won the GTU Championship, thanks to a very good end of season. However, he had to fight hard for it. Mazda won the manufacturers Championship, but it was no domination at all. It was very tight and Datsun missed the win, mainly due to a lack of races. And to finish, Toyota did have some good races, but did not win any race. Kent Racing entered a Mazda for the last race of the season. For the next year, Toyota was to be entered by Dan Gurney's All American Racers. But it would be another story.

All American Racers : part 1, the GT cars

Dan Gurney is probably one of the most popular driver in the US. He has been involved in auto racing for fifteen years as a driver. His impressive record includes victories in various types of cars, including Formula 1, NASCAR, Trans Am, Sportscars and Indy cars. Very versatile, he always had a good feeling with cars and he formed All American Racers in 1965, together with Carroll Shelby. They were backed by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. From that moment, AAR has built a very wide range of cars, should we say, successful race cars. They built Formula Ones, Indy cars, and then Trans Am cars and AAR became soon very poplar worldwide. When Dan Gurney retired from racing, in 1970, he bought out his partner Carroll Shelby and thus became the sole owner for his company. He has remained until now. This company has grown in a continuous way, and been gradually expanded. Housed in a 75000 sq-ft factory located in Santa Ana, California, it encompasses five buildings. A lot of mechanics, engineers and team members have been involved in various AAR programs.
The IMSA history for AAR began in 1983, when Toyota joined forces with Dan Gurney. At the beginning, Toyota had asked him
if he would be interested in becoming a spokesman for the new Supra, which was to be introduced at this time. Upon his acceptance, he got to know a lot of interesting people, and by the way, knew about the GTU program. At that time, it was Kent Racing who was in charge of it. Dave Kent, who had successfully run Mazda RX7s in the early eighties, was the creative type, but he had other things in mind. So Dan Gurney finally volunteered to take over the program, which was accepted by Toyota. The cars were Celicas powered by small four cylinders 2,0L engines, 16-valve DOHC, given for 300hp . They were cars from the last generation.  Later, they would gradually evolve, the frame being reinforced and redesigned by Hiro Fujimori. Critical areas were redesigned. The drivers that AAR was able to hire would have made any works team jealous, it was the kind of stellar one. To name a few, Dennis Aase, Chris Cord, Willy T Ribbs and Wally Dallenbach Jr were such drivers. Cars, at the beginning of AAR involvement in GTU, had trouble keep up with the best, but they were in the learning curve. The cars soon became very fast, but were still unreliable. Then the cars improved, and by the way, won some races. In 1983, two victories were claimed by AAR cars. At Daytona, they could not finish better than seventh. At Miami, things went much better with a second place in the GTU race by Whitney Ganz. Then it was Riverside and a victory by Wally Dallenbach-Whitney Ganz and Dennis Aase. At Laguna Seca, a sixth place rewarded Dennis Aase.

Wally Dallenbach, Whitney Ganz and film star Gene Hackman won the GTU class at Riverside

Copyright Frank Sheffield

Next came Charlotte with a new victory for the Celica driven by Wally Dallenbach Jr and Dutchman Boy Hayje. Things went not so good later in the season with no more victory. It was mainly due to a lack of budget, and cars could not be developed as the team would have wanted. The season ended with a pair of dnfs, and an eigth in class at Mid Ohio. Toyota was fourth in points in the GTU Manufacturers standings.
Looking for a better reliability, things improved a bit in 1984. Four victories rewarded the team : Miami, Laguna Seca, Charlotte and Sears Point. Chris Cord was sixth in points and Toyota was now third in the Manufacturers standings.
In 1985, things evolved as one car was entered in the GTO category. The car was a specially modified GTU car fitted with the turbocharged 4T-GT engine. It was no more than an evolution of the actual car, and it would serve as a basis for the later car. The team was rewarded with a victory at Laguna Seca for Dennis Aase. Chris Cord finished second in the GTU points standings with two victories at Lime Rock and Daytona.
For 1986, it seemed that AAR had obviously made the choice to move up to the GTO category, in spite of the fact that they did not win any GTU Championship. They had built up a good experience and felt enough strong to move and fight against the big bangers. At that point, the AAR operation was geared towards various racing programs, but the Indy program ran into some difficulty, so they could flow people from this program into the GTO one. The rules that were used in the GTO class were relatively complex ones. In fact, a very wide range of engines were used in this class and a series of equivalency formulas was used in order to give everyone's chance to win. Then it was decided to develop the 4T-GT motor for the Celica GTO.  It could produce around 475hp, which was quite reasonable for a GTO car. The chassis had been stiffened and improved in terms of workablity. John Ward worked on the chassis design and construction. The car was a front-wheel drive one, converted to rear wheel drive,  and it was used with the redesigned chassis. AAR used every rules subtleties to make this car become a real winner. In 1986, Chris Cord and Dennis Aase earned some first and second place finishes, but Dennis Aase was finally fourth in the standings at the end. The biggest problem with the cars was that they were fuel-injected, and this kind of technology was new to the team. They had to roll up their sleeves, and new people came to help. The car which made its debut burned, due to the very high temperatures inside. It was at Riverside during a practice session. Very harsh beginnings, but later in the season, the car became very competitive, and won at Road America and Watkins Glen.

Chris Cord and Dennis Aase had some good races in 1986, but they finished only fourth at Mid Ohio.

Copyright Mark Windecker

The car was probably much more advanced with twin-plug engine, Hewland transaxle that some competitors complained about its legality. In fact, the AAR drivers didn't care, and the crowds were pleased to see that the GTO battle now offered  a third contender to Ford and Chevrolet.
The next season seemed to be the good one, as for the competitors, who seemed to think that the Celica was the way to go, according to their technical choices. The season however began with a great disappointment. The team had entered the traditional 24 Hours of Daytona, and one of the Celicas was leading the category. Unfortunately, a shudder in the suspension forced the car to pit and the team could not really fix it. Leading by ten laps, Chris Cord and Steve Millen finished second, four laps down the Roush Racing winning Ford Mustang. The remainder of the season was then all AAR, whose cars captured their share of first and second place finishes. At the end, it was Chris Cord who won the GTO Championship, and it was the first major Championship for AAR. Toyota captured the manufacturers crown too. Chris Cord won at Riverside, Laguna Seca, Portland and Del Mar. But the team suffered setbacks early in the season as Dennis Aase had a very unfortunate season as he broke his leg and foot while testing the team's GTP car : he had to be replaced by Steve Millen, who broke his leg too at Miami, and then Willy T Ribbs took over.
Willy T Ribbs won Mid Ohio, Road Atlanta, Summit Point and Watkins Glen. The very unfortunate beginnings seemed to continue at Riverside, when Chris Cord spun while starting from the pole. He had one of his best race ever to win in a very convincing fashion. Then the season was set for AAR. 1987 was undoubtedly a season to be remembered, quotes Dan Gurney, with the Manufacturers and Drivers title.

Chris Cord had a great 1987 season and won the GTO Championship driving the Toyota Celica Turbo.

Photo courtesy All American Racers

And 1988 seemed to be Toyota's too. But Lincoln Mercury now entered Merkurs, which were cars which used some of the same technologies the Toyotas used, and they won the Championship. AAR took five races at Mid Ohio, Road America, Sears Point, Watkins Glen and Del Mar, but Lincoln Mercury had gathered more points than Toyota, which took second, and they won the Manufacturers Championship. It was mainly due to the various cars entered by different teams.

Dennis Aase was back in 1988, recovering from his accident, here at Sears Point, where he took a fourth place.

Copyright Van Zannis

Willy T Ribbs finished third in points. Then it seemed to be the time to move up to the GTP category. In retrospect, the whole thing appeared to be less fun to the team. They had approached Toyota, who did not look interested at first sight. Toyota Motor Sport people looked quite dubious about the engine capability to win races inside a GTP car. Yet, All American Racers had the men with the ability to build and race successful cars, and the years to come would be the GTP years. Many successes were to come by.(to be continued)