A new era was born at the dawn of the 1982 season. The former Championship had seen the very first Porsche defeat and introduced a new category which was called the GTP. The stunning new Lola T600, driven by Brian Redman, had upset everyone and dominated the 1981 series. In order to counteract this new found domination, and to provide a relative equity amongst the various competitors, IMSA's John Bishop had rewritten the rules, and given the Porsche 935 a new boost. Tubeframe chassis were allowed, as well as racing suspensions, new bodywork and a total liberty in design. The new season was to provide excitement, with the arrival of new GTP cars, together with Lola or Chevron. However, the withdrawal of BMW and Nissan shed some regrets amongst the fans. The new GTP cars would try to make up for these withdrawals. The car which appeared to be the most efficient one was the Garretson Enterprise entered March 82G Chevrolet. Driven by Bobby Rahal, Jim Trueman and Bruce Canepa, the car was probably too young to prove a real threat to the favorites, it was nonetheless fast. David Cowart and Kenper Miller also had a March 82G car. They had installed the engine from their GTO winning BMW M1. It was surely too short on power, but an interesting entry.
Gary Belcher had a Rondeau M382 Cosworth powered. The car would retire with electrical problems.
Copyright Norbert Vogel
The Championship winning Lola T600 Chevrolet was the sole opponent which could run for the win. Brian Redman was not listed as the lead driver at all. Ralph Cooke, Eppie Wietzes and Jim Adams were to drive the car now entered by Cooke Racing. Two interesting new cars made thir debut on the American track : the two Rondeau M382 Ford powered. The Golden Eagle car, which was driven by Bill Koll, Skeeter McKitterick and Irv Hoerr, was a M382 fitted with Porsche 935 brakes. The car had never run before Daytona and was totally unsorted. The second car was entered by Belcher Racing, and had been totally rebuilt. Gary Belcher, Danny Sullivan and Hubert Phipps drove this car.
A bunch of seven Porsche 935 turbos were entered, which was the slightest number of them since the Porsche flagship introduction. JLP Racing had the JLP3 for John Paul Jr and Sr, and they were partnered by no less than Rolf Stommelen himself. Having won the last IMSA races of the 1981, they appeared as the race favorites. John Fitzpatrick was amongst the potential winners too, and he had a K3 for himself and David Hobbs. Wayne Baker was the third driver.
Copyright Dave Kutz
Bayside Disposal too was a usual contender with Bruce Leven, Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert, a team of drivers also fighting for the win, undoubtedly. Bob Akin was a contender in his usual Coke backed Porsche 935, driven by Bob Akin, Derek Bell and Craig Siebert. Interscope Racing fielded a K3, driven by Ted Field, Bill Whittington and a convalescent Danny Ongais. He was quietly recovering from his Indianapolis accident. The team was eagerly waiting to make use of its Lola T600.
Preston Henn was partnered by Désiré Wilson and Marty Hinze on his K3 while Bob Garretson had his repainted car for himself, Mauricio de Narvaez and Jeff Wood. Three Ferrari 512BBs, which were not real GTX cars were entered, and they could play an interesting role in such a race. The most efficient car was to be driven by Bob Wollek, Edgar Dören and Randy Lanier. This car was owned by Preston Henn, but entered by the NART. Janet Guthrie and Bonnie Henn were to drive that car, but Janet Guthrie was down with flu and had to stay at home, so Bob Wollek was hired. Bob Wollek, who had not found any Porsche 935 to drive, would have a fantastic race. Two last GTP cars were still to be found, but they could not play any major part in this race. The Chevron Mazda driven by Brent Regan, Larry Chmura and Jim Schofield was not able to run as fast as the front runners. The same could be told from the Buick powered car entered by Del Taylor, who was co-driven by Wayne Dassinger and Bob Arego. The GTO class was to feature a big battle between the BMW M1s and some big bangers plus an interesting car in the name of a Mazda RX7 powered by a 13B engine. Mazda USA was entering this car, which was a. works car.
Mazda USA entered this 13B powered Mazda RX7 driven by Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino. This car won the GTO class.Copyright Norbert Vogel
A team of Japanese drivers, Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino did the job. The BMW M1s had dominated the 1981 season, but they were put restrictions in order to slow them down. They still appeared as the cars to beat. Chuck Kendall was co-driven by Dennis Aase and John Hotschkis on the Kendall Racing car. The Montura Racing car was driven by Tony Garcia, Albert Naon and Rob McFarlin while Joe Crevier drove the third car with Nort Northam and Fred Stiff. An old BMW 3.0CSL car was driven by Fomfor, Guillermo Valiente and Wenseslao Kregsa. The best Chevrolet Camaro was entered by Auriga Racing. It was a 1981 model driven by Tom Nehl, Nelson Silcox and Jerry Hansen. They had not been able to take the green last year and were probably satisfied with their being the best GM product on the grid! The Stratagraph Chevrolet Camaro, which was a brand new 1982 car, would not run as fast as awaited, but Gene Felton, Billy Hagan and Terry Labonte would have the race to learn about their new car. Oftedahl Racing had entered a new Pontiac Firebird, which was to be driven by Bob Raub, Bob Leitzinger and Art Pasmas. This new car proved very fast and was to forebode what the future GM cars were to become, that is to say exciting. Carl Shafer, Joe Mooney and Tony Brassfield drove an older Oftedahl Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Herb Adams had done the same, and entered a Pontiac Firebird, which was an earlier model, driven by Roger Mears, Leonard Emmanuelson and himself, while Gary English, Jerry Thompson and David Price drove the Chevrolet Camaro. Wolf Engines fielded a Chevrolet Camaro for the ever enthusiastic Clark Howey, who was partnered by Dale Koch and Tracy Wolf. A pair of Chevrolet Corvettes was to start the race, but none of them appeared to be able to fight for the win. The Performance Plus Products car was the fastest in practice, in the hands of Dale Kreider, Keith Swope and Peter Knab. The Schmidt family had brought their familiar orange Chevrolet Corvette for another start in the Florida classic. A single and beautiful Chevrolet Monza was entered by regular entrant Hoyt Overbagh, who had his Oberdorfer Research backed car driven by Pete Kirill, Dave Heinz and himself. Marketing Corporation of America had two Ford Mustangs for John Morton and Tom Klausler on the first car, and John Bauer, Milt Minter and Gary Pratt on the second car. A few Porsche 924GTRs were here too. Ludwig Heimrath, an ex-935 regular, was now fighting for the GTO laurels. He drove his car with his son while Tom Winters' car was driven by Bob Bergstrom and Robert Overby. George Drolsom was also a regular entrant while Jim's Busby's BF Goodrich car was to be co-driven by Doc Bundy and Manfred Schurti. Paul Miller shared his car with Pat Bedard and Jurgen Barth. A single Porsche 934 could do well in this race, as it was honestly driven by Jack Refenning, Rusty Bond and Ren Tilton. Two AMX Spirits were also usual contenders, with Bob Lee's car counting on its reliability to go for a race finish. The other car, driven by Les Delano, Andy Peterey and Jeremy Nightingale, was an ex Team Highball car. A bunch of very reliable Porsche Carreras was amongst your current starters, with some cars being regular entrants for years. Diego Febles could still do well in an ex Peter Gregg car, as well as the T and R Racing entry for Tico Almeida, Ernesto Soto and Miguel Morejon, whose car proved manybtimes to be very efficient. Bob Beasley was here too, as well as Bob Gregg or Jay Kjoller to name a few. To finish this very interesting GTO entry list, a very fast Jaguar XJS was entered by Group 44, but the car was too much modified to be fielded as a GTO car, so it was moved up to the GTP-GTX class. A Mercury Capri, entered by Autowest, and driven by Ron Hunter, Duane Eitel and Bob Turner would take the green too.
Anatoly Aruntunoff fielded his now familair Lancia Stratos for the sixth year in a row.
Copyright Norbert Vogel
The GTU class was less exciting, as Mazda already outnumbered the opposition. A single Datsun, entered by New Raytown and driven by Frank Carney, Dick Davenport and John McComb, looked able to run for a class victory, but it looked quite lonely. The Mazda RX7s were left into an internal battle from emerged three top teams. Jim Downing had a new RGP500 backed car
while Roger Mandeville had his own team. They would fight it up throughout the season. Kent Racing had a very efficient driven by Lee Mueller, Allan Moffat and Kathy Rude. Jack Dunham fielded his familiar coloured car he drove with Scott Smith Sr and Jr. Ralph Sanchez and Scuderia Rosso were amongst the Mazda contingent. A few Porsche 911s would give the Japanese cars a weak opposition. The previous year's feat accomplished by the Kegel Enterprise 911 appeared by no means within reach. Ron Case and Gary Wonzer were the fastest Porsche drivers but they were more than six seconds slower than the Mazdas top runners. A single Porsche 914/6 was entered by Doug and Haro Zitza. The now very familiar Lancia Stratos would once again be running as it was given a second chance of taking the green.
Bobby Rahal set the fastest lap in practice. The race was not as disappointing as awaited as the car completed 580 laps.Copyright Dave Kutz
The big surprise of the practice sessions was the fact that Bobby Rahal, who had never run with his new car, set the fastest time with a 1m43s891. He was slightly ahead of the fastest Porsche 935, which was driven by John Fitzpatrick. Four Porsche 935s followed. Next came the Lola T600, which appeared to be surprisingly slow. The Rondeaus were even more slower. The best GTO starter was Tom Nehl, who beat the BMW M1s and the new Oftedahl Racing Pontiac Firebird. The Kent Racing Mazda RX7 driven by Lee Mueller was once again the best GTU in practice, and wound up a 2m03s491.
A record 50000 estimated crowd attended the race, which was a success. At the start of the race, a battle began between John Fitzpatrick and Hurley Haywood, who really pushed their car very hard.
Chuck Kendall had pitted with his car under fire, and Bernard de Drijver saw his fuel pump collapse. The two cars were the first retirements as well. Danny Ongais was not far and the three of them gave the crowd reasons to enjoy the race. The best Porsche 935s would refuel well before the end of the first hour, and Danny Sullivan, driving the Belcher Racing Rondeau, was up to fourth, thanks to his car's lower fuel consumption.
Bob Wollek, who had set up the car into a very competitive machine, was sixth. The Rondeau will not remain in the five for long as Hubert Phipps would collide with Bob Akin's Porsche 935. The car will be hampred by fuel intake problems and will never be seen in the top spots afterwards. The Ferrari 512BB runs fantastically and is already threatening the best Porsches, to Preston Henn's delight. The Interscope car will brake at the two hour mark with a broken connecting rod. The Porsche 935K3 entered by John Fitzpatrick, always running in front, will last some more laps and will retire with cam-drive failure. The JLP car, which was running just behind those two top cars, then inherited the lead. In fact, the Pauls father and son were not so happy with that fact, but the race finally gave them the lead due to unexpected facts. Behind them, Hurley Haywood was trying to provide them with some competition, and it lasted until 1.30 am. Then the car developed a fluid leak around the right rear wheel and a transmission mounting had to be welded. Fourteen laps were lost, and the race too was lost. Al Holbert took back the wheel, to no avail. Later, two turbochargers went down. The car was parked, only to do a final lap. The March driven by Bobby Rahal struggled throughout with transmission problems, and retired with a broken gearbox after 580 laps. The only real contender for the leaders was to be the Ferrari 512BB expertly driven by Bob Wollek, Edgar Dören and newbie Randy Lanier. Preston Henn's Porsche 935, running eleventh, will host a new driver in the name of Bill Whittington. The latter will have a ten lap run, only to explode the engine. The second Rondeau, which was running around the fifth place, will retire after 350 laps with fuel injection problems. The other Rondeau will retire a little while later, with a damaged engine. Bob Garretson's Porsche 935 was running well, but was slowed with alternator problems. At mid race, the JLP Porsche 935 was strongly in the lead, with Bob Akin's car next. The Ferrari 512BB was third, seven laps down. The Ferrari was running stronger than the Coke machine. The Red Lobster Marcb 82G BMW was constantly slowed down with engine problems, and would retire after sixty eight laps, and many hours spent on the track. The Ferrari then would be badly damaged by third driver Randy Lanier, definitively spoiling Bob Wollek and Edgar Dören's efforts.
Bob Wollek and Edgar Dören had a fantastic race, but Randy Lanier unfortunately destroyed the car. They were second when it happened.Copyright Dave Kutz
The race was over and the leading Porsche 935 cruised to an easy victory, breaking the distance records. The race proved to run flawlessly for the Pauls and Rolf Stommelen. They completed 719 laps.
The only trouble they had was when John Paul Sr nearly hit Ron Hunter's Mercury Capri, who spun in front of him. He avoided the unhappy driver, but the race could have been ruined in the finishing laps.
Lee Mueller, Allan Moffat and Kathy Rude easily won the GTU classin their Kent Racing Mazda RX7.
Copyright Norbert Vogel
Bob Akin, Derek Bell and Craig Siebert took a well deserved second place finish, but they were eleven laps down. Third was the Bob Garretson entered car, diven by Bob Garretson, Jeff Wood and Mauricio de Narvaez, who was thirty six laps down. The fourth place was to be taken by the GTO winning car, which appeared to be the Mazda RX7 driven by Japanese drivers Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino, entered by Mazda USA. After having its differential swapped on lap 445, the car was back to second place. They had to fight against the best Porsche Carrera, entered by T and R Racing, and driven by Tico Almeida, Ernesto Soto and Miguel Morejon. The Porsche was overtaken at the twenty second hur mark, and finished fifth overall, and xecond in class. In GTU, no opposition was met by the Mazda RX7s, as the Datsun 280ZX, driven by Frank Carney, John McComb and Dick Davenport, retired after 247 laps. The Kent Racing Mazda RX7, driven by Lee Mueller, Allan Moffat and Kathy Rude took a well deserved class victory. Kathy Rude was the first female driver to win her class at Daytona. As a conclusion, the race was some kind of a ridefor the winners. The season proved to be John Paul Jr's best ever, and he easily won the 1982 Camel GT title.
