IMSAblog

GTO : the big step ahead

The 1987 GTO Championship was a major step towards costs escalation. Cars were no longer production GT derivatives, they had become true race cars, with full featured tubeframe chassis. The GTO category had become the battleground for the manufacturers and the fiercest one for cars with fenders. Sandwiched between GTP cars and GTUs, it was the home of the big bangers. Cars ranged from 3,0 to 6,0 Liter displacement. At first sight, cars looked similar to their showroom counterparts, in order to keep the manufacturers involved, which was of course one of the key point. "Racing allows us to showcase the durability, handling and speed of our high-performance cars", said Les Unger, Toyota Motorsport Manager.

Willy T Ribbs drove a Chevrolet Camaro in 1987, then switched to a Toyota Celica in 1988.

Copyright Michael Crews

One thing appeared for sure, Toyota's involvement in IMSA was quite obvious, and the backing from the factory was now clear. That became obvious to many people by the season end when Chris Cord wrapped up the Championship on his Toyota Celica Turbo. The first step towards eligibility was recognition by the IMSA board of rules. In fact, nearly every manufacturer was able to produce a car that fitted in the 3,0 to 6,0L limit. Whether your car was rotary powered, turbocharged or not, fuel injected or not, was V6, V8 or Flat 6 powered, it was quite sure to be eligible, and John Bishop would swing his gate wide open to any new team willing to enter the fray.
From a technical point of view, nearly everything could be modified. A front drive car could be converted to rear drive, the transaxle could be moved to the rear. Steering, braking and suspension could be modified to the constructor's wish.  Transmission choices were wide, as well as chassis preparation. A combination rollcage had to be fittd into the confines of the chassis while a rollcage stiffened the the whole bodywork. Bigger engines could be used as long as the powerplants were available at your dealer's shop. Every part which was to be used for improving the engine's power had to be submitted to IMSA for approval, but it had now become an easy task to perform. The stock number of valves, ports and spark plugs had to remain unchanged. The cars had to retain their original shape, dimensions, contour and orientation. Lowering the car was admitted with rocker panel to road dimension up to three inches. The cars could be widened up to 79 inches. Body materials were unregulated, and to the builders' likings. Many teams came to use removable fiberglass to cloak their chassis components. The roof panels was usually the only remaining stock part. IMSA had devised a carefully well balanced set of rules, which used a displacement versus minimum weight formula in order to equate everyone chances.

Roger Mandeville switched to a three rotor Mazda RX7 in 1987, with mild results. He is seen at Daytona in 1988.

Copyright Michael Crews

For example, a 3,0L powered car had to weight 1900 pounds while a 6,0L could not weigh less than 2700 pounds. Cars which were 2 valves turbocharged were added 15% weight while 4 valves turbocharged cars were added 20% weight. Many top teams used an electronical fuel injection to good advantage. Aerodynamic refinement was the name of the game, and testing in wind tunnels were now common place. The search for minimal drag, stability and high speed improvement was relentless. No ground effect tunnels were allowed.
IMSA allowed wider modifications to the cars. But this new set of rules, which moved away the cars from their original shape, seemed to move the series itself to light years from the original purpose. Gone were the days where you could race your Camaro or Mustang with a few bucks. The cars, which retained the GT name, were in fact true disguised prototypes, and not any private team could afford them.
But when you stripped them down, you were struck by what you could see. Have you ever seen a Chevrolet Camaro with a March Indy car racing suspension, a carbon fiber tubeframe chassis and a 600 hp V8 engine? For sure you didn't, and it was now the usual machinery you had to use to run for the GTO class win. Bob Carson, head of Peerless Racing, estimates  $1 300 000 have been spent for a full season. Not so far as a GTP program! Three types of engines were to be used on the wildest Camaro ever built. A V8 5,0L on most courses, a V6 5,0L on the street courses and a V8 6,0L in the enduros. The ultimate sophistication was to build an underweight car and add some ballast that you move around the car according to the track you were racing at. And it worked : Jack Baldwin threatened the Ford and Toyota fleets. He won at Firebird, Sears Point and Columbus.

Jack Baldwin's Peerless Chevrolet Camaro was always a threat to the Ford and Toyota teams.

Copyright Kirk Hoffman

At Protofab, cars were not less sophisticated and drivers such as Greg Pickett, Wally Dallenbach or Tommy Riggins were hired. The season had begun with a win at Sebring. At the end of the season, a new lightweight Corvette was introduced and appeared to be quite efficient, with two seconds at Summit Point and Road Atlanta. Roger Mandeville had a three rotor Mazda RX7 given for 500 hp.The car had the same powerplant you could find on the 757 prototypes running at Le Mans. The chassis was designed by Bob Cuneo and the car was tested at the Lockheed wind tunnel, it was worth 305km/h on the straights.
Ford was represented by Roush Racing whose cars were ageing ones. The future of the Detroit iron was named Merkur. The cars were successfully tested and run in the Trans Am series as Scott Pruett and Pete Halsmer won many races. They were brought back to IMSA racing in 1988. The cars were 2,1L 4 cylinder powered, and carried less weight. Toyota's example was to be followed. In 1987, the Ford Mustangs switched from favorites to runner-ups. After the Daytona win, a handful of seconds was the best they could do.

Bob Earl did well in 1987, earning two wins in his Dingman Bros Pontiac Fiero.

Copyright Kirk Hoffman

One very surprising car was the Dingman Bros Pontiac Fiero, powered by a V6 4,5L. Driven by talented Bob Earl, it went to Victory Lane right from the beginning, on the Miami street course.  Designed for slow tracks, it would surely be not so fast on tracks where you need horsepower, but the car had potential. And what about Porsche, you might ask? The cars were outdated, and could not keep up the pace. Chet Vincentz had a strong Porsche 930S, but he could not do better than fifth at West Palm Beach. For 1988, he had opted for a Porsche 944 Turbo and had some strong hopes for the win. The shapes of things to come, we might say. Evolution was the name of the game, definitely.

John Paul Jr : IMSA's raw talent

John Paul Jr is the son of Hans-Johan Paul, a dutchman who emigrated to the US in 1956. He americanized his name in John Lee Paul, and was married to Joyce. In 1960, John Jr was born. They had settled to Muncie, Indiana. A man naturally  talented in mathematics, he finally graduated from Harvard, then signed on with Putnam Management, a Boston mutual fund firm. There, he made miracles and was quickly propelled as co-fund manager. The fund grew from $600 million to $4 billion within six years. He became a millionaire before reaching his 30th birthday. He then invested in burgeoning companies such as Mattel or Kentucky Fried Chicken. He had the ability to make money, and he did it well. He received a 64 Chevrolet Corvette as a welcomed outlet to his pressure-packed life in finance. He decided to try it on a parking lot : that's how he probably got the racing bug. In 1970, he purchased Sam Posey's Dodge Challenger, and he went on winning races at Lime Rock and Bridgehampton. However, his personal life was torn apart, and he and his wife finally separated. From that moment, John Paul Jr's life took a new direction, as he decided to remain with his mother. It was in 1972.
John Paul Sr sold everything he owned, quit his job, and purchased a sailboat. He sailed away. When he came back two years later, his life had gone another way, with drug smuggling in the background. John Jr's feeling was to stay with his dad, and he became involved in his life.
Life with his mother had been so rude and dull.  Then John Jr quickly felt he would like to go with his father, and a better life. In fact, he was in search of his father, and was eagerly willing to know him better. He graduated from Delta High School in Muncie, but his life took a new direction, soon. John Paul Sr was a perfectionist, but always rude with anyone. You had better share his views, but it rarely was the case. So everyone in the team was under constant abuse by the boss. John Paul Jr was then part of the team. He was to learn the wherabouts of what a racing organisation was, and he did everything too. He became some kind of a jack-of-all-trades. This period was a mixed one, and race seasons were entered as well as what was needed to fund them. It was a weird period, but it lasted some time. As John Jr took on learning about engines, John Sr decided his son needed to go to driver's school. He went to Skip Barber driving school, and curiously enough, his instructor qualified his driving as hopeless! Not very encouraging, was it? In spite of that, his father bought him an old Formula Ford. He then became a race driver. However, he didn't know at all that he would become a race driver. In fact, it seems that it came the natural way. In 1979, he did some Formula Ford races, and made the Runoffs. His racing career really took off the next year, when he became part of the JLP Racing team as his father's co-driver. He took the start of his first IMSA race in 1980 at Lime Rock. There, he drove the Porsche 935 his father had built, which was dubbed JLP2. They won the second heat and subsequently, John Paul Jr won the first IMSA he entered. Running most of the time with his father, he took two seconds at Daytona and Mosport, another first at Road America, a fourth at Road Atlanta, and a second place at the Finale at Daytona.

John Paul Jr took a second place at Mosport, driving JLP2 with his father.

Copyright Wayne Ellwood

Not so bad for a rookie! He ended up 4th in points for his very first racing season. The 1981 season was to be a continuation of the previous one.  The father and son team would have a quite interesting 1981 season. They could not finish the two first enduros of the season, but they took a second place at Riverside. At Laguna Seca, John Paul Jr faced a new challenge in the name of the Lola T600 Chevrolet driven by Brian Redman. This new type of car was a true prototype, with better handling and cornering. It would soon dominate the IMSA Championship. But no one knew it when the car took the start. Brian Redman easily won the race over John Paul Jr, who took second. This domination drove John Paul Sr to purchasing the first customer Lola T600, which would debut at Mid Ohio. His first race at the wheel of the Lola would not turn as a success, as he retired after twelve laps with engine problems. At Road Atlanta, the father and son drove each one a different car, Senior had the Porsche and Junior the Lola. This race turned rapidly into some kind of disaster, as Senior retired after eight laps while Junior was hit by a backmarker after braking too hard while overtaking another one. He was unable to restart the car which was not equipped with a reliable starter.
This kind of situation was to stir his father nasty temper, and he barely avoided been fired by his father. He was still on the learning curve, and though extremely talented, was particularly tough on the cars. He just needed to acquire some more experience. The relationship between himself and his father was becoming very special, as it was becoming clear that only Junior could win races. John Paul Sr described himself as a good driver. He was an excellent driver, but some guys were faster than him, and he was aware of that fact. So he began to turn himself as a team manager, concentrating on the cars' preparation, while Junior would do the driving. Senior would co-drive him in the ljng distance races. At Pocono, the Pauls won a rain-shortened event and Junior went on to win the Daytona Finale in a last minute pass of the Lola T600 driven by Brian Redman. He ended up the 1981 season in a glorious way. The 1982 season stood out in the horizon.  In the Lawrenceville JLP Racing shop, things were running strong, as a new car was to be prepared by Dave Klym, while Lee Dijkstra designed it.
The 1982 IMSA rules were more liberal, and full blown tubeframe cars were allowed in order to counterbalance the GTP cars, which were, by essence, more efficient.
It would be an all-new tubeframe car, with more ground effects, a true racing suspension, and also was much lighter than the former one. The father and son team was very confident for the season to come. It would be their most successful ever. They started the season with back to back wins at Daytona and Sebring. For the first race, they were partnered by no less than Rolf Stommelen!
At Sebring, they overcame a gearbox failure to win the race over the hard charging March driven by Bobby Rahal. John Paul Jr won at Road Atlanta, and this race attracted Miller Beer distributor Bobby Hogg, who sponsored them for the remainder of the season. John Paul Jr was driving the Lola at Laguna Seca, and he won the race while his father was working with the team on the new car at his JLP shop. At Charlotte, they again teamed up on the JLP3 car to win the race.

John Paul Jr drove this Lola to a fourth place at Mid Ohio.

Copyright Mark Windecker

At Mid Ohio, the race was less successful as John Paul Jr finished only fourth after starting from the pole. At Lime Rock, the Lola Junior drove was outpowered by John Fitzpatrick's Porsche 935K4. He finished second, though, and was eagerly waiting for his new car, the JLP4. He drove JLP3 to a dnf in the Paul Revere Daytona race. JLP4 was to debut at Brainerd, which was very fast course. Starting from second place behind Danny Ongais, John Paul Jr drove his brand new car to its first victory. He was accustomed to winning races with cars that were new to him. Sears Point was dnf, but he won again at Portland, at the wheel of JLP4. Junior drove JLP3 with his father to a victory at Mosport. At Road America, he was partnered by Mauricio de Narvaez, and the pair fiished second to John Fitzpatrick and David Hobbs who drove the K4. Mid Ohio was a dnf, in fact, he was the first to retire fom the race. The father and son team won again at Road Atlanta, with JLP3., and they took a second at Pocono. It would be their very last race as a father and son team. John Paul Jr had clinched the Championship since long, but John Paul Sr could still win the Camel Endurance Championship. The race would unfortunately turn into a retirement as JLP4 will suffer from transmission problems, and Senior, who did not drive at all, was about to lose his Championship by a few points. But as a man full of resource, he rent a ride with Chip Mead, whose Pontiac Firebird earned him a ninth place overall. He had won his very last Championship, and his career was about to come to an end. John Paul Jr had shown what a promising talent he was, and he had outgunned everyone. Yet, he was used to driving his father's cars, and only these cars. At the beginning of 1983, John Paul Sr shot Stephen Carson, who would testify to federal prosecutors about his illegal activities. Carson survived, but Senior had to flee away. Junior's career was at crossroads, and he had a terrible decision to take. JLP Racing was now dismantled, and he had to pick up rides as they showed up, ar once. He drove once JLP4 in 1983, he took a second at Miami in the Lola just before his father disappeared. The two next seasons were kind of survival ones. At Sebring, he was hired by Preston Henn on the winning Daytona car. He drove this car again with Preston Henn at Road America, but to a dnf. The 1983 was a strange, new experience to him, and definitely the 1982 opposite. He had to face it. He tried his hands at CART racing, and he won the first race he ever entered too, as well as the first Trans Am race he entered. In 1984, he would wind up a second overall at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, co-driven by Jean Rondeau and Preston Henn on a Porsche 956. In 1984, his IMSA season began late in the season, and he was offered a ride by Phil Conte, who entered a March 84G Chevrolet. Beginning at Pocono, this string of four races would prove desastrous as he failed to finish each of the four races he entered. As his father was finally indicted, tried and convicted. John Paul Jr had a mixed 1985 season.

John Paul Jr took the pole at Daytona in 1985, but he had a dnf, and he had his worst season ever.

Copyright Dave Kutz

Always running for Phil Conte, he had a more efficient car, which was now Buick powered. It was utterly unreliable, to John Paul's despair. The season started with a pole position at Daytona, but it ended up once again in a dnf as well. In fact, 1985 proved to be absolutely disappointing, with eleven starts, all of them ending up in dnfs. While pleading guilty to federal racketeering charges in 1985, he would be sent to prison from June 1986 to October 1988. Meanwhile, he had broken his seventeen dnfs string by finishing 2nd at Road Atlanta, always on March/Hawk Buick. He made mistakes, as he acknowledges himself, but felt completely unable to resist his father's will. He paid for it, and when he was released, he was given an IMSA competition license. John Bishop himself saw to it that it would be the case. He came back to IMSA racing in 1990, and was offered a ride by Jim Busby, who had a Nissan ZX GTP Turbo entered. It was a very powerful car, similar to the works cars.

John Paul Jr was back in IMSA driving the Jim Busby BF Goodrich Nissan ZX GTP Turbo to some good results.

Copyright Mike Birch

After a retirement at Daytona, John Paul Jr took a second place at Miami and a fifth at Sebring. Then the car was maintained by Seabroke Racing. The remainder of the season was to bring him a string of fifth places, at West Palm Beach, Portland and Road America, but he ended up the season with two third place finishes at Tampa and Del Mar. An eighth place finish was his reward. He had been out of racing for nearly four years and things had now changed a lot. Works teams like Electramotive, TWR or All American Racers were now the ones to beat. It was the best he could do driving such a car. In 1991, John Paul Jr was to run a very short IMSA schedule. He was hired by Gunnar Racing to drive the Porsche 966 at West Palm Beach : he finished sixth overall. The two remaining races were more disappointing. The end of the season was to bring him some kind of happiness, with a second place finish at Del Mar, driving the underpowered Hotschkis Racing Spice Pontiac. Yes, he was still able to fight for the win, whatever the car. The 1992 season continued on a race by race basis. It was the year he drove the most different cars in a single season. He experienced his first ever GTU win in Bob Leitzinger's Nissan 240SX, which he shared with Butch Leitzinger and David Loring. It was a victory nonetheless, and he probably enjoyed it very much. Then Gianpiero Moretti offered him a ride at Watkins Glen, and he finished sixth in a Porsche 962. At Laguna Seca, he took an eighth place, again driving John Hotschkis' Spice Pontiac. Then he had a string of three races with Momo Corse. The Toyota domination was beginning to become overwhelming, and he could not do better than one sixth and two sevenths. At Del Mar, he kind of tested the Tom Milner Intrepid Chevrolet, but it resulted in yet another dnf.
The 1993 season could have started in the best way as possible, as he was entered as co-driver in Gianpiero Moretti's Nissan NPT90. The car was very fast, and with Derek Bell, Massimo Sigala and Gianpiero Moretti as co-drivers, he had great hopes for the win in such a race. In fact, was leading the race when it began to experience engine troubles. At the end, it was an undeserved sixth place overall that rewarded the Nissan. They had been so close to victory!
The next race, held at Sebring, proved to be more kind to him as he finished second at Sebring, reminding him some past success on this very course. Alas, he would not go on with Gianpiero Moretti. He would still drive the Gunnar Porsche 966 at Lime Rock, Laguna Seca and Portland, but with very unsatisfying results. He was able to take one last second place at Road America, this time driving a Joest Racing Porsche 962. At the end of this mixed season, John Paul Jr had to become aware of one fact : things had changed a lot in three years, and when not driving a Works car, you could expect to win any race. However, his results have proved he was a tremendous driver, with a fantastic ability to drive any type of car. His raw talent has remained unchanged, and for many of us, he is one of the best ever.

Thank you for everything, John, you left your print forever.

24 Hours of Daytona 1982

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.

John Fitzpatrick, David Hobbs and Wayne Baker shared this Porsche 935K3, but the car did not last for more than two hours.

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.