IMSAblog

Daytona 1988 : Jaguar!

With a new rules system introduced by John Bishop, the 1988 season was beginning with new hopes for normally aspirated engines. The main purpose of the new rules was to even the chances between the top competitors. Thus, with a new 57mm strap, it was the rpm limit that was aimed at. The major goal was to lengthen the engines life exprctancy, therefore reducing the racing costs. A new scale was introduced to level out the chances. Everything was made to give everyone a run for his money. The new 1988 season would see new competitors bringing out some fresh cars. At Daytona, Tom Walkinshaw was entering three Jaguar XJR9s, with a stellar lineup. Jan Lammers, Davy Jones and Danny Sullivan were on the first one, Eddie Cheever, Johnny Dumfries and John Watson on the second and Martin Brundle, John Nielsen and Raul Boesel on the third one. The cars were all fitted with the V12 6,0L engine, which was given for 600hp. These figures appeared underestimated. Group 44 was here too with a Jaguar XJR7 which remained unchanged, Hurley Haywood, Whiney Ganz and Bob Tullius drove the car. Six Porsche 962s was facing this brand new challenger. Holbert Racing had its usual car, now adorned with the Miller High Life livery. Derek Bell and Chip Robinson drove the car, and Al Holbert would have a limited drive. His new appointment as Director of Porsche Motorsport of America implied new charges, so he would drive less. Dyson Racing entered Price Cobb, Rob Dyson, James Weaver and Vern Schuppan. Bayside Motorsport had Klaus Ludwig, Hans Stuck and Bruce Leven while Foyt Motorsport fielded a car for AJ Foyt, Al Unser Jr and Elliot Forbes Robinson. All four cars had some real chances for the win. They were all Goodyear shod too. The two last favorite cars were the Busby Racing car, driven by Bob Wollek, Mauro Baldi and Brian Redman, which used a special Nida chassis built in the US. Brun Motorsport had a strong entry, with Gianfranco Brancatelli, Massimo Sigala and Oscar Larrauri. The car ran on Yokohama. Two other cars were entered, but they did not run for victory. The Hotschkis Racing car, with John Hotschkis and Jim Adams driving and the Kalagian Racing car, driven by Jim Rothbarth, who came from the Lights class, Rob Stevens and Bernard and Michel Jourdain. The Chevrolet Corvette GTP, which was to be entered by Hendricks Racing, would not even show up. It was officially due to an engine failure. A sure disappointment. Sarel van der Merwe would finally drive the Bayside Motorsports Porsche 962, and bring his talent to the Klaus Ludwig and Hans Stuck.
Two other interesting cars were there in the name of two Ford Probe, formely owned by Zakspeed, now entered by Tom Milner. They were powered either by a L4 16 valve 2,0L or a V8 fuel injected 6,0L engine. Arie Luyendijk, Tom Gloy and Tom Pumpelly drove the first one, while Bruce Jenner, Calvin Fish and Scott Goodyear were on the normally aspirated car. From Europe came the ADA, entered by Ian Harrower, which was to make its only appearance ever on the US ground.

The ADA Cosworth, entered by Ian Harrower, made its first ever race in the US. Wayne Taylor, Ian Harrower, Stanley Dickens and Ian Flux retired after 88 laps.

Copyright Michael Crews

Wayne Taylor, Ian Flux and Stanley Dickens shared the drive with team owner. Roy Baker had brought along his Tiga GT286 DFV, and Michael Allison, Stephen Hynes and Chris Ashmore were at the wheel of this underpowered car. A brand new Fabcar GTP, built by Dave Klym debuted at Daytona. The car was powered by a V8 Chevrolet engine. Chip Mead and Tim McAdam would drive it, but it would explode an engine and be one dns. Gianpiero Moretti, who had purchased the two March 86Gs from BMW two years before fielded the two of them. As for the Fords, they were powered by two kinds of powerplant. A V6 4,5L normally aspirated engine, and a 3,0L turbo, Buick powered. Steve Phillips, Jeff Andretti and Michael Roe drove the first one, and Gianpiero Moretti, Paolo Barilla and Michael Roe would run the second one.  The Mahre bros, Phil and Steve, entered a URD BMW, which sported a 3,5L engine, coming from the M1. Two old Marches, one 84G Pontiac powered, entered by Bill McDill, co-driven by Richard McDill and Tom Juckette, and a Buick powered one, owned by Jim Briody, with Bob Nagel and John McComb, were to be seen. They no longer played any major role and were now regular backmarkers. The two last GTP cars, one Spice Firebird, driven by Steve Durst, Mike Brockman and Bob Earl, was sporting a brand new V6 4,5L engine ; an Alba, a type of car which was usually entered in the Lights class, had a V6 4,5LBuick powerplant. That made up for a big and interesting field of 22 GTP cars. The Lights class was getting increasingly interesting, with a wide variety of cars. Twenty one cars made up for an impressive field. A brand new Spice had been delivered to Scott Schubot, who was partnered by Linda Ludeman.

The new Spice 88C entered by Scott Schubot, was Buick powered. Linda Ludeman and Jim Miller co-drove it to a dnf, with an engine failure.

Copyright Michael Crews

Sleeker than the Fiero GTP, this car was powered by a Buick V6 engine. The Spice Fieros were four, with Don Bell, Charles Morgan and Costas Los in the AT & T car, Whitehall Promotion had two cars for Skeeter McKitterick, Bill Koll, Mario Hytten and Tom Winters on #79, Claude Ballot Léna, Jean Louis Ricci and Olindo Iacobelli on the #97. Huffaker had a strong entry for Terry Visger, Jon Woodner and Paul Lewis. A very fast Alba AR6 Ferrari would be entered by Bieri Racing for Martino Finotto, Guido Dacco and Pietro Silva. The team had an older car for team owner Uli Bieri, Angelo Pallavicini, Herm Johnson and Paolo Guaitamacchi.
Jim Downing had his usual Argo JM19 Mazda. He was co-driven by Howard Katz and Hiro Matsushita. Jim Fowells shared a similar car with David Cowart, Ray Mummery and Mike Meyer. Another Argo, which was Ferrari powered, was entered for Steven Johnson, Geoff Nicol and Bob Strait. A pair of Fabcar Porsche, which had met with some success in 1987, could play an interesting part in such a race, were here with a good lineup. John Higgins, Howard Cherry, Jack Newsum and Tim McAdam drove the #42, and film star Lorenzo Lamas, Charles Monk, Perry King, Lance Jones and Gregg Young would be likely to drive #48. A pair of Tigas could play a role too, and Tom Hessert had a Chevrolet powered car, David Loring and David Simpson were his co-drivers. Bobby Brown had the same type of car, which he shared with Billy Hagan, Ron Nelson and NASCAR driver Sterling Marlin. An old Lola T616 Mazda and an Argo JM16 Mazda, as well as a Royale Porsche completed this roster.
The GTO field was featuring a new Chevy-Ford duel. Things had changed, however, as it was now Lincoln Mercury who was now spearheaded. Jack Roush, who had campaigned Mercury Merkurs in Trans Am the previous year, entered similar cars in IMSA as well. The two cars displayed two different types of powerplant.

Paul Miller, Scott Pruett and Pete Halsmer drove this Mercury Merkur to a late minute victory.

Copyright Michael Crews

A V8 6,0L for Scott Pruett and Pete Halsmer, and a L4 turbo for Paul Miller, Bobby Akin Jr and Paul Gentilozzi. Two Mercury Capris were entered too. Mark Martin, Deborah Gregg and Lyn St James were on #22, while Les Delano, Andy Peterey and Craig Carter drove #33. Protofab Racing, run by Charlie Selix, fielded a pair of exciting Chevrolet Corvettes. Designed by Bob Riley, the two cars were impressive. Greg Pickett, John Jones and Tommy Riggins drove car #2, Bill Adam, Chip Mead and Tommy Archer were on #5. Powered by a V8 5,5L given for 580hp, they were the public's favorites, of course. Toyota, with AAR, entered a pair of Celicas. Chris Cord was the 1987 GTO Champion and had some hopes for a race the team nearly won in 1987. Willy T Ribbs, Juan Fangio II and Rocky Moran drove car #99, while Dennis Aase and Steve Millen shared Chris Cord's racer. A Buick Somerset, entered by Bobby Allison, was an interesting entry. Mainly looking like a NASCAR racer, the car ran pretty well. Dick Danielson and Clifford Allison were Bobby Allison's co-drivers. Roger Mandeville had brought along his tri-rotor Mazda RX7, which was a little shy on hp. With 460hp, the car could not challenge the big bangers, but in such a race, who knows. The car was still under development, though. CCR, the team who won the GTU title in 1987, had a similar car, which was driven by John Morton, PJ Jones and Parnelli Jones! A bunch of private entries, amongst which Corvettes, Camaros and Firebirds made the bulk of the field, but these were mainly outdated cars. Buz McCall entered the ex-Peerless Chevrolet Camaro, and this car could play a major role in such a race. Sponsored by Skoal Bandit, Paul Dallenbach, Max Jones, and Buz McCall drove it. Lance van Every and Ash Tisdelle drove the fastest of them. No Porsche Carreras or 934s were to be seen. The GTU class was a traditional Mazda sweep, and six of them were entered. Team Highball, last year's winner, had some hopes for a new class victory. Amos Johnson, Dennis Shaw and Bob Lazier would drive the car. Their main oponent was the CCR car, driven by GTU Champ Tommy Kendall, who was co-driven by Johnny Unser and Tom Frank. Al Bacon, Bob Reed and John Hogdal would provide a stiff opposition with their Bacon Racing car. Leitzinger Racing entered a Nissan 300ZX, which was beautifully turned out. Bob Leitzinger drove this car with son Butch and Chuck Kurtz. Four Porsche 911s were entered, which was the lowest entry field for such a car.

Karl Durkheimer, Monte Shelton, Jim Torres and Nort Northam drove this tubeframe Porsche 911 to 33rd place.

Copyright Michael Crews

The most efficient of them was the tubeframe car, entered by Karl Durkheimer, along with Monte Shelton, Jim Torres and Nort Northam. Bill Auberlen drove his SP Racing car with father Gary and Cary Eisenlohr and Adrian Gang. Bob Beasley was still here, with a car he entered so many times! Two Dodge Daytonas were entered too. The Full Time Racing car was driven by Kal Showket, Dorsey Schroeder and Phil Currin while the Shelby Racing car was driven by Dodge engineers Garth Ullom, Neil Hanneman with Tim Evans and Jack Broomall. The cars were the only front wheel drive entries.
Seventy six cars were entered, which was a very encouraging figure.
The first practice session was due to happen under a biting frost. However, some teams had the clever idea to put covers on the wheels, as Busby Racing. As a result, Mauro Baldi, very fast, could nearly approach Sarel van der Merwe's record lap. He won the pole in 1m38s917. Jan Lammers, very disappointed, was second, followed by Price Cobb, Eddie Cheever, Oscar Larrauri and Martin Brundle. The Fabcar Chevrolet would be a dns, as well the Ford Probe turbo powered. As the race was approaching, the weather seemed to get better. In fact, seventy five cars would line up in front of the grandstands. The turbo powered Ford Probe would not show up.

The start of the race, with Bob Wollek and Jan Lammers leading the field.

Copyright Michael Crews

The big field roared behind the pace car, which led them for a single pace lap. At 15H30, the pace car cleared the track, leaving the cars accelerate. The Jaguar XJR9, driven by Jan Lammers, immediately took the lead of the race, followed by Bob Wollek and Price Cobb. The latter, who seemed to be quite offensive, passed them just before the three of them arrived on the banking. He led the huge field at the end of lap one. Oscar Larrauri was second, and he was ahead of Jan Lammers, Bob Wollek and the two Jaguar XJR9s driven by Eddie Cheever and Martin Brundle. Very soon, the leaders would lap the backmarkers, and this situation would raise a big question among the leaders, who had to run more conservatively. Many tangles would occur, some of them serious, some trivial. Price Cobb had set a pace of his own, and was clearly getting away from the rest of the pack. Hans Stuck, on the Bayside Motorsport car, had wound his way through second place, while the three Jaguar XJR9s were running their pace, unaware of those run by the opposition. Hans Stuck was the first to stop for refueling, followed by Oscar Larrauri, Price Cobb and Bob Wollek. The five leaders, all Porsche, would refuel before the end of the first hour. Al Holbert, who was in fifth place, was the only driver to stay at the wheel of his car. His faster pit stop helped him go up into second place. James Weaver, who had taken the wheel of the Dyson Racing car, would not maintain his position for long, as he lost his fifth gear. Al Holbert was the new leader after ninety minutes. Al Holbert would dominate the next few hours, followed by Hans Stuck. In the evening, however, Hans Stuck would negate his chances at winning this race while he overtook Johnny Unser's Mazda RX7. The two cars collided and were back in the pits for lengthy repairs. After four hours, it was the Jaguar driven by Johnny Dumfries, Eddie Cheever and John Watson who now appeared in second place. They were followed by the BF Goodrich Porsche 962 driven by Bob Wollek, Brian Redman and Mauro Baldi. In fact, the Porsche would soon get past the Jaguar, who ran at a steady pace. It was clear that they were not supposed to respond to the German hostility. They had planned to postpone their offensive. Jan Lammers, Davy Jones and Danny Sullivan got past their fellow co-drivers at the end of the fifth hour. Everything was not so easy for the British cars, as Martin Brundle and his teammates lost three laps, thanks to some electrical problems, they had to replace their hood, too. They were hampered by fuel feed problems, which had somewhat slowed them. Next to the two Jaguar XJR9s, running in third and fourth place, came the Brun Motorsport Porsche 962, entered by Walter Brun. They have been forced to pit with an accelerator cable problem. As the night was now well settled on the track, things were evening out.

Bob Tullius, Hurley Haywood and Whitney Ganz ended up the Jaguar XJR7's career in a dispirited way.

Copyright Michael Crews

The Group 44 Jaguar XJR7, which was running in seventh position, retired with a blown head gasket. After six hours of race, the BF Goodrich car was in first position, but the Holbert Racing car was on the same lap. This car was not the only one, as Jan Lammers was also on the same lap. The race seemed to begin really, with now four cars fighting for victory. After ten hours, Jan Lammers and his co-drivers were the new leaders of the race. The four leaders had swapped their positions, with Al Holbert now in fourth place! The race would take a new face when the rain suddenly appeared during the eleventh hour. Switching for rain tires, the cars went back to their pits, and Porsche became the new leader of the race. Oscar Larrauri had retired with a broken valve while AJ Foyt had lost a lot of time for bodywork repairs after an off course. In the early morning, Al Holbert's Porsche 962 was still in the lead, followed by the two chasing Jaguar XJR9s. Bob Wollek had lost some ground on the leaders, when he spinned after coming out from the pits with cold tires. He was now two laps down. However, he was to get deterred, as he began gaining on the leaders. On fact, he soon overtook the two Jaguars, and was closing in on Derek Bell, when the latter suddenly pitted with wastegate problems. The BF Goodrich car was the new leader of the race, and Eddie Cheever was second. In third place, you could find Martin Brundle, whose car was running great, after being slowed for a long period. Jan Lammers, Davy Jones and Danny Sullivan were no more amongst the leaders : they retired with engine problems. The race was gaining momentum, and it seemed that it would featured a crucial battle between two cars : the BF Goodrich one, and the TWR Jaguar, driven by Martin Brundle, Raul Boesel and John Nielsen. The second remaining Jaguar, driven by Johnny Dumfries, Eddie Cheever and John Watson, was slowing down, with an engine not so healthy. A broken valve was the cause of this suddenly slower pace. The big battle was to last for many hours, entertaining the spectators, breathing hardly. Swapping their positions many times per hour, the race was fantastic. Neither car seemed to take a definitive advantage, but the race fate was to be sealed by an outside event. As Brian Redman was running his stint, he burst a tire, and lost some ground. Then, the pace car suddenly was out, as a car was stranded somewhere. Running first, Martin Brundle jumped into his pits, and the BF Goodrich Porsche became the new leader. When the Jaguar went back to the pits, the pace car let the Porsche overtake him, only to let the British car stay behind him. Brian Redman went to refuel, and handed his car to Mauro Baldi. Unfortunately, while leaving the pit lane, the Italian spun, and damaged his front end. He went back to the track, running with a loose bodywork. The pace car was still on the track, and everyone was waiting for Mauro Baldi to come back to his pits, which he didn't do. In doing so, he would not have lost too much time. Mauro Baldi waited two more laps, but the green was already on. The Busby Team had no more front end, and they had to get to the Porsche truck to get a new one, losing a lot of time, and the race!

The winning car was driven by Martin Brundle, Raul Boesel, John Nielsen and Jan Lammers.

Copyright Michael Crews

The Jaguar was now a solid leader, with a one lap advantage over the unlucky Porsche. Al Holbert, Chip Robinson and Derek Bell, who were still in third place, retired with a broken engine. Finally, the third place went to the second Jaguar, driven by Eddie Cheever, Johnny Dumfries and John Watson. The Bayside Motorsport car ended up fourth, thirty four laps down. The Camel Lights class saw the first ever victory for a Chevrolet powered car. The Tiga GT286, driven by Tom Hessert, David Loring and Tom Simpson defeated the favorite Argo JM19 Mazda driven by Jim Downing, Howard Katz and Hiro Matsushita. The car was displaying new colors, and was backed by Panasonic. The GTO class saw many leaders, but went to Roush Racing, once again. Early in the race, the two Toyota Celicas were running strong, and led for a while. Willy T Ribbs, Rocky Moran and Juan Fangio were first, and Chris Cord, Dennis Aase and Steve Millen were second. Then, the two cars suffered from transmission trouble, losing the lead, only to come back later and to retire with engine failure. Then the two Protofab Chevrolet Corvettes took over, but they too had engine failures. The Roush Racing Mercury Merkur pitted with a broken spark plug and sheared axle drive pins, dropping into fifty fourth place. When everyone was out, it was the McCall Racing Skoal Bandit Chevrolet Camaro driven by Buz McCall, Paul Dallenbach and Max Jones who inherited the lead. They had built up a thirty five laps lead, and it seemed that victory would easily come by. Alas, misfortunes would arise, as a broken header sent fumes into the cockpit. Every driver would be overcome by fumes, and the drivers contingent was running low. Jack Baldwin, who was not driving any car, was hired on the spot by team owner. He quickly fixed the problem, but the engine had lost a great deal of power. A hard charging Scott Pruett easily overtook the failing Chevrolet Camaro. Not fixing the problem earlier in the race cost them victory. Roger Mandeville took third place in his Mazda RX7. The GTU class went to Amos Johnson, who made it four in a row. The Team Highball Mazda RX7 won over a Porsche 911 driven by Gary and Bill Auberlen, Cary Eisenlohr and Adrian Gang, finishing fifteen laps down. The Dodge Daytona driven by Kal Showket was an early retirement while the Nissan 300ZX ran pretty well, and finished twenty fifth overall.
It was an exciting race, and the first victory for a non-Porsche car after a sixteen year domination. A new era seemed to be ushered in IMSA racing, and it actually did!

Daytona 1988 results

Roger Mandeville, a Mazda stalwart

Roger Mandeville made his debut in GTU in 1971, right through the beginning of the series. He has driven various types of cars, ranging from the Opel Kadett to Mazda RX2 or RX3. However, his beginnings were quite humble and he did participate in a few events. At that point of his career, auto racing was more of a pleasure. He was working for Rockwell International, and racing was confined to the vacation time.  However, the racing bug was stronger, and he finally quit to devote entirely to auto racing. His business, which was growing, helped him do it without regret. He was much more active in the supporting series, known as Baby Grand, RS series, Executive series and later Champion Spark Plug Challenge. At that point of his career, he was an independant, running with low bucks. It was to last until 1977. He finished twelfth in 1977 in the Executive series, driving a Mazda RX2, then tenth overall in 1978, with a RX3. It was purely a stock series, and things would change tremendously in 1979. Mazda had avoided any form of involvement in racing. In fact, Mazda's first approach to racing had been made by Bob Fendell, from Mazda Motorsport, who had acknowledged favorably the fact that Mazda was a major force in production racing. Mazda then decided to tackle the GTU series, and made a first attempt at GT racing. It was at Daytona in 1978. It would boost Roger Mandeville's future in racing. The factory team had entered two Mazda RX3s, which were true GTU cars. No victory was aimed at, but it was mainly a test session, for gathering information. The goal was to prepare the future RX7, which were to be introducer in 1979. Mazda entered two cars, which were to be driven by a mixed bag of drivers. The firrt car would be driven by Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Roger Mandeville, while the second one was driven by Walt Bohren, Jim Downing and Stu Fisher. The two teams did not accomplish miracles but they had gathered enough information for the next season. They did undergo some problems, but things would improve tremendously on. In 1978, no other effort was to be done. 1979 was the big step ahead. The RX7 was out, and Mazda did it the big way. As for 1978, two cars were entered, and Roger Mandeville was partnered by Jim Downing and Walt Bohren on the American car, while Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino drove the Japanese car. Outperforming the opposition, the two cars were one-two in practice, Although they had not any trouble free race, they were one-two at the finish in GTU, and fifth and sixth overall! After the race, car #77 went to Roger Mandeville, who should campaign the car and make it available to Yoshimi Katayama when the occasion would arise.

The very first race at the wheel of a Mazda RX7 was at Daytona in 1979, in the factory backed car. Walt Bohren and Amos Johnson were his co-drivers. They finished sixth and second in GTU.

Copyright Steve Dilts

The very first race under Mandeville Racing would occur in the GTX class, as a weight addition was to be withdrawn, following the Daytona victory, but this addition caused the car to be quite dangerous to drive, so they opted not to race with this added weight. The race proved to be interesting, but they finished thirteenth overall, behind twelve Porsches. Mazda had invited every American driver to Japan, and many trips were to follow. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration. As he would put it later, 'Mazda is a great company to work for'. They had some problems with the way the rotary engines were perceived by the potential customers. They were aware of that fact and willing to change this. So they decided to go ahead and racing changed that situation in a very favourable way. Roger Mandeville seized this opportunity to run with the big boys and he participated in eight events with RX7. However, it was the year he was crowned IMSA RS Champion with the Mazda RX3. He could obviously not afford to run every RS race as well as the GTU schedule. He went on sixth overall in 1980, but he was still running a limited schedule. in GTU, he finished sixth overall in the standings, while running every Champion Spark Plug race and finishing third overall. The 1981 was slightly different, with BF Goodrich as main support, the cars had to run on radial tires. As a result, the season was a mild one, with a ninth position in the end. Things would change in a big way from 1982. It was the first year, too, that his car would display the legendary bright yellow colors. He was even wearing his famous number 38 for the first time in GTU. He had decided to go for a full season, and he missed the title by a mere twelve points, losing the title in the two last races! Roger Mandeville had acquired a great deal of experience, and he would provide some help to the less funded drivers, loaning parts to some of them. The 1982 season was his best ever, and Jim Downing and himself had got the necessary factory support to help them win the title. Roger Mandeville had the ex-factory car which was updated, this time running on racing tires. The 1983 season would have something special for the Mandeville Auto Tech team. They had a brand new car, which was a tubeframe RX7 with 12A sideport engine. It was some kind of a challenge, as the engine would be lower on hp, but it should compensate with less weight too. He was to be partnered by Amos Johnson for the longer events, but he packed up his first GTU Championship in 1983. He probably had in mind, at the end of the season, his next season.

Roger Mandeville won his first GTU Championship in 1983, with his tubeframe Mandeville Auto Tech Mazda RX7.

Copyright Dwight Deal

In 1984, Roger Mandeville, the 1983 IMSA GTU Champion, decided to have a go at the GTO category.  He transformed his RX7 winning car into a GTO racer, which was powered by a 13B peripheral port engine. While extremely short on horsepower against the best GTO cars, Roger Mandeville was counting the engine's reliability. He posted two wins, but a lot of consistent high finishes, and he secured his first GTO Championship.
He clinched the Championship with two races left and a sole dnf, at the Daytona Finale. He was to go on racing the GTU class in 1985, but things would be much different, as Ford was laying a destructive assault on the class. He drove a new car, while Danny Smith drove the former car. Once again, he was eagerly waiting for his next racer, but this long-awaited car would come by season end, so in 1986, he went back to GTU racing. Mazda was willing to be present in GTO, and they were working on a three rotor engine, but the engine would not be ready in due time. Roger Mandeville did a lot of testing with Mazda, and one of his job consistec in reducing the noise level. The new three rotor car was to produce at least 450hp, but it was also designed to be less noisy. They did some development, and a new muffler was added. The car was to suffer from problems which derived from this muffler. In fact, very high temperatures were created under the bodywork. Trying to keep up without losing any horsepower was really a big issue. In 1986, though, he took a new second place in GTU, missing the title to Tom Kendall by a mere twelve points, and winning eight races. Mandeville Auto Tech was a contracted team to Mazda, and this has become the main part of their activity. The team sold competition parts, which became the main part of their activity. But his association with Mazda was not to end, but it crossed some hardships.

The tri-rotor Mazda RX7 was a good car, but he cruely lacked horsepower. So Roger Mandeville could never earn any win.

Copyright Mark Windecker

In 1987, the car featured a new experimental suspension system as well as a new computer controlled electronic management system for a better fuel efficiency. However, it seemed that the car's biggest problem was that it was short on horsepower. Roger Mandeville could not do better than tenth place overall. In 1988, while not more successful than in 1987, the car was sent to Japan for thorough testing at the Mazda factory. In the end, it looks like no viable solution could be found, so the GTO program was dropped after four races in 1989.

John Finger drove this factory backed Mazda MX6 in 1990. This car featured the number 38 and it was Roger Mandeville's crew who cared about the cars.

Copyright Mark Windecker

The new MX6 was to be introduced by Mazda but the support went to different teams. In 1990, it looked like the end for Roger Mandeville as a racing driver. He was to manage the factory GTU effort fulltime. Roger Mandeville had become a legend in IMSA racing and is now recognized as one of the most successful Mazda entrant. In 1990, the cars that he managed finished one-two in the GTU class. It seemed that the racing success bug would never leave. Thank you, Roger!

Ferrari Daytona, a saga

The very first Ferrari involved in an IMSA event was not a 365GTB4, but a Dino 246GT instead. This car was not very successful, as were not the Ferrari 365GTB4s. However, they brought IMSA the style needed to boost the series. Some teams did specialize in them, they were the NART, Interscope, Harry Jones, Ramsey Ferrari, Ken Starbird, Dan Ward, Western Motor Cars, Otto Zipper, Joe Crevier and Preston Henn. Here is a short summary of those appearances.
16343 : this car first ran at the 24 Hours of Daytona 1973, which was a World Sports Car Championship event. Driven by Jean Claude Andruet and Claude Ballot Léna, the car was badly damaged. It would reappear at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1974, only to be again damaged when it hit the guardrail. Then the car was sold to Vic Loh. Then it was Ted Field, later to  become famous with his Porsche 935s and Lola T600s, who purchased it. The car, which painted black with three shades of pink to purple, would gain an honest seventh place overall and first in class, in its very last race. Jon Woodner and Fred Phillips drove. Later, the car would be fielded by Joe Crevier at the Riverside 6 Hour race 1979. It would not start the race, for an unknown reason, but it was amazingly slow.
13367 : Harry Jones owned this car. A native from Le Mans, he entered this car in the 1974 fixture. Co-driven by Marcel Mignot, who was an ACO race instructor, the car would finish the race in sixteenth position overall, and ninth in class. The car was then to be entered at Sebring in 1975, with the same driver lineup. While really off the pace, the car proved to be reliable, and it was a nice ninth overall at the end. The car was again entered two years later, with Harry Jones co-driven by Michael Keyser. Starting in twenty fifth position, the car would retire after sixty six laps with a transmission gone. The car would be entered in the Daytona Finale 1973, with no interesting result. Harry Jones drove it solo.
Then the car was sold to Preston Henn, who will field the car on a very episodical basis. Preston Henn drove it at The Daytona Finale 1977, it was a dnf after 12 laps.

Preston Henn purchased this Ferrari 365GTB4 and tested it at the Daytona Finale 1977. He would enter it again at the 24 Hour of Daytona race two months later and finish twenty seventh..

Copyright Dave Kutz

Preston Henn, Hal Sahlman and Sandy Satullo ended up their race as per usual, shall we say, with an accident after 502 laps. They were classified twenty seventh overall.
The car would not be raced until the Sebring 1979 race. Here, the car was completely repainted, to accomodate the sponsor credentials. Christened as 'Miss Budweiser', the car had a female driver lineup. Bonnie Henn, Janet Guthrie and Lyn St James drove the car to a seventeenth place overall, which was a somewhat honest result. The car was not to be raced anymore.
14141 A special car. The car was debuted at Le Mans in 1972, and entered by the NART. Driven by Bob Grossman and Coco Chinetti, the car really underwent a big handful of troubles. Then it was retired with a broken gearbox. At Daytona in 1973, it was another story. Driven by Milt Minter and François Migault, the car, while dominated by the winning Porsche Carrera, would battle throughout the race with Dave Heinz and Bob McClure's Chevrolet Corvette. At the end, it was a second place overall. The car was still entered at the Le Mans races in 1973 and 1974. It would see the chequered in both races. A very good thirteenth overall and third in class in 1973, and a sixth overall and second in class in 1974. Dave Heinz, a Corvette stalwart, was partnered by Alain Cudini and had a very good race. They were beaten by another Ferrari, driven by Cyril Grandet and Dominique Bardini. The car featured a lowered apron.
That seemed to forebode an excellent result for the next event which would also be the very last race for this car. The 24 Hours of Daytona, the first edition of the IMSA Camel GT Challenge, saw the car displaying a new lowered front end with a large aluminium apron, as well as a small rear wing. Driven by Milt Minter, Claude Ballot Léna and Giancarlo Gagliardi, the car was painted red and had an unusual number 0. The race would not be run as expected, as the happened to be ill prepped. Starting twenty fourth, Milt Minter spinned, then the car would have its share of troubles. It would end up in a retirement after 392 laps. The final word about this car was that it would be the very last time a 365GTB4 would be entered by the famous NART.
14437 Delivered to the Scuderia Filipinetti in 1971, this car had a troublesome career in the early stages of its life. Vic Elford drove it to a fourth place overall at the 'Tour de France Auto' in 1971. Then it was entered at the Le Mans race in 1972, and was unfortunately implied in the crash which cost his life to Jo Bonnier. After George Filipinetti's death, the car was to the US. This car did not enter any race before the beginning of 1977. Entered by Modena Sports Cars and driven by a lineup of stars, it was to end up fifth overall, in the hands of Paul Newman, Milt Minter and Elliot Forbes Robinson.

Paul Newman at the wheel of the Ferrari #14437. With strong co-drivers, they managed to finish fifth overall.

Copyright John Hutson, courtesy Gil Mann

At Sebring, Bob Bondurant, Milt Minter and Dick Smothers took over, but only to retire in the race. It looked like John Cannon was scheduled to drive the car at Laguna Seca, but he had an accident during a practice session and the car was not entered in the race. The car had something special in that it featured an aluminium engine.
15965 This car was different from the standard one. It was a specially modified bodywork, designed by Michelotti, on Luigi Chinetti's requirement. Not supposed to be used as a race car, this car looked much more like a Chevrolet Corvette, and was very heavy(1549kg). To everyone's surprise, it was entered at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975. This car, while qualified, would not actually run in the famed French classic, as Luigi Chinetti was to withdraw every car he entered thanks to the tech inspectors refusal to acknowledge his 308GT4. After one of his famous fit of anger, he came back home with his stable of racers. The car was to be seen once again at Daytona in 1978. Once again, it would be some kind of ghost car, as Don Devendorf, Michael Keyser and Jeff Kline did not drive. Dan Ward's car was withdrawn, for unknown reasons.
13771 This car was to be raced only once, entered by Western Motor Cars. Driven by William Henderson, Roger Turner and Bobby Hillin, the car went on to finish, but the final result was up to the drivers' speed, as they finished twenty fifth overall.
15685 This car was entered at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1972 by the NART, and driven to second place by Sam Posey and Tony Adamowicz. Then this car would be acquired by Ken Starbird, who drove it in the streets. This car was entered by Ken Starbird in 1976, and driven by Chris Cord, Mlt Minter and Jim Adams. Running  steadily, the trio came in sixth overall. Otto Zipper persuaded Tony Adamowicz to race it at the 24 Hours of Daytona 1977 with John Cannon, who worked for Dick Barbour. This car was not especially turned into a race car, but it was sidelined by an engine failure, however. Entered for the second time at Sebring in 1977, it would be a non starter for John Cannon, Tony Adamowicz and Dick Barbour.  Ken Starbird would then go on driving it in the California streets.
16407 It is by far the car with the most prestigious curriculum. It began his career in 1973, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Driven by Sam Posey and Milt Minter, the car battled during most of the race with Claude Ballot Léna and Vic Elford, who eventually won the GTS class. They had to retire due to an engine failure. It was again entered in 1974, with an eleventh place overall, driven by Christian Ethuin and Lucien Guitteny. In 1975, always entered by the NART, the car did not run because of the aforementioned reasons. The car then was raced exclusively in IMSA. At Daytona in 1977, the car was actually entered, but was to be crashed in practice. Bobby Carradine, John Morton and Roy Woods drove this car. At Sebring, John Morton and Bobby Carradine had qualified the car in tenth position, and they had high hopes for the race. Some minor troubles prevented them from doing better than a not so glorious seventeenth place overall, but the best was to come.
The car was to be entered by Otto Zipper, and Dan Ward sponsored the entry. The car, still very reliable, was no match for the two GTO winning Porsche Carreras driven by Diego Febles and Alec Poole, followed by Bonky Fernandez, John Paul and Phil Currin in a similar car. The pair of capable drivers finished nonetheless third in class, twenty three laps down.
In 1979, the car switched hands, and was now owned by Bill Nicholas and Jim McRoberts, but it was still handled by Otto Zipper. In fact, it would be the last time he would do it, as he succumbed from a heart attack at his motel. The car would wear, for the race, a black ribbon that stretched diagonally across the hood.

John Morton and Tony Adamowicz drove this Ferrari Daytona to a wonderful second place overall, behind the winning Porsche 935. The car wore a black ribbon, following Otto Zipper's death which happened a few days before the race.

Courtesy Philippe Morinière, from Tony Adamowicz website

It looked like the team really wanted to do something big, and they did! It would be the best result ever, for such a car in such a race. John Morton and Tony Adamowicz ended up second overall, behind the Interscope
winning Porsche 935, driven by Danny Ongais, Ted Field and Hurley Haywood! Certainly, it could have won, as the winning Porsche had trouble finishing the race. But life is life. The car was due to be entered again at the same race in 1980. Things were different this time. Still running strong, the car was fourth overall when it lost a wheel on the track. The rear stub axle broke, fortunately in the last turn of the infield. It was still classified fourteenth overall. The car would still entered one year later. Joe Crevier had purchased the car, which featured a large apron and a large rear wing. Driven by Joe Crevier, Pete Halsmer and Al Unser Jr, the car would not last for long, as it would catch fire in the very first laps of the race. An abrupt end for a very glorious car.
After 1981, no Ferrari 365GTB4 was to be seen again at an IMSA event, except for a very brief Paul Revere race in 1983. Deborah McGee and Loren McGee started thirty ninth and finished twenty seventh in a totally anonymous, and nightly run.
Ferrari's name would be spearheaded again, from 1979 on, by the 512BB. A subsequent article will be posted accordingly.

12 Hours of Sebring 1985

It was the second round of the IMSA 1985 Championship, and it was due to take place on a very critisized airport. The racetrack, which hosted World Championship events years before, was now a classical Camel GT venue. Many regular entrants would not make the trip to the Floridian airport, which had the reputation of being a car destroyer. However, the field was an honest one, and it would finally be an overnight success. The spectators were here, and had not lost their eagerness to watch cars while drinking.
A quite attractive field was to be displayed but some of the usual entries were not registered : the Bayside Disposal Porsche 962, the Conte Racing Hawk Buick, the Momo Alba nor any new Ford Probe. We had at least five Porsche 962s, which supported by seven Porsche 935s, which could play a major role in such a race. Preston Henn had brought both of them : Bob Wollek and AJ Foyt drove the 962 and the 935, while Preston Henn himself would indulge in a drive, and Don Whittington would be allowed to run the GTX car. Al Holbert, co-driven by teammate Derek Bell, had his Löwenbrau backed car. He appeared as the crowd's favorite. Bob Akin had brought his Porsche 962, and he was willing to win a race which escaped him the previous year. With Hans Stuck as co-driver, he probably made the best available choice possible. These two cars were powered by 2,8L engines.
BF Goodrich backed Busby Racing, and they had two cars entered for Jochen Mass, Jim Busby and John Morton on the first car with a short tail, while Pete Halsmer, Dieter Quester and Rick Knoop were at the wheel of the other car(long tail). The first car had been replaced by the ex-John Fitzpatrick car after the Daytona crash. The two cars featured a 3,2L prepared by Andial, as was the Holbert Racing car.
As you may see, all five cars could win. Group 44 had entered two Jaguar XJR5s, which were V12 powered. Bob Tullius was partnered by Chip Robinson and Bill Adam while Hurley Haywood and Brian Redman shared the other racer. A bunch of Marches were entered, but they were unusually outnumbered. The best one was undoubtedly the 1984 Champion Blue Thunder Racing car, driven by Randy Lanier and Bill Whittington.
Pegasus Racing fielded a 84G Buick powered, and Ken Madren and Wayne Pickering had a first-class teammate, in the name of John Paul Jr, who was freed by Conte Racing. John Kalagian had a 84G Chevrolet, which he shared with John Lloyd and Tommy Grunnah. The Leon Bros, Al and Art, had a 85G Porsche powered. Skeeter McKitterick had joined the team. A single Chevrolet Corvette GTP was to be seen, and it was the Lee Racing car, driven by Terry Labonte, Carson Baird, Billy Hagan and Lew Price. This  entry was a private one and had no hope for the win. The Argo JM16 Buick driven by Don Bell, Michael Brockman and Tommy Riggins was powered by a V6 4,5L which was somewhat underpowered.

Don Bell, Michael Brockman and Tommy Riggins drove this V6 4,5L Buick powered Argo JM 16 in the GTP class, with no success.

Copyright Michael Crews

The remainder of the GTP-GTX field was held by the Porsche 935s. Along with the T Bird Swap Shop car, six other cars were entered. The Joest built 1984 winning car was still to be seen, with Mauricio de Narvaez, Kenper Miller and David Cowart driving. Marty Hinze had his familiar 935K3 which he shared with Milt Minter and Art Yarosh. Werner Frank had the most radical car, with a car which did not look like any other one. Dave White and Jerry Kendall would co-drive it. Chuck Kendall had a standard K3, and John Hotschkis and Bob Kirby would co-drive his car. Dick Silver, Fred Baker and Don Herman shared the Spirit of Cleveland car and Lance van Every had switched from his usual Porsche Carrera to a 935K3 for this very race. The last one was again a standard K3, and Paul Goral and John Hayes Harlow were certainly not supposed to fight for the win.
The Lights class was not very much crowded, and two Argo JM 16s were amongst the favorites. Jim Downing and John Maffucci would have to watch upon. Don and Kelly Marsh had a Mazda powered Argo, too, and Ron Pawley co-drove the car.
A Tiga GT285 Mazda, driven by Tom Burdsall, Peter Welter and John Nicholson would try to give them some opposition, as well as the German Gebhardt, driven by Gary Robinson, Jan Thoelke and Greg Hobbs. The last car was not the less interesting. The OVS Mazda GTP was very sleek, and extremely long, and powered by a rotary Mazda engine. It was much more a curiosity, but not so frightening. The GTO class was more exciting, with many contenders. Dingman Bros entered a very competitive Pontiac Firebird, which was to be driven by Walt Bohren, Billy Dingman and Steve Millen.

Walt Bohren and Steve Millen were valuable contenders in ther GTO class, but they simply could not fight against the Roush machines. 

Copyright Michael Crews

They would have to face the newly introduced Ford Mustang entered by Roush Racing. Wally Dallenbach and John Jones drove this single entry but their Daytona demonstration had shown that they did not fear anyone. Dave Heinz had a Chevrolet Corvette, and Jim Trueman and Jerry Thompson were his capable co-drivers. Two other Chevrolet Corvettes were part of the field, too. They were less efficient cars, though. Two Ferrari 512BBs were entered in GTO, which was kind of a welcome addition to this class. The new regulations allowed these cars, which were true GTs, to compete in this class, whereas they were considered as GTPs the previous years. Steve Cohen and Bill Gelles drove car #21 while John McComb, Rick Mancuso and Fred Fiala drove the Mosler Racing car. They could count on the reliability of the V12 in order to wind up a good result. A pair of Porsche 934s was entered, with Rick Borlase, Michael Hammond and Jim Torres driving the Coin Operated Services car. Jamsal, Alfredo Mena and Kikos Fonseca drove the Scorpio Racing one. Well driven, they could do well in such a race, provided the best cars underwent some troubles. Some Chevrolet Camaros would be seen, too, but none of them would play a major part in this race. Buzz McCall fielded his Skoal Bandit car, which he drove with Pancho Carter and Tom Sheehy. Ken Bupp had an older car, he was co-driven by Guy Church and EJ Generotti. George Shafer, Craig Shafer and Joe Maloy were regular entrants at this Florida classic. A bunch of Porsche Carreras were entered too, Rainer Brezinka, John Centeno and Fritz Hochreuter were other regular Sebring entrants, among some others. Peter Uria and Jack Refenning drove the 901 Racing car.
A well driven Chevrolet Monza, driven by Don Courtney, Mike Hackney and Brent O'neill was entered too. A Buick Skyhawk, driven by Bob Lee and Bill Julian was a regular entrant too.

Wally Dallenbach Jr and John Jones easily dominated the GTO class in their Roush Racing Ford Mustang.

Copyright Michael Crews

The GTU class would feature a Maeda-Porsche duel. The Mazdas were faster, but the Porsche could overlast their opponent. Roger Mandeville entered two cars, he was partnered by Logan Blackburn, a Datsun regular on the first car, Danny Smith and Tom Waugh drove the second car. CCR fielded Jack Baldwin, Ira Young and Jeff Kline on the most successful RX7 ever. Amos Johnson drove the Team Highball car with Jack Dunham and Dennis Shaw. Paul Lewis drove the Mike Meyer Racing car with young Scott Pruett and Joe Varde. Al Bacon has his own car, and Charles Guest and Bobby Akin Jr were his co-drivers. Two RX3 models were to be seen too. Two Porsche 924GTRs entered by Whitehall Promotions would be valuable contenders for the Mazda fleet. Bob Bergstrom and Tom Winters were fast. Five Porsche 911s were entered, and the best one was the SP Racing car, driven by Gary Auberlen, Peter Jauker and Adrian Gang. Ron Case and Dave Panaccione drove the Case Racing car, . Seventy four cars would finally take the green flag, a relatively honest field of cars. The most part of the practice sessions would simply be cancelled, and this was due to a string of storms, which flooded the track. During the single remaining session, Hans Stuck would easily shatter the previous track record by six seconds! No one would attempt to dislodge the tall German ace from his position, whose car carried the Coca Cola colors. Al Holbert and Derek Bell were second, just ahead of the Jaguar XJR5 driven by Bob Tullius and Chip Robinson, Bill Whittington and Randy Lanier came next. The best Lights car was the Argo JM16 Mazda driven by Jim Downing and John Maffucci. Walt Bohren was he fastest GTO qualifier with his Pontiac Firebird, while Bob Bergstrom was the best GTU driver, on a Porsche 924GTR. The Sebring airport was crowded with 60000 people, most of them standing on top of their motorhome. Just before the start of the race, an historical race was to take place. The weather seemed to switch to beautiful for the race. $100000 were at stake, with $20000 for the winners.
The cars were lined in front of the pits in Le Mans fashion, just before being lined up by rows of two.

The start of the race, with the BF Goodrich Porsche 962 driven by Jochen Mass and the T Bird Swap Shop car driven by AJ Foyt leading the field.

Copyright Michael Crews

At 11AM, the green flag was waved, and Hans Stuck, leading the field, seemed to hesitate, and he was passed by John Paul Jr, who took the lead, for three laps. The race was barely one lap old and Al Holbert lost a wheel in turn five. Running very slowly back to the pits, the Porsche 962 was then hit by another car, and Al Holbert had to pit for repairs. He would lose eleven laps in the process. After three laps, Hans Stuck was now in the lead. He had built up a comfortable lead over the March 84G Buick and Jochen Mass, who drove the BF Goodrich Porsche 962. The two Group 44 Jaguar XJR5s were next, while the Chevrolet Corvette GTP driven by Carson Baird was a surprising sixth overall. However, it was not to last more than forty five minutes, as the car would suffer from a broken suspension, and retired. Bob Wollek and AJ Foyt were navigating in eleventh position. In fact, Bob Wollek had taken the wheel of the 935., while AJ Foyt was on the 962. They were running together. Bob Wollek would then stop to take a little rest, then he would take the wheel of the 962. After thirty laps, it was the BF Goodrich Porsche 962 which took the lead, with Jochen Mass, Jim Busby and John Morton driving. John Paul Jr had collided with the Gebhardt BMW, this action resulting in a retirement for the Gebhardt, while the March 84G Buick would simply go no further, with clutch problems. Then it was Brian Redman who would stop on the track, with an ailing engine. Then it was Chip Robinson and Dieter Quester who had trouble getting together, as they hit one another. The Jaguar XJR5 would lose thirty minutes for repairs. As the only contender for Porsche would experience transmission problems, it looked like everything was running well for the German make. Bob Wollek and AJ Foyt had worked their way to second place, just ahead of the second BF Goodrich car, which had not lost so much time in the pits. Bob Akin and Hans Stuck were fourth, but they exploded a tire in the rear. With a torn suspension, they had to retire after two hours. Then it was the Porsche 962 which was placed in third position which was stalled on the track, apparently out of gas. The driver would manage to get a can of gas, but twenty five minutes were lost in a very stupid way. Reinhold Joest, who was very confident about his faithful  Porsche 935's chances to win the race, suddenly felt utterly disappointed when Kenper Miller lost twenty five minutes in the pits for suspension repairs. After three hours, Bob Wollek and AJ Foyt were two laps down the leaders. Running without first gear, the two of them are two laps in front of the first March 84G Chevrolet driven by John Kalagian and Tommy Grunnah. Next was the Porsche 962 driven by Al Holbert and Derek Bell, running very strong. Jim Downing and John Maffucci were the Lights class leaders, battling with the best GTO car, which was the Ford Mustang driven by Wally Dallenbach and John Jones.

Jim Downing and John Maffucci simply met no opposition in the Lights class, taking a fifth place overall.

Copyright Michael Crews

The best Jaguar XJR5 was in eighth place, eleven laps down. The BF Goodrich Porsche would maintain its position until half race, but it was clear that its pursuers were gaining on the Busby Racing drivers. In fact, the car suddenly running slowly and coming back to the pits, with a big hole in the middle of the cockpit. Jim Busby had picked up a huge hunch of concrete, which damaged the car thoroughly. Inheriting the lead was now the T Bird Swap Shop Porsche 962, chased by the Holbert Racing car. They would lose their position when AJ Foyt lost a wheel on the track. Losing twenty five minutes, the T Bird Swap Shop car was two laps down the Löwenbrau car when, suddenly, Al Holbert began to run very slowly. The drivers were deprived from their fifth gear, and the team discovered after the race that there was not any oil left in the gearbox!
Bob Wollek and AJ Foyt made up their way and could easily overtake the ailing Porsche 962. Finally, they would build up a four lap lead over the Derek Bell-Al Holbert car, who managed to keep second place in spite of a hard charging BF Goodrich Porsche 962, driven by Dieter Quester. Running very strong, the latter hit a pile of tires, and it ended up the team's hopes for grabbing second place. The Jaguar XJR5 driven by Bob Tullius and Chip Robinson took a fourth place, just ahead of the Lights class winner, which was the Argo JM16 Mazda driven by Jim Downing and John Maffucci. The GTO class was easily won by the Roush Racing Ford Mustang driven by Wally Dallenbach and John Jones, who did not meet any opposition. The second place finisher in this class was the Road Circuit Technology Pontiac Firebird driven by Les Delano, Andy Peterey and Patty Moise, but the three of them finished fourteen laps down!

The GTU class was an upset victory for the SP Racing Porsche 911 driven by Gary Auberlen, Peter Jauker, Cary Eisenlohr and Adrian Gang.

Copyright Florent Moulin

The GTU class was a total surprise at the end, with a Porsche 911 driven by Gary Auberlen, Peter Jauker and Adrian Gang winning the class over the Kendall Racing Mazda RX7 driven by Tom and Bart Kendall, who were co-driven by Max Jones. It was an upset victory for a team who never gave up. Attrition proved to be the worst ever, with only twenty six cars out of seventy four running at the fininsh. But Sebring remained Sebring, and it was one of the greatest race in the US. Sebring would simply never die.