John Fitzpatrick was one of the best Porsche drivers. He began his career driving Touring cars in the ETCC. First it was Ford Escort, then BMW CSs and then Porsche 911s. He then became renowned for his expertise at driving the German machines. He was the 1972 European GT Champion, driving a Kremer prepped Porsche 911S. The links he built up with Erwin and Manfred Kremer would remain very strong years later. He moved to the United States in 1980, driving for Dick Barbour, and capturing the IMSA Camel GT Championship in the process. In 1981, Dick Barbour experienced some financial setbacks, and John Fitzpatrick moved from driver to team owner-driver, with some success. But 1981 was also the year the GTPs were introduced by John Bishop, and Brian Redman literally swept the opposition. The Porsche 935s, which had dominated from the beginning of 1978, suddenly became outdated. However, they would be given a new chance at winning races. The 1982 IMSA rules were much more liberal and allowed any kind of spaceframe chassis to be used. Each car was developed according to its designer's fanciness. A new breed of racing monsters was born. John Fitzpatrick, thanks to his links with the Kremer bros, could purchase their latest creation, the K4.
This was the most sophisticated silhouette car ever built. Yet, it would prove much more difficult to sort out than the K3. A similar car had been purchased by Interscope, but it would not actually run, because they were never able to sort out the cooling problems the engine suffered with. They finally switched to a pair of Lola T600s, with some success. The K4 was a ground effect car. It sported a larger rear spoiler, ground effect skirts hidden under the sills, an outlet duct for the front radiator situated on the front lid and full width doors. John Fitzpatrick took the Mid Ohio round, beating John Paul Jr, then had another convincing win at Lime Rock. The car would not reappear until Elkhart Lake, where it took yet another convincing win, then again at Mid Ohio, John Fitzpatrick and co-driver David Hobbs won. This non-active period was used by John Fitzpatrick and his team to rework the car's efficience. In fact, one of the most persistent drawback was the fact that the engine would suffer from overheatings. Wishing to improve his car in a significant way, John Fitzpatrick came and saw Robin Herd, from March Engineering, to see wether they could have an input into his racer, but the latter declined the request. They gave him some very useful information, however, mainly on underfloor airflow. John Fitzpatrick had some several ideas to incorporate into the bodywork to improve aerodynamics and downforce. He turned to Dan MacLaughlin, from AIR, who was a fiberglass/bodywork specialist. He would do a hell of a good job, rethinking the bodywork entirely.
John Fitzpatrick won both Mid Ohio races in 1982. You can see the huge air intake on the hood.
Copyright Larry Neuzel
John Fitzpatrick knew what he had in mind and Dan MacLaughlin would do what he was requested to. In spite of that, the new bodywork would not do its job properly, as the team could not get enough air into the intercooler. The improvements brought by the new intercooler would just be nullified when the engine was installed in the car. They would have to think it over for a while. Max Crawford, who was the chief mechanic, and Glen Blakely, who was a fabricator, would find out the solution. NACA ducts were put in a high pressure area on top of the front fenders and channelled the air back through the doors to the engine compartment and the intercoolers. NACA ducts were incorporated in the wider doors, which were allowed in IMSA, and they would channel the air into the engine and intercooler intakes. This device proved extremely efficient and the car could rely on an additional 80hp, which was fine. The NACA ducts were closed, and the car became much more aerodynamic. The car finally used a setup which would be taken from the Moby Dick car the team took delivery of later. A separate intercooler was used for each bank of cylinders, with a more efficient plumbing system. They would use it alongside their system. This setup was the best along with the aero package. The car easily became the fastest Porsche 935 ever to run. It would produce around 1000hp on the dyno, so it could run on a moderate boost. By the end of the season, John Fitzpatrick had two cars, and a new Moby Dick car was added to the stable. David Hobbs and himself would win the IMSA class at Le Mans with the 935L, finishing 4th overall behind three works Porsche 956s. By the end of the season, the Moby Dick took a 2nd place overall at the Daytona Finale, behind the Interscope Lola T600 Chevrolet driven by Danny Ongais and Ted Field.
Unfortunately, the car would no another more season. In 1983, John Fitzpatrick purchased a new Porsche 956, which he would enter in the Can Am Championship. The K4 would be seen running three races, and it would be the last victory for the K4 at Riverside, but the win was marred by the death of Rolf Stommelen. It was run on a rent-a-car basis in 1984, and driven by many different drivers such as Bob Wollek, Hugo Gralia, John Graham, Preston Henn and Al Holbert. The car was then entered by Holbert Racing who was awaiting for his new March 83G to be delivered. With other projects in mind, this team no further development was scheduled for the car. It was therefore where its racing career ended up. As a conclusion, one could say that this car had a fantastic potential, and John Fitzpatrick's team was the only team who proved able to make this car a viable option for winning races. And they did it the big way. I would like to thank John Fitzpatrick who provided me with some very useful information.
