It was the fourth race of the season. A very colorful field of forty cars was to be displayed to the Californians. It would be a sensational battle too. The AAGT class was in its heyday, with four cars defending the class. It would provide an interesting challenge. The previous race had seen Al Holbert's new Chevrolet Monza take the win, just ahead of Michael Keyser's similar car. The introduction of the new GM pony car had been a welcome feature to the Camel GT races, with American cars now fighting for the overall. Two of these cars had made the costly trek to California, and it was Al Holbert and Michael Keyser, who were eager to make it two in a row. Charlie Kemp had chosen to do so, in his very controversial Ford Cobra II. It was a slightly modified car which would show up. Carl Shafer was the last to enter an AAGT car, which was a to the limit Chevrolet Camaro.
Charlie Kemp's Ford Cobra II was not so fast as the Chevrolet Monzas and retired on lap 39.
Copyright John McCollister(courtesy Racingsportscars)
Jim Trueman had another Monza, which he built by himself. It was a much more GT car, less modified than the AAGT cars. The other cars were GTO cars, with no Porsche 934s to be admitted. John Bishop had chosen not to introduce those powerful cars in order to maintain some kind of balance amongst the potential winners. However, he would have to change his mind later in the season. Peter Gregg, a Porsche stalwart from the beginning, had switched to BMW for the 1976 season. His car was an evolution of the works 1975 cars. It was entered by Peter Gregg Racing, and it was to be a fierce entry. A bunch of Chevrolet Corvettes was to be seen, but Michael Brockman's Greenwood customer car was not to show up. Frank Joyce, a regular Trans Am and Can Am entrant, had a big block 7,5L machine. Art Siri, Dave Schwafel, Bob Matkovitch, Frank Search and Harry Kauffman fielded standard cars, which were GT cars not supposed to run for the overall. A very unusual Chevrolet Nova, entered by Ivan Baldwin, was an interesting entry. The West Coast Stock Car racing driver could do well on a track he perfectly knew. His car had been modified according to the GTO rules. Seven Porsche Carrera RSRs were entered, but they would obviously suffer from a lack of power. Jim Busby had his Brumos backed car that he drove to victory at Ontario Motor Speedway. John Gunn drove the Racing Consultants car and George Dyer his usual Neufeld Porsche car. Monte Shelton, a Portland resident, fielded his own car and had enough talent to play a part in this race. Tom Frank entered his Executive car and Bob Harmon had another Carrera, as well as Mexican Roberto Quintanilla, who made his first trip to the West Coast track. Two Chevrolet Camaros, alongside Carl Shafer's car, were entered. Local entrants Roger Kraus and Burton Jackson had old style cars. A nice looking Ford Mustang, driven by Rainer Neumann was to run also. The same could be told of the single AMC Javelin, which was entered and driven by local driver Buzz Dyer. The GTO class provided diversity, and the GTU class would be exciting, too. A bunch of Datsun Z cars would have to fight against a pair of very effective Porsche 914/6s. Brad Frisselle drove the Transcendental Racing car, and he would have to fight against Bob Sharp and Frank Leary, who drove similar cars. Ken Williams and Jim Gandy co-drove another Z car, which was less developed. Surprisingly, the toughest opposition for the Japanese squad would arise from 914/6 cars, instead of 911s. But the two cars, which were prepped by Bob Garretson and Rich Mandella, were superiorly tuned up. They were driven by Walt Maas, whose skill was not to be denied, and Jim Cook.
Walt Maas was the fastest GTU runner of the race, easily winning his class.
Copyright John McCollister(courtesy Racingsportscars)
Three other Porsche 914/6s were to be displayed. They were far less competitive, and would not play a part in the race. Adrian Gang's beautiful car was an eye catcher, Bob Kirby's car was a regular entry and Fred Maeder was a local racer. Three Porsche 911s were entered, and they were driven by Jim Borsos, Zvonimir Jovanovic and Tom Masterson. While nice looking, they were not as competitive as one should expect from such racers. Ed Parks entered the sole Mazda RX2 and Bruno Beilcke had a BMW 2002, which was a familiar entry in the GTU rosters. The field was forty cars rich and would provide some great racing. The race format consisted of two qualifying heats and one finale. Al Holbert and Michael Keyser won their respective ones. It looked like the Chevrolet Monzas would dominate the race, as both of them were also the fastest qualifiers. It seemed that Peter Gregg would be their main challenger. The main race would be quite limpid. In fact, Al Holbert would utterly dominate the race. His run was quite flawless, and he was never challenged. Behind him, Michael Keyser and Peter Gregg would engage in a race long battle. Charlie Kemp, starting tenth, was never able to catch the leaders, he finally retired with a broken throttle cable on lap thirty nine. The Peter Gregg-Michael Keyser contest lasted for the most part of the race, but it ended up abruptly. While attempting to pass his opponent, Peter Gregg's BMW nudged Michael Keyser's Chevrolet Monza, sending him into a spin. Michael Keyser regained control of his car, but then he experienced some engine problems, and he had to settle for third, one lap down.
Al Holbert proved unbeatable at Laguna Seca, easily outpacing everyone.
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Al Holbert was clearly the class of the field and never to be challenged! Fourth through sixth place were taken by Porsche Carrera RSRs, with George Dyer emerging in fourth, just ahead of Jim Busby and John Gunn. The best performance was certainly to be awarded to Walt Maas, who finished seventh in his Porsche 914/6. He easily won the GTU class, nearly one lap ahead of his closest competitor, who appeared to be Brad Frisselle. Laguna Seca was Walt Maas home track, but it was an outstanding feat in a car that was somewhat outdated. He certainly knew how to get the best out of it. Jim Cook was third, also in a Porsche 914/6. The remainder of the season would confirm that the IMSA Camel GT was undergoing some tremendous changes within its inner rules. The Porsche domination was getting battered, but it was not to last for long. The introduction of the new GTX class was to take place two years later, and Porsche would be dominant again.
