The Camel Grand Prix was to take place in Sears Point, California. The twisty and hot track would display an interesting field of cars. The race should also be very close, as the 1991 rules were introduced and applicable immediately. They would allow the Porsche 962s to get a 50kgs weight reduction and the displacement limit was raised to 6,5L for the normally aspirated cars. Jim Miller's team opted to use it. It looked like those new rules would add some spice to the championship. Looking closer at the field, two Nissan NPT90s, driven by Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson, would have to face a pair of Eagle Toyotas. Bob Earl, whose experience on this track was arguably immense, had some hopes for running the old Nissan ZX T GTP, but he would not. David Seabroke Racing entered his car, another ZX T GTP, for John Paul Jr and Jacques Villeneuve. Two Porsche 962Cs were entered, but only one was really competitive. James Weaver ran the Dyson Racing car while Bruce Canepa had brought out his single turbo car. Even with a revised front suspension, it seemed that it stood no chance against the big guns.
Juan Fangio II was at the wheel of the HF90 car and Drake Olson had the older HF89. TWR would enter two Jaguar XJR10s, which were powered by turbocharged V6 Jaguar engines. Davy Jones was partnered by Frenchman Alain Ferté and Price Cobb teamed up with John Nielsen.
Three Spices were entered, and they were extremely efficient. Perry McCarthy and Jay Cochran drove the works car, powered by a V8 6,0L engine and Wayne Taylor-Albert Naon Jr drove the Jim Miller Racing Spice SE89P Chevrolet. The car had been heavily modified by Bob Riley who had widened the front and rear track and fitted a wider nose. A 6,5L engine had been installed in the car. The third car was a Firebird, powered by a 5,3L Pontiac engine. The drivers were George Sutcliffe and Bob Lesnett. The Lights class was eight car strong. The team to beat was the works Spice SE90P Buick driven by Tomas Lopez and Dan Marvin. Two similar cars were entered, and Scott Schubot was the defending champion. He was partnered by Ken Knott in a Buick powered car. David Tennyson, in his Denon backed car, relied on Ferrari power. Three other Spices, a SE88P entered by Essex Racing and run by Tom Hessert and Brian Bonner, and a SE89P entered by Bieri Racing for Martino Finotto and Ruggero Melgrati, would also run for the class win. The older one, a Firebird chassis was Fuji backed and was driven by David Rocha and Don Bell. The two remaining cars were the only non-Spice cars. Charles Morgan and Tom Hessert were at the wheel of the new Kudzu DG1 Buick, which was a smaller version of the Argo JM19. The car proved efficient on the tight tracks, so the team could be very confident. Carlos Bobeda had brought his Tiga GT288 Chevrolet. Andy Evans would co-drive him.
The practice sessions provided some very good surprises to the spectators, as both Spice Chevrolets grabbed one-two on the starting grid. Geoff Brabham blew an engine on saturday morning. He would finish two seconds off the pole, starting seventh. Perry McCarthy sat on the pole, driving the works Spice SE90P Chevrolet he shared with Jay Cochran. Albert Naon Jr was alongside of him, at the wheel of Jim Miller's car.
Perry McCarthy was impressive during the qualifying sessions. The race was another story.
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Chip Robinson was third, with Juan Fangio II next to him. Drake Olson and James Weaver were behind, followed by Geoff Brabham and Price Cobb, not really at home on this track. Tomas Lopez led the Lights class in his Spice SE90P Buick, but Ruggero Melgrati folmowed closely. The start of the race saw Jay Cochran take the lead, just ahead of Albert Naon Jr and Chip Robinson. Both Spices would dominate the first part of the race. Albert Naon Jr was on the outside row but he succeeded in overtaking Jay Cochran. He would maintain his position for six laps ahead of Jay Cochran, while Juan Fangio II passed Chip Robinson for third place. Jay Cochran took the lead on lap seven, and pulled ahead of the pack. Albert Naon Jr kept behind him but had trouble keeping Chip Robinson at bay. Then the Spice would be stopped by an oil leak, then he would experience some engine problems. It was over by lap twenty two. Jay Cochran was still leading the race, Juan Fangio was behind him followed by Chip Robinson. Price Cobb, on the Jaguar XJR10, passed James Weaver to claim fourth. Geoff Brabham had recovered from his start and was closely behind the two of them. Jay Cochran would remain in first place until lap twenty eight, when lost a cylinder, forcing him to slow down.. Juan Fangio II then grabbed the lead, followed by Chip Robinson. By the time the top cars went in for refueling, Geoff Brabham was third. Don Bell just crashed his Spice SE90P Buick, and the pace car was out. The Toyota, driven by Juan Fangio II, was now chased by the two Nissan NPT90s. Chip Robinson was leading his teammate, but he had to let him pass when he was balked by a Lights car. It looked like the Aussie could catch Juan Fangio II. When he took second place, he was four seconds back. Slowly but surely, the gap began to shrink, and it would be a great end of race, for sure. Unfortunately, the leading pair encountered a Lights car, and while Juan Fangio II could pass it, Chip Robinson had to remain stuck to its rear end. Juan Fangio II knew that it was his chance. Concentrating on his racing line, he could keep his position until the finish line. He won by less than one second! Chip Robinson was third, while Davy Jones-Alain Ferté were the best Jaguar drivers. James Weaver could end up fifth, crossing the line just ahead of Price Cobb.
The Lights class was much different, as the works Spice ended up the race two laps ahead from the rest of the pack. Tomas Lopez had lost his partner and was co-driven by Dan Marvin, who stuck the car on the pole. Ruggero Melgrati drove the David Tennyson's Spice SE90P to second place on the grid, followed by Scott Schubot and Charles Morgan. It looked like the race would be very close, at first sight. The start of the race saw Martino Finotto take the lead from Tomas Lopez, followed by Ken Knott and David Rocha. Charles Morgan, who wanted to move up, spun on the first lap. The beginning of the race saw some very close racing, as six cars were running nose-to-tail. Tomas Lopez got past Martino Finotto when the GTP cars began lapping them. Martino Finotto then spun, allowing Tomas Lopez to free himself from the train. David Rocha was second and Charles Morgan, who had run great, followed by Ken Knott and Martino Finotto. Ruggero Melgrati then retired the Spice SE90P Ferrari with engine problems. David Rocha, on the Fuji Spice Firebird, was also running great, but he would be passed by Charles Morgan and Ken Knott. Tomas Lopez still held the lead, and he would pit on lap twenty seven for refueling, and Dan Marvin would take the wheel. Ruggero Melgrati, who just took over Martino Finotto's Spice SE90P Ferrari, had a very hard contact with Don Bell, who was at the wheel of David Rocha's car.
Don Bell ended his race this way, but he was not injured.
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He rolled twice in turn eight, but was uninjured. Then the pace car was out, in order to settle things. It would allow Dan Marvin to stretch his lead to one lap. The following cars had not made the required drivers change, and they lost time doing it so late in the race. Charles Morgan handed his car to Tom Hessert but suffered from an air jack failure. Ruggero Melgrati had to come back to the pits to hand his car back to Martino Finotto, because he would not gather any points, because he had not run enough laps. Dan Marvin had just to maintain his lead, only to be hampered by some driver's seat problems. He and Tomas Lopez easily won over Charles Morgan and Tom Hessert, in the Kudzu DG1 Buick, and Martino Finotto-Ruggero Melgrati, in the Spice SE90P Ferrari. The race, as per usual, had been run under a clear blue sky and some drivers, including Tomas Lopez, would suffer from heat exhaustion. It provided an exciting race, however. It appeared that the new 1991 would level up the chances and allow the non-japanese cars to run for the top spots.
Juan Fangio won the race, and he successfully resisted Geoff Brabham's last charge.
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