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  • Lee Self: Porsche Turbo USA, The Racing Cars, A Picture History

    Lee Self: Porsche Turbo USA, The Racing Cars, A Picture History

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  • J. A. Martin: Prototypes: The History of the Imsa Gtp Series

    J. A. Martin: Prototypes: The History of the Imsa Gtp Series

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    J. A. Martin: Inside IMSA's Legendary GTP Race Cars: The Prototype Experience

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    J. J. O'Malley: Daytona 24 Hours: The Definitive History of America's Great Endurance Race

  • Ken Breslauer: Sebring: The Official History of America's Great Sports Car Race

    Ken Breslauer: Sebring: The Official History of America's Great Sports Car Race

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Mazda RX7 : winningest car ever

At the time Mazda first showed up at Daytona in 1979, no one took care of this new team that came from Japan. They had come the previous year with RX3 cars and had applied what they had learned on the track. The two cars were destined to be driven by Japanese and American drivers. After qualifying first and second in class, they steadily dominated the race, to finish in fifth and sixth position overall. Yoshimi Katayama-Yojiro Terada-Takashi Yorino winning the GTU category and Walt Bohren-Jim Downing-Roger Mandeville second.  It was not the first time Mazda entered an RX7 in an IMSA event as Al Cosentino was the first to enter such a car. Following their domination, IMSA  decided to add an extra 458lbs to the cars. After a while, and following the drivers concerns about the extra weight, they reduced it to zero. The factory cars had been sold to Roger Mandeville and Jim Downing. At the end of the 1979 season, Don Devendorf won the title for Datsun, but Bob Bergstrom took second place in a Mazda.

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Walt Bohren at Mid Ohio









Copyright Mark Windecker

For 1980, teams and alliances changed, Brad Frisselle was chosen as Mazda's "official" driver and received a great financial support. He campaigned a Dave Kent prepared car. Racing Beat and Walt Bohren received some financial support too, but it was much more limited so they could not run a full season schedule. Pierre Honegger entered a new Holman and Moody car for the endurance events. The first success for a Mazda came at Sebring when Roger Mandeville, Jim Downing and Brad Frisselle took the GTU victory. As Mazdas went on to win every race but three in the season, they easily won the Championship. Walt Bohren won the title.
In 1981, new teams appeared as former ones disappeared, and Dave Kent did enter as a new race team. Racing Beat did not field any car that year. The financial support went to Dave Kent's team. The drivers would be Walt Bohren and Lee Mueller. Kathy Rude and Jim Mullen would join the team on some occasions. Cars were being steadily improved and, as fuel injection had been banned in 1981, mufflers were required to limit the decibel rate. New air filters, water radiators and large oil coolers. The power varied from 270 to 300hp. Dave Kent had modified his cars : they sported now several aerodynamic modifications. They did sweep the opposition and won eleven races out of sixteen. Lee Mueller won the Championship. Jim Downing was running a car that was backed by BF Goodrich, running on street tyres, as was Roger Mandeville's. Jim Downing's car was to become the MOST successful car in IMSA history. The cars were destined to run mainly the endurance events. They had trouble setting the cars, mainly because of the street tyres, which required some specific settings for the cars.
In 1982, Mazda was a major force in GTU, and everyone racing a Mazda felt like being part of a great family. Everyone would help each other, especially Roger Mandeville and Jim Downing, who shared their experience with less supported teams. These two drivers had been chosen by Mazda for factory support. At Daytona, Mazda entered a works team of Japanese drivers, they won their class and finished fourth overall with their usual lineup of drivers. They won the 24 Hours of Daytona for their last race with Mazda. The 1982 season was to be a battle throughout the season between Roger Mandeville and Jim Downing. Their battle was quite fair as each other would help the other one if ever he got into trouble with his car. At the end of the season, it was Jim Downing who won the Championship, it was a very tight victory, as he won at the Daytona Finale and made the difference at this very race. Mazda drivers did claim eight of the top-ten positions in the Championship.

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Roger Mandeville at Mid Ohio 1982









Copyright Mark Windecker

In 1983, Racing Beat entered a car in the GTO category. It was a real challenge as they had to fight more powerful racers. They won at Daytona for their first race and proved the car's reliability. The car displayed any of the latest aerodynamical improvements that had been made through a lot of testing sessions, and the drivers could run their car very hard. The drivers were Pete Halsmer and Rick Knoop. Their win at Daytona was the highest finishing place for a Mazda in the 24Hour race. The team then made a wonderful race at Sebring, when they nearly won the race but were sidelined by a brake rotor. In GTU, Mazdas still dominated the category. At Sebring, it was Jack Dunham, Jeff Kline and Jon Compton who won the race. Roger Mandeville had a brand new car, a tube-frame RX7 fitted with a 12A sideport engine. His bet was to compensate the lower horsepower with a lighter car. He won his first race at Miami, and four other races in the year, claiming the Championship. Jim Downing, preparing a new GTP Car for the next season, had a short season, but finished second to Roger Mandeville.
In 1984, things changed and Roger Mandeville campaigned a RX7 in the GTO category. With ever consistent high finishes, he finally clinched the Championship, beating much more powerful cars. Jim Downing's car had been sold to Ira Young, Malibu Grand Prix owner. The former had hired Clayton Cunningham, to prepare the car. The lead driver was to be Jack Baldwin, a driver who had run mainly in Formula Ford. He and Bob Reed and Jim Cook won at Daytona, Sebring and three other races. They never had a dnf and clinched the Championship at Michigan. Jack Dunham and Jeff Kline won two races to finish second and third.
In 1985, Roger Mandeville had built another car to defend his GTO title. They had a tough year as Roush Racing was beginning to dominate the category. He finished fourth. In GTU, the Malibu Grand Prix Team received some factory support and had to face a new opposition in the name of Pontiac. Amos Johnson developed a new tube-frame car. Mike Meyer Racing now entered  car for Scott Pruett and Paul Lewis. At Daytona, the car entered for Johnson-Dunham-Terada won the GTU category with a car that had never been raced before. Jack Baldwin retired for the first time in this race. He won five races in the year to win his second straight Championship. At Road America, he and Jeff Kline won the sixty seventh race for Mazda. Mazda won the GTU title for the sixth year in a row. Jack Baldwin's car was winning its third Championship.
In 1986, Mazda won again the GTU Championship, this time with young Tom Kendall, who beat Roger Mandeville, back again in GTU, and Amos Johnson. The car was now owned by Clayton Cunningham and it won again! Roger Mandeville was preparing a new three rotor car he debuted at the Daytona Finale. This car was to be campaigned for the next season, and the engine developed 450hp.
In 1987, Tom Kendall won his second straight Championship, always with the same car! A stunning result for a single car. The car was now ending its career, and CCR fielded a new car at the end of the season. Amos Johnson entered the winners' circle four times that year. Al Bacon won for the first time at Sebring. Roger Mandeville's effort in GTO did not reward him better than tenth overall, and he could not fight against V8s and V6s.
In 1988, he was joined by CCR who campaigned a similar car. Their best result was a couple of fifth, Mandeville claimed two thirds. It was not sufficient to hope better results. In GTU, it was the first year Mazda did not win the Championship as Tom Kendall repeated his win, but on a Chevrolet Beretta. Mazda was edged slightly. Amos Johnson could have won, he did drive a new lightweight RX7 but the car was destroyed in the race and Kendall took the win. He won at Daytona with his usual car and Sebring was the second and only other race of the year with a Mazda win.

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Roger Mandeville new GTO car









Copyright Mark Windecker

At this point, it seemed for Mazda that it was time to switch for a new car, the MX6, and began preparations for fielding a new four-rotor car. For most part of the racers, Mazda would not continue its support in 1989. They won again at Daytona, as Al Bacon shared his winning car with Bob Reed and Rod Millen. Roger Mandeville entered his GTO car for some consistent finishes but his program was stopped by mid-season. In GTU, the MX6 would take the advantage over the RX7s. Al Bacon won his second race of the season. At the end  of the season, it was Nissan who took the Championship with Bob Leitzinger.
In 1990, the Mazda factory effort was concentrated on one sole team : Jim Downing's. The cars would be Lee Dykstra-designed four-rotor Mazda RX7s. Pete Halsmer, the 1989 Champion, would be the lead driver. The new cars debuted at Daytona and Amos Johnson, Jim Downing and John O'steen finished second. At Sebring, Pete Halsmer, John Morton and Elliot Forbes Robinson took third. At San Antonio, Pete Halsmer scored Mazda's 100th win. In GTU, Lance Stewart took the Championship.

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Pete Halsmer's quadrirotor Mazda RX7








Copyright Mark Windecker

In 1990, Mazda took again the Daytona 24 Hours victory and  the rest of the season Mazda's victories were taken by Mandeville's cars. The latter had quit driving and was now managing his team. Lance Stewart was the driver and he won the Championship driving the MX6. It was then obvious that the Mazda RX7 career had come to an end. 
In 1991, Mazda again won at Daytona with Dick Greer's car, Roger Mandeville took third on a new RX7 car. At that time, many indepedant drivers still fielded RX7s. But no victories were to be seen by Mazda this year. The GTU Champion was John Fergus, driving a Nissan 240SX. In GTO, the battle between Ford and Mazda raged but Mazda took its first GTO Championship. They had achieved their goal. The RX7 career had come to an end but the car remains the winningest car ever in the IMSA GT Championship. It will be remembered by many racers as one of the most noisy too : the Mazda RX7 has set its mark forever.

Posted on 14 February 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

1992 : Toyota, part 1


It was to be a season of revelations. Nissan was having a hard time keeping his cars up to date, and Toyota had a new weapon in the name of the Eagle Mark III. Jaguar would try to make for a very disappointing 1991, with more wins than ever, but no title in the end. Mazda was now another GTP competitor while Porsche still could rely on some fierce competitors. The Championship would be a hard fought one, although it had become a factory series. It was deserted by privateers, who could no more engage in a costly competition. Fields were getting thinner and the privateers had begun pulling out from those costly competitions. It was becoming clear that the GTP cars were no more the right solution for IMSA's future.
The first race of the season, again, was to take place at Daytona, for the traditional 24 Hour race. The entry field would be fifty car rich, and LM cars were allowed to enter the race, without being eligible for Championship points. Those two cars were very potent cars, in the name of Nissan R91CP and CK. Nismo fielded the first one for Kaoru Hoshino, Masahiro Hasemi and Toshio Suzuki. The From A car was slightly different, and displayed its traditional yellow livery. Mauro Martini, Volker Weidler and Jeff Krosnoff drove it. The two other Nissans were R90s, which were similar to the aforementioned cars, but they were entered as GTPs, which meant that they were not restricted according to their fuel consumption. Geoff Brabham, Chip Robinson and Bob Earl drove car #83 and Derek Daly, Steve Millen and Gary Brabham were at the wheel of car #84. The cars were featuring the LM bodywork but were in fact real GTP cars.
They would have to face two Eagle MKIII Toyotas, which were extremely fast. Juan Fangio, Andy Wallace and Kenny Acheson drove car #99 while Rocky Moran, PJ Jones and Mark Dismore drove car #98. Their goal, for that race was obviously to make it to the chequered. A lonely Jaguar XJR12D was entered by TWR, and Scott Pruett, Davy Jones, David Brabham and Scott Goodyear would drive it. The car was also a slight evolution from the XJR12. The team was aiming at a GTP class win. As were the Porsche entrants. Joest Racing had a Porsche 962 for John Winter, Massimo Sigala, Oscar Larrauri and Bernd Schneider and Momo Corse fielded another car for Hans Stuck, Henri Pescarolo, Gianpiero Moretti and Frank Jelinski. The Team 0123 car was also a strong entry, with Hurley Haywood, Roland Ratzenberger, Eje Elgh and Vern Schuppan at the wheel. No other Porsche entry was to be noticed. Tom Milner had brought a single Spice SE91P Chevrolet, with Wayne Taylor, Jeff Purner, Brian Bonner and Hugh Fuller trying to do their best with a slightly underpowered car. Daytona was a new adventure for Yves Courage, who fielded a pair of Cougar C28S Porsche. Bob Wollek was part of the challenge. He was partnered by Pascal Fabre and Lionel Robert in the first car. The second car was driven by François Migault, David Tennyson and Tomas Lopez. A handful of Lights cars was to be entered. They were naturally dominated by the two Comptech Racing Spice SE91 Acuras. Parker Johnstone, Dan Marvin, Jimmy Vasser and Steve Cameron would share the fastest of those cars, while Costas Los, Bob Lesnett, Ruggero Melgrati and Kaoru Shimizu were a tad slower. Andy Evans, Firmin Velez, Lon Bender and Dominic Dobson were driving a brand new Kudzu DG2 Buick. Charles Morgan, Jim Pace and Ken Knott still drove the Essex Racing Kudzu DG1 Buick they drove the previous year. Another Kudzu DG1 Mazda was entered by Erie Scientific with Howard Katz, John Grooms, Frank Jellinek and Jim Downing, who did not drive his own car for the very first time! Bieri Racing entered two cars, which were Alba AR5s, Ford powered. Uli Bieri, Vito Scavone, Jean Pierre Zingg and Heinz Wirth in one car, John Graham, Johnny Unser and Andrew Hepworth in the other one. Carlos Bobeda still relied on a Spice SE89P Buick, with himself sharing the drive with Ken Parschauer and Paul Debban. An older Tiga GT287 Buick was entered, with Mel Butt, Ron Zitza, Tommy Johnson and Rob Robertson driving. The GTO class was now called GTS, thanks to Exxon Superflo sponsorship. The regulations were basically the same as the former GTO, which the American Challenge cars had taken the name. It would be a Ford-Nissan-Oldsmobile competition. Roush Racing would try to keep a crown they had gained for seven years in a row. Two cars were entered, with Mark Martin, Robby Gordon, Calvin Fish and Bob Stevens in one car, and Dorsey Schroeder, Wally Dallenbach, Max Jones and again Mark Martin at the wheel of the second car. The cars were the same ones as those run in the previous year, and they were reliable. Nissan was to enter 300ZX Tcs for the first time. It was much more as a matter of testing the cars, but they could really do well. Two cars were entered, but one car was scheduled to be withdrawn after a few hours. Johnny O'connell, Jeremy Dale and John Morton would drive both cars, and then concentrate on the remaining one. Rocketsports was perhaps the most aggressive team to enter this class. Two cars were entered, with one displaying a brand new 6,5L fuel injected engine, and the other one a more quiet 6,0L carburetted one. Darin Brassfield, Irv Hoerr, Paul Gentilozzi and Jack Baldwin would drive both cars, too.

Hoerr92

Rocketsports entered a very special car, which was powered by a very powerful 6,5L engine. Irv Hoerr, Darin Brassfield, Paul Gentilozzi and Jack Baldwin drove it to a dnf. They drove the other car to a second place finish behind the winning Ford Mustang.

Copyright Steve Dilts

Another Oldsmobile Cutlass was entered, driven by Dale Kreider, Bill Adams, John Duke and Jon Gooding. The remainder of the class consisted of Chevrolet Camaros, which were by no means so fast. Bill McDill, Tom Juckette and John Schneider shared one of the most efficient cars. Luis Sereix, Daniel Urrutia and Jorge Polanco were probably the fastest of the Chevrolet troops, they would start from the thirty first place. The GTU class would provide some interest, with Mazda and Nissan still fighting tooth and nail for the win. It seemed that Nissan had taken a slight advantage over its counterpart, on the speed level. Bob Leitzinger's team of Nissan 240SXs was strong. Bob Leitzinger, Chuck Kurtz, Butch Leitzinger and David Loring were at the wheel of car #96, while Don Knowles and Dan Robson would share the driving with David Loring and Chuck Kurtz on the second car. Kryderacing had brought another Nissan 240SX for Frank del Vecchio, Joe Danaher, Mark Kent, Bill Sargis and Reed Kryder. They would face two Mazda RX7s, entered by Dick Greer, for Al Bacon, Mike Mees and Peter Uria, and Brad Hoyt, who shared his car with Andy Pilgrim and John Petrick. The bulk of the Mazda contingent was made of MX6 models. Eduardo Dibos, from Peru, had a fast car for himself, Juan Dibos, Raul Orlandini and Mario Alberti. Luis Botero, from Columbia, had entered another car for Rob Wilson, Lucio Bernal, Felipe Solano and Miguel Morejon. Henry Camferdam had also an MX6, which he drove with Phil Krueger and Gary Drummond. Bob Shader had a very colorful car, and he was partnered by Phil and Steve Mahre, from skiing fame. A single, yet interesting new entry was the Oldsmobile Achieva which was a semi official car entered by Amos Johnson. He would drive the car with Scott Hoerr, Dennis Shaw, Chuck Hemmingson and Paul Hacker. Kal Showket had brought along a Dodge Daytona, which could do well, with John Fergus, Jean Paul Libert, Bobby Akin and Neil Hanneman. Four Porsche 911s would try to oppose their legendary reliability to those racers. Three of them displayed a slant nose, giving them a 935 style look. Alex Job had one of them. He was co-driven by Alex Padilla, John Sheldon and Jack Refenning. Jay Kjoller's car was driven by Steve Volk and Robin Boone while Maria Shalala had another entry for Sam Shalala, Tim McAdam, Charles Monk, Andre Toennis and Dan Pastorini. Jack Lewis' car was more traditional, and he was partnered by Bill Ferran and Taylor Robertson. The practice sessions were dominated, as expected, by the Eagle Toyota MKIII driven by Juan Fangio who put up a 1m35s860, which was outstanding. Eight cars broke the previous year's mark, and the problem arising now was the fact that the cars were becoming blindingly fast, and the main question was how to slow them, because it was becoming too dangerous. The answer would come very soon, with the arrival of the WSCs.

The race was all Nissan. Juan Fangio had jumped in the lead from the drop of the green flag, but Masahiro Hasemi easily settled in first position, Juan Fangio would follow, then Hans Stuck, Mauro Martini and Geoff Brabham. Wayne Taylor would be the first to suffer from a mechanical problem when his clutch failed him. After one hour and fifteen minutes, Andy Wallace, who had taken over the Eagle Toyota from Juan Fangio, an electrical failure would put him far back in the standings when he lost thirty three minutes. The NISMO Nissan R91CP was leading and had set a fantastic pace. Gary Brabham then tangled with the guardrail, only to be followed by brother David in the NPTI Nissan R90CP! The Jaguar could be repaired quickly but the Nissan was out. Trading the lead were the two Nissans, with Geoff Brabham and Masahiro Hasemi running at too fast a pace to make it to the finish. While it seemed that they were experiencing problems, the NISMO team would have it under control. Geoff Brabham had his engine seized after a little more than eight hours. Then it was Kenny Acheson who lost a wheel on course. After the leaders misfortunes, the GTP reins were taken by the Joest Porsche 962 driven by John Winter, Massimo Sigala, Oscar Larrauri and Bernd Schneider. But it would last until 1AM when the engine gave up. The race seemed to run smoothly when a frightening accident happened to Pascal Fabre, who drove the Cougar C28 Porsche. He crashed his car along the pit straight, going into a series of spinning rolls and ending up in the grass. He was left unhurt. While Hans Stuck was running strong, and closing in on the leaders, he had to pit to have his door repaired. The Jaguar XJR12 driven by Davy Jones could emerge among the top three, but it was to be struck by gearbox problems. The 0123 Porsche 962 driven by Hurley Haywood seemed to be the best placed car for the GTP win but a brake caliper failed, and the Jaguar could recover the second place. But the Nissan R91CP driven by Masahiro Hasemi, Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Toshio Suzuki was left unchallenged.

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Davy Jones, Scott Pruett, David Brabham and Scott Goodyear took a second place overall, but they earned the GTP points victory.

Copyright Mike Smith

As expected, the Lights class was won by the Spice SE91P Acura driven by Parker Johnstone, Dan Marvin and Jimmy Vasser. As for the overall, they dominated their class and put  out a twenty seven lap lead over their closest opponent. The Kudzu DG1 Buick which finished in second place was simply outpaced. The GTS class was quite different, the Ford Mustang driven by Dorsey Schroder, Robby Gordon and Wally Dallenbach also had the race packed up before dawn, with a one hundred lap lead over their closest competitor! A broken piston idled the car for two hours and they only had to wait for the chequered. The Oldsmobile Cutlass driven by Paul Gentilozzi and his teammates could make it to second in class. As it turned out, the GTU winning car defeated the GTS winning car, beating the Roush car in the standings. The little team that could made it two in a row, and team owner Dick Greer, Al Bacon, Mike Mees and Peter Uria had a very trouble free race, approaching perfection. The Nissan 240SXs had a bunch of problems, which could be fixed by the team, but they were too far away from the leading car to win their class.
The next race was scheduled at Miami. A street circuit, with another new attraction to be unveiled, in the name of the Jaguar XJR14. A Group C car when it began its racing career, it had been updated to GTP specs. Powered by a V8 3,5L engine, it raised some uproars from the GTP ranks, who saw another way to raise coasts amongst them. It was legal, however. Davy Jones drove it. Three Chevrolet GTPs were entered, by two different teams. Tom Milner had purchased two cars, which were to be driven by Wayne Taylor and François Migault. Those cars (nées Intrepid) had showed a great potential in 1991, and the team was very optimistic for such a race. Tom Kendall drove the other one. The EDS car was the Jim Miller entered machine. NPTI entered two cars, for his usual drivers, Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson. The cars were NPT91As, which had been slightly modified by the team. A new entry in the GTP ranks was the Spice SE91P Chevrolet entered by David Tennyson, who had jumped into the GTP ranks after getting used to the Lights class. Spice Engineering entered a Spice SE90P Chevrolet for Charles Zwolsman and Cor Euser, powered by a 6,0L engine.

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The start of the Miami race, with Davy Jones leading the field with his new Jaguar XJR14.

Copyright unknown

AAR had two Eagle Toyota MKIIIs with Juan Fangio and PJ Jones driving. The cars were running great by now. Three Porsches were entered, with Joest Racing fielding two cars for Bernd Schneider and Oscar Larrauri, and Gianpiero Moretti-Massimo Sigala driving the Momo car. John Paul Jr and Albert Naon Jr were at the wheel of the Gunnar Racing Porsche 966, which was the only open roof car.
Four Lights cars only were entered, and Comptech could rely on Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin would face the two new Scandia Motorsport Kudzu DG2 Buick driven by Andy Evans, who ran solo, and Charles Morgan and Firmin Velez. Bobby Brown drove an old Tiga GT287 powered by a 3,0L Buick. That left a seventeen car field, which was a scant one. The practice sessions were dominated by Davy Jones, whose car was perfectly suited to the track. He was nearly one second ahead of Geoff Brabham, while Tom Kendall and Juan Fangio were just behind him. It looked like it would be a Jaguar domination, with Davy Jones leading the race from the beginning. Geoff Brabham was just behind him, but he was unable to overtake him. However, the Jaguar XJR14 proved to be a very difficult car to drive, and Davy Jones would spin twice. The second time being the definitive one. On lap ninety five, the car was stalled on the track, and Davy Jones could not restart. Geoff Brabham claimed his first victory in one year, and Wayne Taylor finished second in his Chevrolet GTP, just ahead of the second Nissan NPT91A driven by Chip Robinson and Bob Earl. The Lights class was very clear, with Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin easily winning ahead of Charles Morgan and Firmin Velez, nine laps down. The two other cars had retired from the race.
The next race was to take place at Sebring.(to be continued)

Posted on 04 January 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

1992 : Toyota, part 2


The next race was the Contac 12 Hours of Sebring. A forty eight car field was to be displayed, which was your typical IMSA one. AAR had brought two Eagle Toyota MKIII, and the team was now aiming at the overall win. Juan Fangio was teaming with Andy Wallace while PJ Jones was partnered by Rocky Moran. NPTI had three cars, with Geoff Brabham, Derek Daly and Gary Brabham in car #83, Chip Robinson, Bob Earl and Arie Luyendijk in car #84, and Gary Brabham in car #1. It had become a typical habit for NPTI to enter three cars with the intention to drop the worst placed car after one hour. A lonely Jaguar XJR12D was entered with Davy Jones and David Brabham driving. Two Porsche 962Cs were entered, which were Joest cars. John Winter, Frank Jelinski and Bernd Schneider had one car and Gianpiero Moretti, Massimo Sigala, Oscar Larrauri drove the Momo car. The Porsche 966 was here too, and displayed the legendary Brumos livery as well as the famous number 59. Even Hurley Haywood would drive it. Bobby Carradine would co-drive the open cockpit car. Tom Milner had entered two cars, which were quite different. A Chevrolet RM1 GTP for Perry McCarthy and a Spice SE90P for David Tennyson, Wayne Taylor, François Migault and Hugh Fuller. That rounded up the eleven GTP entry list. It could have been more interesting, had Mazda Motorsports decided to run his new RX792P car. Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer practiced with their new prototype, but they were plagued with exhaust problems. So the car would not run.

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The legendary Brumos colors were to appear on the Gunnar Racing Porsche 966 driven by Hurley Haywood and Bobby Carradine.

Copyright Michael Crews


Seven Lights cars were also entered. Comptech Racing entered two cars for Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin, and another one for Costas Los and Ruggero Melgrati. They would have to face two Kudzus, with Andy Evans' Scandia Racing entering two cars : a new DG2, Buick powered, for Andy Evans, Firmin Velez and Jay Cochran and a DG1 for Charles Morgan and Tommy Riggins. Jim Downing had a Mazda powered DG1, which he drove with Howard Katz and Tim McAdam. Bieri Racing fielded an Alba AR2 Ford, with Heinz Wirth at the wheel. MAB Racing entered a Tiga GT287 Buick for Mel Butt, Ron Zitza, Tommy Johnson and Robert Robertson. The GTS class was more exciting, with sixteen cars showing up at the start. A great battle seemed to be lurching, but Roush Racing was not around, for the first time in eight years. It would be a Nissan-Oldsmobile duel. Rocketsport had a pair of Cutlasses, as for Daytona. Paul Gentilozzi, Irv Hoerr and Jack Baldwin drove the 6,5L car, while Darin Brassfield, George Robinson, Paul Gentilozzi and Irv Hoerr would share the 6,0L car. Dale Kreider entered his own car, and he was partnered by Jon Gooding and Nort Northam. CCR had a pair of Nissan 300ZXs, with Jeremy Dale, Steve Millen and John Morton at the wheel of the first car. The latter co-drove Johnny O'connell in the second car. A bunch of new cars would show up for the first time at an IMSA race, adding some excitement. Waxoyl fielded a new Chevrolet Beretta for GT star Gene Felton, who was back from retirement, and rising star Jerry Nadeau. The car was powered by a 6,5L powerplant. A pair of Chevrolet Luminas were to be seen for the first time in IMSA. John Annis fielded one of them for himself, Louis Beall, Dick Downs, Larry Schumacher and Bob Deeks. Tim Banks had another car, driven by Jim Pace and Barry Waddell. A Pontiac Grand Prix, entered by Gary Smith, was also another new entry, with Gene Whipp and Albert Ruiz co-driving with the car owner. The remainder of the field was held by Chevrolet Camaros, which were seven. J & B Motorsport had been the best car at Daytona, with Luis Sereix and Daniel Urrutia, the same duo still ran, with Jorge Polanco and John Josey co-driving. Richard McDill and Bill McDill shared long-time enduro entries since the seventies, they were still running strong. Western Chemical had one car for Kent Painter, Robert Borders and Ed De Long. OMR also was a long-time entry in GTO, and Oma Kimbrough, Mark Montgomery, Robert McElnehy co-drove team owner Hoyt Overbagh. The two other cars were entered by Art Cross and Mazkar Racing. No Corvette, neither Mustang  were to be seen. The GTU class again would show off a Nissan-Mazda battle. The first make appeared to have the edge for the first time over its counterpart. Leitzinger Racing fielded two cars, with a very strong line-up. Bob Leitzinger ran with son Butch and Chuck Kurtz on car #95, David Loring was co-driven by John Paul Jr! It was his very first attempt at this class. Kryderacing was entering a car for Duke McLaughlin, Frank Del Vecchio and Joe Danaher. David Duda had an older 300ZX car for himself and Mike Speakman. One single Mazda RX7 was entered, which was the Daytona winning car. Dick Greer, Al Bacon, Mike Mees and Peter Uria were as hopeful as ever. The Mazda fleet now consisted of MX6s. However, no semi-works cars were to be seen. Eduardo Dibos appeared to be the most threatening driver. His Alberti Racing car was well prepared. Juan Dibos and Raul Orlandini were his co-drivers. Henry Camferdam fielded one car, as well as Bob Schader and Botero Racing. Full Time Racing still relied on a Dodge Daytona, with John Fergus, Don Walker and Neil Hanneman driving. The other cars were all Porsche. Four cars with strong engines, if not fast. Alex Job teamed up with Jack Refenning and Butch Hamlet. Rainer Brezinka has been a Sebring regular since the seventies, and he had Rudy Bartling and Amad Khodkar co-driving him. Pro-Technik and Jack Lewis also counted on the reliability of their car. That closed the entry list. The practice sessions would show the two Toyota Eagle MKIIIs set up the fastest lap times, but they did it at the wrong time, so the first row was once again all Nissan. The start of the race would see PJ Jones, in the #98 Toyota jump into the lead from his sixth place. He would lead for three laps, then pitted with a huge puff of smoke and retire with a blown head gasket. Then the two Nissan NPT91s would take back one of their favorite role : leader of the race. Juan Fangio would follow at a respectable distance, then John Winter, Gianpiero Moretti and Davy Jones, running at his own pace. Perry McCarthy had retired on lap five, with a broken engine. The Jaguar, which did not run so strong, suddenly lost a wheel on course, and would be ten laps down. Up ahead, Geoff Brabham, Chip Robinson and Juan Fangio were trading the lead when the Toyota was forced off course by a slower GTU car. Andy Wallace, who was driving, had to pit for minor repairs. He lost one lap. It looked like it would be all Nissan, but Bob Earl spun twice  on the same lap. A seized engine was the cause for his retirement. Geoff Brabham and his co-drivers seemed to have victory handed on a silver plateau, but the headlights happened to be faulty, and they had to stop to have the problem fixed. Five laps were lost, and the Toyota was in the lead. Geoff Brabham then tried to charge back to regain his position, but it was too harsh a task. The following cars were stricken by some various mechanicals, so they ended up very far. Juan Fangio and Andy Wallace won the race, with Geoff Brabham, Gary Brabham and Arie Luyendijk taking a second place. Gianpiero Moretti, Massimo Sigala and Oscar Larrauri took a third place, but they were fifteen laps down, just ahead of the TWR Jaguar. The Lights class was surprisingly won by Jim Downing's Kudzu DG1 Mazda, which emerged from a tough battle between Parker Johnstone's Spice SE91P Acura and Charles Morgan's Kudzu DG1 Buick. Both cars would have a very hard end of race. The Spice lost its engine while the Scandia Racing car suffered from suspension problems. Jim Downing won in the Erie Scientific car, not his own, with Tim McAdam and Howard Katz. The GTS class was a first time victory for the Rocketsports Oldsmobile Cutlass. Irv Hoerr, Darin Brassfield, Jack Baldwin and Paul Gentilozzi survived an attrition race and their car was the healthiest one at the chequered. The best Nissan 300ZX Tc was second, but seventeen laps down, with Steve Millen, Jeremy Dale and Johnny O'connell. The GTU victory went, as expected, to the Leitzinger team which utterly dominated the race. David Loring, Butch Leitzinger and John Paul Jr were four laps ahead of the sister car, which they drove too, along with Bob Leitzinger, Dan Robson and Chuck Kurtz, who got sick and had to be replaced. The best Mazda RX7, which happened to be the Daytona winning car, was twenty three laps down.
The next race was to take place at Road Atlanta, on one of the fastest track of the season. One thing was sure : the field was seventeen car strong! It was now obvious that you could not rely on much more cars. Jaguar had brought one car, a XJR14 for Davy Jones. Nissan had two cars for Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson. AAR fielded two cars for Juan Fangio and PJ Jones. Two Chevrolet GTPs were entered by two different teams. Tom Milner had two cars driven by François Migault and Hugh Fuller, and Jeff Purner in another car. Tom Kendall drove the EDS backed car. This was a works car. Two Porsche 962Cs were entered, too. Oscar Larrauri drove the Torno car while Gianpiero Moretti would drive his own car. David Tennyson was back with his Spice SE90P Chevrolet and he would be co-driven by Wayne Taylor. The excitement, at least, would come from a brand new car, which was to debut here. The new Mazda RX792P was driven by Price Cobb. This sleek car would catch everyone's attention by his quite electric engine noise which was smooth and really unusual. Powered by a quadrirotor engine, it was a new challenge for the Japanese make. Only five Lights cars made it to Road Atlanta. A sole Spice SE91P Acura was entered with Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin at the wheel. Scandia Motorsports fielded two cars for Tommy Riggins-Charles Morgan and Andy Evans-Firmin Velez. They were the Comptech's car main opposition. Bob Schader had a Spice Buick which he drove with Lon Bender. The David Rocha-Mark Rodrigues Spice SE90P Buick was an older car. The practice session was highlighted by the fact that the Jaguar XJR14 driven by Davy Jones looked unbeatable.

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Davy Jones new Jaguar XJR14 appeared quite unbeatable from the beginning. He won easily at Road Atlanta.

Copyright Dwight Deal(courtesy Racingsportscars)

He swerved it from one corner to another with mastery. Is opponents appeared to be outclassed by a fantastic racer. The race was all Jaguar with Davy Jones never challenged. Neither Nissan NPT91As finished, with Chip Robinson crashing his car heavily. The Toyota Eagle MKIIIs were not luckier, with both cars suffering from minor setbacks. The surprise of the race would arise from the two Chevrolet GTPs, driven by Tom Kendall who finished second, and François Migault and Hugh Fuller who secured a third place overall, just ahead of Oscar Larrauri's Porsche 962. Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin again took the Lights laurels, beating the Scandia Kudzu DG2 Buick driven by Firmin Velez and Andy Evans.
The next round was due to take place at Lime Rock. The scenical little track would host a eighteen car field, a figure which was to become commonplace. AAR entered two cars, but not NPTI. Juan Fangio and PJ Jones would have to face Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson who drove the same car. TWR also had one car, which was the Jaguar XJR14, beautifully driven by Davy Jones. Mazda Motorsports fielded two cars, and Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer would drive them. Joest Racing entered two cars, with Oscar Larrauri driving solo, while Gianpiero Moretti was co-driven by Massimo Sigala. Two Chevrolet GTPs were entered for Tom Kendall and Wayne Taylor, while David Tennyson would try to make his Spice SE91P Chevrolet competitive. The Lights class was no different, with Comptech fielding one car for Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin. Every opponent's car was Buick powered! The Scandia Team had two Kudzus, one DG2 for Firmin Velez and Andy Evans and one DG1 for Charles Morgan and Tommy Riggins. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam shared the wheel of the Downing/Atlanta Kudzu DG2 which was not Mazda powered, which was a premiere! Tom Hessert teamed up with Bob Schader on the Mobinet backed Spice SE90P and François Migault and Claude Brana shared the wheel of another Spice 91P. Mark Rodrigues and David Rocha would co-drive the oldest car, which was an updated Spice SE88P. As expected, Davy Jones would stick his Jaguar on the pole, with a new track record. He was followed by the two Eagle Toyotas. The race would provide its share of excitement. At the start, Juan Fangio jumped in the lead, with Davy Jones right behind him. Wayne Taylor spun in the very first turn of the very first lap : he was back on the track dead last. Davy Jones was to overtake Juan Fangio as soon as both of them met backmarkers, then he was to get rid of his pursuers. Behind them, Geoff Brabham was able to overtake PJ Jones for the third place. Davy Jones would dominate the race until lap nineteen, when his suspension failed, sending him into the barriers. He was out of the race, and alive despite a hard blow. A full course yellow would be set, allowing some drivers to refuel. At the restart, Geoff Brabham was in the lead, but Juan Fangio was soon to easily overtake him and push ahead of him. Wayne Taylor, in the meantime, had retired from the race with steering problems. Then PJ Jones' Toyota was beginning to puff smoke, losing a great deal of time in the pits for repair. The Lights class was fierce, with Firmin Velez and Parker Johnstone dicing for the lead. At mid-race, Juan Fangio was still leading, with Geoff Brabham-Chip Robinson in second place. Tommy Kendall was in third place, followed by David Tennyson and Oscar Larrauri in the Porsche 962C. Unfortunately for the Chevrolet ranks, Tom Kendall would lose the benefits of a good race when he pitted with valve springs problems, and retired. In fact, it would be the drivers who would be happy with that fact. Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer overtook David Tennyson and Oscar Larrauri in what was a very good result for them. Chip Robinson would spin, later, while passing David Rocha, but with no damage. The race would be won, somewhat easily, by Juan Fangio one lap ahead of the Nissan NPT91A. Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer took third and fourth place. The Lights class ended up in a bad way for Andy Evans, who had to retire with steering problems. Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin emerged as the class winners. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam grabbed the second place in the end of the race.
Mid Ohio would host the next race. Eighteen cars were entered, with one new entry. NPTI had only ine car for Geoff Brabham. It was an evolution of the NPT91, now called NPT91B. The team now concentrated on this sole car. TWR had also one car, driven by Davy Jones, but it was so threatening. The group C evolution turned into an IMSA GTP was so fast that it could doom the series, according to its opponents. AAR had two cars, with Juan Fangio and PJ Jones driving. Mazda Motorsports also fielded two cars, with Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer at the wheel.

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Price Cobb's attractive Mazda RX792P was an eye-catcher throughout the season. He finished 6th at Mid Ohio.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Two Porsche 962Cs with Oscar Larrauri in the Joest car and Gianpiero Moretti in the Momo car along with Massimo Sigala. One Chevrolet GTP was entered with Tom Kendall driving. David Tennyson entered his Spice SE91P Chevrolet powered by a V8 6,5L. Eight Lights cars were entered, with Comptech fielding two cars, which were Spices. A SE91P driven by Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin, and a SE90P for Ruggero Melgrati and Costas Los. Both cars were powered by Acura engines, of course. Andy Evans Scandia Motorsports entered two cars, Buick powered. A DG2 for Firmin Velez and himself, and a DG1 for Tommy Riggins and Charles Morgan. Jim Downing's colorful Kudzu DG2 Buick was also entered, with Tim McAdam co-driving. Tom Hessert and Bob Schader had their usual Spice SE90P Buick while Mark Rodrigues and David Rocha drove the Huffaker car. Bobby Brown fielded his Tiga GT287 Buick with Craig Carter partnering him. Once again, it would be a Buick vs Acura duel. The practice session was a new confirmation for what it seemed to be in store for the GTP owners : the Jaguar XJR14 shattered the previous track record. Juan Fangio and Geoff Brabham were just behind but one question remained : could they fight? Race day would bring another fact, which could alter the strategies : the rain was falling steadily. At the start, Davy Jones could pull ahead of the pack, with Juan Fangio just behind, while PJ Jones missed a gear and lost many places. Geoff Brabham followed, trailing Oscar Larrauri and Price Cobb. Davy Jones would easily have a race of his own, while Oscar Larrauri would pass Geoff Brabham. Tommy Kendall, who started from row seven, was beginning to climb back in the standings. In Lights, Parker Johnstone, as per usual, was in the lead, but Firmin Velez looked in great shape, and overtook him on lap twenty. Ruggero Melgrati would do the same very fast. Tommy Kendall was soon behind Gianpiero Moretti, whom he passed, then he would do the same with Pete Halsmer and PJ Jones. He passed the Toyota but spun subsequently! Then PJ Jones appeared to experience windshield problems, and he had to pit to have it cleaned. On lap thirty one, Davy Jones had a wide lead over Juan Fangio, then Oscar Larrauri, Geoff Brabham and David Tennyson. Oscar Larrauri then spun but did not lose his position. The first series of pit stops began, and Juan Fangio was the first to pit for fuel and fresh tires. Davy Jones would not lose his position when he took his turn. Geoff Brabham recovered the third place and Tom Kendall would pass David Tennyson. One interesting fact was that he did not switch for fresh tires during his pit stop. Gianpiero Moretti retired after an accident.
By lap forty seven, the standings gave : Davy Jones, Juan Fangio, Geoff Brabham, Oscar Larrauri, Tommy Kendall and David Tennyson. Price Cobb was to challenge him and grab the fifth place. Tom Kendall, still running strong, was aiming at passing Geoff Brabham, but he would spin and lose some ground. He would have to settle for fourth. The positions would remain the same until the chequered, with Juan Fangio the only driver to finish in the same lap as the leader. Geoff Brabham was third, and Tom Kendall fourth. What a race! The Lights class turned into a dream race for Scandia Motorsports, who could have a one-two race. Andy Evans could make it to the finish while Tommy Riggins and Charles Morgan finally passed Ruggero Melgrati and Costas Los who finished third in class. A well deserved win for the team. Next round was to take place in New Orleans.(to be continued)

Posted on 15 January 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

1992 : Toyota, part 3


The next race was scheduled at New Orleans street circuit. With eighteen cars entered, the field was almost the same which could be seen at every track. The prognosis was : one Jaguar XJR14 driven by Davy Jones facing two Toyota Eagle MKIIIs. Juan Fangio and PJ Jones were running stronger. NPTI, on the other hand, had only one car left for Geoff Brabham : they were having hard times. On such a track, the Chevrolet GTPs were perfectly suited, and they could have won in 1991. Tom Kendall was perfectly aware of that fact. Jeff Purner and Hugh Fuller were certainly not so fast, but who knew? Joest would be the sole Porsche representative, with Oscar Larrauri and John Winter, Gianpiero Moretti was partnered by John Paul Jr. Mazda Motorsports had two cars for Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer. David Tennyson was the last GTP entrant with his familiar Spice SE91P Chevrolet. Six cars were run in Lights class, which also displayed a déjà vu air. Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin shared the wheel of one Spice SE91P Acura. The two of them would have to face two Kudzus. A DG2 for Firmin Velez and Andy Evans, and a DG1 for Tommy Riggins and Charles Morgan. Huffaker fielded a Buick powered car for Mark Rodrigues and David Rocha. The last car to be entered was another Spice SE90P Buick for Carlos Bobeda and Paul Debban. Juan Fangio captured the pole position in his Toyota, edging Davy Jones by one half second. Surprisingly, Davy Jones never managed to get ahead of his opponent, and he finally had to settle for fourth in the race. The race main exciting happened when Price Cobb would hit Pete Halsmer, bringing the full yellow. Geoff Brabham was pretty happy with his second place, forty seconds behind Juan Fangio. The Lights class again escaped the Comptech, with Charles Morgan and Tommy Riggins taking the win in the old car. At Watkins Glen, where the 2,5 mile track was used, a slightly different field of cars was entered led by the enigmatic BRM P351. Powered by a V12 3,5L engine, the car was a true mystery to everyone, and even driver Wayne Taylor would discover it. The car was not to meet IMSA's regulations and the team had to modify the air intake in order to be eligible. Juan Fangio and PJ Jones were now clearly the favorites on such a fast track. Davy Jones was to be a fierce opponent, however. Two Nissan NPT91s were entered, with Geoff Brabham running the latest evolution of the car. Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer ran their Mazda RX792Ps, which had to be updared constantly. No change was to be noticed as to the drivers who shared the Joest cars. The teams were basically the same. David Tennyson kept fielding his Spice SE91P Chevrolet. Six Lights cars again were entered. They were led by the Comptech Spice SE91P Acura driven by Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin. Scandia Motorsports fielded the same Kudzus as per usual. Firmin Velez and Andy Evans would drive the latest car while Charles Morgan and Tommy Riggins still relied on the DG1 version. Jim Downing was back, after skipping the previous event. He was still partnered by Tim McAdam. Mark Rodrigues and David Rocha drove the Huffaker car and Bob Schader had Tom Hessert as co-driver. The practice session highlighted the fact that the Jaguar was a very car, once again. With a lap well under the 60s, he posted a 245,888km/h average lap. Unfortunately, he was not so dominant during the race. Juan Fangio finally cruised to an easy victory while Davy Jones was to be slowed down by some unplanned pitstop. He finally ended up third, five laps down the winner. Second and scoring his first podium result was Price Cobb who gave Mazda its best result ever. The Lights class was somewhat different, with Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin dominating the race, but they experienced a late race problem, which caused them to finish the race in the pits! They won over Firmin Velez and Andy Evans by one lap, however. The next race was a swerve to the west coast, at Laguna Seca.
It was the track which saw Toyota dominate the previous year. The AAR team entered both cars for Juan Fangio and PJ Jones. TWR, which was aware of the fact that the opposition was more fierce than expected, entered two Jaguar XJR14s, with Davy Jones and Arie Luyendijk trying to break Toyota's streak of wins. Mazda Motorsports also fielded two cars for Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer. Tom Kendall was the sole Chevrolet GTP defender. Tom Milner had opted not to enter his cars. NPTI could rely on two cars : Geoff Brabham had the latest version. His car was now dubbed NPT91C, it sported the latest aerodynamical mods. Chip Robinson was at the wheel of the NPT91A car. One Porsche 962C was entered, and it was the Oscar Larrauri-John Winter entry. Two Spice SE91Ps were entered. David Tennyson had his usual Denon backed car, and John Hotschkis had hired John Paul Jr to drive his Pontiac powered car. The Lights class was no different from the classical fixture, but Comptech entered two cars. Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin drove their usual car while Ruggero Melgrati would team up with Wayne Taylor for the very first time.

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Ruggero Melgrati ran in a Spice SE91P Acura, and he had some very fine results, winning at Laguna Seca, with Wayne Taylor, and Phoenix with Parker Johnstone.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Their main opponents were still the two Scandia Motorsports cars. No change was to be noticed as for the drivers. Firmin Velez and Andy Evans would drive the latest car, while Tommy Riggins and Charles Morgan still drove the DG1 car. Bob Schader and Tom Hessert had a Spice SE90P Buick, and Paul Debban was co-driven by Steve Fossett in an old Spice SE88P Buick powered by a 3,0L engine. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam closed the entry list with Kudzu DG2 Buick. The week end was set under a sunny Californian weather. The practice session would clearly lay the background with Toyota placing both cars in the front row. PJ Jones edged his teammate for the first time.
Davy Jones was third. The race was already set. Juan Fangio jumped in the lead and was never to be challenged. His teammate PJ Jones clearly hanging to his second place. Davy Jones was only able to cling to the third place, and he easily did it, as Arie Luyendijk was to pit for an unscheduled pitstop : he managed to finish fourth, two laps down. David Tennyson had his best race ever, as he ended up ahead of Chip Robinson! The Lights class was a Spice Acura affair, with Ruggero Melgrati and Wayne Taylor winning the race, just ahead of their fellow teammates. The two Scandia cars finished third and fourth.
The next round was due to take place in Portland, Oregon. The very fast track was to favor the turbocharged cars. AAR was aware of that fact, and the two cars entered by the team were given as the favorites. Juan Fangio and PJ Jones would have to face one sole Jaguar XJR14, driven by Davy Jones. NPTI had two cars, with Chip Robinson own updated to a B version. Gianpiero Moretti was the one of two Porsche proponents, with John Paul Jr and Frank Biela as co-drivers. Oscar Larrauri again would drive the Joest car. Mazda Motorsports was eager to do its best against this tough competition, with Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer driving. In association with the Scandia Team, Al Unser Jr would run Tom Milner's Chevrolet GTP. It was the sole car, apart from David Tennyson's Spice, which was powered by a Chevrolet engine. The remainder of the field was made of Lights cars. Comptech was fielding two cars, in order to gather more points for the manufacturers' title. The Scandia team had chosen to run each car solo, so Charles Morgan and Firmin Velez would do the job alone. The latter would use a DG2 car for the first time. Two Spice SE90Ps were entered, with Tom Hessert also running solo, and Carlos Bobeda and Paul Debban running the boss' car. Steve Cameron and David Rocha drove the Huffaker car while Jim Downing, still partnered by Tim McAdam, seemed to get into trouble keeping up with the best. As per usual, Juan Fangio again stuck himself in the pole, while PJ Jones was trailing him. Davy Jones was on row two with Al Unser Jr alongside him. The race would turn into a Toyota domination, with Juan Fangio leading the race from the onset, PJ Jones was just behind him. Davy Jones was third, but unable to overtake the japanese cars. Al Unser Jr was a surprising fourth, and it looked like he could make it to the finish until his engine let go after thirty four laps. Davy Jones would try his best to catch up the Toyotas, but he was to be failed by his clutch. So the race belonged to AAR, and Juan Fangio would be pipped the race by his teammate, who went on to win the race. Third was Chip Robinson, who was three laps down. The Lights was another one-two for the Comptech team. Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin managed to finish ahead of Ruggero Melgrati and Wayne Taylor. A surprising third was Carlos Bobeda and Paul Debban in a Spice SE88P Buick. Firmin Velez would be stalled in the first lap, with gearbox problems.
The next race was scheduled at Road America, but this beautiful track was not to attract more than sixteen cars. A fine weather was to host the race, which would turn into a Toyota-Jaguar battle. Juan Fangio and PJ Jones were still looking for a new victory, but Davy Jones was eager to be back in winning form. The events would unfortunately prevent him from running, as he destroyed his car prior to the race. Geoff Brabham was the sole NPTI defender and the two Mazda RX792Ps had been thoroughly improved. Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer could rely on cars that would no longer ignite! Tom Kendall was back again in the works Chevrolet GTP. The two Joest Porsche 962Cs were still filling the fields, with John Paul Jr co-driving Gianpiero Moretti and Oscar Larrauri being partnered by John Winter. Three Kudzu DG2 Buicks were entered, by the usual teams. Charles Morgan and Tommy Riggins now using the same car as Firmin Velez and Andy Evans. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam, in the Bel-Ray car, would try to break the Acura dominance. Tom Hessert and Bob Schader had the sole Spice entered, while the Comptech team fielded a pair of Spice SE91P Acuras, with Parker Johnstone-Dan Marvin and Ruggero Melgrati-Wayne Taylor. They would have a tough week-end. While Juan Fangio shattered the previous mark by three seconds, he was less than one second shy of Bobby Rahal's Indy Car track record! The Jaguar XJR14 would be sent into the barrier during the warm-up session, and Davy Jones was out before the race! Since they lost their main opponent, the two Eagle Toyotas would run easy, never to be threatened by anybody. Tom Kendall, who seemed to be able to go at it, was out after five laps with a broken suspension. The remainder of the race was dull, with Geoff Brabham running and finishing a distant third, well ahead of Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer. The Lights was bizarre, as the two Comptech Spice Acuras led the race, but they both retired with engine problems.

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Charles Morgan and Tommy Riggins earned their first Lights victory at Road America in a Kudzu DG2 Buick.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Charles Morgan and Tommy Riggins then took over and won the race, just ahead of Jim Downing and Tim McAdam. Parker Johnstone, however, had already clinched the Championship for the second year in a row.
The next race was a new venue, as it was staged at Phoenix International Raceway. A small track, with a banking-infield combination.
A host of new cars would enter this race. They would face the two Eagle Toyotas, driven by Juan Fangio and PJ Jones. Geoff Brabham's car had been updated to its latest specs, and now it was a NPT91D version. This late version was equipped with a 2,5Liter engine with a single turbo and traction control. A 6speed gearbox and the side big air scoops were the notable aerodynamical changes. He would not be backed by Chip Robinson. The same could be said from Price Cobb who would run the sole Mazda RX792P. Davy Jones also was alone with his Jaguar XJR14, and he was struggling for a new victory which escaped him. No new Porsche 962C was expected, as Joest was the only German entrant. Gianpiero Moretti had John Paul Jr as co-driver and Oscar Larrauri would do his best at the wheel of his Joest car.

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Oscar Larrauri's talent was not enough to make up for his ageing car. He retired on lap 25 with an engine failure.

Copyright Paul Ajari

From Europe came a URD 04/3, which was BMW 3,5L powered, driven by Mario Hytten. With 450hp, you could not expect any feat from that car. Tom Milner was back again, with his two Chevrolet GTPs, driven by François Migault and Jeff Purner. The second would be withdrawn, and the two drivers would team up in a single car. The Lights class was still competitive, and a new contender was to be registered, in the name of a Kudzu DG2 Buick entered by Huffaker. Dominic Dobson and David Rocha would drive this car. Comptech still entered two cars, and they were facing some hardships, with some engine failures to be registered. Dan Marvin would drive solo, while Parker Johnstone would be co-driven by Ruggero Melgrati. Scandia Motorsports was relying on its two consistent teams, with Charles Morgan-Tommy Riggins and Firmin Velez-Andy Evans. Bob Schader and Tom Hessert fielded a Spice SE90P Buick while Jim Downing and Tim McAdam were to close the entry list. Growing strong, PJ Jones managed to stick his Eagle Toyota in the pole, edging Juan Fangio once again. Davy Jones was on the second row, with Geoff Brabham alongside. The fastest lap was clocked at 49s669, which meant that the spectators would enjoy the race thoroughly. The race saw PJ Jones stay ahead of Juan Fangio in the early stages of the race, then he would have to pit with engine troubles, and let his teammate grab the lead and win. Davy Jones never managed to threaten the Toyota and he had to settle for a new second place. Geoff Brabham was third, two laps down. Parker Johnstone and Ruggero Melgrati had a very clean race, and they won over Dominic Dobson and David Rocha in their Kudzu DG2 Buick. Dan Marvin retired on lap eighteen.

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Geoff Brabham in his Nissan NPT91C, running at Laguna Seca. He had a very difficult season, and he was happy to end up third in the point standings.

Copyright Paul Ajari

The very last race was to take in Del Mar, for the season finale. Juan Fangio was already crowned, and Davy Jones was willing to end up this season in a beautiful way. The chances for a great race were high. NPTI could only hope for ending up second in the points standings, passing Jaguar, who had a surprisingly bad season end. So, Juan Fangio and PJ Jones would face again Davy Jones and Geoff Brabham for the win. Three Chevrolet GTPs were also entered, with Tom Kendall running his works car, and Tom Milner entering two cars for François Migault-Jeff Purner and John Paul Jr, who had become some kind of rent-a-pilot. Mazda Motorsports would enter, for the last time, the two Mazda RX792Ps, with Pete Halsmer and Price Cobb. The sad news was that the entire project would be dropped definitively, due to financial reasons. David Tennyson entered his Spice SE91P Chevrolet, and he could be proud of his achievements as a true private entrant facing the works teams. The Lights class was a remake of every 1992 race, with the season long battle between the Comptech team, with Parker Johnstone-Dan Marvin and Ruggero Melgrati-Wayne Taylor. The latter being involved in the Chevrolet GTP project from the beginning was apparently searching for greener pasture. Firmin Velez-Andy Evans and Charles Morgan-Tommy Riggins now were fighting on the same level as the Acura powered cars. Jim Downing-Tim McAdam had a difficult season, always one level slower than the top contenders. Dominic Dobson and David Rocha, whose Kudzu was promising in the first place, seemed to mark time. The GTE-Mobilnet Spice SE90P Buick was driven by Tom Hessert and Jim Pace, while Carlos Bobeda's car was an older chassis. Carlos Bobeda was co-driven by Paul Debban. Juan Fangio would stick his car on the pole, with Davy Jones on the outside of the front row. The race was very promising. For the second time in the season, Juan Fangio had a dnf, as he retired on lap seventeen. The victory went to PJ Jones, who successfully resisted to Davy Jones. As it turned out, Davy Jones' Jaguar XJR14 faltered, but he was still classified in third place at the end. Geoff Brabham managed to finish second. The Lights race was again very exciting, with Comptech and Scandia cars battling for the lead throughout the race. Firmin Velez and Andy Evans won the race over Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin. Parker Johnstone won his second Championship in a row. The manufacturers crown went to Acura with 228pts over Buick with 222pts. It was pretty close!
As the season was through, the time had come to draw some conclusions for the elapsed season. It was a very disappointing one for Jaguar, who probably had the best weapon to win this championship. However, it seemed that the car was not properly developed. Very fast, and very well driven by Davy Jones, some mistakes were also made by the team, who lost the Championship by season end. AAR then almost won every race, with Juan Fangio and PJ Jones, who was awarded the Most Improved Driver title. The cars were incredibly fast and reliable. Juan Fangio took his first IMSA GTP Championship, easily beating Davy Jones in the end. But the races had become too much works oriented, and fields never over twenty cars. As Mark Raffauf would put it : "We need to tone things down, cars have become too fast." For the season to come, the GTP cars rules would change a lot, and older cars should be given weight advantages for 1993. Expensive turbo engines would be handicapped. No more Mazda RX792P and NPTI would offer his cars for sale. The end of the GTP era was silently lurking around. In fact, 1993 would the GTPs' last season. Many changes would happen during the upcoming season.

Posted on 25 January 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

AAGT Chevrolet Corvettes


These cars were the most advanced Corvettes ever built. The names were John Paul Sr, Greg Pickett, Rich Sloma, RV Schulnburg, Joe Chamberlain, Richard Valentine, Rick Hay, Larry Stephens, Jerry Brassfield or Ray McIntyre. Each car was specifically built and very different.
John Paul Sr purchased the second Greenwood designed car from Jack Roush's Protofab organisation. John Greenwood gave his permission to build the car. The car, as it was released first, was built to accomodate the IMSA GTO rules from the beginning. Bob Riley modified it through the use of extensive chrome-moly tubing, which was lighter than the original package. It resulted in a better rigidity, of course. John Paul used big block Can Am all aluminium engines from Bob Nicols shop and a Kinsler injection system. They would give 770hp on the dyno. These engines would be used under various configurations, according to contracts. Wheels were 17" in diameter and 15" wide in front, and 19 or 20" wide in rear. John Paul Sr had his car delivered to his shop and did the outfittings.
The car was to be used in 1978 by John Paul Sr, who drove it to some good results, but no win. He garnered some good placings in the beginning of the season, with one fifth at Road Atlanta, a second at Hallett and a third at Lime Rock. Then he did not earn any other good results. 

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Copyright Paul Woodbury

By the end of the season, he switched to a Porsche 935, and he won the Trans Am Championship the next season. The car appeared to have later been sold to Tico Almeida and Rene Rodriguez(T & R Racing) who converted it back to GTO specs.
Greg Pickett's car was the first car built under the new AAGT rules over the winter of 1976. This first generation of tubeframe Corvettes was financed by John Greenwood. The car, in its very first appearance, was painted in two tone silver livery. John Greenwood ran at some 1977 races, and Watkins Glen 6Hour race. Jerry Hansen purchased it and then sold it to Greg Pickett. Chassis design was by Bob Riley, and many people working at Jack Roush's Protofab. Charlie Selix and George Foltz to name a few. Wheels had different sizes from John Paul's car. 16" diameter wheels were used(14" wide) in the front and 21" wide to the rear. The engine used by Greg Pickett was by George Foltz. It was a 8,0L V8 engine which proved too much for the transmission. So it was finally detuned to 7,1L and 700hp. The car and Greg Pickett dominated the 1978 Championship. Pickett Racing also built cars for Jerry and Tony Brassfield, and their cars were lookalike ones.
Rich Sloma was an engineer at Lockheed Missiles ans Space company. He was also an independant racer who fielded various Chevrolet Corvettes in SCCA racing. He began running in IMSA and TransAm in 1973 when rules in both series were pretty similar. His car was then a 1969 Roadster, which was basically a GTO car. Changes would occur by the end of 1974, when IMSA rules became more liberal. He purchased a stock Corvette frame and began to work on the weight reduction process. He was working on the construction of a new car which would use that frame. It was the time when rules were drastically changing, and the AAGT class was born. While working on his car, he could not redo the chassis so he cut off the front of the stock frame and built a partial tube frame for the 1975 season. The car would run like this in the west coast races. The evolution process would continue in 1976 with the rebuilding of the rear section. The car, at that point, was a semi-tube frame. It started life as a roadster, but was then converted to a coupe for the 1976 season. The engine, also, would evolve with time. It was a carbureted all-aluminium Chevrolet ZL1, then Rich would come up with a Reynolds block, which gave 465CI, or 7,6L. A Lucas fuel injection unit was later acquired, which could improve the engine effectively. The engine would give around 700hp, with a huge torque. Big wheels were to be fitted to the car. In fact, it was quite compulsory, in order to accomodate the torque. 15" diameter wheels with 21" width to the rear and 16" wide to the front. The transmission was a GM Muncie M-22 4 speed, but later a Hewland LG600 transaxle was used, allowing a better gear availability.

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Courtesy Rich Sloma

The main problem was that the pinions had trouble keeping fit. They wouldn't last more than 3 hours. Rich Sloma was a true privateer, and he got some support from Automotive Enterprise, the shop in which his crew chief, John Whitmore, worked for. Rich ran his car from 1977 thru 1982 in its later form, and he managed to grab some results. Two fourth place finishes at Sears Point and Portland in 1978 were his best results. He was facing some Porsche 935s driven by the best drivers, so it looked like pretty good results. He also picked one fifth at Laguna Seca in 1980, and two sixths at Sears Point and Portland in 1982. By this time, the GTPs were already the dominating cars, so he was still up to the task!
RV Schulnburg's car  was the sister car to Mancuso's car. It used a coil-over suspension in the rear. The actual construction work also took place at Protofab. Chassis was the Greenwood 008. The car was somewhat modified to become a true AAGT car by 1978. It ran a very small deal of races, mainly in Florida, and Michael Keyser was part of the team in Sebring 1978 and 1980. The car featured a huge rear wing and a big front spoiler. Both styles included Greenwood upgrades to the chassis and suspension. The kick-up in the chassis was notched and there was a new hub and radius arm design. Emory Donaldson of FT Racing built the needle bearing A-arm bushings, steering arm parts, trailing arm bushings. Bob Riley designed the chassis and built the suspension pieces. Ron Fournier welded up the cages and chassis.

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Copyright Mark Windecker

Rick Hay's car was built by its owner, who began his racing career as he worked for John Greenwood, as a fabricator and doing the paint work. He began building his own cars in 1975, and had his own AAGT car in 1978. He built a copy of the Greenwood cars in his spare time. Rick met Richard Valentine around this period. He would move up to the AAGT class in 1978, and had John Bishop amend the GTX rules permitting a free location of the transmission. This would lead to a new car, which was the famous tubeframe transaxle car. The GTO car evolved as an AAGT car with the addition of a rear wing. They met during the 1976 season.
Richard Valentine had his car built by Rick Hay. They had decided to form USA Racing Inc. The tubeframe car was kind of unique, with some of the best equipment available. Rick got help from McLaren Racing, who provided him with a Hewland transaxle and spares. The engines were built by Foltz Engineering, and Dave King. Starting as a 7,0L, it finally ended up at 8,3L. The engines were finally acquired at Performance Engineering, with Brad Francis giving out the best ones. The car displayed some very innovative features. The transmission differential was rear mounted and the driveshaft was tied to the flywheel. The suspension setup was also quite different, with the gas tank mounted in a very high location. When Rick Hay passed away, the team would go on working on this very ambitious project, using his notes and trying to become one of the US spearheads. Once they secured some sponsorship, the job would get done, with some evolutions clearly set. The engine location had been modified, too, but it was not fully developed. This car proved too much powerful, and was also hampered by its particular wheel-tires setup. It was quite impossible to get the tires at the proper temperature. The tires, which were 19" wide, were low profiled. It proved very unforgivable, and later on, when the team chose to switch for 16" tires,  the car suddenly went better. However, it never succeeded as a racer. It was run from 1980 thru 1982, with a last appearance at Miami and Atlanta in 1983. Then it was set aside, and Richard Valentine switched to his former coil-over car. After a late crash, it was finally sold to Paul Canary.

Joe Chamberlain's car was aesthetically similar to the Greenwood cars. It ran a small block engine. It was run in the Trans Am and some IMSA events from 1980 thru 1985 or so, on a sporadic basis.

Ray McIntyre's car was completely different from most of these racers. The basis for this car was a C4 chassis, and definitely not a Greenwood lookalike car. The car would be entered in the GTP class, and it was an hybrid car. I do not have much information about this car as well as Larry Stephens huge car, but I can provide you with a picture fo the latter taken at Daytona 1981 Finale.

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Copyright Jean Marc Teissèdre

The AAGT Chevrolet Corvettes were wild cars, and it seems that if they had been properly developed, they could have provided some stiff competition to the all-dominating GTX cars such as the Porsche 935s or BMWs. Unfortunately, they suffered from their weight and transmission. Parts often wouldn't last that long and they had to change them at each rebuild of the engines. Teams would have to do the job alone, and it certainly was no easy task. Then the purpose built GTP cars would appear and, suddenly, it was all over for those advanced cars. But they would be so spectacular! They brought another dimension to the show.

Many thanks to Rich Sloma and Wayne Ellwood, who helped a lot. Don't forget to visit the Registry of Corvettes racers site.

Posted on 15 February 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Sears Point 1986 : a sweet Dyson win


The twisty Californian track would host another GTP race in which Porsche still earned the lion's share. However, Nissan was beginning to set its mark with Geoff Brabham and Elliot Forbes Robinson setting some very good lap times at various tracks. The field was attractive, with twenty one cars entered. Five Porsche 962s would face two Jaguar XJR7s, two BMW GTPs, two Ford Probes, one Chevrolet Corvette GTP and a single March 84G Chevrolet.
The Porsche 962s were the favorites, as per usual, with Al Holbert and Derek Bell leading the field in their Löwenbrau car, entered by Holbert Racing. They would have to face a strong opposition from the Dyson Racing car, driven by Rob Dyson and Price Cobb. Bayside Racing entered one car with Bob Wollek and Paolo Barilla driving. Busby Racing relied on Jochen Mass and Darin Brassfield while Jim Busby teamed up with John Morton in the BF Goodrich mounted cars. Bob Akin had his Coca Cola machine for James Weaver and himself. The German cars, even as favorites, would have to face a string of opponents. Group 44 fielded two cars with Brian Redman and Hurley Haywood in one of the two Jaguar XJR7 cars. Those were evolutions of the XJR5 car, with much more downforce, and a 6,0L or 6,5L V12 engine. The car was also more efficient aerodynamically. Bob Tullius and Chip Robinson were at the wheel of the second car. BMW was fielding two cars, each of them driven by either the youngsters or the veterans. David Hobbs was partnered by John Watson and John Andretti was co-driven by Davy Jones.

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David Hobbs and John Watson proved that the BMW GTP was a worthy competitor in the GTP class.

Copyright Van Zannis, courtesy Racingsportscars

They had recovered a new health and appeared as potential winners. They sported a 2,0L 4 cylinder turbocharged engine, given for 800hp. Zakspeed had two Ford Probes. Klaus Ludwig being partnered by Tom Gloy, and Lyn St James had Pete Halsmer as co-driver. Electramotive had brought its Nissan ZX T GTP, which should be driven by Elliot Forbes Robinson. He would run solo, a strategy that could be rewarding on such a track. Hendrick Motorsport fielded one Chevrolet Corvette GTP, still to be driven by Sarel van der Merwe and Doc Bundy. Conte Racing also fielded one car, which was a Hawk Buick. Whitney Ganz and Jim Crawford would drive it. The last GTP car to be entered was the Mosler Racing March 84G Chevrolet. This car was to be driven by Brian Goellnicht and Phil Compton. It was virtually the only real private entry. Curiously, the Lights class was only five cars rich. Financial woes seemed to have hit the class. Bob Earl, in the Spice Engineering Spice Fiero, was the new class of the field.

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The Sears Point pit lane prior to the start, with Tom Blackaller Tiga in front.

Copyright Kenneth Barton

Jim Downing was to drive his Argo JM19 Mazda solo, and he would oppose his reliability to the Spice speed. He would face Howard Katz and Steve Phillips, in a Tiga GT285 Chevrolet. Jim Rothbarth and Mike Meyer, in the Mike Meyer Racing Royale RP40 Mazda, were clearly slower. As was the Tiga GT285 Mazda driven by Tom Blackaller and Mark Rodrigues. The former being here in order to relax before the upcoming America's Cup. The practice session was dominated by Elliot Forbes Robinson, whose Nissan ZX T GTP. But the Nissan failed to make the practice sheets, and he would start in seventh position. Bob Wollek was the pole sitter, edging Price Cobb and the two Ford Probes driven by Klaus Ludwig and Pete Halsmer. John Andretti was behind them, trailed by John Watson, Elliot Forbes Robinson and Al Holbert. The two Jaguar XJR7s were next. The race showed a lot of promise, with a very competitive field. At the start of the race, Bob Wollek was in the lead, followed by Price Cobb and Klaus Ludwig. Pete Halsmer was out of contention, right from the beginning, losing many places. Behind the three leaders were the two BMW GTPs, eager to fight against the best. Ford seemed quite unlucky as Klaus Ludwig would pit on lap four. A broken A-arm would cost him twelve laps,  negating his chances at winning the race. Bob Wollek and Price Cobb would away from the rest of the pack, and Al Holbert, who started from a lowly sixth position, was making his move through the field. He was fifth by lap six. Jim Crawford, running the Hawk Buick, would stop by lap twelve, with a broken gearbox. The Ford drivers would stop and switch cars, with Klaus Ludwig jumping into Pete Halsmer's car while Tom Gloy relieved him in the best placed car.  Bob Wollek was still in the lead, slightly ahead of Price Cobb, but his tires were fading away. Price Cobb then took the lead on lap twenty, and he pulled away from him by one second per lap.

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Bob Wollek again was extremely fast, but he was lost by his tires.

Copyright Van Zannis, courtesy Racingsportscars

Bob Wollek then stopped four laps later. A blistered right rear tire was removed, but he lost an additional five seconds for jumping the start. Jochen Mass was forced to pit by a lack of rubber on lap eighteen. Action was not to be denied, as Pete Halsmer passed Al Holbert for fifth. Hurley Haywood spun in turn eleven. While Price Cobb seemed to be settled in first position, the big surprise would come from John Andretti, whose BMW GTP was now in second place. Pete Halsmer was behind him and followed by David Hobbs. Unfortunately for John Andretti, he would be in trouble with his ice chest cool suit breaking loose. He had to pit, leaving his position to Pete Halsmer, soon to be passed by David Hobbs. Then came the refueling period. Rob Dyson would take over the Porsche 962, followed by John Watson, who had replaced David Hobbs. Elliot Forbes Robinson, in his Nissan ZX T GTP, was now in fourth, and was still at the wheel of his car in this very hot California afternoon. It seemed that the cars would begin to suffer from that moment, as engines would suddenly let go in many cars. Pete Halsmer's Ford Probe, James Weaver's Porsche 962 and Jim Busby's Porsche 962. John Watson's BMW GTP was to strike the tire wall while somewhat blocked by a bunch of cars. Bob Tullius Jaguar XJR7 and James Weaver Porsche 962 would all lose their engines. That left Rob Dyson in the lead, with Al Holbert now in second place, followed by Brian Redman's Jaguar XJR7. Elliot Forbes Robinson was third, just ahead of the remaining BMW GTP driven by John Andretti and Davy Jones.  Rob Dyson's way to victory was only to be annoyed by a malfunctioning cool suit. He proved that a perfect race preparation would finally pay off. In addition, Rob Dyson also proved that he was an excellent race driver, running only fractions of second off Price Cobb's pace. This being done with a malfunctioning cool suit. The rest of the race was history, and the pair won with a forty one second margin over Al Holbert. The Lights class, which had been dominated by Bob Earl, in his Spice Fiero, in practice, saw him easily escape from the rest of the tiny field. On lap twenty four, however, he would pit with brakes problems. Back to the track, a flat tire sent him again to his pits. Tom Blackaller, who had taken over the lead in his Tiga GT285 Mazda, seemed to be set for a class win when he crashed his car while trying to avoid Brian Goellnicht's March 84G Chevrolet. Howard Katz was the new leader of the race but he was overtaken by Jim Downing three laps from the finish. Jim Rothbarth and Mike Meyer ended up third. All three cars were on the same lap at the end. It was a very dull race for the Lights class, but a good win for Jim Downing.

As a conclusion, the race was great, with many potential winners. It was perhaps the most competitive season ever, with many great makes having a go at GTP racing. About fifteen cars could be a potential winner at nearly every race. It was the golden years of Sportscar Racing and Brian Redman called this season : "This is by far the most competitive road racing series in the world." He was certainly right!

Posted on 06 March 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

1993 : the last GTP season, part 1


It would be the last GTP season, and it seemed that the IMSA Championship was already doomed. NPTI had withdrawn his Nissan NPT91 from the competition, and Gianpiero Moretti had purchased one of them. AAR seemed to be the sole entrant willing to earn yet another crown. This crown being the last GTP one, as a new category was to grow up for 1994. The World Sports Cars should take over the GTP and be a brand new kind of racing machines. Even Jaguar, which would compete at Daytona and Sebring, would then pull over from the competition. The glory days from the GTP championship seemed to be very far away, and a new era was dawning. The situation of the endurance series in 1993 was kind of critical, with many changes still to take place. It was also true for the World Endurance Championship, whose regulations were also being thoroughly modified. Mike Cone, the IMSA CEO, was sensing the fact that things were getting out of control, and he called back John Bishop, who had retired, in order to regain any form of control. Dan Gurney, who joined the discussion in order to find a solution, didn't feel that the new organisation took their proposals into account, and he felt somewhat disappointed. The 1993 season started under very strange circumstances, the future being sealed in an uncertain way. The Daytona 24 Hour race was the first race, and the field was a strange mix of odd cars. AAR fielded two Eagle MKIIIs, which were improved cars. They were 59kilos heavier, and sported new carbon brakes as well as a 5speed March gearbox. Juan Fangio and Andy Wallace at the wheel of the first car, while PJ Jones, Mark Dismore and Rocky Moran shared the second car. TWR entered three cars. These cars were entered in the Le Mans class, with Davy Jones, Scott Pruett and Scott Goodyear driving car #2, John Nielsen at the wheel of the #3, and John Andretti, David Brabham, John  Nielsen and Davy Jones driving car #32. One of those cars should be withdrawn after one half hour, as predicted. Joest Racing had brought two cars, which were evolved Porsche 962s. Danny Sullivan, Hurley Haywood, Chip Robinson and Henri Pescarolo would share car #6, and John Winter, Frank Jelinski, Manuel Reuter and Bob Wollek drove car #7. Two strong entries indeed, which were backed by two other Porsche 962s. Dyson Racing entered a very traditional 962. Rob Dyson was co-driven by James Weaver, Price Cobb and Elliot Forbes Robinson, while John Hotschkis was back with his own 962, and he would enter it with Jim Adams, Bob Kirby and Chris Cord. The Gunnar Racing Porsche 966 was back again, with Dennis Aase, Jay Cochran, Chip Hanauer, Bobby Carradine and Carlos Moran. The last GTP entry was Gianpiero Moretti's, this time with a Nissan NPT90, which he purchased from NPTI. Gianpiero Moretti, Derek Bell, John Paul Jr and Massimo Sigala would try to do their best against the AAR cars. The Lights class was eight car strong, and the favorite was the all conquering Spice Acura driven by Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin. In such a race, however, no one could predict the final result in advance, and durability could prevail. Scandia Motorsport's Kudzu DG2 Buick was one of the most efficient one in terms of strength. The boss, Andy Evans was partnered by Charles Morgan and Lon Bender. The second car was driven by Firmin Velez, Don Bell, John Marconi and Tom Hessert.
You could tell the same about the older Kudzu DG2 Mazda entered by Erie Scientific. Frank Jellinek, John Grooms, Jim Downing, who did not enter his own car, and Tim McAdam. Pro Technik entered a Fabcar Porsche, driven by Sam Shalala, Mike Sheehan, Chris Ivey, Buddy Lazier and Anthony Lazzaro. This car was also one of the most reliable in the field. The most recent car was Bob Schader's Motorola Spice AK93, which was fitted with the Allard's cockpit. The engine was the same as the Comptech one, and Bob Schader was co-driven by Bob Earl and Chris Smith. It was a serious challenger for the works Acura car. Bieri Racing was back with a Alba AR2 Ford, John Jones, Kenny Wilden, Neil Jamieson and Paul Duckworth would drive it. Two older Tigas were entered. Club Zed entered a colorful car, with Joseph Hamilton, Peter Harholdt, Ross Bentley, Rob Mingay and John Mirro. The car was Mazda powered. The other car was Buick powered, with John Macaluso, Bruce McInnes and Ed DeLong at the wheel.
Nissan and Ford was the big fight on display at Daytona, with Oldsmobile ready to pounce. Roush Racing was the team to beat, with a pair of ever improved Ford Mustangs. The Cobra version was the ultimate evolution of a born winner. The cars now displayed a huge rear wing, allowing more downforce to the rear. Tom Kendall, Robbie Buhl and Wally Dallenbach Jr would drive the first car, and Jim Stevens, Mark Martin and John Fergus were the second team at the wheel of a similar car. Two other Ford Mustangs were entered by private teams, but they were by no means to be underrated. Pepsi did sponsor one car, with Jon Gooding, Joe Pezza and Bill Cooper at the wheel. Hero Sports fielded another car, with Ron Fellows, Pieter Baljet, Désiré Wilson and Tomiko Yoshikawa driving.
CCR entered a pair of Nissan 300ZX Tcs, with Steve Millen, Johnny O'connell and John Morton on the first car, while another car was driven by Geoff Brabham, who was newly unemployed, Dominic Dobson, David Loring and Tommy Riggins. A very unusual team of drivers from different areas of expertise. Rocketsports entered two Oldsmobile Cutlasses, with Jack Baldwin and Dorsey Schroeder in the first car, and Calvin Fish and George Robinson in the other one. The cars were state-of-the-art evolutions of the GT spearhead, powered by a 6,5L engine. Two other Oldsmobile Cutlasses were entered by a handful of drivers from Argentina. Oscar Aventin, Osvaldo Lopez, Juan Landa and Osvaldo Morresi were to drive car #23, and Jorge Oyhanart, Emilio Satriano, Eduardo Ramos and Fabian Acuna were on car #25. The cars were prepared by Kreider Racing Enterprises, on a rent-a-car basis. The remainder of the field was simply classical, with a bunch of Chevrolet Camaros, which were less competitive. Daniel Urrutia, Craig Rubright and Gene Whipp would drive the Southern Racing Chassis entered car, which appeared to be the most competitive. Richard and Bill McDill were entering something as their twenty fifth race here at Daytona. John Annis would enter another team of six drivers, with Dick Downs, Louis Beall, Bob Deeks, Robert Kirkland and Eddie Sharp co-driving him. A more interesting entry was that of Apple Motorsports, which entered a new Pontiac Firebird. Les Delano, Andy Peterey, Steve Fossett and Gary Stewart would drive this brand new car.
The GTU class was all Japanese,,with a Nissan-Mazda battle in view, and with Porsche 911s lurking. Bob Leitzinger's car easily fastest in the class. Reed Kryder was another Nissan entrant, and he drove his car with Guy Kuster, Frank Del Vecchio and Joe Danaher. Another extra car was Henry Taleb's, who brought an ex-Leitzinger car to the US, with Alfonso and Marcelo Adarquea, along with Ignacio Escobar co-driving him.
Mazda had two different types of cars running, which were one RX7 and MX6s. Eduardo Dibos came from Peru, he drove his MX6 car with Juan Dibos and Raul Orlandini. Henry Camferdam had also an MX6, co-driven by Gary Drummond and Dan Robson. Waggy's Wankel Wracing fielded another car driven by David Russell, Michael Graham and Bill Auberlen.
Dick Greer ran the only RX7 entered, but it would not prove to be a handicap for this race. Al Bacon, Peter Uria and Mike Mees were his co-drivers. A trio of Porsche 911s were also to be run. Pro-Technik entered a car for a six men team of drivers. Frank Beard, of ZZ Top fame, was co-driven by Anthony Lazzaro, Sam Shalala, Alex Tradd, Omar Daniel and Andre Toennis. The car was fitted with a slant nose, as was the Alex Job Racing car. Butch Hamlet, Charles Slater and Mark Sandridge would drive GTU car. Another 911, which was more conventional, was entered by Jack Lewis. He would be partnered by Joe Cogbill and Stephen Hynes.

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Jack Lewis entered this conventional Porsche 911 at Daytona. Stephzn Hynes, Joe Cogbill and himself would end up in 38th place overall.

Copyright unknown

That rounded out the GTU class. Another class was to be admitted for the first time in the IMSA Championship. The Invitational GT were literally production GT cars, which were allowed minor modifications in order to be able to race. Nine cars were entered, amongst them were mainly Porsche Carrera 2s. They would have to face two Chevrolet Corvettes and one Porsche 944. A contingent of european entries had traveled to the US in order to fight for the win. Enzo Calderari, Ronny Meixner, Luigino Pagotto and Sandro Angelastri drove the Cigarette Race Boats sponsored car. Wolfgang and Oliver Mathai were to drive the Porsche Hildesheim car with Edgar Dören. Two american teams would fight against these "invaders". Rohr Engineering entered one car for Jochen Rohr, John O'steen, Larry Schumacher and John Biggs, Oliver Kuttner, Danny Marshall and Weldon Scrogham drove the Crutchfield car audio machine. Three Chevrolet Corvettes were entered by two different teams. Mobil 1/Goodyear had two ZR1s for John Heinricy, Stu Hayner, Andy Pilgrim and Don Knowles, driving both cars, and Scott Allman, Del Percilla, Danny Kellermeyer, Ron Nelson, again with John Heinricy and Andy Pilgrim. The last car was Mercruiser backed, and driven by Boris Said, Peter Cunningham, Jim Minneker, Shawn Hendricks and Lou Gigliotti. The Porsche 944 Tc was entered by Champion Porsche, the largest Porsche dealer in the US. Leigh Miller, Paul Lewis, John and Paul Reisman, along with Ludwig Heimrath Sr, would drive this car. A question would arise : was it the end of Sportscar racing in its current form? The practice session would highlight the Toyota Eagle MKIIIs domination, with Juan Fangio shattering the previous mark. The Porsche 962s and the Momo Nissan NPT90 were close behind them. The race was to be set in a very strong pace, and no one would try to follow them. The Jaguar XJR12s were running at their own pace, but one car was withdrawn after a few laps. John Nielsen was to stop with a faulty crankshaft seal, and the car was to retire. They would bring back the Le Mans configured car to the track, but it wouldn't last that long. Juan Fangio and PJ Jones would trade the lead many times in the opening laps of the race. The Porsche 962s were out of contention very soon, as Henri Pescarolo would retire with a blown engine. The other car would struggle with overheating and retire early after midnight. The Le Mans class Jaguar retired after four hours with handling problems. While PJ Jones was still in the lead, Juan Fangio would stop with electrical problems. He would hold the lead until midnight, then Davy Jones would take over when PJ Jones would have to replace his front bodywork. The two cars would trade the lead in the early morning, then Mark Dismore hit the wall in the chicane. He was back to the pits for repairs after seven minutes. Scott Pruett held the lead, but he was to pit with a transmission failure. He would himself change one-third of the shift linkage, gettin help from his pit crew. Mark Dismore seemed to be able to take over, but he was soon back to his pits, with a smoking Toyota. A lengthy transmission replacement would also take place. The Jaguar XJR12 was back with Davy Jones now fighting with Gianpiero Moretti's Nissan NPT90. However, Davy Jones was not to rejoice for long, as the Jaguar's engine would expire in a huge puff of smoke. The Momo Nissan then held the lead, while PJ Jones Toyota was to change his brake pads. It looked like the Nissan was set for a well deserved victory, but the engine failed in turn six.

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PJ Jones, Mark Dismore and Rocky Moran survived a high attrition race to capture a first overall win in a 24 Hour race for Toyota.

Copyright Norbert Vogel

The Toyota regained the lead with one hour and a half to go, and it would last until the chequered. This race also was very hard on engines, and the sole GTP car finishing the race was Rob Dyson's Porsche 962, which was already sold. Second overall was the Ford Mustang Cobra driven by Wally Dallenbach Jr, Robby Gordon, Tommy Kendall and Robby Buhl. They won the GTS class over teammates Mark Martin, John Fergus and Jim Stevens. The two cars outlasted the two Nissan 300ZXs, which ran into trouble. However, Steve Millen, Johnny O'connell and John Morton managed to finish third in class. The two Oldsmobile Cutlasses were out after six hours of racing. The Lights class could not escape the Comptech team, in terms of speed, but Bob Earl outpaced them in practice. During the race, Parker Johnstone retired very early due to electrical problems. The Erie Scientific Kudzu DG1 Mazda again proved its reliability, with John Grooms, Frank Jellinek, Jim Downing and Tim McAdam. The GTU class befell to Mazda, once again, and Dick Greer managed to make it third in a row. Al Bacon, Peter Uria and Mike Mees co-drove him. The Porsche 911 driven by Frank Beard et all was second in class, forty six laps behind.
The Invitational GT class was won by Enzo Calderari, Luigino Pagotto, Sandro Angelastri and Ronnie Meixner.
The Miami race was the next event, with seventeen cars taking the green flag. The field was nonetheless an interesting one, with some new cars. AAR, of course, was entering its pair of Toyota Eagle MKIII, with Juan Fangio and PJ Jones driving. Back to the track was a Chevrolet GTP, entered by Danka/Famous Amos. Wayne Taylor would drive it with George Fouche. Momo Corse entered the Nissan NPT90 which had done well at Daytona, with Derek Bell co-driving Gianpiero Moretti. The Auto Toy Store was fielding a pair of Spice Chevrolets, driven by Raul Boesel and Jeff Andretti. David Tennyson still relied on his Spice SE90P Chevrolet, and he would be partnered by Price Cobb, who was unemployed since Rob Dyson retirement of IMSA racing for this season. Joest Racing was entering a lonely Porsche 962C, and Manuel Reuter drove this car with John Winter. Massimo Sigala would drive another Nissan NPT90, entered by Cristal Aquardiente Racing, which purchased another NPTI car. The Lights class was six car rich, and each top team entered one car. Comptech fielded one Spice SE91P Acura for Parker Johnstone and Ruggero Melgrati. Motorola was the new contender, with a Spice AK93 Acura driven by Bob Earl and Bob Schader. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam were at the wheel of a Kudzu DG2 Mazda, now sponsored by Bel-Ray. Scandia Motorsport also had a pair of Kudzus, which was Buick powered. Andy Evans, Charles Morgan and Firmin Velez drove the two cars, alternatively. The last car was a Phoenix Alfa Romeo entered by Auto Volante, which was driven by Carlos Moran. A new class was to be introduced at Miami, and it was supposed to showcase what was in store for the teams for the next season. The WSC class was what would be the new top-notch category. The cars were basically open sportscars with stock block engines up to 5,0 Litres. A Kudzu DG2 Buick was entered by Scandia Motorsports. François Migault and Andy Evans was to test drive the car. The other car was an Argo JM19 Buick, with an open roof, driven by Brent O'neill. While Juan Fangio again set a new track record, it was clear that the race could escape Toyota. PJ Jones was the only challenger. Both of them swapped the lead many times during the race. Juan Fangio managed to keep first place at the end, four seconds ahead of teammate PJ Jones. David Tennyson and Price Cobb did a great job at taking third place, finally beating the Momo Nissan NPT90. The race was simply a foretaste of what was laying ahead in the season. The Lights class was won by Parker Johnstone and Ruggero Melgrati, who drove their Spice SE91P Acura to victory. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam finished second in the Kudzu DG2 Mazda. Brent O'neill made history in becoming the first ever WSC winner in IMSA. 

Dallenbach

Wally Dallenbach,Robby Gordon, Robbie Buhl and Tom Kendall easily won the GTS class, finishing second overall in their Ford Mustang Cobra.

Copyright Norbert Vogel

At Sebring, forty seven cars were entered. Only eight GTPs were to be running. The two AAR Toyota Eagle MKIIIs were easily the fastest cars on the track. Juan Fangio was co-driven by Andy Wallace, while PJ Jones was co-driven by Rocky Moran. The Momo Nissan NPT90 again appeared as the strongest opposition. Gianpiero Moretti and Derek Bell were strongly aided by John Paul Jr, in a bid to win the race. Joest Racing entered only one car, driven by John Winter, Manuel Reuter and Chip Robinson. Gunnar Racing fielded its typical Porsche 966, with Dennis Aase, Bobby Carradine, Chip Hanauer and Jay Cochran. John Hotschkis was also fielding a Porsche 962, and Chris Cord would partner him.  Auto Toy Store entered a Spice SE90P Chevrolet, with Wayne Taylor, Jeff Andretti, Morris Shirazi and James Weaver. The Lights class was six car strong, with the two Spice Acuras dominating the field. Parker Johnstone and Ruggero Melgrati were co-driven by Dan Marvin. Bob Earl and Bob Schader were co-driven by Jeremy Dale. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam were co-driven by Howard Katz in the Kudzu DG2 Mazda. The other cars were simply outpaced. The ZZ Pro Technik Fabcar Porsche driven by Sam Shalala, Mike Sheehan, Anthony Lazzaro, Gustl Spreng and Philippe Favre could only rely on its durability. The Alba AR5 Ford entered by Bieri Racing was not enough powerful, and John Jones, Neil Jamieson and Jeff Lapcevich would try to do their best. The Phoenix Alfa Romeo was a homebuilt car, but it proved raceworthy. Steve Sirgany, Cliff Rassweiler and James Lea would drive it. The GTS class was strong, with again a Ford-Oldsmobile-Nissan fight ahead.
Roush Racing fielded one car for Tom Kendall and John Fergus. It would be a harsh task to fight against the rwo CCR Nissan 300ZXs driven by Steve Millen, Johnny O'connell and John Morton, who drove car #1, and John Morton and Tommy Riggins sharing car #76. Rocketsports entered two Oldsmobile Cutlasses, one for Darin Brassfield and Scott Pruett, and another one for Paul Gentilozzi and Dorsey Schroeder. Alert Bumper Inc entered another car with Eddie Sharp Sr and Jr and Dick Downs.
Another interesting car was the beautiful Pontiac Firebird entered by Apple Motorsports. Andras Peterey, John Macaluso and Tommy Schweitz would drive it. A Pontiac Grand Prix was also entered, prepared and driven by Gary Smith for Carolina Racing Engines. He was co-driven by Robert Borders and Mark Kennedy. Southern Racing Chassis entered a Chevrolet Camaro, to be driven by Daniel Urrutia, Gene Whipp and Luis Sereix, another IMSA veteran. Hi-Tech Coating had another Chevrolet Camaro for Richard and Bill McDill, sharing their car with Tom Juckette. Fantasy Junction fielded one car, driven by Kent Painter, Bruce Trenery and Andrew Osman. Hoyt Overbagh entered another similar car, which he would drive with Mark Montgomery, Oma Kimbrough, Robert McElnehy and Bob Hundredmark. The GTU class was again to be led by the Leitzinger Racing Nissan 240SX. Don Knowles and Bob Leitzinger would try to make it two in a row. Kryderacing entered its usual Nissan 240SX for Reed Kryder and Guy Kuster. Dick Greer was again the only Mazda RX7 proponent, with the driver line-up as for Daytona. The two other Mazdas were MX6s. Eduardo Dibos was co-driving his car with Bill Auberlen, and Domenico DeLuca drove his car with Bill Weston. Three Porsche 911s were entered, and the Team Casual Motorsport was the sole new entry, with Lorin Hicks, Ron Zitza, Tommy Johnson and Mel Butt. Alex Job Racing would try to make it to the finish, with Butch Hamlet, Charles Slater and Bill Ferran at the wheel. The Invitational GT were still here, and a great addition was the Brumos Porsche 911 Turbo, driven by Hans Stuck, Walter Roehrl and Hurley Haywood. The car would easily dominate its class. A few Porsche Carrera 2s were entered, but it would be for a runner-up position. Rohr Engineering was avid to take revenge against the Cigarette Boats entry driven by Enzo Calderari, Ronnie Meixner and Luigino Pagotto. A pair of Porsche 944 Turbos also competed. The last entry was a BMW M5, entered by Ed Arnold Racing, with David Donohue, Chris Hodgetts and Dieter Quester.
This race was to become one of the worst ever to be run in terms of weather, as a string of showers and storms was to happen. Off courses and spins are commonplace. On thursday, however, a very short span of time enabled the drivers to run on a dry track. Juan Fangio would break the track record, just ahead of his teammate, PJ Jones. The start of the race also made history, being the first ever to be given under a rainy weather. Juan Fangio jumped in the lead, but he was to be overtaken by PJ Jones. A melee occured in GTS, with Dorsey Schroeder spinning, and blocking Tom Kendall, who lost four laps in the process. When he was able to restart, the pace car was already out for a stint. The weather was becoming worse, leading to a red flag. A new start was to be given at 3pm. The two Toyota Eagle MKIIIs were still leading, with the Momo Nissan NPT90, the Porsche 962 and François Migault's Spice. The race was kind of non existant, with the pace car maintaining a steady pace, not a race one. When the race would restart, John Paul Jr would put on a show, easily catching up the two Toyotas. After eight hours of racing, Chip Robinson would retire with a broken suspension. The two AAR cars were still leading, but PJ Jones would lose some ground, with a water leak. Gianpiero Moretti's Nissan NPT90 was able to maintain his second place while Steve Millen-John Morton and Johnny O'connell finally won the GTS class, just ahead of Tom Kendall, John Fergus and Max Jones, who lost the race in the early moments. Parker Johnstone, Dan Marvin and Ruggero Melgrati again won the Lights class, and Dick Greer made it two in a row, after winning at Daytona.

Greer93

Dick Greer, Al Bacon, Peter Uria and Mike Mees made it two in a row by winning the GTU class at Sebring after Daytona.

Copyright Michael Crews(courtesy Racing Sports Cars)

Hans Stuck, Walter Roehrl and Hurley Haywood had a great race, finishing in seventh place and easily capturing the Invitational GT class. But what an awful race! A race to forget, for sure. (to be continued)

Posted on 06 April 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

1993 : the last GTP season, part 2


The next race was to take place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the first time, on 18th april. Seventeen cars would show up, with only seven GTPs facing nine Lights and one WSC. Still undefeated in 1993, the track seemed perfectly suited to the Eagle Toyota MKIIIs abilities. Juan Fangio II and PJ Jones would have to face two Joest Porsche 962s, driven by Bob Wollek-Ronny Meixner and Manuel Reuter and John Winter. Wayne Taylor would try to compensate the Chevrolet GTP's lack of speed with his own talent. Gianpiero Moretti was partnered by Derek Bell in the Nissan NPT90, a car that was no more developed. David Tennyson was the last GTP entrant with his Spice SE90P Chevrolet, but he was to fight against the Porsche 962s. The Lights class was to be more attractive, up to a certain point. Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin still were the favorites, but the Motorola Spice AK93 Acura was a valuable challenger. Bob Earl was partnered by Bob Schader, who was a tad slower than him. Jim Downing and John Maffucci were at the wheel of the Kudzu DG2 Buick which was improving slowing. Another Kudzu, which was a Mazda powered DG1, was entered by European Auto Sales, for Jim Pace and Mike Sheehan. It was Jim Downing former car. Ed de Long entered two Tiga GT286 Buick, which he would share with Bobby Brown and Chris Ivey. Neil Jamieson entered a Alba AR2 Ford he would co-drive fellow countryman John Jones. The last car was a Fabcar Porsche, driven by Sam Shalala and Anthony Lazzaro. An old car, indeed. The last entry was to showcase what was held in store for the years to come, with a WSC Kudzu Buick. This car was entered by Andy Evans, would was partnered by François Migault. The car would prove slower than the fastest Lights cars, which gave a sneak preview of the series evolution. The practice sessions held no surprise, as PJ Jones once again was faster than his teammate, Juan Fangio II. The two cars were followed by the two Joest Porsche 962s. The race would once again belong to AAR drivers, with Juan Fangio II and PJ Jones fighting hard, well ahead of the opposition. It looked like they would have to toss the dice to win, but it would be the pits which should make the difference. The win went to Juan Fangio II, by seven seconds. Bob Wollek and Ronny Meixner were third, but three laps down. The Lights class was a hard-fought one, with Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin emerging from the battle and winning over Jim Downing and Tim McAdam. Bob Earl and Bob Schader took third in their Spice Acura.
Lime Rock was the next race, and it featured only fourteen cars. They were led, of course, by the two AAR Eagle Toyota MKIIIs, driven by Juan Fangio II and PJ Jones. They would have to face one Porsche 962C, entered and driven by Gianpiero Moretti, with Derek Bell co-driving. The Porsche 966 was here, with John Paul Jr at the wheel. David Tennyson fielded his usual Spice SE90P Chevrolet, but he was not listed to drive it. Jay Cochran would be the driver. Wayne Taylor was at the wheel of the Chevrolet GTP, but it seemed that the car was not up to the task. One sole WSC car was entered, which was the Scandia owned Kudzu DG2 Buick driven by François Migault. The Lights class was still to showcase the classical battle between the two Spice SE90P Acuras, with Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin driving the Comptech car, and Bob Earl driving the Brix Racing car. Jim Pace and Mike Sheehan would co-drive the Kudzu DG1 Mazda entered by European Auto Sales. A canadian Spice SE88P Ford was to debut the series with Miroslav Jonak driving the car solo. John Jones and Jeff Lapcevich drove the Bieri Racing Alba AR2 Ford, while Ed de Long entered his Tiga GT287 Buick, he was co-driven by Bruce McInnes. PJ Jones proved again that he was not to be outpaced by his teammate. He again won the pole, just ahead of Juan Fangio II. The race was again all Toyota. They would fight it off all race long, with Juan Fangio II emerging as the race winner. Jay Cochran finished third, but he was five laps down. Parker Johnstone again captured the class win, and he was to win easily, as his two main opponents were to retire, due to accidents. Mike Sheehan and Jim Pace ended up second, ahead of the Alba AR2 Ford driven by John Jones and Jeff Lapcevich. François Migault won the WSC, with no opposition, but he was behind Parker Johnstone by eight laps.

The next round was held at Mid Ohio, with a seventeen car field, once again. Some new cars would show up for the first time, however, adding a welcome diversity. The GTP class was to be graced by this, but the only car able to contest the Toyota supremacy was the Nissan NPT90 entered by Gianpiero Moretti, which was driven by himself and Derek Bell. Wayne Taylor could also have a go at it, but the Chevrolet GTP was hampered by its poor top speed. Another interesting fact was the absence of any Porsche 962! It was the first time an IMSA event was to feature such info since 1984. Miroslav Jonak was again entering a Spice SE87 Ford, but his car was entered in the GTP class. Was it because of his non-compliance with the two driver rule? The last GTP car was the new Chevron B65 Buick entered by Dick Leppla. An interesting new car, but still to be developed. The Lights class was kind of similar to the previous events, with Parker Johnstone car facing the Kudzu DG2 Buick entered by Jim Downing. Bob Schader's Spice was also a contender, with Bob Earl at the wheel. The remainder of the field was populated with older cars. Ken Parschauer and Jim Pace ran a Kudzu DG1 Mazda, which was still competitive. Neil Jamieson and Jeff Lapcevich ran the old Alba AR2 Ford, while Charles Monk and John Higgins ran the reliable Pro Technik Fabcar Porsche which was getting older. Ed de Long entered his two Tiga GT287 Buick which had trouble keeping up the pace. A very interesting Phoenix Alfa Romeo, entered by Auto Volante, was to be driven by Steve Deeks and Steven Sirgany. The WSC class featured two cars, and those were two new cars, as Skandia Motorsport did not enter its Kudzu. Brent O'neill had modified his Argo JM19 Buick, in order to accomodate the next year's rules. The car displayed an open roof and was WSC compliant. Much more unusual was the Pegasus BMW, entered by Crutchfield car Audio. The car was basically a Lotus Esprit, once again with a chopped roof, and fitted with a huge rear wing. The original engine had been removed and replaced by a BMW 3,5L engine. A very strange mix, indeed, but the car was attractive. Oliver Kuttner would drive it. PJ Jones seemed to get accustomed to edging his teammate during the practice sessions, but the race again went to Juan Fangio II. Once again, the pit stops would set the choice for Juan Fangio II. The opposition was outperformed and Gianpiero Moretti and Derek Bell were four laps down after two hours of racing! Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin emerged as the winners in the Lights class over Jim Downing and Tim McAdam in their Kudzu DG2 Buick. Bob Earl and Bob Schader finished in third place. Brent O'neill won the WSC class while retiring on lap sixty six. Oliver Kuttner had just retired earlier.

Fangio93a

Juan Fangio II was only challenged by PJ Jones during the 1993 season. He was the last GTP champion.


Copyright Mark Windecker

The next race, at Watkins Glen, just promised to be a little more exciting, with a fifty car field, and a GTS, GTO, GTU and Invitational GT mix of cars. Without any surprise, the two AAR Eagle Toyota MKIIIs should have it easy. They would have to face two Joest Porsche 962Cs, driven by John Winter-Manuel Reuter and Hurley Haywood. Gianpiero Moretti and Derek Bell had some reasonable hopes in such a long race. Wayne Taylor would run solo his Chevrolet GTP, while Hugh Fuller and Chris Hodgetts were at the wheel of a Spice SE90P Chevrolet, which was backed by GM? The Lights class was to display the classical battle between Spice Acura vs Kudzu Buick. Parker Johnstone was running solo, while Jim Downing and Howard Katz would share the wheel of the Bel Ray backed car. Bob Earl and Bob Schader were valuable contenders in their Spice AK93 Acura. Miroslav Jonak had an older Spice, Ford powered. Ed de Long entered his Tiga GT287 Buick he would share with Nick Holmes and Bobby Brown had a similar car, John Macaluso co-drove him. Michael Sheehan and Jim Pace were running their Kudzu DG1 Mazda and Neil Jamieson and John Jones would use their Alba AR2 Ford. The WSC class saw two cars fighting it off : the Kudzu Buick co-driven by Andy Evans and François Migault would face the Argo Buick driven by Brent O'neill.
The GTS class was more interesting, with a Ford-Oldsmobile-Nissan battle. Tommy Kendall would drive the formidable Ford Mustang Cobra, which was curiously the only Roush entered car. Two Rocketsports Oldsmobile Cutlasses, driven by Darin Brassfield and Paul Gentilozzi would provide him with a stiff opposition. The same could be told about the two Nissan 300ZXs, with John Morton and Steve Millen driving. Two Chevrolet Camaros, privately entered, were here too. Kent Painter and Bruce Trenery shared the Fantasy Junction car while Oma Kimbrough and David Kicak were running another car. The GTU class also was fine, with a Nissan-Mazda contest. Fastcolor Auto Art entered two Nissan 240SXs for Bob and Butch Leitzinger, while a similar car was also fielded by Kryderacing, driven by Reed Kryder. A bunch of Mazda RX7s, with some strong drivers, could give them a run for their money. Bill Auberlen and Eduardo Dibos, as well as Dick Greer had a chance at winning their class. Support Net Racing entered a Mazda MX6 with Henry Camferdam at the wheel. Three Porsche 911s were also entered, with Jack Lewis and Steve Hynes on a conventional looking car. Alex Job proposed a slant nose version, with Charles Slater and Bill Ferran driving. Ray Hendricks had also a 911, as Jay Kjoller who shared his car with Joe Cogbill. The next class was the most consistent, in terms of entry. The GTO class was the former AC class, which was now running with the top cars.The cars were less developed than the GTS cars, but they were spectacular. Les Lindley entered a nice looking Ford Mustang, and he would have to face a lot of Oldsmobile Cutlasses. Brian de Vries, Dan Osterholt-Clay Young, Charles Morgan, Joe Llauget, Joe Pezza, Mark Porcaro and Flip Groggins were all nice contenders. Nick Cole and Ken Bupp-Peter Uria entered a Chevrolet Camaro, while Robert Basso and Phil Kelly drove an unusual Oldsmobile Calais. The Invitational GT class featured a pair of Chevrolet Corvettes, entered by Mobil1, against a bunch of Porsches. John Heinricy and Andy Pilgrim, Jim Minneker and Del Percilla would oppose to the likes of Jochen Rohr, who entered a new generation of cars, and Vito Scavone, with a 944 turbo. A relatively nice field would enable 50000 spectators to watch a race which seemed to be promised to AAR. PJ Jones again was on the pole, and he battled with Juan Fangio II until lap forty one, when he had to retire with a mechanical failure. Juan Fangio then led until the chequered, unchallenged by his followers. Manuel Reuter and John Winter took a well deserved second place in their Joest Porsche 962, while the Spice SE90P driven by Chris Hodgetts and Hugh Fuller was surprisingly third. The Lights class was somewhat different from the usual scheme as Parker Johnstone, who started dead last, had to retire with mechanical problems. As Jim Downing and Tim McAdam were also hindered by some gremlins, the win went to Bob Schader and Bob Earl in the Spice AK93 Acura, with Mike Sheehan and Jim Pace taking the second place. The GTS went to Darin Brassfield who ended up ahead of Tom Kendall in his Ford Mustang Cobra while both Nissan 300ZXs were eliminated in an accident. The GTU class went to Butch Leitzinger, who drove the team's Nissan 240SX, with Bill Auberlen finishing second in his Mazda RX7. The GTO class was won by Les Lindley who managed to keep ahead of the Oldsmobile fleet. Brian de Vries took a very strong second place in class. The Invitational GT class went to the Chevrolet Corvette driven by Andy Pilgrim and John Heinricy, defeating the Porsche 911 driven by Jochen Rohr and John O'steen.
The next race was built on the same format, which meant that a nice field of forty three cars was still to be seen at Road America. But IMSA was experiencing some hardships and the future was kind of being unshaped. AAR and Toyota were already stepping out of the series, with no WSC project in their bookcase. With the title already won, they were thinking about the future. So it was decided not to enter any car in this race. That left one opportunity for the opposition to garner some points for the championship. This lead to a strange situation, with only four GTP cars at the start. Joest Racing fielded two Porsche 962Cs, driven by John Winter and Manuel Reuter, with the second car handed to John Paul Jr. Charles Slater was the guest driver at the wheel of the Porsche 966, and Wayne Taylor could jump on a nice occasion to win one race. The Lights class was no different, as it was the same fixture as per usual. The Comptech and Brix teams entered one car with Parker Johnstone-Dan Marvin and Bob Schader-Bob Earl dicing all race long. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam with a new Kudzu DG3 Mazda and Mike Sheehan and Jim Pace in the older car. The two remaining cars were the Bobby Brown entered Tiga and the Spice Fiero driven by Miroslav Jonak.
The GTS cars would provide us with a nice show, as three Oldsmobile Cutlasses faced one Ford Mustang Cobra, driven by Tom Kendall. Paul Gentilozzi, Darin Brassfield and Scott Pruett all wanted to capture the class win. Johnny O'connell was the sole Nissan driver in his 300ZX. Two Chevrolet Camaros were entered, Bill Fuller driving his own car and Kent Painter the Western Chemical entry. The GTO class was the Olds Cutlass home, with six cars. Charles Morgan, Joe Pezza, Joe Llauget, Mark Porcaro, Dan Osterholt and Brian de Vries all had a chance at winning their class. Les Lindley could strike them down in his Ford Mustang Cobra, but he was alone. Ken Bupp and Nick Cole ran a Chevrolet Camaro. The WSC class was three car strong, with Andy Evans back with his Kudzu DG2 Buick, his only opponent being Oliver Kuttner in his Pegasus and Cass Whitehead in his very strange Mantac Chevrolet. The GTU should be interesting, with a bunch of Mazdas facing two Nissan 240SXs. Bill Auberlen, newcomer Eduardo Pellerano and Eduardo Dibos were the best from the rotary club, while Bob Leitzinger and son Butch were eying the class win. Three Porsche 911s, driven by Jay Kjoller-Joe Cogbill, Jack Lewis-Bill Ferran and Peter Uria-Charles Slater, would try to do their best at not losing too much ground on the pacesetters. The race, as expected, was very mild, with the Porsche 962C driven by John Winter-Manuel Reuter leading all the way. The Nissan NPT90 driven by Gianpiero Moretti-Derek Bell managed to settle for second place, but blew its engine after twenty five laps. John Paul Jr, who could have challenged the winners, was delayed by a flat tire and a nosepiece. Wayne Taylor retired early in the race with engine problems. The GTS cars were next, with Scott Pruett leading for the main part of the race, but then he moved over for Paul Gentilozzi, who was chasing points. Tom Kendall finished third. The Lights class produced no surprise, as Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin won again over Bob Schader and Bob Earl in a quite similar car.

Morgan93

Charles Morgan won the GTO class in his Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Charles Morgan had a great race and won the GTO class in his Oldsmobile Cutlass, with Joe Pezza taking second. Bill Auberlen won the GTU class, one lap ahead of Bob and Butch Leitzinger, in their Nissan 240SX. The Invitational GT class was won by Andy Pilgrim and John Heinricy over their teammates, while Jay Cochran and Davy Jones powered their Jaguar XJ220 to a tenth place overall, in what looked like a demonstration. But what a poor race! Only 10000 spectators did attend this race, and it would be withdrawn from the schedule for the next season.

Auberlen93

Bill Auberlen earned a GTU win in his Mazda RX7.

Copyright Mark Windecker

Laguna Seca was the next venue, and we were back to a low figure field of fifteen cars. Back to business were the two Eagle Toyota MKIIIs, driven by Juan Fangio II and PJ Jones. Momo Corse was also back, with Massimo Sigala and Derek Bell at the wheel of the Nissan NPT90. A new(!) contender was to be recorded, in the name of the sleek Allard J2X, driven by Robs Lamplough. The car was fresh out of the box, and could not do miracles, but it was an attraction nonetheless. Wayne Taylor had some reasonable hopes for this race, had the Toyotas any trouble during the race. Price Cobb was at the wheel of the Spice SE90P Chevrolet  owned by David Tennyson. The only Porsche entered was the Gunnar 966 driven by John Paul Jr and Charles Slater. That was all for the GTP class. The Lights class was six cars rich. It was made of the core runners, who were the two Spice SE91P Acuras, which would probably dominate the field. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam were the best challengers, with their Kudzu DG2 Buick. Michael Sheehan ran solo the Mazda powered Kudzu DG1, while Miroslav Jonak, from Canada, was co-driven by Dick Sasser in his old Spice Ford. Ed de Long was partnered by Neil Jamieson in his Tiga GT287 Buick. François Migault and Tom Hessert co-drove the Kudzu DG2 Buick, and they would be opposed the Pegasus BMW driven by Oliver Kuttner. Juan Fangio II was faster than his teammate, but he did not manage to keep ahead of him until the finish, as he experienced mechanical problems in the closing laps. PJ Jones earned his second victory in the season. Price Cobb had a great race, and he finished third, just ahead of the Nissan. Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin again took the class win, and it was a new class title for Parker Johnstone. Bob Earl and Bob Schader took second, with Miroslav Jonak and Dick Sasser taking third. Oliver Kuttner took the WSC win, as he had retired later than François Migault and Tom Hessert. The next race, at Portland, would be no different, with virtually the same field as Laguna Seca. Two Eagle Toyotas facing one Spice SE90P Chevrolet, this time driven by David Tennyson, a Nissan NPT90 driven by Gianpiero Moretti and Derek Bell. Wayne Taylor still ran his Chevrolet GTP while John Paul Jr and Charles Slater would have fun running the open cockpit Porsche 966. No change was also to be recorded in the Lights class, with Bob Earl and Bob Schader trying to defeat the Comptech drivers, and Jim Downing and Tim McAdam facing some reliability problems. Neil Jamieson and Jeff Lapcevich were at the wheel of the Mac Tools Tiga GT287 Buick. The WSC class was somewhat gaining momentum, with four cars entered.
François Migault and Andy Evans faced a new contender, in the name of the LR Dodge driven by Cliff Rassweiler. This radical car added more diversity in a field already populated with cars such as the Mantac Chevrolet driven by Cass Whitehead and the Pegasus BMW driven by Oliver Kuttner. The race was still to be all Toyota, with Juan Fangio II edging PJ Jones by a mere second in one of the closest race of the season. David Tennyson was third, still ahead of the Nissan NPT90 driven by Gianpiero Moretti and Derek Bell. Interestingly, Bob Earl and Bob Schader earned another class win at Portland, four laps ahead of Parker Johnstone and Dan Marvin. The WSC class went to François Migault and Andy Evans, in the Kudzu DG2 Buick.

KudzuWSC93018

Andy Evans and François Migault shared this Kudzu DG2 Buick, and enjoyed four wins in the season.

Copyright P.Dormoy

The season finale was to take place in Phoenix, on a speedway-infield type course. It was historically the very last race of the GTP era. The field was somewhat twenty per cent bigger and reached a nineteen car figure. AAR was not to be challenged, but Joest Racing was willing to attend this very last IMSA race. Juan Fangio II and PJ Jones would be opposed to Bob Wollek and John Winter in one car, while Manuel Reuter ran the other one. Derek Bell and Gianpiero Moretti were still to race the Nissan, as well as Wayne Taylor, in his Chevrolet GTP, and John Paul Jr in the Porsche 966. The Lights class featured two Comptech Spice SE91P Acuras, driven by Parker Johnstone and Ruggero Melgrati, as well as the Motorola Spice AK93 driven by Bob Schader and Price Cobb. Jim Downing and Tim McAdam drove the Kudzu DG3 Mazda. Mike Sheehan and Michael Dow still ran their Kudzu DG1 Mazda, and the two remaining cars were the Spice Ford driven by Miroslav Jonak and Dick Sasser and the Tiga GT287 Buick driven by Neil Jamieson and Jeff Lapcevich. The WSC class saw Andy Evans team up with Firmin Velez. The good news was the fact that another Kudzu DG2 Buick was apt at challenging them. Jim Pace and Butch Hamlet would drive it. A brand new Huffaker Buick was another welcome addition. David Rocha was the driver. James Lee was at the wheel of the LR Dodge while Firmin Velez was also reported to drive the Alba Ford, another modified Lights car. Once again, the race belonged to Toyota, with another win for PJ Jones, who had a strong season end. He edged Juan Fangio in the race, but lost the title to him. They raced door to door for most of the race. Manuel Reuter was third, with Gianpiero Moretti and Derek Bell finally fourth. The Lights class was somewhat different, with the two Comptech Spice Acuras out of the race before the chequered. It gave Bob Schader and Price Cobb another victory over Jim Downing and Tim McAdam in their Kudzu DG3 Mazda. The WSC class again went to Andy Evans and Firmin Velez, who were four laps ahead of Jim Pace and Butch Hamlet, in a similar car. This victory did not bring any point, but only prize money. The season was over, and the GTP era had come to an end. (to the epilogue.)

Posted on 06 May 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Epilogue


The 1993 season was the last GTP season so far. This concept went to an abrupt end when it came to think about the future. The GTP cars were fast, spectacular and exciting, but the rising costs compelled the IMSA staff to drastically rewrite the rules. They had no other choice, for IMSA's sake.
From the beginnings, the IMSA story has always been a continuous evolution of rules. Sticking to the racers needs, as well as providing the fans with the best competition, was not an easy task. John Bishop knew it perfectly, and he realised that the rules had to be quite evolutive, if you wanted to have good races every time. Domination kills racing, and things had to be adapted to provide some race actions. The 1993 season proved that the GTP category was no more competitive, with an outright domination by Toyota and fields that were getting thinner. It was the time to switch to new rules, but an era was ending.

Gregg78

Peter Gregg at the wheel of his Porsche 935 in 1978. He dominated those years and remains one of the most prominent drivers of the decade.

Copyright Dave Kutz

Back in the good old days, things were pretty much straightforward. The beginnings of the IMSA showed that GT racing was the way to go. A lot of cars, many skilled drivers, and many places to go, the future looked bright, and it eventually lasted for a long time. The series would then evolve quietly, with the IMSA board carefully listening to the team owners and drivers. A perfect mix of semi-pro and amateur drivers would fight it up on a variety of tracks, in different cars. The spectators then became aware of the fact that they enjoyed it. John Bishop had it right : he had crafted a new breed of racing cars. "Racing with a difference" was the moto, and it appealed to a lot of people. The organization remained very family oriented, and every people liked it. John Bishop et all would always be very friendly and help you race. He was the adviser, as well as the leader of the organisation.
The series attracted then many works teams, and things were then becoming much more difficult to manage. But once again, he would always try to balance the rules in order to give a chance to any entrant. What a difficult task! As expected, Porsche was a main factor, but they were challenged by very strong contenders. While Peter Gregg was the most successful driver in his times, Al Holbert switched to Chevrolet in 1976 and 1977 and succeeded in his attempt to defeat the german make. The AAGT cars had been the american spearhead against the Porsche Carreras.
Then the Porsche 935s were introduced and they would dominate for a very long period. The GTX cars were spectacular, but it lead to an outright domination by the turbocharged german machines. Once again, the IMSA faced another challenge. What could be opposed to the turbo cars? The GTP concept was then the answer to this issue. A purpose built prototype, which would be cheaper to maintain, and provide a stiff opposition to the GTX cars. Brian Redman was one of the first drivers involved in the creation of a GTP car. Along with Eric Broadley, the Lola T600 became the class of the field, and he was the 1981 champion. The GTP cars would then dominate the series, but the competition would be very harsh. It turned out that Porsche would later introduce the 962, which proved to be a killer. The cars, with Al Holbert leading, would be on top until 1988, when Nissan took over. It was the first of a series of japanese dominations. Gone were the days of semi-pros fighting against amateurs. It was the time for megabucks works teams crushing the opposition. They would hire the best drivers in the world and drive the private teams away from the top spots. Fields would shrink, as a result, as well as the attendance, in the end. Those highly sophisticated cars had reached a point of no return. The competition was kind of non-existent, in the final year. Toyota was running on its own, and the title was at stake between their drivers. The IMSA GTP series came to an end this way. The IMSA board of direction had no other choice than thinking of a new direction. The new rules would have to be more straightforward, and the costs had to be seriously cut down. The cars would have an open cockpit and use stock block engines.

Dyson94

Rob Dyson was back in 1994 with a homemade car, powered by a Ferrari engine. He met with little success.

Copyright J.W Todd(courtsey Racingsportscars)

The new WSC championship would start from scratch, as everything had to get done. Fortunately, many chassis builders had a project in mind, and within a few seasons, fields would again be healthy. The IMSA championship had taken a new direction, and it would last for many years. Meanwhile, the organisation would be sold, and switch hands in a steady way. It had lost one of the most important things it could boast for : its spirit. The competition was not to be driven by passion, but by  business. The men who managed IMSA were not as dedicated to auto racing as were John and Peggy Bishop. So things would no more be the same. The spirit of IMSA had  definitively flown away, the good old days were over, forever.
A lot of people would miss those bygone days. But some people are willing to revive those exciting years. The IMSA Camel GT series is still alive in our minds. A lot of stories are still to be told. So stay tuned.

Posted on 19 May 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Sears Point 1990 : a close win


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.

McCarthy90
Perry McCarthy was impressive during the qualifying sessions. The race was another story.

Copyright Van Zannis III

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.

Bell90
Don Bell ended his race this way, but he was not injured.

Copyright Van Zannis III

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.

Fangio90a
Juan Fangio won the race, and he successfully resisted Geoff Brabham's last charge.

Copyright Van Zannis III

Posted on 07 June 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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