A Historic Motor Racing Journal

posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: June 25th, 2009

The entry for this year’s Monterey Historic Automobile Races has been posted.  Ninety-nine of the 439 entries are Porsches, the featured make.

There are 15 race groups spread over the weekend.  Friday is practice for all classes, with groups 1A thru 8A racing on Saturday.  Sunday’s racing for groups 1B to 7B finishes the weekend.  The race groups start with 1904 - 1940 Sporting Cars and end with 1973 - 1980 IMSA GT cars.

The entry includes a Cottin-Des Gouttes, Allards, Bugattis, Porsche from a 1949 356 to a 2003 GT3RS (not sure about the vintage rating on this).  There are few Ferraris entered, but lots of other interesting cars.  The only disappointment is the lack of 917 turbos in the Can-Am class.

The entry is available at http://www.montereyhistoric.com/participants/entry-list

posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: June 22nd, 2009

The Mirage M6, introduced in 1972, was designed by Len Bailey with assistance from draftsmen Ken MacLeod. Gomm Metal Developments built the monocoque of L72 aluminum riveted and bonded from 18 and 16 gauge sheet.  A mild steel structure is used to hold the front suspension, steering rack and pedals.  A steel bulkhead was used to support the 3-liter Cosworth DFV V-8 engine which was used as a stressed member.

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posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: June 16th, 2009

In May of 1973 the teams contesting the Manufactures Championship gathered in Belgium at the Circuit National de Francorchamps for the fifth round of the series.  The teams would complete 71 laps of the 14.1 km (8.76 miles) track made up of public roads closed for the 1000km race.

 

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posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: June 9th, 2009

Ford’s Le Mans winning 427ci engine was developed from the final version of a series of NASCAR engines that began as a 352ci engine introduced in 1963.  A.J. (Gus) Scussel was the section head of Ford’s Engine and Foundry Division and prior to becoming involved with the NASCAR program had never seen an automobile race. 

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posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: June 6th, 2009

A new name appeared in Formula 2 for the 1973 season – the Scott.  The car was commissioned by privateer Richard Scott and designed by 26-year old Patrick Head. 

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posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: May 30th, 2009

Erwin and Manfred Kremer of Cologne, Germany developed their own version of Porsche’s 935 race car.  Starting in 1977 with the K1 and the K2 for 1978, the K3 was introduced for 1979.  The Kremer team partner with the American Whittington brothers to win the Le Mans 24 Hour race.  After Le Mans, the Whittington’s purchased the car for use in the IMSA series.

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posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: May 22nd, 2009

This September Dalton Watson Fine Books will publish Maserati Tipo 60 and 61; The Magnificent Front-Engined Birdcages by Willem Oosthoek and Michel Bollee. It’s been almost thirty years since Maserati Birdcage by Joel E. Finn was published by Osprey Publishing Ltd. Much additional information has come to light in the last two decades which has enabled the authors, Willem Oosthoek and Michel Bollee, to complete a new comprehensive description of the Birdcage’s competition history. 

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posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: May 20th, 2009

This July the Portland Historic Races will feature IMSA GTP cars.  The event will take place July 10 to 12 at Portland International Raceway.  The GTP class was introduced in 1981 with the Lola T600 taking the IMSA championship.  In 1984 Porsche introduced the 962 which dominated the series from 1985 to 1987.  Parker Johnstone will be the Grand Marshal of the event and will demonstrate his 1988 Spice/Acura GTP/L.  Johnstone won two championships for Acura in 1987 and 1988.

The entry list normally contains over 250 cars, representing a wide variety of manufacturers. The races are divided into groups according to make, age and horsepower.  For the spectators the entry ticket includes paddock access, allowing enthusiasts the opportunity to see race cars up close and interact with the drivers and crew. The event will also features a display of more than 700 collector cars and hot rods, a food and wine pavilion, a kid zone, an autocross, and a vendor midway.The Portland Historic Races are produced and sanctioned by the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA).

posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: May 18th, 2009

Shelby American’s racing priority for the 1963 season was to win the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC). The USRRC were held on the relatively tight circuits used by the SCCA where high-speeds were only hit for brief seconds per lap. Ford and Shelby were planning to race the Cobra in the GT category of the International Championship for Manufacture for the 1964 season. Peter Brock understood that the Cobra would need a new body for increased top-speed to be competitive. The GT Championship was held primarily in Europe where races were held on public roads with long straights for substained high-speeds. Brock’s design, which became know as the Daytona coupe, was successful and in 1964 the Cobra coupe won the GT class at Sebring, Le Mans, and the Tourist Trophy but lost the GT Championship to Ferrari. Ford’s GT 40 program was unsuccessful and unfortunately for Ford the national press emphasis was on the GT 40 program and overall race wins and not the Cobra’s success in the GT class.

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posted by: Bill Wagenblatt
posted on: May 4th, 2009

A look at Lotus 49B c/n R2/11

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