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.
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.
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).
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.
