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Post by wilmywood8455 on Apr 3, 2023 2:45:45 GMT -8
Five Cars that Changed Sports-Car Racing50 Years of IMSA: Some of the most significant race cars ever have competed under the IMSA banner.Steven Cole Smith - writer Dec 31, 2018 For 50 years, the International Motor Sports Association has been sanctioning, promoting, and nurturing sports-car racing in America and beyond. We're celebrating IMSA's golden anniversary with a series of stories looking at important eras, cars, drivers, and more. www.motortrend.com/features/significant-race-cars-that-challenged-or-changed-racing/
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Post by Spin on Apr 4, 2023 5:27:35 GMT -8
Who could forget the Delta Dong. Interesting concept, I wouldn't drive it in competition.
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Apr 5, 2023 11:24:23 GMT -8
Some Bernard Cahier photos of the 1964 24 heures du mans ...Gurney and ShelbyBob Bondurant, Chris Amon, Jochen Neerpash, Dan Gurney, Carol Shelby, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, 24 Hours of Le Mans 1964Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, 24 Hours of Le Mans 1964.
Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, 24 Hours of Le Mans 1964. Dan Gurney, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Le Mans 1964. Dan Gurney, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Le Mans 1964. Note Phil Remington sitting on the pit wall in the striped shirt.
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Post by olderguysrule on Apr 20, 2023 16:57:07 GMT -8
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Post by olderguysrule on Apr 20, 2023 17:00:55 GMT -8
^^ Remember that Dan Gurney called those trees 'French safety barriers'. By the time any car pieces got thru them, they'd be to small to hurt anyone.
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Post by olderguysrule on May 16, 2023 8:11:19 GMT -8
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Post by olderguysrule on Jun 7, 2023 4:59:30 GMT -8
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Jun 19, 2023 12:24:56 GMT -8
GTP then vs now: Bobby Rahal and Wayne Taylor on past and presentGTP — it’s a name that is designed to reflect the past while looking to the future. The past was a time when the likes of Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan and Toyota dueled it out on America’s great racetracks and a few city streets. But there were also chassis from Spice or Intrepid mated to Chevrolet and Cosworth engines. Where today we have drivers the likes of Filipe Albuquerque, Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Sebastien Bourdais, Connor de Phillippi, Pipo Derani, Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr, Ricky Taylor, Renger van der Zande, back then it was Derek Bell, Geoff Brabham, Juan Manuel Fangio II, Al Holbert, Chip Robinson … and let’s not forget Bobby Rahal and Wayne Taylor. Yes, two of IMSA’s current GTP team owners were there for the original GTP, which had its last race in October of 1993 at Portland International Raceway. The original GTP had lasted for 12 years. Thirty years after its demise in favor of the World Sports Car formula, GTP was reborn in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship comprised of LMDh cars and, should they choose to join, FIA Hypercars. How do they compare, and is the current battle of Acura vs. BMW vs. Cadillac vs. Porsche worthy of the GTP name? racer.com/2023/06/15/gtp-then-vs-now-bobby-rahal-and-wayne-taylor-on-past-and-present/?fbclid=IwAR0fSYdfe7N2i0natkabcReITp01VagIlMkzEJKPoU8ljdzovyCjW4bZDTQ
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Jun 19, 2023 12:31:44 GMT -8
Rahal was a little foggy on some aspects of the old GTP class. He said "We have BoP now, which we never had back in those days. " Nonsense. We had minimum weights and inlet restrictors that were different for all of the cars. Our Toyota GTPs (2.1L turbo 4 cyl), iirc had to weigh 1950 lbs and had a 54mm inlet restrictor our first year, while the Nissans (3.0L V6) were at 2100 lbs and twin 38mm restrictors. Those numbers would be adjusted as needed for competitive balance. I don't recall the Jaguar, Intrepid, Porsche and Spice numbers.
But this from Wayne Taylor I agree with wholeheartedly:
"The original GTP era, as Taylor notes, is one to remember: “It was certainly an era that people won’t forget, because there were some beautiful cars. Racing against Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson I remember was fantastic. We had a lot of great fun together racing against the Toyotas, Dan Gurney’s All American Eagles. It was really good racing.” The first four races of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship — with four different winners across three marques — suggest that this era of GTP, as different as it is from the first, may be remembered just as fondly."
The original GTP class was some of the best racing that has ever been seen.
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Jul 15, 2023 11:46:58 GMT -8
In this video, Phil Remington, the real brains behind Ford's GT40 domination at LeMans, discussed briefly some of the early days of that program
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Aug 23, 2023 6:50:35 GMT -8
From " Remembering Riverside Raceway" on Facebook ... 1963 Ken Miles and Dave McDonald at Riverside. It would be the first win for the Cobra .
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Aug 31, 2023 1:08:31 GMT -8
Remembering Bruce McLaren on what would have been his 86th birthday. Shown here on his way to winning the11th Annual LATGP Can-Am race at Riverside in 1968. Mark Donohue was 2nd, only other car on same lap at the finish.
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Sept 18, 2023 1:03:49 GMT -8
Experimental Pontiac Engine Found in StorageThis rare, overhead-cam Pontiac engine was built for SCCA racing and may be the only one remaining.Larry Dillon is one of those devoted Pontiac fanatics whose mission in life is to discover sad and neglected high-powered Pontiacs and return them to the streets where they belong. It's something that's been near and dear to his heart for the last four decades. Larry's taste for Pontiac horsepower has put him in the seat of many top-tier muscle cars over the years. Countless GTOs, 2+2s, and Bonnevilles have made their way into his stable, and he's always on the lookout for more rare rides. It was another prize from Pontiac that recently made its way into his collection, and it happened under the most bizarre circumstances. "I got this cool Latham blower from a friend of mine," Larry said. "His dad had it on a '60 Vette. It was unique, and I figured I could always use it, and I put it to use right away. One day my buddy Anthony came over looking for some parts for a GTO he was building. He saw the Latham, and that sight must have jogged his memory, because he then told me about some crazy experimental Pontiac engine a friend of his had stashed away. That got me interested in just exactly what this powerplant was." www.motortrend.com/features/ohc-pontiac-experimental-engine-found
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Oct 2, 2023 5:33:33 GMT -8
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Post by chernaudi on Oct 4, 2023 7:05:50 GMT -8
Hard for me to image that this was 15 years ago today and I watched it basically as it happened:
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Oct 10, 2023 14:07:52 GMT -8
Ken Miles & John Morton in the first racing AC Cobra 427 next to the Corvette Grand Sport of A.J Foyt /John Cannon and Lola of Augie Pabst/Walt Hansgen at Sebring 1964 - Photo by Bernard Cahier
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Oct 14, 2023 5:13:06 GMT -8
What Was It Like to Race a GTP at Michelin Raceway? Brabham, Daly RememberThe Versatile Driving Greats Look Back at Their 1990 Victory in the Nissan GTP ZX-TurboBRASELTON, Ga. – As the new iteration of Grand Touring Prototypes prepare to descend on Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale, it seems only fitting to revisit the last time GTP cars raced on the high-speed, high-commitment road course. Of course, that was more than a generation ago and a much different generation of race car. Back then, the revered GTPs were powered only by an internal combustion engine (ICE). Today’s technologically advanced GTPs feature an ICE mated with a standard hybrid-electrified powertrain to produce more sustainable power. The last time the old-version GTP cars raced at Michelin Raceway came in 1990 at the Grand Prix of Atlanta, a 500-kilometer (310-mile) event. Co-drivers Derek Daly and Geoff Brabham won in the No. 83 Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo, with Brabham on his way to a third consecutive IMSA GT Championship title. Who better to recall what it was to speed around Michelin Raceway than those winning drivers? www.imsa.com/news/2023/10/14/what-was-it-like-to-race-a-gtp-at-michelin-raceway-brabham-daly-remember/?fbclid=IwAR1eveamoeiFWACG_AlaQ7teVwDlFFjTkxNmAOtb_zZ41yrxl_5wFbXbRCk
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Dec 5, 2023 13:03:10 GMT -8
From the IMSA PIT LANE Facebook page: The first photo shows the C3 Corvette that was entered by the John Greenwood Racing team in the 1973 12-Hours of Sebring. The car was driven by Jim Greendyke and Robert Johnson. The car failed to finish. The second photo shows the John Greenwood, Ron Grable, Mike Brockman C3 Corvette. The car finished third overall. Few people knew that John Greenwood was instrumental in saving the Sebring race from the trash heap of history. When Sebring founder Alec Ulmann lost FIA sanctioning for the race, due to the poor condition of the circuit, Greenwood and a dedicated band of locals came to the rescue by getting IMSA to sanction the event. Greenwood even came up with the money for the winner's purse for the '73 race and is forever known as the Sebring Angel.
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Mar 3, 2024 2:24:10 GMT -8
REWIND: Honoring the AAR Eagle Mk IIIIn 2016, RACER celebrated the 25th anniversary of an IMSA icon, the AAR Eagle Mk III. Ahead of IMSA’s visit this weekend to the Mk III’s birthplace in Monterey, we’ve updated the piece to reflect a few changes to the Eagle’s fabled history as it reaches the 30-year marker since the car turned the series on its head on home soil. All American Racers’ Eagle Mk III chassis made its debut at Laguna Seca’s IMSA GTP round in 1991, and with IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ready to race at the same track, it’s worth taking a moment to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fastest, most dominant prototype this country has ever produced. “Wow, you’re not the only one that forgot it!” the late Dan Gurney said in 2016 of the Monterey milestone. “25 years ago? I don’t feel younger when I hear that news, but I don’t feel old.” The Mk III’s first presence in the Monterey paddock drew the attention of most fans – and plenty of teams – before the opening practice session got underway. The 2.1-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine carried in the back of the Mk III was familiar; AAR had been using it in GTO Toyota Celicas and in its earlier GTPs, but the motor wasn’t the primary point of attraction. Those in attendance – including this writer – marveled at its next-level aerodynamics; the sheer size and volume of the No. 99 Mk III’s high-waisted bodywork, plus the through-flow air channels running from the nose through the sidepods to the back, were unlike anything we’d seen in GTP. “We got a ton of criticism about what we had done by the experts, which was kind of like the establishment in those days,” Gurney said. “You had to do things the way they thought it ought to be done. Or so they thought.” “They said our air inlets on the front were too big. Just generally, they were negative about it. Most of the ‘experts’ didn’t realize what we were doing aerodynamically, and still don’t. If they had realized and saw what happened even in that first race, it was the beginning of the end for the rest of those guys.” This Eagle looked like it was from the future, and once Juan Manuel Fangio II hit the 2.2-mile track with the Mk III, its performance confirmed our suspicions: Every other GTP car was made redundant in an instant. Short on testing mileage, Fangio and AAR used the Laguna Seca event as more of a test held within a race. Despite the lack of knowledge on what the Mk III wanted for mechanical and aero setups, the Argentinian was able to qualify second behind Wayne Taylor in the one-lap-special Chevy Intrepid. With its track-pulverizing downforce and instant torque, the South African claimed an impressive pole with a lap of 1m14.928s. Fangio wasn’t far behind with a lap of 1m15.223s to earn a front-row starting spot next to the Intrepid, but once the green flag waved, Taylor was a sitting duck. The Mk III came close to winning the first time out at Laguna Seca as Fangio built a staggering lead of more than 50 seconds by the close of the contest, but those chances were derailed by a pit lane violation during a splash-and-go that resulted in a one-lap stop-and-hold. Another violation leaving the pits – after serving the first penalty – led IMSA to tack another 35 seconds onto the No. 99 after the checkered flag. Fangio was credited with an unrepresentative seventh. Fangio did manage to lead 54 of the 84 laps and set the fastest lap during his fiery charge after the first penalty – a 1m15.741s – as Davy Jones went on to win in the TWR Jaguar XJR-16. To fully grasp the raw nature of the Eagle Mk III on its 1991 premiere, AAR returned for the Laguna Seca GTP race in 1992 with a full season of development under its belt and shattered the track record with a pole lap of 1m11.294s set by PJ Jones. That’s damn near four seconds faster – 3.929s to be precise – from where the MK III started in 1991. And to appreciate the Mk III’s frightening speed, the pole for IMSA’s visit to Monterey in 2015, set by Wayne Taylor’s son Jordan in the No. 10 WTR Corvette DP, was a 1m18.718s. Jones’ 1992 pole, a full 7.424s below 2015’s DP benchmark, says more about the changes in prototype technology and relative tire quality than the caliber of driving talent. IMSA’s modern track record at Laguna Seca, a 1m15.035s lap set by Jordan’s older brother Ricky Taylor in 2019 with an Acura ARX-05 DPi on Michelin rubber, effectively halved the difference, cutting it to a deficit of 3.741s. On the Mk III’s return to Monterey in 1992, it had Europe’s most fearsome prototype to contend with as TWR brought the all-conquering Jaguar XJR-14, with its Cosworth/Formula 1 engine and revolutionary aerodynamics, to attack the Eagle. The XJR-14 vs Mk III battle wasn’t even close: AAR’s machine pounced on TWR’s best car without mercy, capturing nine wins from 15 races and the GTP title with ease. Jaguar, along with every other factory program, ran and hid after 1992. AAR returned for 1993 with the same two-car team and swept GTP while setting 10 lap records at 11 tracks on the calendar. “The Jaguar was a terrific car,” Gurney said, “but it wasn’t quite terrific enough. But it was one whale of a good car. And it had exceeded the Formula 1 lap time at Silverstone, we were told. So no doubt it was very good. And the TWR people were a great group. One of the things about the Jag was that it seemed to like really smooth racetracks like a Formula 1 car does. And our car liked those, but it wasn’t bothered by the rough ones. That really made a difference. We had a bigger sweet spot in terms of ride height and angle of attack, and all that stuff. That was really special. What we ended up realizing is our car was even better than we thought it was.” The Mk III’s aero played the greatest role in the car’s GTP dominance, but as Gurney explains, Drino Miller’s ferocious little Toyota engine wasn’t just along for the ride. “Drino did a lot of our development work,” he said. “I was told that he blew up three dynamometers working on that thing!” From cleaning out the GTP class by the end of 1992 to rewriting IMSA’s history books and closing the GTP era at the end of 1993, the Eagle Mk III turned American sports car racing upside down with a simple and unassuming debut more than a quarter-century ago in Monterey. And despite the car’s age, Gurney didn’t shy from sending a reminder about the Eagle’s long-standing presence in today’s IMSA series. “I must say that with PJ driving, the Mk III still holds the lap record at the Daytona 24 Hour circuit,” he said of the WeatherTech Championship’s season-opening event. “We set that in 1993.” With the loss of Gurney in 2018, he missed the passing of the Daytona lap-record torch to Mazda as Oliver Jarvis finally improved upon the Mk III’s standard of 1m33.875s. It took 26 years to achieve, but the Englishman was finally able to beat the old Eagle with a new lap record of 1m33.685s. All those years, and all the sweeping advancements in technology, to inch ahead of the Mk III by a mere 0.190s. IMSA at Monterey in 1991 was the start of something that was truly special. racer.com/2021/09/09/rewind-honoring-the-aar-eagle-mk-iii/
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Post by wilmywood8455 on Mar 12, 2024 4:58:11 GMT -8
Year 1971 Le Mans 24Hs. Martini International Racing Team garage Porsche mechanics doing their job credit : R.Schlegelmilch.
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