Shelby! Sun! Sensory Satisfaction! And Lots of Happy vintage race fans Saturday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. There were people everywhere, as far as the eye could see. The Turn Four grandstand was full.One of the unintended consequences of such a huge crowd was the time it took to get in the front gate midday. The smart ones took Reservation Road and came in the scenic back way through the Fort Ord property – the decommissioned Army Base which is now a county park.
The weekend was honoring the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Shelby Cobra and the life and spirit of the late CARROLL SHELBY.
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Saturday’s feature race was Group Three – 1962-1967 Shelby Cobras, and it was won by JIM CLICK of Tucson AZ racing his 1964 Cobra 289. LORNE LEIBEL of Canada gave it a good go in his 1964 Cobra 289, which had two less cc. Third was JAMES FARLEY JR of Orchard Lake MI driving his 1965 Cobra 289, which had slightly more cc oomph.
Click also turned the race’s fastest lap of 79.323 mph, which translates to 1:41.570 minutes to get around the 2.238, 12-turn elevated road circuit.
Of the 41 entries in the Cobra group, thirty-five ran the race. The group knew it was something special and like floats in a parade giving recognition to the judges as they passed by, on the cool-off lap the Cobras waved and were cheered by the assemblage in the Rolex Drivers’ Lounge viewing stand between Turns Three and Four. On the opposite side of the track, parked right up close and personal was a large Shelby Cobra Car Corral, with all the owners glued to the fence for the race.
One race of special interest to me was the first-time group of its own – the appearance of the old/original Formula Atlantic cars from the hey-day of the popular open wheel series – 1971-1980. The series had its roots in the San Francisco Bay Area, and two of the early stalwarts and promoters of the series – JON NORMAN and DAN MARVIN of Berkeley CA – ran their original cars. Norman owned the two run this weekend, and he ran No.58 (his traditional number) 1971 Lotus Formula, and Marvin ran Norman’s 1976 March 76B.
Thirty-one of the 34 entries ran the race.
WADE CARTER III of Woodinville WA won in his 1976 March FA but not for the lack of trying on the part of Marvin, who was also battling DANNY BAKER of San Francisco driving a his 1979 Ralt RT-1.
ART HEBERT of Larkspur CA bought his 1979 March 79B this spring and hasn’t had much seat time in the car, but he was all stoked about running with this highly competitive group. Thursday he was twentieth fastest in the practice session and in the Friday Free-For-All Atlantics session, he ran seventh of 27 cars. Saturday morning for the Preliminary Race, his car stalled on the Pre-Grid with mechanical problems – possibly a rear wing mount. For the Saturday afternoon race, Hebert got in two laps before retiring. He gained some redemption Sunday when he won the Sunday morning Group 2B race for 1958-1963 Formula Juniors, racing his 1963 Lola Mk5A.
In the other Saturday races:
JOHN FITZPATRICK of Redding CA won Group 1A for Pre-1940 Sports Racing & Touring Cars. He turned the fastest race lap of 57.254 mph in his 1939 BMW 328. Twenty-four of the 26 entries ran the race.
PADDINS DOWLING of Sausalito CA won Group 2A for 1927-1951 Racing Cars, driving his 1939 Maserati 4CL. Pole sitter, PETER GIDDINGS of Danville CA led for several laps in his 1930 Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3, and then ran for second with JEFFREY O’NEILL of Larkspur CA, who ended up in the runner-up position and Giddings in third. It was a good race! Twenty-six cars drove, of the 32 entries.
ROB WALTON of Scottsdale AZ drove his 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB to victory in Group 4A for 1955-1962 GT Cars. it was another exciting race for the fans, who waatched LEONARD TURNBEAUGH of Markleeville CA turn the fastest lap of 71.286 mph and give chase. Turnbeaugh finished second in his 1958 Porsche 356A. There was a large field of 36 cars of the 38 entries.
ROBERT RYAN/Avila Beach CA turned the fastest race lap of 83.856 mph and won the Group 5A race for 1960 Sports Racing USRRC Cars. He drove his 1968 McLaren M6-B, edging BYRON DEFOOR/Ooltewah TN in his 1965 Lola T70. Thirty cars ground-pounded, out of the 39 entries.
BRUCE CANEPA/Scotts Valley CA won Group 6A and turned the fastest race lap of 87.841 mph. He drove his 1979 Porsche 935 for 1973-1982 IMSA Alphabet Group – GT, GTX, AAGT, GTU and GTO cars. FRED KAIMER of Austin Texas finished second in his 1980 Porsche 935 K3.
An exciting race was put on for the fans in Group 7A for 1963-1966 GT Cars over 2500cc. TERRY GOUGH of Reno NV won racing his 1965 Chevrolet Corvette, but had to fend off Pole Sitter ROB WALTON/Scottsdale AZ in his 1964 Ferrari 250 LM. Finishing third was JOHN BOWE of Australia, driving the 1965 Chevrolet Corvette owned by JOE CALLEJA. Bowe and Walton had swapped for the lead in the morning preliminary race.
Bowe was ear to ear grins for the weekend. It was his first time ever racing in America and he was over the top about the experience. Bowe had raced the car before in Australia. Other drivers on the Bathurst car were JOHN FITZPATRICK, JOHN YOUNG and the late, great PETER BROCK, who drove his last full race in that car before he was tragically killed in another race meeting.
JIM HAGUE of Santa Clara CA won the Group 9A Race for 1966-1972 Historic Trans-Am Cars. The Margin of Victory between Hague and runner-up CHAD RAYNAL/San Jose CA was .047 seconds, the closest of the day. Raynal was driving his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, and Hague drove his 1972 AMC Javelin. BRUCE CANEPA of Scotts Valley CA turned the fastest race lap of 78.13 mph in his 1970 AMC Javelin Trans Am, and finished sixth overall in a group of 36 cars on track. Not having such good luck was BUZZ DYER of Corte Madera CA in his 1970 AMC Javelin. He had a massive oil leak in Turn Two and the race ended with both the checkered flag and the colorful yellow and red striped surface flag for oil on course.