Pg. 24 HMSA - Victory Lane

#25 Erickson Shirley, Lister Costin;
#16 Lynn Park, Cobra;
#91 Tim Park, Cobra.
photo by Mike Greene
24
May 2015
• Victory Lane
HMSA Spring
Club Event
Mazda Raceway
Laguna Seca, CA
March 21-22, 2015
– story by Mike Greene
The Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) Spring Club Event
took place at the storied Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on the weekend
of March 21-22. The first of three HMSA-sanctioned events on the
2015 calendar, the races were held both days under typically pleasant,
moderate Central Coast conditions – a bit warmer and sunnier on the
Saturday than on Sunday, but still very comfortable on a weekend where
parts of the country are still trying to figure out what to do with all
that snow. The 2.24-mile track was built in 1957 on a relatively small
portion of the vast Fort Ord Army base and has hosted a wide variety
of events ever since, ranging from amateur to the best of pro racing,
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Victory Lane
• May 2015
25
photo by Mike Greene
#16 Dener Jorge Pires, Porsche 934.5; #74 Wade Carter, Porsche Cup
and of course including the Monterey Historic
Automobile Races, now re-branded as the
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
The race weekend was officially kicked
off by HMSA President Cris Vandagriff at
seven race groups. In addition, noise would
The format on both Saturday and Sunday
be monitored at a location on the back, uphill were the same, with practice sessions in the
straight of the track. As it turned out, several morning and races in the afternoon. Sunday’s
cars were flagged-in and retired for the day Group 1 race, which consisted of a large and
on Saturday because they had exceeded eclectic mix of (mainly) small-displacement
the noise limit. Generally these sports cars, sports racers and sedans, was
cars returned on
Sunday with their
exhaust systems
modified so as
to reduce their
noise and deflect
it away from
the trackside
microphone.
The event was
also a salute to
Chevron, and a
total of seven
photo by Mike Greene
Chevron race
#18 Fred Della Noce, Ginetta G12
cars were in
photo by Mike Greene
attendance, in #50 Mike Sullivan, Porsche 356.
the mandatory drivers meeting at 9 a.m. on the Formula and Sports Racer
Saturday, who gave a hearty welcome to categories. All-in, there were 173 cars and dominated by a trio of cars: the Lola Mark
returning and new drivers. Along with other 161 drivers by my count, so a strong turnout 1 in British racing green of Kurt Del Bene;
important pieces of information, we were with many California drivers but also several the red Datsun 510 driven by Ike Keeler; and
informed that noise restrictions would be in from the Pacific Northwest, the East Coast, the Lotus 17 of Thor Johnson, also in British
force this weekend. The noise rules (a result Canada, and far-away places such as Australia racing green with yellow wobbly-wheels.
of the seemingly inevitable encroachment and Brazil.
These three could have been in their own class,
of home construction into
as they (and the Lola in particular) made short
the surrounding rugged
work of much of the rest of the field, catching
coastal hills and valleys
lapped traffic by Lap 4 of the 10 completed.
which surround the track)
Finishing 4th and 5th in the field of 31 starters
made for a condensed
were Greg Meyer in a striking 1962 Dailu
schedule of racing on both
Mk2 in blue and Stan Anderes in his 1958
days. As explained to us by
Lotus Eleven.
Vandagriff, the practice and
Group 2 was made up of various types
racing sessions would be
of formula cars varying in displacement from
limited to between the hours
1,600 cc to 5,000 cc, including three March
of 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.; a
76B Formula Atlantic cars, a 1978 March F2
big thanks to the safety, flag
car, several Ralts, a 1970 McLaren M10B
and timing workers who
and a 1977 Chevron B39. It was the striking
photo by Mike Greene
went without a break for
pink Chevron of Martin Lauber that took first
lunch in order to fit in all #29 David Nelson, Triumph TR2.
place in both the Saturday and the Sunday
26
May 2015
• Victory Lane
races. Although firmly in control, he was
followed closely for most of the race by
a Ralt RT-1 in yellow and blue Sunoco
livery driven by Cal Meeker. In third was
Tom Minnich from nearby Pebble Beach,
driving another Ralt RT-1, the second pink
car but this one with a Hello Kitty theme.
Goes to show, real men can drive pink
cars, it’s fine! Carl Moore was fourth in
his white and blue March 76B and Bruce
Leeson of Carmel came in fifth in a green
McLaren M10B F5000 car. Great noises,
even with the deflectors and silencers.
With a starting field of 33 for Saturday
and 28 for the Sunday race, Group 3
proved to be an exciting mix of the stalwarts
of vintage racing: sports car and sedan
racers from the 1960s and 1970s such as
Alfa Romeo GTAs and GRVs, Lotus Elans,
BMW 2002s, Datsun 510s, MGs, Ginettas
photo by Mike Greene
and of course the earlier Porsche 911s as
well as a 356. Troy Ermish and his car #37 Steve Barber, Ford Thunderbird; #75 Fred Cziska, Ford Thunderbird
were running strong on Saturday and he
didn’t disappoint on Sunday either. The blue Datsun 510; in fact, Harvey was leading Seipp afternoon race. And the Chevrons did well,
1971 Datsun 510 took first place both days, throughout much of the race, but in the end the coming in second and third, behind the red,
with a fastest lap (1:42.7) nearly two seconds Lotus was able to pass and make it stick. John white and blue 1973 Lola T294 driven by Cal
quicker than the next-fastest competitor. Also Murray of Kirkland Washington finished fifth, Meeker. R. Gray Gregory was the 2nd-place
consistently fast on both days were Fred Della behind Harvey in his gold 1968 BMW 2002.
Noce and Win Seipp; Della Noce’s gorgeous, A notable mid-pack duel also took place
green Ginetta G12 may not have been quickest between the blue and white 2002 of Steve
(it came in second) but if you want a car that Walker and Ike Keeler in his bright green
just looks fast even standing still, the tiny Datsun 510; at the very snug Turn 2 hairpin
Ginetta is your car (if you can fit into it, that they came through again and again side-byis). Win Seipp’s 1964 Lotus Super 7 in black side, very closely matched and each looking
and yellow had a close battle through much of for some advantage – great racing!
the race with Taz Harvey in a bright yellow
Group 4 was made up of small
formula and sports-racing
cars such as Lotus 23s, Lola
T204s, Elvas and Brabham
photo by Mike Greene
BT21s, but also lesser-known
marques such as Merlyn, Titan, #41 Steve Schmidt, Porsche RSR.
Royale, and Platypus. Most of
these cars have 1600 cc engines finisher in his 1974 Chevron B26, while Jim
and for the most part were fairly Bouzaglou took third in his blue and yellow
evenly-matched, which made for 1973 Chevron B23. Fourth place went to Mike
some good close racing action. In Thurlow in a Lola T294, and the fifth position
first place on both days was Paul was occupied by Brian Groza in a Sauber
Richins, driving a blue and silver C4. Maybe not the fastest car, but honorable
Brabham BT21C. Richins was mention must go to the 1970 McLaren M8C
followed closely by the yellow driven by Nick Colonna, with its mighty
Lotus 23 of Josh Feiber. Also in 5.7-liter engine. What a tremendous noise!
a Brabham BT21 was
the third-place finisher,
Robert Forbes. Fourth
and fifth respectively
were Martin Lauber
driving a Titan Mk 6
and Steven Hill driving
a blue Elva Mk 7.
The race group with
photo by Mike Greene
the most Chevrons
#6 Frank Altamura, Pooper Special;
was Group 5, which
#119 Terry Davis, Austin Healey Sprite;
included four in the
photo by Mike Greene
#23 Glen Oliveria, Alfa Romeo Giulietta
group of 11 cars that
Sprint.
started the Sunday #18 Dalmo De Vasconcelos, Ralt RT1
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Victory Lane
• May 2015
27
They were looking racy for the first
few laps, but then the Porsche dropped
back and slowed dramatically with
apparent mechanical problems. Up at
the front, it was starting to look like
NASCAR Nation, with Klauer’s Miller
Genuine Draft Pontiac in first and the
1985 Ford Thunderbird driven by Gary
Goeringer in Hardee’s livery in third.
In between was Gerkin in the beautiful
CSL 3.0, proudly flying the colors of
Jägermeister. Klauer finished with an
impressive gap of 31.7 seconds over
the bimmer and the rest of the field.
Finishing fourth was Les Werling in
photo by Mike Greene
his 1982 Mercury Capri, and fifth was
#37 Nick Colonna, McLaren M8C; #27 Keith Frieser, Lola T-290.
awarded to Richard Diehl in his white
and red 1969 Porsche 911.
The American muscle cars and bigger of Steve Schmidt in his Porsche RSR, that
As Vandagriff had said during the Saturday
European sports cars that made up Group would have been the finishing order. Schmidt, drivers meeting, the most important part of the
6 rumbled their way onto the track at 2:43 who had started well back in the field
on Sunday, 25 cars strong. At the front was in 12th position, worked his way up
the black and red 1964 Corvette driven by in impressive fashion, finishing in
3rd place behind
Halsey. Akuszewski
finished 4th and Matt
Parent, driving a
red and yellow1969
Corvette, took 5th.
The final race
group of the
weekend, Group
7, was an exciting
r a c e w i t h To m
photo by Mike Greene
Klauer once again
photo by Brian F. Rose
d o m i n a t i n g i n #38 Henry Moore, Lotus Elite.
#19 Steve Schmidt, Porsche 356; #111 David
his 1993 Pontiac
Loop, Byers Volvo Special.
Grand Prix stock car in black HMSA events should be not who finishes first,
and gold, despite having second and third, but the spirit of the driving
Jeff Abramson; on the outside, Jim Halsey’s started in 5th place. At the start the 1977 and the size of the grin on the drivers’ faces.
white and blue Shelby GT350; in third, the red Porsche 934.5 of Dener Jorge Pires had From the general attitude and spirit in the
Sunbeam Tiger driven by Dale Akuszewski of opened up a nice gap, along with the orange paddock throughout the weekend, the event
San Bernadino. And but for the driving skills 1973 BMW CSL 3.0 driven by Jeff Gerkin. was a great success!
Group 1
PL DRIVER/CAR
1 K. Del Bene/Lola Mk 1 1:46.996
2 I. Keeler/Datsun 510
3 T. Johnson/Lotus 17
4 G. Meyer/Dailu Mk 2
5 S. Anderes/Lotus Eleven
6 M. Beaulieu/Datsun 510
7 B. Roth/Genie
8 J. Hurabiell/Lotus Eleven
9 D. Loop/Byers Volvo Special
10 S. Schmidt/Porsche 356
11 D. Bloomquest/Lola Mk 1
12 A. Cook/Lotus Eleven
13 T. Davis/Austin Healey Sprite
14 F. Altamura/Pooper Special
15 G. Oliveria/Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Sprint
16 J.D. Barry/Caldwell D-13
17 W. Kirkwood/Elva Courier Mk II
18 R. Bogle/Alfa Romeo Giulietta
19 J. Miller/Ford Thunderbird
20 D. Brown/Lotus 7
21 P. Hung/Alfa Remo GT Junior
22 M. Sullivan/Porsche 356
23 T. Stroscher/Mercedes 190SL
28
May 2015
photo by Mike Greene
#155 Dale Akuszewski,
Sunbeam Tiger.
24 S. Marx/Mercedes 190SL
25 D. Nelson/Triumph TR2
26 D. Collins/MGB
27 G. Magnusson/Porsche 356
28 C. Marvin/Lotus Eleven
29 S. Dernek/Mk 1 Lola
30 J. Feiber/Maserati Birdcage
31 H. Moore/Lotus Elite
Group 2
PL DRIVER/CAR
1 M. Lauber/Chevron B39 1:29.448
2 C. Meeker/Ralt RT1
3 T. Minnich/Ralt RT-1
4 C. Moore/March 76B
5 B. Leeson/McLaren M10B
• Victory Lane
6 D. Alvarado/March 76B
7 L. Savage/March 76B
8 R. Merritt/Ralt RT5
9 J. Burke/Brabham BT40
10 A. Nicholas/March F2
11 D. Cooper/March 742
12 B. Baker/Ralt RT-1
13 E. Haga/Lola T300
14 D. De Vasconcelos/Ralt RT1
15 D. Baker/Ralt RT1
group 3
PL DRIVER/CAR
1 T. Ermish/Datsun 510 1:42.705
2 F. Della Noce/Ginetta G12
3 W. Seipp/Lotus Super 7
photo by Mike Greene
#97 Steve Park,
Cobra.
#188 John Murray,
BMW 2002.
4 T. Harvey/Datsun 510
5 J. Murray/BMW 2002
6 I. Keeler/Datsun 510
7 E. Matsuishi/Porsche 911
8 B. Byrnes/Lotus Elan
9 M. McGarry/MGB
10 S. Byrnes/Ginetta G4
11 L. Walters/Elva Courier
12 S. Zide/Alfa Romeo GTA
13 M. Colbert/Alfa Romeo GTA
14 J. Hill/Alfa Romeo Giulia
Sprint
15 P. Nitoglia/Alfa Romeo GTA
16 J. Perkins/Alfa Romeo GTA
17 F. Altamura/Porsche 911
18 M. Green/MGB GT
19 B. Ockerlund/Datsun 510
20 D. Stone/Datsun 510
21 S. Walker/BMW 2002
22 B. Adrian/Alfa Romeo GTA
23 S. Brown/MGB GT
24 N. Biglione/VW Karmann Ghia
25 V. Avila/Lotus 26R
26 M. Zubko/Porsche 356
27 T. Claridge/Ginetta G4R
28 M. Beaulieu/Datsun 510
Group 4
PL DRIVER/CAR
1 P. Richins/Brabham BT21C 1:38.698
2 J. Feiber/Lotus 23
3 R. Forbes/Brabham BT-21
4 M. Lauber/Titan Mk 6
5 S. Hill/Elva Mk 7
6 J. Rothman/Forsgrini
7 J. Catchot/Chevron B10
8 N. Colyvas/Merlyn 11A
9 D. Hagan/Elva Mk 7
photo by Mike Greene
#2 Mike Miller,
Chevron B19.
5 M. Parent/Corvette
6 M. Cane/Shelby GT 350
7 P. Reed/Shelby GT 350
8 T. Hart/Camaro
9 A. Terpins/Porsche 911 T/R
10 C. P. Costin/Porsche 911S
11 N. Colonna/Jaguar E-Type
12 K. Tse/Porsche 911
13 J. Ornstein/Datsun 280ZX
14 L. Ross/Shelby GT 350
15 P. Scheinberg/Ford Mustang
16 S. Gilmore/Porsche 911
17 B. Stockwell/Ford Mustang
18 E. Arrowsmith/Porsche 914/6 GT
19 M. Doyle/Jaguar E-Type
20 T. Chalmers/Shelby GT 350
21 D. Sallen/Porsche 911
22 W. Brown/Camaro
23 J. Reed/Camaro
24 J. Yeakel-Swanson/Corvette
25 E. Shirley/Lister Costin
Group 7
PL DRIVER/CAR
1 T. Klauer/Pontiac Grand Prix
1:37.765
2 J. Gerken/BMW CSL 3.0
3 G. Goereinger/Ford T-Bird
4 L. Werling/Mercury Capri
5 R. Diehl/Porsche 911
6 S. Beck/Ford TBird
7 S. Barber/Ford T-Bird
8 D. Jorge Pires/Porsche 934.5
CELEBRATING THE AUTOMOBILE WITH 10 DAYS OF RACES, CAR SHOWS AND MOTORSPORT EVENTS
VINTAGE GRAND PRIX
photo by Brian F. Rose
#4 Jim Bouzaglou,
Chevron B-23.
10 A. Moutafian/Merlyn Mk 11A
11 B. Morrison/Titan Mk 5
12 M. Powell/Lotus 23
13 K. Del Bene/Elva Mk 8
14 E. Lauber/Titan Mk 5
15 L. Osborn/Genie Mk 5
16 S. Dana/Elva Mk 7S
17 D. Stark/Lotus 23B
18 D. Todd/Titan Mk 5
19 M. Wirrick/Lola T204
20 M. Roth/Winkleman WDF
21 N. Alexander/Platypus Porsche Special
22 D. Trimble/Titan Mk 5
23 A. Wait/Lola T204
24 T. Schurbusch/Brabham BT 21
25 T. LaCosta/Lola T204
26 J. Brown/1961 Lotus
27 S. Wardman/Royale
28 D. Wardman/Winklemann WDF2
Group 5
PL DRIVER/CAR
1 C. Meeker/Lola T294 1:28.995
2 R. G. Gregory/Chevron B26
3 J. Bouzaglou/Chevron B-23
PRESENTED BY
photo by Brian F. Rose
#7 Jeffrey Rothman,
Forsgrini.
4 M. Thurlow/Lola T294
5 B. Groza/Sauber C4
6 F. Castaing/Chevron B23
7 N. Colonna/McLaren M8C
8 M. Miller/Chevron B19
9 K. Frieser/Lola T-290
10 J. Delane/Lola T212
11 E. Haga/McLaren M1A
Group 6
PL DRIVER/CAR
1 J. Abramson/Corvette 1:41.776
2 J. Halsey/Shelby GT 350
3 S. Schmidt/Porsche RSR
4 D. Akuszewski/Sunbeam Tiger
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GREATER PITTSBURGH
AUTOMOBILE DEALERS
FOUNDATION
10–19 JULY 2015
July 17-19 Schenley Park
33rd running of the PVGP through the streets of Schenley Park.
Paddock under the giant oaks and race alongside the ancient stone
walls and hay bales with 200,000 cheering spectators.
July 10-12 PVGP Historics at Pitt Race
This will be the inaugural race on the new 2.8 mile track, that
encompasses a challenging 85’ elevation change followed by a
blind hill and new straight and a total of 18 turns. Sanctioned by
Race to www.pvgp.org for entry forms, details on race groups and
schedules for all events
Victory Lane
• May 2015
29