I don't know if this came through to the group:
---------------------- Forwarded by Jay Laifman/Attorney/Legal/CF/CCI on
05/07/2001 08:00 AM ---------------------------
JMazour@aol.com on 05/04/2001 07:27:38 PM
To: bwana@c2i2.com, Jay_Laifman@countrywide.com
cc: kasl100@navix.net
Subject: Rodriguez Brothers & Rapiers
Dear Lou & Jay:
My good friend Brent Kasl forwarded to me your recent e-mails regarding the
Rodriguez Brothers and racing Rootes cars.
You are correct that both Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez raced two identical
Rootes factory prepared light blue/black Series III Sunbeam Rapier hardtops
in at least two Mexican races during early 1961. (These were the same cars
that had been raced at the USA Grand Prix in November 1960 in a compact car
race and driven by Paddy Hopkirk and Peter Harper). An excellent article
on
these cars is "Sunbeam's American Racer" by David Parrott which was
published
in the March 1994 issue of THOROUGHBRED & CLASSIC CARS.
The Rodriguez Brothers raced these Rapiers in January 1961 at the Carrera
Ciudad de Mexico. They came in 1st and 2nd with Ricardo finishing some 15
seconds a head of his brother. Incidentally, the two brothers insisted
that
these cars be fitted with a roll bar before they would race them. They
drove
these same Rapiers again later in 1961 at the sixth Premio Constitution en
la
Ciudad de Puebla. To my knowledge the Rodriguez Brothers did not race
these
Rapiers outside their home country of Mexico.
In late 1961 one of these Rapiers was raced by Dick Nash and Gene Hobbs in
a
12-hour production car race at the Marlboro Race Track in Virginia where
they
3rd place.
One of these cars survives today and is owned by my friend David Parrott of
Waterlooville England. The other race car remains missing, and I have been
looking for it for some years with no success. One former Rootes
Competition
Department employee has told Parrott that it was destroyed in a race an
Laguna Seca. I cannot confirm this information, however this would
provide
an explanation for why only one Rapier raced in the Marlboro race when both
were always entered in all prior races.
I do not know if the Rodriguez Brothers raced any other Rootes vehicles
during their careers.
The "amateur racing" Rapier race car you mention was a light blue colored
Series I Rapier built in the mid-1960s by Bob Hagin and driven by Skip
Adrian. No parts from the Rootes factory Series III cars were used in the
construction of this northern California privateer race car. The only
connection is that Hagin was at the Riverside GP race and watched Hopkirk
and
Harper drive the factory prepared Series III Rapiers, and this race gave
him
the inspiration to several years later build a Rapier race car. For more
information about this Rapier race car go to the Sunbeam Rapier Registry
club
web site at:
http://clubs.hemmings.com/sunbeam/
and click on the "Competition" bar for my article entitled, "SCCA Sunbeam
Rapier Racer"
I hope this information answers some questions you had.
- James Mazour/Sunbeam Rapier Registry
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