Report on the United Telephone Vintage GP at Mid-Ohio.
First the stats. At one of the first driver's meetings, it was mentioned that
375 cars were registered and based on ticket sales, 30,000 spectators were
expected.
there were a lot of real nice LBCs. Ginetta G4 coupes, Lotus 26Rs, Chevrons
and the like. there were a few strange ones. Two Triumph Vitesse racing
cars and a Daimler SP250 (the yellow and red one). One Bentley Turbo R in the
pits, among other exotic machinery.
I raced in group 1 and there was a racing Anglia in my class. Very fast until
he broke a valve spring during the race. His wife was racing a Mk1 Escort
RS1600.
My race group was a conglomeration of cars from various countries, mostly
the UK and Italy, with the exception of the two Honda S800s, team Escargot, and
a Jabro.
After thrashing to get my Mini ready to race, we finished at midnight on the
day before I left. Only one door panel shy, a cosmetic, not a mechanical
problem.
BTW, thanks to messrs Dodd, Jones and Bailey for stopping by to chat. Hope
you guys enjoyed the various races.
Once at the track (a mere 7 hours from Chi-town), things did not start out
well. In the first practice session, a blow by hose insinuated itself into
the cooling fan and shed 9 out of 11 blades. I found that none of the other
minis there thought it necessary to carry a spare fan. A quick phone call and
a friend heading for mini meet in Columbus agreed to drop off a fan on Friday.
I tried running one session w/o the fan, but the temp hit 225 and I pulled in.
I spent the next hour or so pulling the radiator(s) and hoses in prep for the
arrival of the new fan. I will now carry a spare and therefore will never
break another.
The fan arrived Fri and I had things buttoned up for the Fri afternoon session.
I tried to remember which way the track went for most of that session and
spun into the grass in the keyhole on one occasion. This necessitated the
use of the 4lb BL Special Tuning Adjustment tool to flatten the floor where it
had struck the curb.
Saturday was much better and I was 15 out of 58, 10 in class w/ a 2:01.029. the
fastest in the group class was trent terry's midget with a 1:54.611.
All those sandbagging in practice turned up the wick for qualifying and I
qualified 16th overall, 11th in class with a 1:59.158 and finally began to
become comfortable with the track.
During the race, things improved further. I passed several cars and finished
11th overall, 5th in class with a 1:57.226. I feel I was still making mistakes
and particulary at corners 1, 5 and out of the carousel, I can still improve
quite a bit. I was gaining on the Lotus 7 ahead of me and a couple of Alfa
GT Jrs at the finish, but 7 laps was not enough time. BTW, in the race a
2:00 lap would have put me in 20th, so things were pretty close.
First in my group was the Lotus 7 of McGlone with a fast lap of 1:50.540, 2d
was trent terry's midget at 1:52.807 and 3d was R. Stewart's spitfire at
1:53.505.
There were other good races to watch. the trans-am group was fun with the
26Rs of nickel and layer chasing closely behing the mustang of ray bonthron.
one hell of a fast mustang. the 26Rs passed corvettes and mustangs on the
long straight, not only in the corners.
Group 44 put on a nice show, running two TR8 imsa cars in exhibition, also
for sale, only $65,000 and cheap at half the price. they also had the ex
trans-am XJS for sale. very nice cars all.
lots and lots of Triumphs due to it being the featured marque, including a
very strange TR3 tow truck, not a factory option to my recollection.
The racing in group 9 was quite exciting, Porsche 356s and Morgans. The
356s were faster at the front, despite giving up 35-40 hp for a weight
advantage of only a 100lbs. In qualifying Mark Eskuche and Vic Skirmants put
on a great show. Vic is a past E-prod champ and record holder at Mid-Ohio.
Mark was faster in the corner and Vic was faster on the straight. In qualifying
Vic held off Mark, but Mark nipped Vic for the pole with a time .02 sec. faster.
wished I could have stayed for the race, but it was at 5:00 and I raced at
11:15AM and had to drive 7 hours.
more details on request so as not to make this too long.
jim fuerstenberg
186,000 miles per second, it's not just a good idea
it's the law!
jfuerstenberg@dcri.dla.mil or
xgg2356@dcri.dla.mil
The opinions stated herein are solely my own and not those of my employer.
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