33 replies to this topic

[Jersey_Devil]

I originally wanted to create a thread documenting 1/18th models from the Can-Am series, but since that only lasted from 1966 - 74 (not counting the series of the same name for re-bodied Formula 5000 cars from 1977 - 86), I decided to open this up. As you might expect from me, this will be a combination of history of the 1:1 cars and series (plural) and the 1/18th diecast (and resin) models made of the cars participating in those series (you're welcome, Retroclassics!).

A little background: sprint race sports cars (AKA Group 7, as the FIA had categorized them just before the Can-Am series started in 1966) go back as far as men raced cars with fenders, but it was the big bucks North American races in the late '50s that gave rise to the category since it allowed drivers from all over the world to participate when their respective F1 and Endurance series had completed their seasons. Fall races in Riverside and Laguna Seca, California; Kent, Washington; Bridgehampton, New York; Las Vegas, Nevada; Mosport, Ontario; St. Jovite, Quebec; Nassau, Bahamas; and other locales enticed the international crowd with much larger cash purses than they could expect in Europe (where "appearance money" for just showing up was the norm for the bulk of driver's payments).

They started with the usual European cars - Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, Jaguar - but Americans started shoehorning big American engines into European chassis' with varying degrees of success with select 'specials", such as Max Balchowsky's "Old Yeller" series and others being among the few that gave the much more expensive Euro machinery yips. The problem was that sports car racing in the U.S, often on airports with hay bales marking the track, was controlled by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), which was resolutely dedicated to AMATEUR racing. A lot of the early racers were rich men with their imported sports cars or drivers with patrons who had deep pockets. As more Americans began to demonstrate the skills that led to jobs in the strictly regulated endurance series in Europe (Phil Hill, Masten Gregory, Dan Gurney, Carroll Shelby, Richie Ginther, for instance), they began demanding pay for their services in the U.S. events.

The Automobile Association of America (yes, that AAA), ran American racing since 1902 until 1955 when it abandoned the sport, citing the series of fatal accidents that year, particularly the death of two-time Indy 500 winner Bill Vukovich while leading on his way to his third straight 500 win and the worst accident in auto racing history, the holocaust at the Le Mans 24-Hour that killed 84 people, all but one spectators. The United States Auto Club (USAC) took over for AAA as the arbiter of American professional racing in 1956 and saw in the growth of road racing popularity an opportunity, so in 1958 created the USAC Road Racing Division which sponsored races across the country, starting with four that year and expanding to 11 in 1959. It contracted back to five races from 1960 through 1962.

Phil Hill's Ferrari 412MI leading Chuck Daigh's Scarab-Chevy in the USAC-sponsored 1958 Riverside L.A. Times GP. The Ferrari failed and Daigh won:


Replicarz will be releasing other versions of the Scarab in 1/18th resin with opening hood, fully detailed engine and authentic interior:




By this point, the SCCA had realized they were missing out by restricting their oversight to amateur racing, having gone as far as threatening to suspend from all SCCA races any driver who participated in a USAC-sponsored road race (which they didn't enforce) and announced the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) that started in 1963. These races across the country had divisions (and sometimes separate races) for GT cars (eventually dominated by Cobra to the point that the class was eliminated) and for sports cars over and under 2-liters. Lasting from 1963 - 68, this was the direct predecessor to the Johnson Wax-sponsored Canadian-American Challenge Cup that ran after the USRRC season completed each year from 1966-68 and eventually absorbed its races.

Along with the advent of high-paying races for professional drivers was the creation of pure racing circuits to replace the increasingly dangerous street races that were being phased out in the mid-50s. Road America, Watkins Glen, Riverside, Lime Rock, Mosport, St, Jovite, Laguna Seca, Kent, Bridgehampton, Las Vegas and more were atttracting larger and larger crowds and specialty car manufacturers were responding by building purpose-built cars specifically for these sprint races as opposed to the previously repurposed endurance racing cars such as Ferraris, Maseratis and Porsches. Lola, Lotus, Scarab, Chaparral, McLaren and more became major players.

This thread should be used to post pics of 1/18th models of cars in this category (which is a pretty wide one) and photos of 1:1s in this category that you'd like to see in 1/18th (preferably, but not exclusively, diecast).

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 21 May 2016 - 12:35 AM.

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[Jersey_Devil]

I'll start with something I promised Retroclassics - Ashley, here are all the GMP Lola T70s I am aware of:

This is my own GMP #12001 1966 AAR Bardahl Special Lola T70 Mk. II-Gurney Weslake Ford driven by Dan Gurney to win the 1966 Bridgehampton Can-Am race (the only win by a Ford in the entire history of the series):



GMP #12002 1966 Penske Sunoco Special Lola T70 Mk. II-Chevy driven by Mark Donohue to win the 1966 USRRC race at Kent (internet photo):


GMP #12003 1969 Penske Sunoco Special Lola T70 Mk. IIIB-Chevy GT driven by Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons to win the 1969 Daytona 24-Hour race (internet photo):


I found this on the internet and realized it's my pic of my since-sold GMP #12004 Team Surtees Lola T70 Mk. II-Chevy that John Surtees won the first-ever Can-Am race in at St. Jovite in 1966:



GMP #12004-1 is the Team Surtees Lola T70 Mk. III-Chevy that John Surtees drove in the 1967 Can-Am series before switching to his 1966 Can-Am-winning Mk. II above and winning the last race of the season at Las Vegas (internet photo). Despite the relabeling, it's clearly the same model:



GMP #12005 - this is my Penske Sunoco Special Lola T70 Mk. III-Chevy that Mark Donohue dominated the 1967 USRRC championship with, winning five of the six races started (and finishing third in the other one; he won the final race of the USRRC season in the Mk. IIIB he would campaign in the Can-Am series). I believe this is the most beautiful Group 7 model available:



GMP #12006P - this is my George Bignotti Lola T70 Mk. III-Ford that Parnelli Jones drove in three races of the 1967 Can-Am with a best finish of 4th in the Riverside race. It's noteworthy because of the spaghetti exhaust of the Indy Twin-Cam Ford engine installed by famed Indy head mechanic George Bignotti who maintained this car:



GMP #12006M - This George Bignotti Lola T70 Mk. III-Ford is the same car and model as above driven by Mario Andretti in two races in the 1968 Can-Am series (internet photo):



GMP #12007 1966 Penske Sunoco Special Lola T70 Mk. II-Chevy driven by Mark Donohue to win the 1966 Nassau Trophy Race (internet photo):



GMP #12008 1968 American Internation Racing (AIR; this was actor James Garner's racing team) Lola T70 Mk. III-Chevy GT driven by Ed Leslie and Lothar Motschenbacher to 2nd place in the 1969 Daytona 24-Hour race (internet photo from DX'er preisman - thank you!):



GMP #12009 1966 Lola T70 Mk. II-Ford owned and driven by A.J. Foyt in the 1966 Riverside Can-Am and the Nassau Speed Weeks (internet photo):



GMP #12010 1965 John Mecom Zerex Special Lola T70 Mk. I-Chevy driven by Walt Hansgen to win the 1965 Laguna Seca twin-heat race (internet photo also from DX'er preisman - thank you!):



GMP #1801511 - This is the AAR Lola T70 Mk. IIIB-Gurney Weslake Ford driven by Dan Gurney in the 1967 Can-Am series. Another GMP shortcut, this is clearly the same mold as the GMP Mk. II and Mk. IIIs (internet photo):



And lastly, GMP #1801512 is my Sid Taylor Lola T70 Mk. III GT-Chevy driven by Denny Hulme in numerous British Royal Auto Club championship sprint races and select endurance races:



OK - that completes the GMP run of Lolas to the best of my knowledge. Let's see what other 1/18th diecasts of cars in this racing class you can bring to the party!

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 02 May 2016 - 02:03 AM.

[amarus69]

What a great collection of GMP Lolas! Never saw these all together! Let the other come out!!

[ibj40]

The GMP Lola T70 made a great basis for customs.  In addition to all those that Red shows above, I have this one in my collection (a product of the genius of the late Jesse Pyron).  It was entered by Dana Chevrolet, and driven by Peter Revson.



Jesse and I had intended to make several more for which decal sheets are readily available, such as the Roger McCluskey Pacesetter Homes version.

Edited by ibj40, 02 May 2016 - 11:24 AM.

[Jersey_Devil]

NIce, Jim! Your friend Jesse was truly talented, as you've already proven to me. I grieve with you at his loss.

UPDATE: Here's the 1:1:

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 22 May 2016 - 09:54 AM.

[Jersey_Devil]

Another car that made its mark in the pure racing car sprint race format was the Cooper Monaco. Named by John Cooper for his team's first Formula One win in the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, driven by factory driver Englishman Roy Salvadori (the first Cooper - and the first rear-engined car - to win a championship F1 race had been in the previous race that year, the Argentine GP, Stirling Moss in a privately entered Rob Walker Cooper), it was fitted with a variety of engines from 1.5 - 2.5 liters and, despite a propensity for chassis flex, won numerous races in the UK, the rest of Europe and the U.S. Roger Penske campaigned one in 1961-62 and won several SCCA National Championship races. Interestingly enough, the original Monaco debuted in late 1958 had the raised rear fenders typical of sports cars of the era:



When GT/Touring racing became the vogue in the UK in 1960/61, Cooper turned his focus on the American market for the Monaco Mark III and modified the tail of the lowered body in a manner many assumed was meant to be more appealing to Yank tastes, as Roger Penske's Telar Special below demonstrates below as he drives to win the SCCA Nationals at Marlboro:  



However, Penske was not particularly successful in the U.S professional races until he acquired another Cooper, for which he became notorious for his applying his eventually legendary innovative thinking. The Zerex Special was a converted 1961 Cooper FORMULA ONE car. Rules for sports cars in this class were relatively lax, which permitted all sorts of cluged-up specials to appear: a rollbar, four wheels covered by fenders and a few other basics - including a passenger seat. in 1962 Penske added a slippery body to the F1 Cooper chassis and moved the driver's position ever-so-slightly off-center; at first glance, the car appeared not to have a passenger seat:



But when other competitors protested, Roger calmly exited the car and opened a TINY panel to the left of the driver's position and sat in it - sort of:



Since the rules never said the seat was supposed to be either comfortable or INSIDE the body of the car, it was deemed to satisfy the rules. Penske's 2.7-liter Climax-powered car proceeded to lay waste to the North American professional racing scene, winning the big one, the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside, then next week winning overall the Pacific GP at Laguna Seca (after finishing second in both heats, behind Dan Gurney in heat 1 and Lloyd Ruby in heat 2) - and thereby becoming the last USAC Road Racing Champion - and the Grand Prix of Puerto Rico.

By 1963 the SCCA insisted a "genuine" passenger seat be a requirement so Penske shifted the driver further right and made a more acceptable second seat. He sold the car to John Mecom and ran it as a Mecom Special and won two more SCCA National Championship races and was leading in the Pensacola USRRC race before turning it over to co-driver Hap Sharp who retired it, unable to deal with the car's handling. Mecom took the car to England and Penske won the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy:



but by the time the 1963 LA Times Grand Prix came around, the Special ran into the new sheriff in town - the Shelby King Cobra (which, interestingly enough, was also based on the Cooper Monaco, on which more later). Penske did finish second but that was his last drive in the car. In 1964 Penske drove for Chaparral.

But the Zerex Special was not dead - eventually it found its way into the hands of another creative mind: Bruce McLaren. In 1964 he won the Aintree 200 and the Silverstone International Trophy for Sports Cars, but before bringing it to the U.S. for the big bucks races, he replaced the 2.7L Coventry Climax engine with a 3.5L Traco Oldsmobile. And the Special gave its final hurrah, winning the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy and both heats of the Players 200 race at Mosport:



The next time McLaren ventured out in a sprint sports car, it would be later in 1964 in his McLaren Elva Mk. I, the first in a long line of McLarens built for pro sports car drivers.

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 05 May 2016 - 06:12 PM.

[Retroclassics]

First of all, thank you for putting this thread together Red, I very much appreciate it buddy. - You've given me a great insight to the Can-Am series and where it all began, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the history behind the series too, I mean the knowledge you have is truly remarkable!!... Now when I purchased the model I was going to buy a book giving the history on the Can-Am series form 1966 to 1974 but there's really no need now as I believe you've covered mostly everything... Moving onto the GMP Lola's, most of those that you've posted I actually never knew existed, such as the Lola T70 Mk. III-Chevy GT #8 Leslie and Motschenbacher, AAR Lola T70 Mk. IIIB-Gurney Weslake Ford #36 and the Lola T70 Mk. II-Ford owned and driven by A.J. Foyt, I had no idea those three existed... Also not to long a ago a member here at DX posted his collection of GMP Lola's, five model's that are in his collection are not posted above ? They're either extremely rare or customs (one of which is a one off that never made it to production) as myself have never seen them before. http://www.diecastxc...ola-collection/

[Jersey_Devil]

Thanks for the heads-up, Ash. As you and he pointed out, the red, silver and green cars never made it to production so they're all unique and undoubtedly VERY expensive even if you could find them. I only posted the GMPs that made it to production since it's so rare the pre-production models are made available for purchase (they tend to be given away as gifts or sold to rich old men - the types that have the REAL Mona Lisa in their vaults !).

And let me not take credit that is due others; I am a voracious reader of everything I can find on auto racing and I learned the facts behind the cars I love through magazines (my father read "Road & Track" magazine for the road tests of street cars, I read his mags for the race reports), books and the internet. I just bought from the author Mike Martin the amazing and encyclopedic "USRRC: A Record of the United States Road Racing Championship: 1963-1968", some of which information made it into this thread already (he autographed it to me too!).

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 02 May 2016 - 12:57 PM.

[Floper54]

I am also a big fan of Can am; Lola T70, and others beasts from this era...

( I also worked on several historic 1/1 race cars. As GT40 , Lola T70 , and some Can am... )

About the GMP Lola run, Ashley; you can find all models here : 14 different cars

http://www.corvette-..._models_118.htm

In the DX'er Collection, the five lola are pre-production models,

The three chromed Sunoco are IMO stupid because the real car has a Fiberglass body...

The MK III B light green is interesting. This one-off model was for sale on a French model shop and was on my wishlist..... BUT at 400 euros another DX member bought this model

( As a response, i bought the car he was trying to win on ebay :  the Lola MK III Coupe Denny Hulme )

My goal is to have all T70 made in 1/18 : 14 GMP and 2 Exoto

Anyway, i'm happy to share my favorite cars with all Dx Members, enthusiasts about the "true" race cars.

Some videos for your ears :

https://www.youtube....h?v=dceay1HgHnw

https://www.youtube....h?v=dWCDvIchWbQ

https://www.youtube....h?v=BaVs8T5OAcA

[Jersey_Devil]

Seeing these fans of classic REAL racing cars, I'm reminded of Humphrey Bogart's quote ending "Casablanca": "... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship".

Just to finish up with the story of the Cooper Monaco above, the car that ended the Zerex Special's reign of terror was another derivation of that model (which had evolved over the several years Cooper Cars built and sold it). For 1963, recognizing that more and more of his customers were replacing the smaller Conventry Climax engines with big-bore American hardware, Cooper came up with the T61M specifically widened and lowered for them. Among his customers was Carroll Shelby who realized his GT-class Cobras would be overwhelmed by purpose built racing sports cars. His two Monacos were shipped partially built to his California shop where they were stripped and strengthened all around. The same 289 Ford engines in his Cobras was installed in them both and in testing Dave MacDonald broke the track record at Riverside.

MacDonald and Bob Holbert (Al's father) debuted the still-unpainted and newly named King Cobras at Kent, Washington, for the twin-heat Pacific Northwest GP. Holbert won pole and MacDonald qualified fifth but both DNF'd twice with overheating issues.

Two weeks later at Riverside's Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, MacDonald and Holbert qualified second and third (behind the pole-sitting Chaparral 2 of Jim Hall, the debut of first rear-engined Chaparral). Hall led until an electrical short put him out and MacDonald led to the finish; Holbert was right behind him until engine failure put him out:



Roger Penske finished second, a lap down, in the now-legal Zerex Special.

The next week MacDonald repeated his victory at the Laguna Seca Pacific Grand Prix after polesitter Holbert's King Cobra was delayed and finally DNF'd with overheating after hitting another car while leading and having to pit several times to get the nose opened up for air cooling:



Shelby took the cars with the GT Cobras to the Bahamas for the annual Speed Weeks where both King Cobras DNF'd in the Nassau Tourist Trophy main race while the Cobra roadsters were overwhelmed by Corvette Grand Sports run by John Mecom's team. The latter actually led to the diminishing work on the King Cobras as winning the World Manufacturer's Championship was Shelby's priority for 1964 and it would require designing and building a faster, more streamlined version of the GT - the Cobra Daytona Coupe.

For 1964, however, Shelby ordered four more Monaco chassis. One was for a customer but MacDonald split time between it and his old car, winning the Augusta and Kent USRRC races and the National Phoenix Open race and finishing second in the Laguna Seca USRRC, while Holbert had a third and several DNF's culminating in a firey accident driving the customer car in practice for the Kent race that, combined with MacDonald's death in late May at Indianapolis in the 500, led the elder Holbert to retire.  

This wasn't the death knell of Shelby's King Cobra program, however, as Augie Pabst finished second in the Mosport Player's 200 to McLaren's Zerex Special-Olds, Ed Leslie won the Greenwood USRRC race and, as a major last gasp, Parnelli Jones took a second straight victory for the Shelby team in the L.A. Times GP at Riverside in October in the #94 King Cobra:



while Bob Bondurant and Ronnie Bucknum finished third and fourth in the following week's Laguna Seca Monterey Grand Prix.

The Cooper Monaco and its many variants, paticularly the King Cobra, would be another good choice for a classic racing car in 1/18th diecast!

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 14 April 2017 - 03:44 PM.

[preisman]

This is an awesome thread. A lot of really interesting information, most I did not really know. Keep it coming.

[Jersey_Devil]

For our next foray into pure racing sports cars (which I guarantee will include actual Can-Am cars this time), we go to McLaren.

Bruce McLaren was a 18-yo New Zealander who impressed works Formula One Cooper driver Jack Brabham with his performance in the 1957 New Zealand Grand Prix with the car he bought from Jack enough that Jack suggested Cooper give Bruce the Formula Two car Jack drove in that race for the 1958 edition. Although he DNF’d, McLaren again put up such a performance that Brabham encouraged Cooper to hire him if he could get to Europe.

Bruce was the first recipient of the NZ International GP committee’s “Driver to Europe” sponsorship (among later recipients would be eventual 1967 World Driving Champion and double-Can-Am champ Denny Hulme) and was hired by Cooper to drive in F2 and put in such spectacular performances that in 1959 he was promoted to back up Jack on the F1 team. He ended that season by winning the U.S. Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver ever to win an F1 race, and followed it up by winning the first race of the 1960 season and finishing second to Brabham in the championship that year.

The 1961 change in the F1 rules from 2.5 liter to less-powerful 1.5 liter engines (sound familiar?) also led to a downturn for the Cooper team as they failed to be competitive for the duration of the new formula. Brabham left the team to form his own team in 1962, leaving McLaren as Cooper number one.

During this time, the off-season races in New Zealand and Australia had become an attraction for some of the best grand prix drivers and in 1964 they were formerly incorporated into what was called “The Tasman Championship” (or more casually, the Tasman series). McLaren wanted Cooper to send a team down to compete but he wouldn’t provide engines large enough to be competitive, so in late 1963 Bruce founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing with his chief mechanic and engineer, American Tyler Alexander, which bought and modified for the 2.5-liter formula Coopers for himself and talented young American driver Tim Meyer who would be his number two at Cooper in 1964. McLaren won the inaugural Tasman title, but in the next-to-last race, Meyer was killed.  

His brother and manager, Teddy Meyer, at a loss for work, then joined McLaren to share running the team with Bruce and Tyler (and starting in 1967, New Zealander Phil Kerr). The triumvirate carried on after Bruce’s death testing the M8D in 1970 until the team was sold to Ron Dennis’ Project Four in 1981. So for us Americans, it’s an honor to know part of the McLaren braintrust was from the U.S.

After the efforts with the re-engineered Zerex Special, McLaren decided it was time to build his own purpose-built racing sports car. By the fall pro races, the McLaren Mk. 1-Traco Oldsmobile was completed:



Not wanting to burden the racing team with turning out customer cars, McLaren farmed that task to Elva cars, so the car is officially the McLaren Elva Mk. 1A. Many name drivers raced it, including Graham Hill, Phil Hill (McLaren’s 1965 Cooper F1 teammate) and Dan Gurney. This is a personal favorite because I had a 1/32nd scale slot car of this.

The factory car was fast, but results were spotty. Debuting at the 1964 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport, it started second and finished 3^rd. It won the pole (though only second fastest qualifier) for the Riverside L.A. Times GP but DNFd there and in both heats of the Laguna Seca Monterey GP. To end the year it finished second in the Nassau Trophy Race (to the Hap Sharp/Roger Penske Chaparral 2):



Bruce continued racing it in 1965, installing larger and larger engines until he debuted the McLaren Elva Mk. II-Oldsmobile (or the M1B as it is now known) at the Players Mont Tremblant in St. Jovite. It qualified fastest but an engine failure in practice kept it out of the race. Six days later, in the Grand Prix of Canada at Mosport, McLaren participated in one of the greatest sports car races ever:


The M1B qualified on pole while a blown engine prevented Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2 from setting a time so he started in 18^th position. Though this event is remembered by many for John Surtees’ terrible practice accident that put him out of racing until 1966, the race itself was a battle of the titans as Hall overhauled the field and went head-to-head with McLaren, swapping places every lap, sometimes multiple times a lap, eventually beating the New Zealander by 1.2 seconds after 100 laps. In the process, Hall beat McLaren’s pole qualifying time by 2.3 seconds!

At the Riverside Los Angeles Times GP, McLaren’s M1B took pole and fastest lap but gremlins limited him to a third place finish:


McLaren’s M1B coming up to pass Graham Hill in a customer McLaren-Elva M1A at Riverside

Phil Hill sat in for McLaren in the Kent Pacific GP and finished fifth overall, 2^nd in the first heat and 11^th in the second after more mechanical issues, setting the fastest lap, faster than winner Jim Hall’s pole lap in the new Chaparral 2C:



In 1966 McLaren split their time between upgrading the M1B and getting their fledgling Formula One effort off the ground. The factory sports cars, now labeled McLaren Elva Mk. IIB, driven by Bruce and fellow New Zealander Chris Amon, won a variety of preliminary races – the Labatt 50 at Mont Tremblant, the Players 200 at Mosport, the Pepsi-Cola Trophy at Mont Tremblant (all by Bruce) – with some seconds and thirds by Amon, but when the inaugural Canadian-American Challenge Cup series began in September, it was a case of “close, but not close enough”. Even with a switch to more powerful and, eventually, larger capacity Chevy engines, the team finished third (Bruce) and sixth (Chris) in the final championship standings and collected six seconds and thirds between them and a number of poles and fastest laps, but no wins:



Bruce chasing eventual race winner and series champion John Surtees’ factory Lola T70-Chevy in the first-ever Can-Am race at St. Jovite in Quebec. He would finish 5.5 seconds behind in second, followed by teammate Amon.


Bruce on his way to 3^rd in the Bridgehampton Can-Am race (won by Dan Gurney’s Lola T70-Ford, followed by Amon).

But a continued plus was the grids were populated by drivers of many customer McLarens…That’s why virtually any McLaren, but particularly the M1A and M1B, should be released in 1/18^th diecast!


NEXT: The Premiere of The Bruce and Denny Show!

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 14 April 2017 - 03:47 PM.

[ibj40]

The early McLaren's are a model sorely missed in 1/18 scale. We have the contemporary Lola, but then the later McLaren's, only 1/18 we have that straddles the two early generations of Can Am are the Chaparrals.

Keep it coming, Red!

[Jersey_Devil]

Yes they are, Jim, and this is intended to show what we are missing in our chosen scale. Thanks for the vote of confidence; I'm working on the next phase now!

[Jersey_Devil]

CAN-AM FACTOID: When it was being planned in early 1966, one of the concepts for the series was as some sort of Atlantic Championship, including two races in England and one in Germany. But this coincided with a waning interest in Group 7 races across the pond that some attributed to the support of racing in the UK by oil and tire companies who felt cars with big American engines didn’t match their target customers’ needs and therefore weren’t cost-effective to sponsor.

While the press loved it, traditionalists also bemoaned the fact that the big-bangers, considered more “primitive” than more exotic Formula One vehicles, were threatening lap records on circuits that hosted both classes and that was considered virtual sacrilege.

McLaren Pt. 2
McLaren took home some lessons from the 1966 Can-Am campaign. The M1B (or McLaren Elva Mk. II as sold to customers) was a quality car against the fleet of Lolas, with Chuck Parsons winning the 1966 U.S Road Racing Championship earlier in the year, but five of the six Can-Am races were won by Lolas (with Chaparral the other winner).

Because their F1 program was held up due to delays in the availability of the M5A’s BRM V-12 engine, McLaren was able to focus on the car for the 1967 Can-am series: the M6A. Bruce’s experience testing for Ford (whose GT40 program he had been a member of since its inception, culminating in his and Amon’s win in the 1966 Le Mans 24-Hour), also made the team make extensive testing the center of the M6A’s development program. They switched from Firestone tires to Goodyear when the firm contracted them for its race tire development program and began engine development using their own fuel injection system, switching from carburetors.

Meanwhile, copies of the 1966 factory M1B were being cranked out for customers as the McLaren Elva Mk. III (M1C):


Chuck Parsons' Simoniz McLaren M1C-Chevy at 1967 Mid-Ohio USRRC race.

Chris Amon signed with Ferrari for endurance and grand prix so fellow New Zealander Denny Hulme joined the team he would finish his racing career with. And so “The Bruce and Denny Show” was created.

When the competitors showed up at the new circuit opening the 1967 Can-Am series, Road America, Hulme was complimentary on his first trip to the Wisconsin circuit, saying “Where have you been hiding this beautiful track?” as its 4-mile length and long straights were more European than many other, shorter North American tracks. And, as would become de rigeur for the next five years, the beautiful, papaya orange M6A’s laid waste to the existing track record. Set only two months before by Chuck Parsons’ M1C in winning pole and race in the USRRC Road America 500, the qualifying record was destroyed by Bruce at 2:12.6, one-tenth of a second faster than Denny and TEN-POINT-TWO seconds under Parsons’ old record. Interestingly enough, Parsons qualified sixth at 2:16.6, one of eighteen cars that shattered his old record (which could be at least partially attributed to his car being detuned in July since that race was twice as long as the Can-Am would be). The race brings to mind modern F1 races featuring the Mercedes team: the M6As raced off at the start until McLaren suffered an oil leak that put him out and Hulme went on to win by over a minute-and-a-half:



1967 Full International Can-Am Road America pace lap led by McLaren (#4 left) and Hulme (#5 right); in line behind McLaren are Gurney (#36), Donohue, Surtees, Hall (#66), Scott, Hansen, Posey, Cannon and Eve; behind Hulme are Follmer, Parsons, Revson, Motschenbacher, Hayes, Morin, Barber, Matich, McCluskey and Heimrath.

Similar results followed:

At Bridgehampton, Denny and Bruce led qualifying and lapped the field.



Denny leading Ludovico Scarfiotti in a N.A.R.T. Ferrari 412P lightened for sprint racing in the Bridgehampton Chevron Grand Prix Can-Am

At Mosport, after five drivers qualified faster than Jim Clark’s record pole time for the F1 Canadian Grand Prix held the previous month, McLaren suffered a fuel cell leak; replacement of the cell meant he started the first lap 45 seconds after the green flag. Hulme ran off at the start again, while Bruce scythed his way from last place into second eleven laps from the end. Hulme had the race in the bag but his steering rack had worked loose and finally caused him to run off course. He came back on track with his left front tire flat, fender disintegrating and the fiberglass preventing the wheel from rotating to finish the final lap in first and immediately pulled off the course rather than try a cool-down lap. Still another McLaren 1-2, though.



Bruce McLaren about to take second place from Dan Gurney on lap 66 of 80 of the Mosport Players 200


(Left) John Surtees in his much-unloved Lola Mk. IIIB-Chevy at Mosport. (Right) Hulme's damaged M6A limping to the finish line to win at Mosport



Sam Posey in the Autodynamics Caldwell D7 at Mosport

At Laguna Seca, niggling problems limited Hulme to third in qualifying, with McLaren on pole next to Gurney, whose Lola T70 Mk. IIB-Gurney Weslake Ford (GMP model) qualified third in each of the three previous races). And shock of shocks, Gurney beat Bruce off the line to lead the first eight laps and Parnelli Jones’ Lola T70 Mk. III-Twin Cam Indy Ford (as modeled by GMP), took Hulme for third place. But Dan’s engine failed and Jones’ went out with vapor lock on the hot day. Bruce and Denny were 1-2 – and then suddenly McLaren slowed by the pit wall – for a crewman to douse him with a pail of water! He was parbroiled and needed the relief, but carried on to win as Denny’s engine blew at three-quarters distance.

Left: Dan Gurney leading Bruce McLaren early at Laguna Seca Monterey Grand Prix; Right: McLaren leading Parnelli Jones at the same sport, the famous Corkscrew.





(Top) Bruce McLaren's M6A on its way to victory in the Laguna Seca Can-Am. (Bottom). McLaren Chief Mechanic Tyler Alexander tossing water on Bruce as he passes DURING the Laguna Seca Can-Am. Officials finally stopped this because that corner of the circuit was getting wet!

Riverside saw another change in form as Gurney won pole over Bruce and Denny with Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2G in fourth and Mario Andretti in the heretofore embarrassingly bad Holman & Moody Honker II-Ford (at Bridgehampton, Paul Newman’s name was on its nose because his racing movie “Winning” was a sponsor and Andretti had been so fed up with the car’s poor handling that he said, “Why don’t you put my name on the car and let Paul Newman drive?”) in a surprising fifth.

A buried tire that served as a course marker was torn loose by Jones on the first lap and destroyed Hulme’s left front fender forcing him to pit for repairs. But officials felt those repairs were not sufficient to comply with rules regarding bodywork integrity and, after much argument, Hulme retired the car. Gurney lost another engine while leading, putting Jones in the lead. But his tires seemed to be used up and McLaren easily took the lead with Hall soon following. The rest of the race was a battle between the two old foes, considered possibly the best Can-Am of the entire series as the two swapped the lead back and forth. McLaren finally put it away by deliberately overrevving his engine and, as Hall's Firestone tires wore down before McLaren's Goodyears, Bruce won by three seconds.



Riverside L.A. Times Grand Prix pole-sitter Dan Gurney leading Bruce McLaren, Jim Hall, Parnelli Jones and Mario Andretti shortly after the green flag



Mario Andretti in the under-developed Honker II had their best outing in Riverside but dropped out with shift linkage problems



Starting only at Riverside (suspension failure causing an accident prevented it from starting at Las Vegas) was the terrible handling, brand new Shelby King Cobra, driven by Jerry Titus. Undeveloped, this was designed by Len Terry (Lotus and Eagle designer) but was a blemish on his distinguished career, lasting only three laps and never to be seen again.   

For the second year in a row, Las Vegas would be the championship decider, with Bruce up on Denny by three points by the 9-6-4-3-2-1 standard F1 scoring system. Hulme ended up on the third row because of engine issues as McLaren, Hall, Gurney and Jones ended up leading him in qualifying. Bruce also had engine problems and was hoping that “gasket goo” would allow it to survive. Like many races at the desert-bound Stardust Raceway, the first lap ended up with eight cars damaged due to flying dust and rocks from cars running off-course, F1-style. Hulme got a flat tire that sent him to the pits on the second lap. But all he had to do was finish fourth and the Can-Am title was his as Bruce went out on lap seven. He set fastest lap, unlapped himself and got into third place – and his engine blew. So Bruce was the champion by those same three points he led by coming into the race.



Bruce McLaren (#4), Jim Hall (#66), Dan Gurney (behind McLaren) and Parnelli Jones (#21) on a pace lap before the start of the 1967 Stardust Grand Prix at Las Vegas

John Surtees entered Las Vegas having scored only seven points, on a third at Road America (after an oil spill caused him to spin and lose second place to Mark Donohue) and fourth at Bridgehampton. He was dissatisfied with his new Lola T70 Mk. IIIB and switched to the same Mk. II he won the 1966 Las Vegas Can-Am and championship in (GMP model) – and when Donohue ran out of gas on the last lap, won the race again.  



John Surtees, in the same Lola T70 Mk. II he won last year's Las Vegas Can-Am with, about to overtake the out-of-gas Mark Donohue's T70 Mk. IIIB for the win on the last lap.

The McLaren M6A, one of the most beautiful and significant sports racing cars ever, is a terrible omission by 1/18th diecast manufacturers, as this and its customer version, the M6B, may have been one of the most prized and most-modified cars for racing customers in the class. The number of versions that could be produced is staggering, driven by many name drivers, such as Donohue, Gurney, Revson, Elford, Bonnier, Motschenbacher and Hansen.

NEXT: The M8A!

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 16 April 2017 - 06:20 PM.

[ibj40]

Before we leave this era (USRRC 1963-1968) and the successor early Can Am, let's pay homage to the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and its racing classification structure.  Back in the day (and even before my day, if you can believe that), the classes were divided between (P)roduction and (M)odified designations.  Production cars were originally the tape over the headlights sports cars that the tweed cap crowd drove (many of them to and from the races themselves); Modified cars (which later became the (S)ports ®acer class) were for the prototypes and one-off's, and in the case of a certain Chevrolet, the Corvette Grand Sport (due to not meeting the required series produced number of models) originally raced in the SCCA in the highest, most powerful class (which at the time was C (M)odified - which is why you see pictures of Grand Sports with the designation "CM" behind their number).  There were enough of both Cobra versions (427's and 289's) to meet the minimum requirement, therefore they both raced in their respective P classes

The USRRC was intended to allow the M classes to race professionally, along with the more powerful P (GT) classes (A Production was for big block Cobras and Corvettes, B Production for small block Cobras and Corvettes, as well as the Shelby GT350, certain Jaguars, etc.).

So, when we are posting up pictures of 1/18 scale models from the USRRC era, we need not forget these, along with the GMP Lola T70 Spyders.

From my collection, I have two Corvette Grand Sports that participated in the USRRC, and two 427 Cobras.

1966 USRRC Bridgehampton



1964 Road America 500 Miles (USRRC)



1964 Watkins Glen Grand Prix (USRRC)



1965 USRRC Bridgehampton

Edited by ibj40, 08 May 2016 - 08:04 AM.

[Jersey_Devil]

Thanks for the post, Jim - the Production-based sports cars were a major part of the USRRC with the GT class sometimes racing with the unlimited sports cars, other times in separate races during the same weekends at each venue.

C'mon, guys, this is not just MY thread - I intended it for DX'ers to post their pics of their diecasts in this category or pics of the Group 7/Can-Am/Unlimited sports cars they WANT released in 1/18th)!!! And don't feel obligated to to have to write a detailed history with your pics if you don't want to. As a matter of fact, if you have a car in this category that you are curious about, post the pic and I will do the research for you (yes, I may end up regretting this offer, but what's life without challenges?).  

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 13 May 2016 - 04:08 PM.

[Jersey_Devil]

McLaren Pt. 3

After the total domination of the previous season, one might have assumed that the rest of the motorsports world had learned its lesson: that preparation, testing and, above all, commitment to the development of a winning car were the basic requirements to match up with Team McLaren. But 1968 proved that some people learn more slowly than others…

The year started with the SCCA’s (and primary series sponsor Johnson Wax) proof it was serious about making the Can-Am the #1 racing competition in the world: race purses increased by 5%, the points-winners prize fund by 40% and contingency awards all added up to half a million dollars, light-years beyond anything offered before in road racing.

And Team McLaren wanted to collect its share of that money, so, they followed Colin Chapman’s lead of the 1967 Lotus 49 and literally chopped the tail end of Hulme’s M6A off and replaced the M6A’s 6-liter with a 7-liter Chevy attached directly to the front monocoque with the rear suspension attached to the engine. So with 100+ more horsepower, 50 pounds LESS weight and a wider, lower-profile body, they began testing. But because of English bad weather and an active F1 campaign with the new M7A powered by Cosworth instead of 1967’s BRM V12, they arrived at Road America with less than half the testing the M6A had received before it started its reign of terror.

GMP has rendered the M8A nicely for both Bruce (#4) and Denny (#5). Here are mine:




Road America

And found out they were still way ahead of the opposition. ’66 champ John Surtees and race-winner Dan Gurney both skipped the race while a rumored big-engined Ferrari was a no-show.

Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2G was present (upgraded with wider rear tires covered by “truck fenders”), a last-second replacement for the 2H which had revealed a design flaw in its suspension during testing that would end up delaying its debut for a year.


Hall in the 1968 Road America Can-Am pits in the Chaparral 2G (note the too-small rain tires under the rear "truck fenders")

Roger Penske arrived with a brand new customer McLaren M6B with a 7-liter Chevy engine (after driver Donohue had run away with the 1968 United States Road Racing Championship in the same M6A McLaren won the 1967 Can-Am with, with a 7-liter Chevy replacing Bruce’s 6-liter). It was externally distinguished by its brilliant pinstripe job and the scoop over the engine intakes:



Lothar Motschenbacher had a 6.1-liter M6B-Gurney Weslake Ford, Chuck Parsons a new 7-liter Lola T160-Chevy:



Peter Revson a Shelby American-entered 7-liter M6B-Ford:



Mario Andretti had the 5-liter George Bignotti Lola T70 Mk. III-Ford Parnelli Jones drove in ’67 and Pedro Rodriguez a North American Racing Team 4.2-liter Ferrari Spyder cut down from a 330P4 Berlinetta:



That was it for the serious contenders.

A lot of pre-race tuning and checking kept the McLaren boys working nights, but Bruce and Denny qualified 1-2, followed by Hall and Donohue, both within 1-and-a-quarter seconds; the rest of the field was over 3-1/2 seconds back of the pole time.

Race was rainy and the M8As took off at the flag, Hulme leading. Second-row qualifiers Hall and Donohue both dropped back, Hall’s 2G twitchy on the skinnier rain tires and spinning twice, Donohue having his throttle stick open at Turn 2, sending him into the grass, regaining the track in 18^th place. Andretti was brilliant, harrying Bruce with two liters less engine, but when the track dried, he lost ground steadily. Donohue got back to fourth and was pressing Andretti when the Ford threw a con rod putting the Indy star out and holing Donohue’s radiator two laps from the finish. Hulme’s engine lost a valve but he nursed it to victory ahead of Bruce, Donohue, Revson, Hall  and Motschenbacher – five McLarens in the top six…


Sam Posey's Caldwell D7C-Chevy finished 10th at Road America. He switched to a Lola T160 for the rest of the year and Brett Lunger drove this car.

Bridgehampton

Dan Gurney made his series debut with his AAR-constructed specially lightened and rebuilt M6B that would forever be known as a McLeagle. Part of that lightness included a Gurney-Weslake-headed 5.3-liter Ford:



John Surtees also appeared, with a new Lola T160 after a falling-out with Eric Broadley (for whom he had been the “factory” Lola driver since 1965). His Team Surtees had also extensively rebuilt the car to the point that he entered it as a “Lola TS-Chevrolet”, sporting Weslake heads similar to those built for Gurney on its 7-liter Chevy engine. The big addition was a Chaparral-type high wing, though it was fixed and not movable:




(Top) Mario Andretti in the George Bignotti Lola T70 Mk. IIIB-Twin Cam Ford driven by Parnelli Jones in 1967. (Bottom) The GMP model of the same car. Note the inaccuracies of the model.

This time, though Denny and Bruce were 1-2 again, only 1.6 seconds covered the first six cars and both M8As were leaking oil and required much work to seal them.

Race start and McLaren took the lead over Hulme but car-after-car dropped out behind them and the track was getting slick with oil:


Bruce, Denny, Revson, Donohue and Gurney early in the Bridgehampton Can-Am.

Bruce deliberately dropped back behind Hulme until Hall’s 2G, its Firestones working better on the slippery surface than the M8As’ Goodyears, passed Donohue, McLaren and, eventually, Hulme to take the lead!


Hall's Chaparral finished 2nd at Bridgehampton after leading due to superior tires, with the Long Island waters behind him.

For five laps…until it lost power because of a stuck injector check valve. Hulme’s engine was smoking and Donohue, now third, became second when it blew and finally Bruce’s engine ran its bearings so Mark took the win ahead of Hall’s revived Chaparral with Motschenbacher 3^rd (two laps down) and Swede Savage, Gurney’s protégé and teammate, fourth in an AAR Lola T160, three more laps down. Gurney had been slowed by an apparent steering problem which, when his crew couldn’t find anything wrong, dropped him to fourteenth before he powered his way back to sixth behind Richard Brown’s M6B.

Donohue won a race of attrition at Bridgehampton


Gurney's AAR teammate and protege, Swede Savage, finished 4th at Bridgehampton.

Still three McLarens in the top six…

Edmonton

After some serious analysis and work to resolve the oil-loss issues, the M8As tied for pole, but Denny got it for being there first. Again the main opposition was within 1.5 seconds. But when the race started, Hulme departed…McLaren had more trouble with Hall, who eventually passed him for second until the 2G cracked a rear brake caliper and spent 15 laps in the pits. When he got back on track, Hall tied Bruce for fastest lap, seven-tenths faster than the pole time! Unfortunately, he was only able to make up one lap and ended up 11^th.


John Surtees' Lola T160TS-Chevy at Edmonton

Hulme had to nurse his engine to the end again but still led a Denny-and-Bruce 1-2 with Donohue 3^rd on the same lap despite an early pitstop to clear leaves out of his radiator.



Laguna Seca

This was the race for the history books. The first omen was McLaren just beating Hall’s 2G for pole by 0.09 seconds. But Bruce had oil pump troubles and Denny’s pole bid ended after something stuck in the combustion chamber, locking up the engine, so he ended up 3^rd, followed by Revson’s M6B-Ford. Donohue had engine trouble and ended up fifth next to Chuck Parsons Haas Lola T160 as did Gurney, starting 23^rd.

And on race day it rained…

As they lined up on the grid, Hall’s Chaparral fired up and then backfired and jammed the starter – end of his challenge as his car was pushed off the grid.


Jim Hall's Chaparral 2G and Charlie Hayes' McKee Mk. 10 being pushed off the grid to be non-starters at the Laguna Seca Can-Am.

And in 15^th starting position, English-born Canadian John Cannon in his old 6-liter McLaren M1B-Chevy, following a Firestone tech’s recommendation, warmed up on a single set of F1-style intermediate wet tires intended for an F5000 competitor in a supporting race but not used…


Left: John Cannon dominated the 1968 Laguna Seca Can-Am in McLaren M1B-Chevy.  Right: John Cannon leads eventualy 3rd place finisher George Eaton on his way to victory.

The race started and Bruce took off in the lead of a miserably grey, rainy race with huge water sprays hiding the cars. Revson jumped Hulme for 2^nd and Donohue was in 4^th – and John Cannon’s three-year-old McLaren was going two seconds a lap faster than anyone and passing wherever he wanted. By lap seven he was in the lead and he lapped the field. George Follmer’s Lola T70-Ford (also on Firestone rain tires) was in second until he crashed after hitting a puddle, so Hulme ended up second ahead of Canadian George Eaton in another ancient, Firestone-shod McLaren (an M1C-Ford), Motschenbacher, Bruce after a pitstop for new goggles and Jerry Titus in an M6B-Chevy.


George Follmer in the Agapiou Brothers Lola T70 Mk. IIIB-Ford crashed out of 2nd place at Laguna Seca (pic from dry practice).

McLarens 1^st thru 6^th…

Riverside

This time it looked like McLaren Cars were ready for anything as Bruce and Denny were 1-2 again with minimal pre-race issues. Donohue and Hall were within 8/10^th of a second but everyone else was out of sight.


Dan Gurney in the AAR Lola T160 previously driven by Swede Savage but with a 7-liter Ford engine instead.

And it showed it in the race as Bruce and Denny took off. Hall outbraked Donohue for third until the Edmonton brake problem returned; instead of spending an age in the pits he continued with front brakes only and finished third, a lap down. But Hulme had to go off-course to miss an out-of-control backmarker and was forced to make two stops for body work, ending up fifth. So it was Bruce, Donohue, Hall, Motschenbacher, Denny and Cannon.


Hall's 3rd place Chaparral 2G at Riverside

Las Vegas

For the third time in a row, this would be the championship-decider. And a new contender appeared: Chris Amon in a 6-liter Ferrari 612P, this time scratch-built to compete in the Can-Am series:



Bruce and Denny took the front row again, followed by Hall and Donohue and, surprise, Sam Posey’s 7-liter Lola T160-Chevy (at Bridgehampton he had finally switched from the ungainly Caldwell D7 he had struggled to develop through the ’67 Can-Am and ’68 USRRC). 6^th was Andretti with the George Bignotti-prepared Lola T160 with a 7-liter Holman & Moody Ford engine:




followed by Gurney in the 7-liter AAR Lola T160.


Hall's Chaparral before suffering body damage that required a pit stop.

Sadly, like nearly all previous Stardust Raceway starts, this one proceeded to thin the herd spectacularly. Donohue’s engine failed to start, so he was pushed aside. Andretti took advantage of the gap in the grid to sneak up on the rolling start and enter Turn One alongside McLaren and Hall. This lead to nearly the entire field (behind a disappearing Hulme) running into the desert and Charlie Hayes’ McKee-Chevy and Amon’s Ferrari were immediately out with dirt- and rock-clogged engines.

Hulme, Andretti, Revson and Gurney got through but Hall had to stop to get his left front fender taped up and McLaren did the same but left before his crew could alert him to the fact that a huge portion of his nose was missing. On the 2^nd lap Andretti slowed with a flat tire and before he could pit to fix it, a fuel line wore through, requiring an extended stop. McLaren saw his own damage and pitted for a quick nose refit (like modern F1 teams, McLaren anticipated such issues and had a replacement one ready).

Gurney was reeling in Hulme until lap fifteen when a half-shaft broke, probably damaged during the first lap carnage. Revson pitted with a flat and then retired with suspension damage (again, first lap?), leaving Motschenbacher in second. Hall was recovering from his pitstops to fourth only to pit again with the wheel arch damage requiring more repair and a new wheel. Bruce was also forced to stop when officials required him to have a mirror added to the fresh front deck (“though they didn’t make him take time to adjust it” – “Can-Am” by Pete Lyons) and with Hall following, Bruce worked his way up to sixth place.

Motschenbacher’s second place M6B was suffering from a fuel leak and a disintegrating front suspension when Bruce and Jim Hall came up to pass him. McLaren got by but the M6B suddenly slowed and the 2G plowed into it and was launched skyward, then tumbled across the desert. The severe injuries Hall received effectively ended his driving career (minus some Trans-Am races in 1970):


Hall's Chaparral goes airborne after hitting Motschenbacher's McLaren M6B at Las Vegas and then tumbles in desert before coming to rest.

Hulme carried on to win his third race and the title. Follmer’s Lola T70-Ford was second, Titus’ M6B 3^rd, Parsons’ T160 4^th, Posey’s T160 5^th after dropping from 3^rd mid-race with a failing engine and Bruce ended up sixth.


George Follmer in the Agapiou Brothers Lola T70 Mk. IIIB-Ford finished 2nd in the Las Vegas Can-Am.


Sam Posey's Lola T160 finished 5th at the 1968 Las Vegas Can-Am

Three McLarens in the top six and Denny and Bruce 1-2 in the championship.

Fuji

A non-championship race was held in Fuji, Japan after the Can-Am season ended. The World Challenge Cup was the final race in the Japanese national championship and by invitation, ten Can-Am drivers participated. The details of the race are sketchy (McLaren Cars didn’t participate), but it was won by Peter Revson’s Shelby M6B-Ford with Sam Posey’s Lola T160-Chevy in 2^nd (four laps behind!), Jo Bonnier’s M6B-Chevy 3^rd, followed by a fleet of five Toyota 7s (the factory’s attempt at a Group 7 car), split by a local’s Lola T70 Mk. IIIB, and in tenth, Al Unser in a Lola T160-Chevy. Donohue, Follmer, Parsons, Cannon, Titus and Pedro Rodriguez, not in his usual Ferrari 412P but in a Japanese-run Lola T160-Chevy, all failed to finish.  


Starting grid for the 1968 "Fuji Can-Am" with Revson (#52), Parsons (#10), Follmer (#16), Unser (#3)


Pace lap at the 1968 "Fuji Can-Am" with Revson (#52), Parsons (#10), Follmer (#16) and pole-sitter Donohue (#6)

  
Peter Revson leads Mark Donohue and John Cannon during the "Fuji Can-Am"



Peter Revson's winning McLaren M6B-Ford at Fuji


Sam Posey's Autodynamics Lola T160-Chevy finished 2nd at Fuji


Pedro Rodriguez' locally-prepared Lola T160-Chevy DNF'd at Fuji.


Chuck Parsons' Haas Lola-T160-Chevy at the 1968 "Fuji Can-Am"

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 11 March 2018 - 12:58 AM.

[StratosWRC]

Good read, thanks for all the info and excellent pics. Always wanted to get that book Can-Am Cars in Detail but it sold out and commands quite a premium now

[ibj40]

So, say I'm a kit-basher, who is really into making 1/18 scale models that were never produced, or let's go even further, and say I was a manufacturer who got ahold of GMP's old Lola T70 molds, and I wanted to make this one:



So if i had this one, in order to get, at a minimum, the rear brake cooling duct (but for some reason, the Agapiou's didn't run the scoop).



But I will admit, as a kit-basher, and having taken a few of these apart, GMP only added the scoop, the duct isn't cut into the diecast (but that wouldn't be that difficult).



But I'd also need this one, to get the rear fender flares.



Cool that GMP actually modified the mold for the rear deck.



But, alas, the one with the correct flares has the wrong rear spoiler (as maybe Penske didn't sell the Unfair Advantage to the Agapiou Bros.?).



But if I am Leonardo Dicaprio, standing on the bow of the Titanic, and I can reach into my box of molds and spares, then I can simply remove the rear wing (or not drill the holes in the rear deck to begin with).



And replace it with the "over the counter" version that is found on most of the other GMP Lolas.



Then all I need is some gold spare paint, and a contemporary Can Am decal sheet (which is readily available in 1/24 scale).

Of course, to scratch build this one, contemporaneously, you are talking close to $300-400 in donor models, just to start.

Although, as in many of the non-factory Can Am cars, it appears that the Agapiou Bros Lola continued to undergo "development" throughout the season.

Edited by ibj40, 14 May 2016 - 08:16 AM.

[Jersey_Devil]

Jim, since the GMP Lola spyder molds are all based on the Lola Mk. II and III rather than the Mk. IIIB, whose nose was more smooth and rounded and lacked the corner intake holes and headlights (as is most visible in the white #16 Agapiou Bros. car above), any kit-bashing would require a LOT of mods to accurately emulate that look.

Mk. III:


Mk. IIIB:


I think that would be a project best served (and more economical) with plastic models rather than valuable diecasts .

But if you DO start such a project, I'd LOVE to see the end result, as correct versions of these cars is truly needed !  The Gurney 1967 Lola that GMP released was completely wrong - it uses the Mk. II mold (note the lack of flared fenders or front air dam and the headlights and the nose intakes which were not present on the Mk. IIIB:


Here are Gurney's and Surtees' Mk. IIIBs at Road America Can-Am in 1967:



Ditto the Parnelli Jones and Mario Andretti Lolas (the same car in model and reality):



And I'd LOVE to see this version of Donohue's Mk. IIIB as at the 1967 Las Vegas Can-Am, where he ran out of gas while in the lead on the last lap, only to finish second to Surtees:



LOVE those hairy intakes!

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 14 April 2017 - 04:49 PM.

[Jersey_Devil]

McLaren Pt. 4

For 1969 the SCCA and its Canadian partner in the series, CASC, expanded the Can-Am series from six races to eleven, incorporating several races in the now-defunct USRRC. The total payout went to a million dollars.
McLaren showed up with refined M8Bs whose most significant upgrades were slightly larger and more powerful 7-liter Chevy engines and, most visibly, high, fixed wings attached to the rear hubs. The rest of the world had already been sprouting wings, following Chaparral’s example from 1966, many far less sturdy, and after spectacular accidents to both Lotus 49Bs in the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix, the FIA banned them in all series under their administration mere weeks before the Can-Am season began (and effective immediately AFTER the Monaco GP had already held its first practice!). But the SCCA decided to delay applying the rule until 1970.

Mosport

Bruce and Denny were 1-2 again in qualifying; no surprise there:



Note that the GMP models correctly show the slanted cutaway behind the front wheels, different from the M8A’s squared wheel wells, and the black engine intakes. Also, unlike the M8A, there’s no rear spoiler.

Third, in a new customer 7-liter McLaren M12-Chevy was John Surtees, driving for Jim Hall since the new Chaparral 2H’s debut was delayed because he demanded changes to Hall’s design. The M12 was further hampered by not having large-enough wheels to accommodate its Firestones (McLaren was contracted to Goodyear):



Fourth was a lightweight 7-liter Lola T162-Chevy entered by Carl Haas for Chuck Parsons:


Starting 5th was Lothar Motschenbacher, now the North American McLaren distributor, in his new customer 7-liter McLaren M12-Chevy:



followed by Dan Gurney’s 1968 McLeagle with a larger 5.6-liter Gurney-Weslake Ford (after anticipated financial support from Ford fell through):




The rest were older cars except for George Eaton’s 7-liter McLaren M12-Chevy which never ran until the morning of the race so it started at the back. The Agapiou Brothers brought a two-year-old Ford G7A (built on a Ford GT40 Mk. IV chassis by Ford’s Kar Kraft) for Peter Revson to drive but engine problems made it a non-starter:



The race itself was quite entertaining – Bruce took off but Surtees forced his way past Denny into second and soon the lead before overheating forced him to drop back. Parsons also took Hulme, but his Lola T162 started on rain tires and was forced to ease off. Gurney followed suit and harassed Bruce until Denny blasted past them all into the lead (it turned out that all the new McLarens, including a roasted Hulme, suffered from insufficiently tested internal airflow, causing drivers and engines to overheat). Gurney’s M6B-based McLeagle stayed close until he broke a suspension piece and was out, while Motschenbacher fell out with engine trouble.

Bruce led a final 1-2 with Surtees 3^rd and local driver John Cordts’ ancient M1C-Chevy fourth after Parsons had a rain tire blow on the last lap, falling to fifth, both four laps down.

Nine McLarens in the top ten…

St. Jovite

Bruce and Denny were 1-2 again. And their margin over everyone else was growing.

Gurney’s only engine broke in practice, ending his weekend. Motschenbacher, Surtees (still on the wrong-size wheels), Parsons and George Eaton’s M12-Chevy followed at a distance.



Bruce leads Denny, Motschenbacher and Surtees at the start of the St. Jovite Can-Am.

Once again, during the race they “allowed” Surtees to shuffle the lead with them (the Chaparral driver’s fastest lap was two seconds slower than the shared FL of the factory cars) until a yellow flag slowed Surtees and an unaware McLaren ran into him. McLaren had a spare body part but the Chaparral team didn’t so Denny led another 1-2 while Surtees was forced to DNF. Parsons’ Lola was 3^rd, a lap down, while Motschenbacher, who briefly had jousted with Bruce, ended up fourth another lap down after pitting to repair a throttle linkage.

Finishing in 8th place driven by Indy star Joe Leonard was a harbinger of the future - the McKee Mk. 10 in its final professional race, powered by a turbocharged 6.4-liter Oldsmobile, the first turbocharged Can-Am car:



Seven McLarens in the top ten…

Watkins Glen

A returnee from ’68 livened things up: Chris Amon showed up with the heavily revised 6.2-liter Ferrari 612P - more power, less weight, modified suspension and brand-new bodywork:



John Surtees’ Chaparral-prepared M12 now had a primitive-looking air duct on the front deck and the high wing from the Chaparral 2G on the rear:



Chuck Parsons had a new Lola T163:



And since the Watkins Glen 6-Hour endurance race was also this weekend, some of the Group 6 and Group 4 cars also joined the lighter, more powerful Group 7 competitors in the Can-Am, including Jo Bonnier’s Lola T70 IIIB GT coupe (whose Group 4-legal 5-liter Chevy was replaced by a 5.9-liter Chevy), as well as 6-Hour winners Jo Siffert’s and Brian Redman’s in 3-liter Porsche 908/02s and Tony Dean’s same (driven to 2^nd in the 6-Hour by Vic Elford and Richard Attwood) and 6-Hour 4^th-place finishers Johnny Servoz-Gavin’s and Pedro Rodriguez’ Matra 650s.

Bruce and Denny qualified 1-2 (both faster than the F1 pole time later that year), followed by Amon’s Ferrari (despite only managing a few practice laps because of shipping delays), Surtees, Motschenbacher, George Eaton’s M12, Parsons and Fred Baker’s M6B-Chevy.

The race was less interesting as Bruce and Denny simply drove away, showing more respect for the Ferrari and the Surtees McLaren than to play around with them. Surtees ran third for a while until overheating and a lost cylinder dropped him to an eventual 12^th. Amon drove to a respectable 3^rd 23 seconds back, followed by Eaton three laps down and Parsons a further lap down due to a lost cylinder and a pitstop. The rest of the top ten were 6-Hour cars, led by Siffert.

Three McLarens in the top ten…

Edmonton

The smallest entry in the Can-Am series to date, seventeen cars, saw Denny win his first pole of the season, even though for the second straight year he and Bruce ended up with the exact same time. Amon qualified 3^rd again with a stronger engine in the 612P:



The big attraction was the appearance of the Chaparral 2H:


Left: Chaparral 2H (note Surtees' full-face helmet; he never raced with it this year so he might have been experimenting with one in practice); Right: Jim Hall looking pensive in front of his troublesome car

And it was a disappointment. John Surtees and Jim Hall had very different opinions on what would and would not work. It’s been suggested that had he not been in a wheel chair for months because of his ’68 Las Vegas accident, Hall might have been able to make his exotic concept work better, but the changes he was forced to make to accommodate Surtees’ requirements almost certainly ensured that it would NOT work well enough to provide a genuine threat to The Bruce and Denny Show. The 2H qualified a distant fifth behind Eaton’s and ahead of Motschenbacher’s M12s, followed by Parsons and the race debut of the Agapiou Brothers’ Ford G7A, now driven by ’68 Laguna Seca winner John Cannon.

Race day saw Denny lead from the start but Amon joined the three-way fray until a broken piston sidelined Bruce. Denny pulled out a ten-second lead on the Ferrari, but Amon pulled some of it back and finished less than six seconds behind in 2^nd ahead of Eaton’s M12, three laps down on a flat tire and Surtees’ 2H suffering from shifting issues and two pit stops for sticking throttles.

Three McLarens of the only seven finishers.

Mid-Ohio

This week’s new entrants included Jo Siffert’s 4.5-liter factory Porsche 917PA roadster, cut down from a 917 coupe:



and Mark Donohue’s 7-liter Penske Sunoco Special Lola T163-Chevy:



The beautifully-prepared (of course!) Sunoco Special broke a couple of half-shafts and suffered engine issues and Mark was sick but still managed to qualify 3^rd, though over three-and-a-half seconds off Denny’s pole time. Parsons, Surtees, Eaton, Siffert, Revson (now in a Lola T163-Chevrolet) and Motschenbacher followed. George Follmer in the Agapiou Brothers Ford G7A would’ve been next in tenth but its engine failed (again), so it was withdrawn, allowing Cannon in an M6B-Ford into his position. Tony Dean made the field in the 3-liter Porsche 908/02 in which he’d finished ninth at Watkins Glen and Amon’s Ferrari, suffering from engine, handling and its new high wing’s (which was discarded before the race) mounts issues, only started twelfth.

Race day saw Denny and Bruce play no games and rush off to each have 30-second leads on his followers (Bruce was limiting his revs after the Edmonton breakage) by halfway.



Donohue leads Surtees, Eaton, Siffert, Amon and Revson as Bruce and Denny are long gone.

Surtees pitted from a battle for third with a broken goggles strap (!), Amon charged up to follow Donohue past Parsons into third, until Donohue broke another half-shaft. Parsons slowed with engine troubles while Denny let Bruce catch up and pass for the lead.

But five laps from the end McLaren pitted with no oil pressure, but was sent on to finish, making it another 1-2, lapping the field. Amon, Siffert, Surtees and Eaton followed.

Four McLarens in the top ten…

Road America

The largest entry of the season, 35 cars, 33 of which actually started, arrived at the beautiful Road America circuit. Two “new” cars were present but missing was the Penske Sunoco Special as Roger decided to retire from this year’s competition considering his team’s workload too great with IndyCar, Trans-Am and endurance races already on its schedule.

Mario Andretti showed up with the M6B that Shelby American had run the previous year for Peter Revson extensively reworked and refitted with a “429” Ford engine (H&M penchant for nicknames – remember the Honker II? – surfaced here as the car was labeled the “429’er”), which in fact was 494 cubic inches (8.1 liters). They claimed 720 horsepower from this monster and Andretti said he could get wheelspin in any gear any time; he said the acceleration was so great he had trouble reaching the gearshift. It was claimed in testing before the race weekend Andretti completed a lap that would have beaten the McLarens for pole but Saturday he ended up 3^rd, 2.1 seconds off. Unfortunately, during pre-race warm-up a constant-velocity joint failed, breaking an upright which was fixed but the unseen CV joint breakage prevented the car from starting from the pit lane at race time:



Another new car was the McKee Mk. 14, a four-wheel drive special with an automatic transmission and a twin-turbo 7.5-liter Oldsmobile engine, driven by Indy driver Joe Leonard. It turned out to have too much power for its brakes and was withdrawn, never to be seen again:



Amon’s Ferrari 612P now sported the wing that had given trouble at Edmonton:


George Follmer was still driving the Agapiou Brothers Ford G7A.

It was Bruce’s birthday but Denny didn’t care and took pole with 3^rd man Andretti 2.1 seconds behind and 4^th qualifier Peter Revson’s Lola T163-Chevy nearly six seconds off Hulme’s pace:



Road America Can-Am pace lap with Denny Hulme (#5) on pole, followed by Peter Revson (#31), Chris Amon (#16), Jo Siffert (#0), George Follmer (#15) and Lothar Motschenbacher (#11); Bruce McLaren (#4) is followed by Chuck Parsons (#10), George Eaton (#98), John Surtees (#7), Gary Wilson (#19) and Tony Dean (#9).  

Once again the M8Bs took off and left everyone at the start, but Amon worked his way into 3^rd and Hulme drifted back and let Amon take second for a while. But things returned to normal just before half-distance when Denny went back into the lead and they just pulled away, though Hulme would let McLaren win by inches. Amon dropped out with a failed fuel pump, so a lapped Parsons ended up 3^rd, Revson 4^th with only top gear, Dean’s Porsche and Motschenbacher following. Siffert blew his engine, Surtees’ Chaparral had a flat that ended his race, Eaton’s M12 lost an engine and Follmer’s G7A gearbox broke.

Six McLarens in the top ten…

Bridgehampton

Bruce and Denny 1-2 in qualifying – this is a recording…

Amon was a decent 3^rd 1.7 seconds back followed closely by Surtees, much more happy in the Chaparral McLaren M12 and very close to Amon’s time:



The race similar to Road America with the M8Bs zooming off and then Denny slowing to play with the other children until he got bored. It was his turn to win with Bruce following. Major attrition resulted in an almost-out-of-gas Siffert in 3^rd on the same lap:



then Motschenbacher 3 laps back with transaxle issues and fifth was Pedro Rodriguez in a NART Ferrari 312P coupe:



followed by Dean’s 908:


Six McLarens in the top ten…

Michigan International Speedway

Brand-new MIS’ first Can-Am on its “roval” (Daytona-style road course incorporating part of the MIS oval course) saw McLaren finally give their spare M8B (which people had been doing their best to rent or borrow since it first appeared several races ago) a run. Three-time World Champion Jack Brabham was scheduled to drive the unloved Ford G7A, qualifying it tenth, but on Saturday ran the now #15 M8B (interesting, since that was the G7A’s number) fast enough to make the 2^nd row of the grid.



Meanwhile Dan Gurney, Ford loyalist that he was, had been struggling for the last two years trying to get a decent Ford engine in his McLeagle but Ford wouldn’t spend the money. Once he was turned down for a copy of the 429’er 8.1 liter that Mario Andretti had, he finally sold his soul and got a 7-liter Chevy for his McLeagle:



But facing teething problems with it, he spoke to Bruce and on Sunday was in the now-#1 M8B at the back of the grid (note the deflector added to the windscreen for the 6-foot-3 Gurney which is missing from the GMP model):



while Brabham was back in the G7A (wonder what Jack, Gurney’s ex-boss in F1, thought about THAT):



Amon’s Ferrari was 3^rd fastest in practice:



but engine problems made him a non-starter so Siffert’s 917PA:



and Revson’s Lola T163:



were on the 2^nd row followed by Eaton’s M12 and Surtees F5000 driver Andrea de Adamich, sitting in for an ill Surtees, in the Chaparral M12:


Denny and Bruce (1-2 on the grid, of course), took off at the start but the crowd was most excited watching Gurney carve through the field from 27^th place. He dutifully slotted into his appropriate 3^rd place behind winner Bruce and Denny even as the crowd cheered for him to take the lead. Siffert’s smoking 917PA was 4^th a lap down, followed another lap down by de Adamich and Parsons while Brabham’s G7A lost a wheel.

M8Bs 1-2-3 (the three separated by a total of 0.71 seconds):



Seven McLarens in the top ten…

Laguna Seca

Mario Andretti and the 8.1-liter Ford 429’er were back, again with rumors of record lap times that he couldn’t reproduce in qualifying, ending up with an 8^th starting place.



So were Surtees and the 2H, now with the biggest wing ever seen on a road racer; though it apparently helped, it still was only tenth on the grid and 3 seconds a lap slower than Hall had been in the 2G in 1968:



Gurney was back to his McLeagle-Chevy, starting fourth nearly four seconds off McLaren’s pole time:



and Amon’s Ferrari ate another engine so for this race Chris was in the #3 M8B, starting at the back of the field:



This week saw the debut of the Peter Bryant-designed Autocoast Ti22-Chevy (heavily laden with titanium parts in the chassis and suspension, the name was the atomic sign for that material), driven by BRM F1 driver Jackie Oliver (who had won Le Mans earlier that year with Jackie Ickx in the same John Wyer Gulf Ford GT40 that won the year before). Its late arrival meant it also started at the back of the grid:



During the pace lap, the Chaparral engine died and needed a red flag to be towed off the track. Things returned to normal with the start as Denny took off only to slow for Bruce to win; however, Amon efforts to pass an uncooperative Siffert’s Porsche caused him to hit one of the buried tire track markers and have to pit to replace the M8B nose. As he reclosed on Siffert in fifth, the M8B differential failed and Chris was out.



Team McLaren leads Gurney and Eaton on the pace lap at the 1969 Laguna Seca Can-Am

Gurney, Revson, Eaton dropped out for various reasons, so 3^rd in a much-lightened Lola T163 was Parsons, followed by Andretti, both on the lead lap, and Siffert. Oliver ended up 13^th in the Ti22, treating it as a test session.

Six McLarens in the top ten…

Riverside

Pete Lyons’ “Can-Am” reports that this race was understood to be Denny’s, since he’d never won here before. A week after winning the F1 Mexican Grand Prix, he treated Riverside like it was his, winning pole and rushing off at the start, playing no games, lapping the field and setting fastest lap.


Pace lap at 1969 Riverside Can-Am

No one else had any fun, though – there was tampering overnight in the garages that fortunately was caught. Amon qualified the Ferrari, one of the intended victims, 3^rd but on race day his car wouldn’t start. The crew thought an official “gestured his permission” (Lyons) and push-started it, only to be black-flagged while a close 3^rd to Bruce in the race, to come to the pits, turn off the engine and restart. The car still wouldn’t start on its own and that was it for the closest challenger to the M8Bs.

Bruce McLaren had his suspension break in the fast Turn 1, forcing a crash. The driver was unhurt but a spectator got two broken legs. Parsons, in a brand-new Lola T163 ended up 2^nd, barely beating Andretti’s 429’er:



followed by Gurney, with a sick engine and driver from the engine fumes (pic from practice as he didn't race with the front wing):



and Revson. Siffert and Surtees both DNF’d. Oliver’s Ti22 qualified 4^th and battled for 3^rd until the differential broke and Alan Mann’s new “Open Sports Ford” (#2), driven by Frank Gardner, qualified tenth and ran 7^th until its suspension broke:



Six McLarens in the top ten…

Texas International Speedway

The season finale, on the brand-new TIS track’ “roval”, replaced Las Vegas’ Stardust Raceway which had been damaged by a dust storm and sold. It saw a number of upsets, as The Bruce and Denny show’s plot was for Bruce to win the race but Denny, by finishing 2^nd, take the championship.

Denny took pole but Andretti was 2^nd in the 429’er!



Mario Andretti boarding the "429'er" 8.1-liter McLaren M6B-Ford

McLaren was in the spare car instead of his regular one, destroyed at Riverside, qualifying third with Amon next to him (his new 6.9-liter engine having blown in practice, forcing him to use the old 6.2 Ferrari engine), followed by Revson, Oliver in the Ti22, Brabham in the “Open Sports Ford”, Parsons, Siffert and Eaton. Gurney skipped the race, John Cannon’s Ford G7A ate its only engine and was a non-starter. Surtees and Chaparral parted company and ex-Lola privateer Tom Dutton, now a Chaparral engineer, crashed the 2H in practice and put that car out of its misery.

Andretti’s 8.1-liter Ford engine allowed him to outdrag Hulme into the lead, where he stayed for four laps until Denny kicked that horse and sped off. Andretti blew up shortly afterward and Amon, trailing Bruce in 4^th, had his Ferrari do the same. On the oval backstraight, Bruce hit 210 mph as Denny let him pass, until Hulme’s engine died with eleven laps left.

Revson’s Lola T163-Chevy lost ground with a sick engine until it failed while Oliver’s Ti22 had an oil leak knock him out of 3^rd:



Jack Brabham’s Alan Mann Ford ran 2^nd until oil system issues limited him to third, allowing George Eaton to score his best finish of the year, 2^nd in his customer M12. Siffert, Parsons and Motschenbacher were 4^th through 6^th.  



Brabham in the Alan Mann Open Sports Ford leads Chris Amon's Ferrari at the Texas Can-Am

Bruce champion, Team McLaren sweeps the Can-Am – and six McLarens in the top ten…

Fuji

For the second year in a row, the season-ending Japanese sports car championship race at Fuji invited several Can-Am participants. The count was smaller and less impressive, but the race saw some interesting developments.

Jackie Oliver's Autocoast Ti22 took pole, followed by Fushida driving a McLaren M12-Toyota, followed by Minoru Kawai in a Toyota 7 Series II (an upgrade from the 1968 Toyota 7s that competed in last year's race), Peter Revson in his Lola T163-Chevy, John Cannon in the much-maligned Agapiou Brothers Ford G7A and Chuck Parsons in the Carl Haas Simoniz Lola T163-Chevy.



Kawai's Toyota 7 Series II leads Oliver's Ti22 and Revson's Lola T163



Fushida's McLaren M12-Toyota



John Cannon's Ford G7A

The two Toyota-powered cars outdrag everyone at the start but by the end of the first lap, Oliver's Ti22 was in the lead and went on to lead more than half the race until mechanical gremlins put him out and left Kawai's Toyota 7 with a significant lead over Cannon's G7A which he held to the end. Lothar Motschenbacker in his McLaren M12-Chevy held off Gary Wilson's Lola T163-Chevy for 3rd place.

Next – M8D!

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 11 March 2018 - 11:28 PM.

[Jersey_Devil]

I will fix the McLaren Pt. 3 segment (I have no idea what happened to screw up the editing) but since it takes so long to collect the pictures for each segment, it's will be a little while (exhausted from doing pt. 4!)...

UPDATE: Fixed!

Edited by Jersey_Devil, 21 May 2016 - 12:20 AM.

[ibj40]

I was at the Texas Can Am race in 1969.  The event actually started with an unofficial practice on Friday, which is when journeyman Tom Dutton, famous for an oft-repaired older Lola T70 (actually the chassis that John Surtees had his initial success in), was substituting for an "ill" John Surtees (as was reported at the time, subsequently we know that Surtees and Jim Hall had a parting of the ways after the Riverside Can Am race).

The Texas World Speedway road course (one of the original "rovals") used a combination of the banked two-mile oval and a road course section that was partially incorporated into the infield.  From the S/F line, the roval parted with the oval at Turn One, which became a downhill sweeping left-hander, which led onto a short straight, then a right that then crossed over the back straight of the oval to add more length, and then crossed back into the oval infield, to then join the oval at the entrance to Nascar Turn Three.  The boilerplate that protected the stock cars and Indy cars using the oval was on huge hinges, which allowed it to be moved back, creating access to the back section.  Dutton crashed the Chaparral as he crossed from the back road course section back into the infield of the oval, hitting an earthen embankment, and creating enough stress fractures in the chassis of the 2H that some observers said it looked like a hard-boiled egg that had been dropped to a kitchen floor.

During official practice on Saturday morning, Denny Hulme went straight on, missing the road course entrance (which was lined with orange traffic cones on the outside of the turn) and went straight on around Nascar One and Two, rejoining the road course as it crossed the back of the oval for the first time.  Bad thing about it was that the traffic cones were so close together (subsequently changed after Denny's shunt) that Hulme hit them at full chat, and tore the nose of his McLaren pretty much into two pieces.  Due to issues at prior races, Team McLaren only had one more spare nose left between Hulme and McLaren, which was positioned, and sat un-numbered, in the pits during the race.  For the race itself, both McLaren Team cars were heavily duct taped along the leading edge to provide a little more integrity, however neither needed it.

As a side note, this writer took home the smaller of the two pieces of the Saturday-wrecked nose, complete with autographs of all involved (a collectible that has been lost to posterity due to too many moves and a thoroughly unsupportive older sibling - but that is another story altogether).

Chris Amon was there with the Ferrari, and during the warm up Saturday morning (I don't believe they were there on Friday), went out for a reconnaissance lap.  As he came past the S/F line for the first time, it was like a thousand hands were simultaneously ripping yards and yards of canvas.  It was reported that he did the entire first lap in first gear, and that in order to keep from sliding down the banked oval, was doing close to 120 mph (in FIRST GEAR!).  I will never forget that sound.

As I was working the fuel pumps for Union 76 during the race, I didn't get to see much of the on-track action during the race on Sunday.  The one memorable event, however, was when they towed Andretti's 429'er into the paddock after he blew the engine, and they put a quick jack under the back, and a mechanic opened the drain on the dry sump tank.  I have never experienced a more thorough emulsion of oil and water, the puddle had the color and density of hot chocolate ( and there was plenty enough for all, had it been so).

Trying to recall other things that stuck in my mind from that weekend, and will modify this post should another synapse spontaneously fire.

[lateapex]

Awesome thread with awesome cars.