LCR Race Reports -Watkins Glen

	*Paul "Superstar" Flowers' (Center)* Podium Finish in the Vintage Enduro in his '63 Elva Mk7** - Photo by Bob Harrington (click photos to enlarge)
TEAM-LCR REPORTS

U.S. Zippo Vintage Grand Prix "The Glen" Watkins Glen, NY Sept 4-7, 2003
After Lime Rock, we were soon off on our annual pilgrimage to Watkins Glen. It was perhaps the best SVRA Watkins Glen race weekend for many years, maybe ever. The expected huge turnout turned out. There were an estimated 450 entries, making it the biggest race on the east side of the US - even bigger than the "BRIC". Starting out Thursday test day, which finished early afternoon, the first official group practice sessions began in mixed weather conditions, mostly being wet or damp. From then on, however, conditions got better and better. Saturday and Sunday were spectacular.
Flowers prepares for another tough fight in the Enduro Championship	Paul Flowers - who is in the running for overall championship honors in the Mike Stott Paine Webber Enduro Championship in his '63 Elva Mk7 - got off to a good start on Friday, running amongst the top three cars for the first couple of laps. All three then shrewdly took advantage of a full-course yellow at the end of the second lap to get their mandatory pit-stop behind them.
(Only a few competitors elected to make this early stop.) At the end of the five-minute stopover, Paul set off again - not content just to finish the race and thereby accrue the maximum points - but to try for an overall win. He and Travis Engen (in his GMT Lotus 23B) were 'at it' for the remaining 40 minutes, with Paul breathing Travis's exhaust fumes all the way. More than once, Turn One saw the nose of Paul's Elva edging halfway down the side of the red 23B, but not quite close enough to pull off the pass. Not until another full-course yellow nearing the race's end did race positions finally shake out. Lowell Blossom/Ian Baas had been leading on the track since the first full-course yellow (when they decided to stay out rather than pit). However, they had not made up quite enough time when they finally came in for their mandatory pit-stop. Just as they started to pull out from their layover, Travis and Paul went by to assume the lead of the race, which they held 'til the drop of the checker. The hard charge of Peter McLaughlin on the last lap demoted Lowell and Ian's Elva to 4th. An excellent race, full of nail-biting drama until the drop of the flag. Paul gave us our only podium finish of the weekend and surely helped to secure his standing in the championship competition. Well done Paul!!!
(Photo by Bob Harrington)
Our jubilation over the Endurance Race was short-lived. As Paul slowly drove up to the grid on Saturday afternoon for the Edelbrock Sprint qualifying race, he suddenly heard a backfire, turned around and saw flames leaping over his shoulder. This had him leaping out of the car in no time flat, followed by a perhaps over-exuberant fire crew spewing several inches of white powder from their trusty fire extinguishers over every square inch of the Elva. Fortunately, except for a little singed hair, Paul was fine. But what a shame - we were sure he was set to win that race. Instead, the car was pushed out of sight for the rest of the weekend. (Happily, we can report that the Elva has since been thoroughly restored to its former beautiful self and will compete at Summit Point with Paul back at the helm.) Paul's efforts in his Chevron B31 were again thwarted by a misfire early in the weekend. With this cured, he immediately picked up the pace and was running well with other competitors having engines of the same size, and just off the pace of Alex Quattlebaum in his 2.4-litre Lola, the 3-litre Mirage of Chris MacAllister and the 3-litre Lola of Bert Skidmore. With his Elva out, and the race for the Chevron B31 not until day's end on Sunday, Paul elected to go home at the crack of dawn Sunday in order to pilot his plane in daylight.

Pete (Van) Gulick had a great weekend, maximizing his points for the lead in the Group 7 championship in his Chevron B23, followed by a drive like never before in his Formula 2 Chevron B42 (just back from Lime Rock after a thrilling outing with guest-driver Hans Stuck at the wheel. See Lime Rock Report.) It was not clear sailing, however. In the buildup to the race on Sunday, the B23 got left behind at the start in the qualifying race. Pete's strategy to take advantage of the slow start dictated by the pole sitters suddenly fell apart when he had to put on the brakes or rear-end the T70 in front of him. Needless to say, every man and his dog then went by Pete. While trying to get the engine back on cam, he was able to move back through the pack in a heroic effort. Unfortunately, only five laps were not enough to make the impression needed for a good slot on the grid for the Sunday final. A determined first-lap effort in Sunday's sprint race moved Pete right up there with the 2-litre and 2.4 litre sportscars; but again, a very short six-lap race was not enough for his tactics to play out. Nevertheless, Pete is still in an almost unassailable points-lead for Group 7 Champion.	Pete Gulick in front of his Chevron B23, ready to take on another Group 7 championship round at Watkins Glen (click photo to enlarge)
	In the B42, Pete was - from our perspective - *phenomenal. The usual hard-charging competitors that he races with were all there this weekend. Initially, Pete was in his usual spot in the middle of them - until the fastest driver of the group, Danny Baker, gave Pete some useful tips on how to get the most out of his car at various points around the track. This was to be at Danny's expense, it turned out. Armed with Danny's advice and an even more focused approach, Pete* ended up leading the group, which he has usually had to follow. The only fly-in-the-ointment was Ian Baas, who was in a league of his own on race day.
- Photo by Bob Harrington
Pete's race was fast, exciting, satisfying and rewarding. Well done Van!!! Maybe with another couple of good results at Summit and VIR, the gap will be closed in the Group 9 championship.

Hamish Somerville and his Chevron B23 at the Glen, 2003 Welcome aboard Hamish!!! (click photo to enlarge)	Hamish Somerville, our newcomer at the Glen, joined us on Friday for the rest of the weekend, finding his way around the course in a car that was relatively new to him (and not yet touched by us). The car looked decidedly unhappy on the bumpy Glen track, but Hamish managed ably with the problem. His times didn't reflect the effort put into his drives. We decided to help him become a little more competitive. With a little mooching around the paddock, we came up with two pairs of springs that, whilst not absolutely ideal, were a good deal closer to what should have been on the car. With those fitted and a quickie chassis alignment undertaken between sessions on Saturday morning, Hamish went out on old, old tires, unknown shock valving and gear ratios that no one had a clue as to what they might be, and immediately knocked almost 8 seconds off his previous best times. This put him amongst the "big dogs" towards the front of the grid.
Beautiful Chevron B23 of Hamish Somerville, our newest driver
Come Sunday's race, with newfound confidence, Hamish had an extremely good race, dispensing with regulars in the race group to finish just behind our Group 7 regular - Pete in his B23. Again, another great effort. *Welcome aboard to Hamish & buddy Trevor Klotz.*

Pete Schultz made a return to the fray with his freshly-repaired '63 Lotus Elan S1 (from damage sustained at Mid-Ohio earlier this summer). With a full test day under his belt, Pete found his feet again and progressively moved up through the field during practice and qualifying sessions. Alas, however, fortune was not smiling on Pete this weekend, as going to the grid for final qualifying on Saturday, the water pump cried 'enough,' putting Pete out for the rest of the weekend. A new-style water pump/front cover for the twin-cam engine, now being fitted, will make this problem a minor glitch in the future - something we can repair on the spot within minutes. Bad luck Pete - but, no worries - we'll have you back in action in time for VIR in a couple of weeks!
'63 Lotus Elan S1 of Pete Schultz residing next to our Chevrons in our Glen Garage, Sept. 2003
- See you all at Summit Point and/or VIR -


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