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Formula Car Festival/SVRA FINALE |
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[Photos by Wayne LeBlanc unless otherwise noted. Click photos to enlarge] |
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Our peripatetic truck-driver/photographer, Wayne LeBlanc, finally stopped at home long enough to download and send us the photos he had taken both at VIR & Sebring. So, at long last, here is the VIR report (the Sebring story will soon follow). While these last two reports of the 2004 racing season are late, the upside is being able to look back — in the middle of another long winter hiatus — at all the fun we had at VIR in October (and Sebring in November). |
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We had lots of entries for this race, it being the final event of 2004 for most of our guys as well as the annual SVRA dinner and award ceremony. Paul Flowers had his Elva (and an F/F car) to race, and Pete Gulick would drive his Chevron B23 as well as his B42 — although both cars would also be driven by ace guest-driver Simon Hadfield. Once again, Simon had made the trip across the pond with lovely wife Mandie; but, sadly, without Harriet, Lucy & James this trip. Instead, they brought right-hand man Geoff Wyatt to help sort out a couple of cars during the weekend and, of course, to make the requisite stop at Sears, which was conveniently situated just behind our hotel. (Geoff never misses an opportunity to splurge in the tool department.... and who can blame him??) (Below: Simon Hadfield in the Chevron B42 of Pete Gulick |
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For only the second time this year, Matt Peckham and Mike Mazzola joined our team with Matt's Mini Cooper and Mike's Lotus Super 7. Matt brought along a new racing suit, the old one having shrunk just a bit too much. To prevent the same fate befalling the new suit, an extra large size was selected with plenty of room for either shrinkage or growth.... Besides, like Jacques Villeneuve, who favors a suit that's about 3 sizes too big, Matt prefers a suit that's built for comfort. |
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Left: Matt Peckham in his Mini Cooper |
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Also on board for his very first outing with LCR was
Rick Carlino and his stunning Gropa Chevron.
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This is a Chevron B8-based open sports racer, recently restored — just a beautiful little car. Unfortunately, the racing portion of Rick's weekend was short lived. Whilst on the second session of open test day, the oil pump seized up, which very quickly caused the engine to lock-up solid. This resulted in the car heading straight for the Armco — quite a surprise for Rick, who was momentarily distracted by the tacho. He had just noticed that it had ceased operating and was starting to tap the face of it only to look up and discover the barrier looming in front of him. Yikes! |
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Even sans a ride, Rick hung in all weekend, soaking up the atmosphere, helping out where he could, taking it all in, and (we hope) having a good time partying with the rest of the gang during the evenings. We look forward to Rick having a bit more seat time at Sebring! |
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Alas, this was Lowell Blossom and Ian Baas's last event with us (Lowell was moving his cars to a much more geographically-desirable shop for 2005). We will miss them enormously — it was a delight having them run with us in 2004. As usual, Lowell had his Elva and Brabham BT29 to drive, as well as the March 79B for the talented Mr. Baas to pilot.
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Above: Tom Fox (left) & Thatcher Goddard (right)
try to prevent Lowell Blossom |
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 (Photo by Mike Mazzola) |
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As Pete would not arrive until Friday, |
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Never having visited Virginia, Simon decides to do a little sightseeing.... |
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The next day, Pete had a few less-than-satisfactory runs in the B23 as well. It just wasn't behaving itself. Although It was a fresh motor, the car was simply not performing. It was the first time one of our BMWs disappointed. We later discovered that it was the high pressure pump/metering unit that lost its timing every now and then; consequently, the car kept running rich and just would not pull through 7500 RPM. With the demise of Rick's Gropa on test day and the evil running of the B23, we did not dominate Group 7 this go around. Such a shame, after Pete and Hamish's brilliant showing in the Gold Cup here in the summer. |
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Matt got into the groove straightaway in his Mini, describing it as having "the biggest smile factor" of any race car.
Right: Matt Peckham having |
 (Photo by Bob Harrington) |
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Mike Mazzola similarly got into the swing of things right away in his stunning Lotus Super 7; that is, after we had changed his entire ignition system before he even hit the track. Oh yes, by doing this, we removed the built-in rev-limiter that had plagued the car whilst at Pocono. Matt and Mike never missed a session from the start and both had a great time during their first outing at VIR. |
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In the Elvas on Friday and Saturday, Paul Flowers and Lowell Blossom were pretty evenly matched; just the Royale of Asa Candler and the Ginetta of Larry Neviaser proving to be marginally quicker. Lowell was even quicker than the Porsche 907 of Henry Payne, but the battle was never properly joined, since neither of the Elvas featured in the final race. Paul left for home early, as the Merlyn F/Ford he had brought lost its new engine early in the weekend and the Group 5 race was not until late on Sunday. Not fond of flying late in the day, Paul took off Sunday morning. |
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Right: Paul checks out the action on the track |
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The Endurance race was early Sunday, but as VIR always has a curious mix for their Enduro, Paul had elected not to run. However, Ian, who started for Lowell in the Elva, didn't quite take the flag either. The car in front of him suddenly checked up, leaving nowhere for Ian to go other than steer off the track to avoid running into the back of the car. Unfortunately, he was met with a tire wall, which demolished the front of the Elva. Quel dommage! Better luck in the March 79B! |
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Left: After his evasive action in the Enduro goes awry, Ian Baas makes the best of his new ride.... |
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Ian Baas grids for warmup in Lowell's March 79B, with Simon Hadfield following in Gulick's B42 |
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Simon set the pace initially in Sunday morning's warm-up. He was phenomenal in Pete's B42, faster than anything save the F/1 cars. He then gave up his ride so that Pete could have at least one trouble-free race for the weekend. |
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In the Formula Atlantic race, Ian spun off in the 79B, a front brake lock-up thought to be the cause. Unfortunately, this off-road excursion tore off most of the front of the car (nose, nose frame, radiator, etc.). Thinking the worst, Ian was sure his race later in the day was no longer in the cards. However, Bill, Thatcher and Tom jumped on the car, tore off the damaged parts and rebuilt it, welding up two remaining nose frames, borrowing a radiator from Bobby Brown and fiberglassing/repairing the nose. In the space of an hour or so, the car was ready to race after having a quickie alignment check on completion. Way to go, guys! |
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Pete and Ian were the class of the field in the F70 (Group 9) race late Sunday, with Pete maintaining the upper hand over Ian the entire race, resulting in a one-two podium finish for the LCR team, and Larry Neviaser in third. (This brought an even bigger smile to Pete's face than his steller run in the Boss race earlier in the day, where he made a terrific showing against the much quicker F1 cars.) Well done Pete,
Ian and Larry!!! |
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(Photos by Bob Harrington)
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At the annual SVRA dinner, Pete was honored for sponsoring the Finale at VIR for the second year running. After he accepted his award from Kim Belinc, we left the proceedings, having arrived at the dinner so late that all the food had been devoured by the time we got there. No worries. Mandie and Carol had already discovered a remarkably good Italian bistro earlier in the day where they thought we might go, so our starving bunch was saved. Dinner was superb and a great evening was enjoyed by all. |
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On to Sebring with Rick Carlino & Hamish Somerville
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