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Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia It was the gang of three that supported the Mitty this year – on our first trip back to Road Atlanta for a few years. Hamish Somerville ("'fresh" off the plane from a trip to China where he apparently didn't eat a thing), Rick Carlino, and Pete Gulick were ready to race. And bond....
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All three were signed up for test day, and Hamish & Pete were on the pace from the first lap. It was Rick's first time at Road Atlanta, and he wisely took his time, learning the track and building up speed as the weekend progressed – so much so that in the end he was holding his own against more experienced Chevron B26 and 36 drivers in the Group 7 race. Road Atlanta Aerial View (click to enlarge) |
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Ed Barker with Racer Rick in the Gropa
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(click
photos to enlarge) |
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Pete and Hamish were never more than a few inches apart around the whole track – lap after lap, session after session. Often side-by-side, it was the same in both formula and sports racers, often as not swapping position three or four times a lap. |
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One would be in the lead as we waited with bated breath to see who would be first under the bridge and down the hill the next time round. They were decidedly equal here, but it must be said that Pete really did have his racer's head on this weekend. |
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Calm, relaxed, confident and perfectly at ease with the pressure of competition, real "race craft" – not so strongly apparent in the past – was in full evidence. No one was going to work Pete over this weekend – he was in command.
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Hamish and Pete were the class of the field in the BOSS race, most of the time in 3rd and 4th place on the grid. To put this in perspective, the first car was a 90s Benetton F1 ex-Michael Schumacher car, the second place car was Jacques Villeneuves' championship winning "Champ" car, and third was Scott Pruett's Champ car. Next was usually Pete in a 30-year-old, 2-liter, 300 HP F2 car devoid of ground effect and straight-line speed (relatively).
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Photos by Wayne LeBlanc |
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Following Pete was Hamish, with the same lap times as Pete. It's amazing that these "old technology" race cars can assert themselves on a grid of contemporary 400+ HP ground-effect race cars as attested by the lineup of F3000, Champ cars, F1 cars and Indy lights cars left in their wake. No wonder the BOSS boys didn't want any car under 400HP on their grids last season. |
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Larry Connor in his Lola, so used to asserting superiority with his 2.2 or 2.4 liter motor (whatever), had met his match at Road Atlanta.
At the start of the Group 7 qualifying race, he
found himself the meat in a Pete & Hamish
sandwich as they out-dragged the pole-sitter at the drop of the flag (he
couldn't do anything about Pete, but
successfully put Hamish in the grass
on the run down to the first corner).
Thatcher attends to
Hamish in the March 782 |
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Sunday races had the boys really busy. As one session merged into another, it's difficult to recall all but some of the highlights as we perceived them from the front straight. (click photos to enlarge) |
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Pete, and then Hamish, elected not to participate in the Enduro, but Rick did. Alas, continuing the string of "Enduro bad luck" he's been having, Rick's weekend ended early on Sunday when a driveshaft sheared. No replacement could be found, so that was it for the Gropa. |
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Rick is bummed... |
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Above - Ed Barker goes the extra mile |
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Pete and Hamish, head
to head in their B23s
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Pete and Hamish were the star attraction of the Jo Bonnier Cup Race, starting off in P1 and P2, but a new interloper had them on their toes from the drop of the flag. Phil Daigrepont's freshly restored Lola 280 was all over them and actually grabbed second place. The little car looks stunning and goes as well as it looks. Nevertheless, our boys showed him who was in charge. |
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What appeared to be an over-rev on a missed shift by the Lola driver took the edge off its motor. Still, Phil came in a good strong third to Pete and Hamish's first and second. |
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(click photos to enlarge) |
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A great race.
Well done guys! |
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The Championship of Makes race was similarly exciting, as the two boys mixed it up with Duncan Dayton's T70 coupe – Pete swapping positions lap after lap for the lead with Duncan. Hamish fell back a little with an engine malady towards the end and was overtaken on the last lap by Fred Kaimer in his Lola. Duncan managed to hold Pete off on the last couple of laps for the win, but Pete was right there at the finish. Great Racing and a Great Weekend! |
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After the races, Pete and Hamish compare notes. |
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Footnotes
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 to
Race Event Gallery |
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close enough....
