It was a wet weekend in West Virginia...... 

SUMMIT POINT - 12^TH ANNUAL JEFFERSON 500
Summit Point, WV
May 16-18, 2003

       SVRA Vintage GT Challenge - ROAD AMERICA
Elkhart Lake, WI
 May 16-18, 2003

Well, better late than never.  We've finally had a spare moment to put together a brief report on both Summit Point and Road America.  Having read other accounts of these events by this late date, the definitive report follows.

Our home-team superstars were thin on the ground this year at Summit. (Paul Flowers decided to take two of his cars to Road America instead - see below.)  But we had quality at Summit, if not quantity. 

Pete "Van" Gulick had his usual mounts at Summit - his ex-Giacamo Agostini '78 Chevron B42 F2 car, and his faithful '73 Chevron B23 BMW-powered Sports Racer, which he was again sharing with stalwart co-driver Bobby Brown (who had put in such a sterling drive in the wet at Savannah). 

The Jefferson 500 was
 not just a racing challenge
 this year.
 It was a weekend-long
battle with the weather.
 The intermittent,
 'heavy-at-times' rain
made for tough calls
 almost every session -
 i.e., which tires do we use?

Pete Gulick's weekend started off well, considering the gambles we had to keep making on tires. In his qualifying race for the Rahal Cup, he started with full wets on his Chevron B42, which proved to be the right tire for all three laps.  An accident curtailed the session, but Pete's time was good for second place on the grid the following day. In this group of highly competitive machinery and drivers, it looked to be a good initial result.
 

Sunday's race began in a torrential downpour. The less hardy had already wimped out and gone home.  Not so for the fastest three - Bobby Brown on pole led Pete and the brave Dave Handy at the green flag. Both Pete and Bobby had their work cut out for them on full wets in the driving rain, but Dave Handy went out on slicks and still drove superbly, even grabbing first for a short time. The three left the rest of the pack in their wake, and Pete gamely came home third, with a very controlled, purposeful drive - for our only podium finish of the weekend.

The John Wyer Cup Enduro started badly for Pete and Bobby Brown in Pete's '73 Chevron B23.  Arriving late at the false grid, Pete was not allowed to take up his position at the front, although he did manage to get out in time to take advantage of the two pace laps to warm up his tires and brakes.  He then proceeded to get on with the job of moving up through the field (of 53 cars!).  By the time he came in for the planned pit-stop at just over half distance, he was in first place overall.  And yes - it had started raining again. After a perfect pit-stop, Bobby Brown took the wheel.  And although he seems to go well in the wet, it's not true that Bobby enjoys driving in these conditions.  However, he kept everything on the island, bringing the car home in first place.  This set the stage for a great race on Sunday, with the boys in pole position.

'73 Chevron B23 of Pete Gulick
(driven here by co-driver Bobby Rahal at Summit Point in 2002)

Sunday's race began with a tad less optimism - as it had once again started to pour with rain. Bobby was starting the race with intermediate tires, not the full wets most of the rest on the grid had chosen, since it looked like it might dry before the end of the race.  Our gamble was not to be fully tested, however, as Bobby lost the car under braking going into turn 1, and that's all she wrote.  A long, wet, tough weekend!  Ah well, back to the workshop to prepare for Mid-Ohio.

Pit-Stop View
(click to enlarge) 

Ed Mettelman (left) and Gordon Medenica
 join up at Summit Point for the Briggs Cunningham Cup 2-Hour Enduro

Team M&M began its first race with Ed in the driver's seat for part one of the Briggs Cunningham Cup two-hour Enduro on Saturday. Being the master tactician that he is, Ed and maybe only two other cars took advantage of an early full-course yellow.  The stop was well within their "fuel window," so another stop for gas was unnecessary. Gordon Medenica then took over, holding his own til the end of the first leg of this race. The early pit-stop put them well up the grid in front of much faster equipment, giving them a good advantage for the start of part two of the Enduro the next day.

On Sunday, Gordon started for the team in part two of the Enduro. Tactics did not come into play this time - apart from driving hard and bringing it home safely - so to accrue as many laps as possible, which would ultimately decide finishing positions.
Alas, on the last lap going for the flag, Ed was robbed of a fine third place and podium finish by an E-type Jag that out-dragged him to the finish line.
A sterling effort nonetheless by team Mettelman/Medenica and, of course, the beautiful & ever-reliable Lotus 47.

Lotus 47 of Ed Mettelman
driven at the 2003 Jefferson 500
 at Summit Point
by Ed and co-driver
Gordon Medenica
(click to enlarge) 

Paul Flowers took both his Elva Mk7 and his Chevron B31 to Road America, where he encountered much better weather.  His solo journey to Wisconsin was predicated on an attempt to secure valuable points for the Paine Webber Endurance Championship, noted absentees being points-leader Pete Gulick, Travis Engen and another of our stars, Bill Pedersen, who went as crew instead of driver.  Paul's trip netted not quite maximum points for his effort in the Dairyland 100, but not far off.  He was running strongly in his Elva Mk7 with times that could have secured him a third overall - just between much faster and more modern equipment.  However, seven laps from the end, his steering rack mount parted company from the chassis, giving him most curious handling characteristics - particularly when he wanted to turn in for corners, of which there are many on Road America's four-plus miles.  He was awarded in the end with a 7th place overall.  Although the championship standings have yet to be posted, despite not taking the checker, Paul must surely be leading in points, or certainly somewhere close. 

Paul had the additional satisfaction of lapping over three seconds faster than his previous best, and outperforming in track position, as well as times, the ubiquitous Lotus 23C of Howard Turner/Bob Wagner.  This was another truly focused performance by Paul, and not without the help of a unique and committed engine program from Atlantic Motorsports.  Overseen by engine guru Steve Dolph, Atlantic continues race-by-race to give Paul the best possible equipment for his pursuit of the Enduro title. 

Now it's on to Mid-Ohio, and another round in the Enduro Championship.

Chevron B31 of Paul Flowers