Tag Archives: France

SUV Powered Prototype – Riley Mk XI #018

In 2003 the Grand American Road Racing Association replaced it’s sports racing class with a new Daytona Prototype class with the intention of reducing costs and keeping cars competitive for longer by keeping a tight grip on permitted technological development.

As we shall see today’s featured Riley Mk XI chassis #018 is a testament to the success of Grand Am’s Daytona Prototype vision, even though to my eye’s these cars have always looked a tad quirky due to their mandated dimensions.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Chassis #018 was built with 5 litre / 302 cui Pontiac V8 motor for Pacific Coast Motorsports in 2005 and first raced by Ryan Dalziel and Alex Figge at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City where they finished 5th in the 250 mile race in November.

At Daytona in February 2006 Ryan and Alex were joined by Jon Fogarty and David Empringham for the 24 Hour race, they qualified 14th but retired the Playboy sponsored chassis #018 with an overheating motor.

Alex and Ryan continued racing #018 for the rest of the 2006 season scoring a best 2nd place finish in the 250 mile race at Phoenix, the car then appears to have gone into temporary retirement as was not seen again until 2010 when the new Action Express Racing team took it to the 2010 Daytona 24 Hours.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

In 2009 the Brumos team won the Daytona 24 hours with a similar Riley Mk XI powered by a 4 litre / 244 cui flat 6 developement of the Porsche 911 motor.

For 2010 new kids on the block (NKOTB) Action Express Racing, owned by former Brunos associate Bob Johnson, had replaced the Pontiac V8 motor fitted to #018 with a 5 litre / 302 cui Porsche V8 developed from the SUV Porsche Cayenne by Lozano Brothers Porting in Texas.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The Action Express Racing international team of drivers João Barbosa from Portugal, Mike Rockenfeller from Germany, Terry Borcheller from the USA was and Britain’s Ryan Dalziel who had raced this same car in 2005/6 qualified 8th for the 2010 Daytona 24 hour race.

The debutant team then went on to win the race from the BMW powered Riley XI driven by Max Papis, Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Justin Wilson entered by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, the team that had dominated this event from 2006 to 2008.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

João and Terry continued to race #018, for the remainder of the 2010 season scoring a best 4th place finish at Lime Rock.

For the 2011 Daytona 24 Hours João and Terry were joined by J.C. France, Max Papis and Christian Fittipaldi, together they qualified #018 12th and came through to finish 3rd.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

#018 scored a second victory and final victory, in the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway in May 2011 with J.C., João and Terry sharing the driving.

#018 was retired after the EMCO Gears Classic presented by Key Bank 2011 at Mid Ohio in September 2011 where J.C., João and Terry qualified 10th and finished 4th.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Stock Porsche items used by the Lozano Brothers Porting developed 530 hp V8 include the engine block; cylinder heads, timing chain, hydraulic lifters, head bolts and gaskets.

The work on the SUV Porsche Cayenne V8 by Lozano Brothers Porting in Texas was not sanctioned by the Porsche factory and Porsche has never claimed victory for the 2010 Daytona 24 Hours.

Thanks for joining me on this “SUV Powered Prototype” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Drawin To It – Little Hotrod

In 1947 a two year old Charlie Lindmar was taken by his Dad to the races at New Jersey bullrings that included Hinchcliffe and Dover. He claims not to remember anything about these events as around that time he fell out of a 2nd story window and landed on his head !

The flowing year his Dad built a race car up around a red ’37 Ford with yellow wheels on to which Charlie’s Mom painted the #69, it was around this time Charlie got into drawing race cars an activity he has continued to this day.

Charles Lindmar, Limited Sportsman '37 Ford

While the car was being prepared Charlie would sit in the seat making car noises and it was not long before the crew working on the car gave Charlie the “Little Hotrod” nick name.

Limited Sportsman '37 Ford

Charlie’s Dad, who worked at an oil terminal near Linden airport only raced the #69 once and after starting and finishing last he decided to enter the #69 for better drivers most often at Rupert Stadium where he once earned $140 after a particularly good meeting.

'37 Limited Sportsman Ford

After moving the #69 had to take a back seat while Charlie’s dad was busy making a living, but even then Lindmars kept going to see the races. In 1953 Charlie’s Dad registered to enter his ’37 Ford as the #56 to race on the new 1 mile Old Bridge dirt oval, but he never did get around to taking the #56 car to the track, although the family regularly spectated at events there.

While a Senior at High school, where Charlie was especially good at art, he started drag racing a ’53 Mercury and working at a Sunoco gas station before taking a course in auto mechanics which got him a job at the Linden GM plant. By 1964 the 19 year old Charlie started building a race car up from a rough ’37 Chevy Coupé and like his Dad picked the #69 to go on the doors.

'51 Ford Pickup, '39 Chevy Limited Sportman.

With a ’52 Ford, Bonus Built F1, Pick Up that ran on only seven cylinders to tow the car Charlie’s first couple of meetings were steep learning curve experiences. He broke a drive shaft first time at Wall Stadium and forgot to check the transmission fluid the second time at Weissglass Stadium on Staten Island in New York.

At Ft Dix Charlie finally made the races and eventually had a career best 2nd place finish in a semi feature there. One time Charlie arrived early at Ft Dix and his truck overheated while waiting for the pit boss to show up, when he did eventually show Charlie had to push the truck, which refused to start, into the garage area with his race car !

In 1965 Charlie took his #69 Chevy to the Garden State Classic at Wall Stadium where he started his heat from the front row, but was punted off when his motor would not pull cleanly on the green flag. Later in the summer Charlie had the most fun when he raced at East Windsor.

Last time out at East Windsor Charlie qualified for the 100 lap final, even though he had not taken any account of the centrifugal forces acting on a new fuel tank in the turns which resulted in the tank slipping through it’s longitudinal securing straps and on to the track. He retired from the race because he ran out of time to secure the fresh race battery properly.

Joe Racz Headstone By Charles Lindmar

When Uncle Sam called on Charlie he joined the US Marines and the #69 Chevy was sold after Charlie’s Dad insisted he would not look after it. Charlie became a tractor trailer instructor before his enlistment ended in 1969.

Charlie never got back behind the wheel of a racing car, but instead got into making a living driving tanker trucks, getting married and starting a family. Eventually Charlie took his son to Wall Stadium.

After retiring from long haul driving Charlie returned to drawing old race cars, after cleaning his truck while waiting for lab tests and paperwork during loading or unloading for short hauls.

One day he was at Racz’s Garage which had been home to Joe Racz’s yellow #41 cars that Charlie had seen as a kid. A friendship between Joe’s nephew, Tom Rhodes and Charlie ensued which led Tom to commission Charlie to make a drawing for the headstone of his Uncle Joe’s grave many years later.

Charlie now has a web site for his art and his interest in drawing scenes from early stock car racing has led to him being invited to see the France, as in NASCAR dynasty, family archive.

Charles Lindmar, '39 Limited Sportsman Chevy

In 2010 Charlie was reunited with his old #69 Chevy, which in his dreams he had never sold or stopped racing, at an Old Bridge reunion after it had been sold for a $1,000 to the good home of the Allen family, some of whom Charlie had met long before the sale.

My thanks to Ray Miles at the Limited Sportsman Racers site and Chalie Lindmar, who’s erudite and unexpurgated story can be found in the “Articles” section of the lsracers site.

Thanks for joining me on this “Drawin To It” edition of “Getting’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Too Much Added Lightness – Lotus 27 27-JM-22 & 27-JM-2

The design of the 1963 Lotus 27 Formula Junior car followed the principles of the 1963 Lotus 25 Formula One car featuring a monocoque. Keen to save weight, cost and promote the use of fibre glass which Colin Chapman used extensively in the Lotus Elite and Elan models the 27 monocoque initially differed from the bigger, aluminium skinned, Lotus 25 monocoque by having a fibre glass outer skin.

Former motor cycle racer and film distributor Ron Harris ran the works Lotus Formula Junior team in 1963 for 1962 Formula Junior champion Peter Arundell, Mike Spence and John Fenning. With only one car available for Peter first time out at Oulton Park the team scored a lucky victory after the faster Brabhams including that of Denny Hulme retired with engine problems. The victory was lucky because the monocoque was so weak it badly affected the handling of the Lotus 27.

5 or 6 Lotus 27 chassis are thought to have been constructed with fibre glass outer skins and nearly 4 months past before Peter returned to his winning ways by which time the fibre glass outer skin of his Lotus 27’s monocoque had been replaced by rolled aluminium which stiffened the monocoque and improved the 27’s handling.

With 6 successive late season wins Peter Arundell secured his second successive British Formula Junior title by one point over Denny Hulme.

Lotus 27, Goodwood Revival

Chris Locke is seen above at the Goodwood Revival in his Lotus chassis 27-JM-22. This car was sold originally to one C Haas, better known these days as the racing impresario the multi championship winning Newman/Hass/Lanigan Indycar team.

According to San Anselmo CA resident Lotus aficionado Chris Locke’s website, Carl sold the car to General Motors who wanted to study the monocoque engineering and design, some years later General Motors donated the Lotus to the auto shop department of a Detroit high school. Teacher Pat Nelson liberated the car by substituting a more practical vehicle for his students to learn from before the racer had been dismantled.

Pat raced 27-JM-22 from the late 60’s to mid 70’s before Jim Lloyd took over the car in 1977 and raced it some more. Jim was photographed with his 27 – JM – 22 parked next to Mario Andretti’s championship winning Lotus 79 at the US Grand Prix in 1978. Six successive owners owned and raced the car the last of which had a the tub replaced after an accident in 1999. Chris became the owner in 2001 and has the car looked after John Anderson Racing in the States and Historic Team Lotus in Europe.

Lotus 27, Goodwood Revival

The second Lotus 27, 27-JM-2, featured today driven by Nick Fennell above was acquired for Jean Vinatier by Ecurie Ford France on the 28th May 1963, The team were running tragic future Grand Prix driver Jo Schlesser in a rival Brabham BT6 at the same time.

Of the two Jo scored better and consistent results until the August 18th 1963 when Jean recorded fastest lap on his way to two heat wins and win on aggregate in a French Formula Junior Championship at Nogaro. Jean recorded a further 3rd place at Montlhéry near Paris before the seasons end.

Jean went on to become French National Rally Champion in an Alpine Renault in 1969 and represented the same team at Le Mans a track at which he recorded 15 24 hour race starts between 1950 and 1973.

Thanks to Peter, Pete, willga, and Ron at The Nostalgia Forum for their comments on the 27’s construction.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Too Much Added Lightness’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Maserati 250 F

I apologise to all my Rowdy friends who will have seen this car before on rowdy.com but I have expanded on that original post in this blog in honour of Canadian artist Paul Chenard who very kindly helped me out with another project I am working on. If you like drawings and paintings of old racing cars you’ll love his gallery linked here.

The 250 F was first raced in 1954 by 1951 world drivers champion Juan Manuel Fangio who took a maiden outing win in Argentina and then won again, having missed the 1954 Indy 500, at the following race in Belgium.

Juan then went on to become Champion in 1954 driving for Mercedes Benz for the rest of the season. With Mercedes at the height of their power in 1955, Maserati were locked out of the top spot in Formula One but in 1956 the 250 F was again driven to two victories by Fangio’s former Mercedes team mate Stirling Moss.

Having been crowned world champion from 1955 – 56 the now four time world champion Fangio returned to Maserati for 1957 and promptly won four of the eight championship races to set a four peat world championship record that stood until 2003.

In that 1957 season Fangio drove one of the races of all time during the German GP, having failed to out fox the Ferrari team after a disastrous pit stop, Juan Manuel set 7 consecutive lap records on the 14 mile Nurburgring Nordschleife making up over 48 seconds before taking the lead from the Mike Hawthorn’s Ferrari with a lap to spare and record the 250 F’s 8th and final Formula One Championship victory.

Fittingly JMF drove his last ever race in a 250F at the 1958 French GP coming 4th, winner Mike Hawthorn sportingly refraining from lapping him on the final lap.

The 250 F continued to appear ever more uncompetitively until 1960.

This 1957 250F is the last of the 26 built. Complete with a six cylinder 240 hp engine.
This car is differentiated from most by a short wheelbase Piccolo chassis.
The 250 F is recorded as being the most forgiving of the 2.5 litre (152.5 CUI) F1 cars by Willy Green who has driven every type of 2.5 litre F1 car competitively in historic races.

Hope you enjoyed today’s post and will join me again tomorrow.

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