Tag Archives: Laguna Seca

Drag Winner – Maserati 450S #4504

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Valerio Colotti commenced the initial design of the tubular chassis and body of Maserati 450S in 1954, the model was known internally as the Tipo 54.

Sharing some components with the 3 litre / 183 cui Maserati 300S the 450S, which was first raced in 1957, is differentiated by employing a 4,478 cc / 273 cui short-stroke V8 motor equipped with four Weber carburetors which produced 400hp.

Future Indy 500 entrant Jim Kimberly took delivery of today’s featured 450S chassis #4504 in time to race it at Road America where he finished 6th in June 1957, Jim’s only other known result is a 16th place finish in the 1958 Cudan Grand Prix.

Maserati 450S, Robson Walton, Rolex Reunion, Laguna Seca,

By July 1958 Harry Rollins had become the owner of #4504 and drove it in 3 events over the SCCA Carnival of Speed weekend at Walterboro winning the ITA Drag Event, finishing 2nd in race 3 and retiring from race 5.

Don Perkins bought the car in October 1958 and entered it in three meetings one each for John Haas, Ed Crawford and Hal Ullrich.

Ed scored a best 2nd overall and 1st in class in the 1958 Memorial Trophy during the Nassau Speed Week.

Maserati 450S, Robson Walton, Rolex Reunion, Laguna Seca,

At some point during the 1960’s the motor was taken out and used for a speed boat project.

In 1980 Virgil Milette is credited is reuniting the motor and chassis. Under the ownership of Luigi Mancini in 1987 #4504 was restored by Carrozzeria Garuti in Modena Italy.

I believe that Robson Walton who is seen driving the car in these photographs by Geoffrey Horton at the 2013 Laguna Seca Rolex Reunion has owned #4504 since 1999.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton as ever for sharing his photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Drag Winner” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an Amilcar. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Another Alternative C-Type – Sulprizio Hagemann GMC

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Like Walt Hansgen a few years earlier when United Engineering & Machine co owner Babe Sulprizio found he was too many dollars short to own a C-Type Jaguar he set to building his own special in 1955.

Sulprizio Hagemann GMC, Rolex Reunion, Laguna Seca,

Babe started by building a steel tube ladder frame to which he fitted Jaguar Mk VII independent front suspension and rear axle , a Morris Minor steering rack and a 5 litre / 302 cui GMC six cylinder ‘Jimmy’ motor mated to a 4 speed Moss gearbox.

It is said the ‘Jimmy’ GMC motor was chosen after the local Oakland Chevrolet assembly plant refused to supply a 265 cui V8.

For the bodywork Babe took his chassis with some sketched bodywork idea’s to expert english wheelman Jack Hagemann. Babe insisted the completed body be painted bright red which led to the car often being mistaken for a Ferrari.

I have not been able to establish any competition results for the car which appears to have been known as the Hagemann GMC or Sulprizio Hagemann GMC, if you know of any please do not hesitate to chime in below.

In 1976 the current owner bought the car and appears to have installed a Jaguar XK 120 motor, XK 150 disc brakes and tired of telling the inquisitive his car was not a Ferrari had it repainted in metallic British Racing Green.

Note this car is not to be confused with the 1957 Cozzi Jaguar Special which was also painted red and fitted with a Jack Hagemann body.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo of the Sulprizio Hagemann GMC taken at last years Rolex Reunion at Laguna Seca.

Thanks for joining me on this “Another Alternative C-type” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a Shadow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Greenwoods Last Customer C3 – Chevrolet Corvette C3 Greenwood #12

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The last in this series of Americana Thursday blogs celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Chevrolet Corvettes features the last of the 12 customer Corvette racer built by John Greenwood as seen in these photo’s taken by Geoffrey Horton at the recent Rolex Reunion meeting run at Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Chassis #12 appears to have been built for Albert DeLeo from a Greenwood stock 1976 chassis for the 1982 season when Albert ran the car just once in the Lime Rock 1 hour Coca Cola 400 race for which he qualified 18th and was classified as a non runner in 24th place.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Changes in the IMSA GTO regulations which favoured tube frame chassis over full frame cars meant the car was never raced again in period. The all aluminium 7.8 litre / 478 cui motor was fitted with Kinsler fuel injection and produced around 730 hp with a red line at 6,400 ear busting rpm.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

The car known as a wide body has coil over rear suspension to help transmit the fearsome horsepower through the 15″ wide rear tyres to the road. The front wheels are 12″ wide 15″ diameter made as are the rears by Jongbloed.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Lance Smith found the pristine car at Albert’s in 1989 and since then it has undergone minor restoration.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

French sports, GT and former Galles IRL driver Didier André car bought chassis #12 through Bonhams last year. It appears that Didier plans to bring the car up to the same specification as Greenwoods famous Spirit of ’76 #007 specification so that it can take part in historic event’s in Europe.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photograph’s.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Greenwoods Last Customer C3′ 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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Big Block Small Block – Chevrolet Corvette C2

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Continuing this months 60th Corvette Anniversary on Americana Thursday today’s Chevrolet Corvette C2 is a 1964 model owned by Tommy and Ross Thompson since 2007.

Chevrolet Corvette, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Form the information sheet it would appear the Thompson’s have a big block 7 litre / 427 cui motor and a 5.3 litre 327 cui small block motor as seen here to race with.

Chevrolet Corvette, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

The known history of this car starts in 1986 when Mark Brown, bought sponsored and raced the car up until 1992. Thereafter it passed into the hands of Bill Morrison and almost immediately on to Bill Gagliano who owned it up until 2007. Since then Tommy Thompson has won numerous classic racing awards including the Monterey Trophy for performance and presentation.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton who took today’s photograph’s at the recent Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca.

Thanks for joining me on this “Big Block Small Block” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a convertible Ferrari that hit the race track for a single 1000km race at the Nurburgring. Don’t forget to come back now !

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SCORAD Demonstrator – Chevrolet Corvette #1399 Tribute

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When I set out to find out about the car in today’s photographs taken at the Rolex Reunion at Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca by Geoffry Horton I mistakenly thought it couldn’t be that difficult to find out about a 1st generation Corvette C1 carrying a big #16 and a couple of NASCAR stickers. Boy was I proved wrong, but the upside is I have found out not only what it is, but also found out about a race series I am not sure ever got off the ground !

Chevrolet Corvette SCORAD Tribute, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

An internet search soon led me to the owner / driver Noel Park and several descriptions of the car being a tribute to the 1955 Corvette better known as X87/5951 in which Zora Arkus- Duntov set a new flying-mile record of 150.583 mph at Daytona Beach in 1956. However that car had a 1956 body and two other ’56 Corvettes Chevrolet took along to Daytona Beach for John Fitch and Betty Skelton did not feature the distinctive #16 on the side although at least one photo caption on the net, subsequently shown to be wrong suggested otherwise.

Chevrolet Corvette SCORAD Tribute, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

My break came when I found a second identical copy image of the #16 at Daytona Beach making reference to chassis #399, although again no driver was mentioned. A search for Corvettes with the number #399 led me to discovering that along with the three Corvette’s Chevrolet took along to the 1956 Daytona Speed Weeks for competition, two further Corvettes were supplied to NASCAR for promotional purposes and one of them was chassis #E55S001399 a 1955 model, described as a well used up former race car. The vehicle was rebuilt with a stock 4.6 litre 265 cui small block V8 and the body taken from another ’55 ‘Vette by Chevrolet Engineering in January 1956 with a “NASCAR” kit comprising aero screen and fiberglass torneau over the passenger area.

Chevrolet Corvette SCORAD Tribute, Rolex Reunion, Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Jack Hawkins and Bill France Jr are among those NASCAR individuals known to have demonstrated, but not competed in, the #16 at the 1956 Daytona Speed Weeks. It has also emerged thanks to Loren Lundberg over at The Nostalgia Forum that the #16 and an similarly upgraded ’53 Corvette which appeared carrying the #27 were to be used in NASCAR’s SCORAD ( Sports Car Owners and Drivers ) dirt track series. At the time of writing I’m not sure if this series ever got underway or not, if you know anything at all about SCORAD at all please do not hesitate to chip in below since there is zero but the name that appears about the series on the net as of now.

After the speed weeks #1399 spent two years under the direction of NASCAR’s Alvin Hawkin at various tracks primarily in North Carolina before being passed into private hands that included a spell as a donation with the Bible Broadcasting Church. As of 2009 #1399 was reported to be with the Lingenfelter Collection all though when I checked their website no mention was made of it.

I’m not too sure how or why Noel Parks cool tribute to the #1399 came to be made, but it has been an absolute blast getting to the bottom of the story of the #16 that ran at Daytona Beach in 1956.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s from the Rolex Reunion and to Loren Lundberg at The Nostalgia Forum and of the Registry of Corvette Race Cars for his help in clarifying the story of the #16.

Thanks for joining me on this “SCORAD Demonstrator” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t for get to come back now !

PS Opinions and predictions on Formula One and the Italian Grand Prix linked here at Motorsports Unplugged.

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Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

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A couple of weeks ago Geoffrey Horton visited the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and kindly sent me today’s photographs to share.

Hall Scott The Four, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

The Hall Scott Four was built in San Francisco for the 1917 Vanderbuilt Cup it used an Reo Model M frame and was powered by a 110 hp Hall Scott aircraft 9.9 litre 605 cc motor that produces the same torque as a modern day Chrysler V10 Viper motor. This car was reconstructed for Dick Deluna by Tom Batchelor in Reno Nevada and Denis Webb in Anaheim California amongst many others.

McCabe, Bugatti, Type 59, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Charles McAbe is seen warming up his 1934 Bugatti Type 59 with it’s distinctive wire and alloy wheels.

Chevrolet Corvette C1, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Looking particularly purposeful in black above is Bob Patterson’s 1957 second generation Chevrolet Corvette C1, a very successful sports car and racer in it’s day that sold with the strap line “FI = 1 H.P. per CU. IN. x 283″.

Knoop, Echidna, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

John Staver, Ed Grierson and Bill Larson based their Echidna race cars on highly modified Corvette frames and mechanical running gear. The cars clothed in bodywork by by Bill Devlin won 8 races outright from 35 races and took 17 class victories. The Bob Hardison’s 1959 example seen here is driven by IMSA Endurance racer Rick Knoop.

Kurtis KK500-H, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Frank Kurtis built just one new car for the 1958 Indy 500 the Kurtis KK500-H seen above which featured novel, for the period at Indy, independent rear suspension. It’s best finish was 7th with Duane Carter at the wheel in 1959, running with a more conventional tub rear axle installed by new owner Smokey Yunnick.

Arcerio, Lister, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Al Arcerio is seen at the wheel of his 1958 Knobbly Lister above.

Scarab, Mk 1, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

After seeing first hand the apparent chaos that ruled in the factories of several top European racing car manufacturers Lance Reventlow returned to the United States determined that he could do far better. The first product of his determination was the 1958 Scarab Mk 1 with which Lance won 9 races in 1958. Only two Mk 1’s were built, I believe the example above, owned by Rob Walton, is the first of the two.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

The Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione chassis #2701 GT was crashed on it’s debut at the Le Mans test weekend after setting the 6th fastest time, fastest in class, in 1961. It was rebuilt and bought for a paltry DM 6,000 in February 1967 by Egon Hofer who won his class with it in a couple of hillclimbs before tackling the Taga Florio with Anatoly Arutunoff where carrying the #74 it failed to finish. Ned Spieker has owned the car since 2004.

American Motors AMX, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Dwight Matheson’s 1969 AMC AMX is seen above in the Bruce Morehead Racing colours as raced by Bruce in 1970 in the Sebring 12 hour race where the car failed to finish. Bruce is known to have scored at least one class victory in an SCCA regional race run at Sebastian towards the end of 1970.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photos, please spare a thought for him last I heard the the Rim Fire was causing Geoffrey and his neighbours some concern.

Thanks for joining me on this “Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Thoughts and opinions on the weekends Belgian Grand Prix can be found here at Motorsports Unplugged.

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The Surtees Hill Lola – Lola Chevrolet T70 Mk II Spyder SL71/43

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Team Surtees started running Lola T70’s in sports car races in 1965, for 1966 the teams proprietor, 1964 World Champion, John Surtees ran a Chevrolet Mk II spyder variant, chassis #SL71/17, in the Canadian American (Can Am) Challenge winning the inaugural Can Am race at St Jovite from pole with the car.

Surtees retired from the next couple of Can Am races with a broken oil pipe and then after a start line accident at Bridgehampton and Mosport respectively. At Laguna Seca the team had a new chassis #SL71/43, today’s featured car, which he qualified 7th but retired for a third time after 92 laps with suspension damage.

Knapfield, Lola T70, Goodwood Revival

John Surtees returned to chassis #SL71/17 at Riverside where he qualified second and won, 1962 World Champion and 1966 Indy 500 Winner Graham Hill was drafted into chassis #SL71/43 and came home third from 5th on the grid in the cars final appearance for Team Surtees.

Knapfield, Lola T70, Goodwood Revival

Surtees went into the final round of the 1966 Can Am Challenge at Stardust International Raceway in Las Vegas sharing the series lead with 1961 World Champion Phil Hill who was driving a Chaparral 2E.

Despite qualifying 4th behind Jim Hall on pole with his Chaparral team mate Phil Hill beside him and Chris Amon in a McLaren Elva in third, John Surtees forced his way through to the lead on the opening lap. John did not relinquish that lead for the entire 70 lap race and so secured the inaugural Can Am Championship.

Chassis SL71/43 was acquired by George Ralph for 1968 his best results with the car were two 11th place finishes one in the USRRC Championnat Nord-Americain race held at Mont-Tremblant from 17th on the grid and the other in the Road America Can Am race from 21st on the grid.

Current owner Paul Knapfield is seen driving the car at the 2011 Goodwood revival in these photo’s.

My thanks to Tom RA Announcer Schultz for kindly visiting his den to dig out the chassis details of today’s featured car from his copy of Lola T70 – The Design, Development & Racing History Hardcover – December 1, 2012 by John Starkey and Franco Varani.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Surtees Hill Lola” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t for get to come back now !

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