VSCDA Vintage Grand Prix AuGrattan Grattan Raceway Park, Michigan August 18-21, 2016

Transcription

1 VSCDA Vintage Grand Prix AuGrattan Grattan Raceway Park, Michigan August 18-21, October 2016 Victory Lane

2 story by David Lambert Just a few miles northeast of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grattan Raceway Park scribes a winding road course into the Michigan hills. Grattan packs ten turns into a compact two-mile track, and each of them has a unique character to challenge drivers and entertain spectators. On the weekend of August 18-21, almost 150 VSCDA drivers and cars descended on Grattan to participate in one of the club s favorite events. This year s event kicked off on Friday with practice and qualifying races, and most of the day saw dry running. Arriving late on Friday, I joined drivers, volunteers, and spectators at the track Saturday morning ready to take in some great racing, and none of us were disappointed. #34 John Salisbury, 1962 Austin Healey Mk II; #43 Richard Cook, 1963 Lotus Super 7; #67 Manley Ford, 1963 Lotus Super 7; #197 Sean Alexander, 1962 Triumph TR4; #71 Doug Bruce, 1959 Austin Healey Bugeye ; #317 Ryan Murphy, 1961 Triumph TR4; #616 Jim Keck, 1958 Kellison JC1. Victory Lane October

3 #76 Steve Theobald, 1968 Lynx B. Saturday morning s heat races set the stage for the rest of the weekend with some great back & forth action. Although Grattan s twomile length looks fairly compact, its corners are tremendously challenging, offering experienced drivers some great passing opportunities. As the weekend progressed, I got to experience some VSCDA hallmarks, including Saturday morning s Trans Am B Sedan feature. Although most people think V8 pony cars when they hear Trans Am, there was a great group of under two-liter cars in the Trans Am series, and in 2009, Steve Bonk revived that competition for VSCDA. He and his brother Chris continue to be driving forces behind this event. Thirteen B sedans competed on Saturday, led by Ike Keeler in his 1971 Datsun 510. Mike Pranka took second in his 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV, and Steve Bonk finished third in his 1971 Datsun 510. Saturday morning s racing wrapped up with a 12-lap group C sprint race. Scott Livingston took the win in his 1978 Argo JM2, followed by Tom Stephani s 1978 Crossle 35F and Martin Hancock s 1989 Lola T88/90. #71 Doug Bruce, 1959 Austin Healey. 26 October 2016 Victory Lane Saturday morning s beautiful skies began to grow heavy by lunchtime, but the early afternoon drizzles gave me some time to catch up with event chair Alex Rorke, who introduced me to VSCDA and some of their longstanding members, including former chairs Scott Fohrman and Barb Nevoral. Fohrman emphasized the social focus of the group, and it became clear throughout the weekend that the VSCA drivers share this sense of camaraderie and sportsmanship. As a non-profit club, VSCDA prides itself on providing drivers with all the track time they could hope for, and the club also gives back to the community. Sunday s Ride for Charity, for example, raised funds for Wounded Warriors. All of the club members I spoke with over the weekend were enthusiastic about the future of the club and vintage racing. Rorke mentioned that all of the VSCDA s events were up in attendance at all the tracks they ve attended, and Fohrman pointed to the decreasing age demographic of the club as an indicator of a bright future. Among these young drivers was Robbie Gurolnick, who started racing at age 14. Gurolnick finished 28th in Sunday s Group B feature in a 1960 Porsche 356 speedster on her way to starting her freshman year at Michigan State the following week. Saturday afternoon s schedule kicked off with a wet Group A sprint race. As it turned out, the drivers of the open-cockpit Group A cars seemed to catch quite a bit of the wet weather from that point through the end of the weekend, so the drivers that braved the #102 Scott Noppen, 1968 Zink; #86 Dave Crosby, 1970 Kellison, #33 Guy Dennehy, 1968 Lynx B; #99 Alan Wong, 1969 Lynx B. conditions got plenty of track time in the wet. Garrett Van Camp wound up taking the win in the Group A sprint, followed by John Kennelly and Chuck Buysse. Under increasingly threatening skies, a dozen Group B cars lined up for their first sprint race, and the leaders managed to complete five circuits before lightning halted the session. John Salisbury led the abbreviated session, followed by Richard Cook and Jon Bauer. Although nobody expected this when the session ended, this would prove to be the last racing action of the afternoon. The lightning that forced our stoppage was the leading edge of a severe storm that brought high winds and tornado warnings to the area. Luckily, the worst of the weather skirted around the track, and the skies cleared in time for Saturday evening s banquet for workers, volunteers, and club members. Rorke emphasized the huge role

4 #1 Jim Perry, 1962 Volvo P1800. played by volunteers at VSCDA events, as they just couldn t happen without their generous help. Sunday morning brought overcast skies and cooler temperatures. A couple of warm up sessions opened the on-track activities, and races got underway just before 9:30 with the SPRIDGET ( & Midget) series, led by John Salisbury and Scott Schmidt in 1962 and 1972 Austin Healey s, respectively and Doug Bruce in a 1959 Bugeye. Feature racing got underway with a full field of 34 GROUP D cars and some great wheelto-wheel battles. Bob Leitzinger won the first feature of the weekend in his 1965 Lotus Elan 26R, but had to fight off Mike Kaske in a 1964 Causey Special, who gave Leitzinger plenty to worry about when the pair worked into lap traffic. Mike Pranka was just a few seconds back in his 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV. Up next was the the GROUP C feature. Twenty-six cars took the green flag, and the front of the field was fairly well sorted after the first lap. Polesitter Tom Pixley in a 1978 Wheeler Super Vee relinquished the lead to #74 Scott Schmidt, 1972 Austin Healey ; #67 Manley Ford, 1963 Lotus Super 7; #34 John Salisbury, 1962 Austin Healey Mk II. Jim Kelley in his 1988 Lola SC 88/90, and went on to finish second to Kelley, with Scott Livingston rounding out the podium in his 1978 Argo JM2. There were any number of close battles deeper in the field, including Jesse Jurgenson and Frank Newton in 10th and 11th, respectively. Thirty-one GROUP B cars lined up for their feature race next. John Salisbury led flag-toflag in his 1962 Austin Healey. Manley Ford and Richard Cook came in second and third in a pair of 1963 Lotus Super 7s, having battled back and forth for most of the race. These cars were really well-suited to Grattan s twists and turns, and lots of drivers enjoyed some great racing all the way through the pack. Some light sprinkles near the end of the race weren t enough to impact the racing surface significantly, but they d turn heavier before the next event. The open-cockpit GROUP A cars once again took to the track in wet conditions for the the Group A Feature and Formula Vee challenge. Three Lynx B s covered the podium for his: John Kennelly was first in a 1972 and Bill Styczynski and Garrett Van Camp were second and third in 1969 Lynx s. Conditions were tricky, and there were a few lazy loops, but I saw quite a bit of closequarters action through the blind-apex turn nine as these drivers became accustomed to the slick conditions. The late morning showers eased over lunchtime, and I was lucky enough to snag a ride with Barb Nevoral in her 1967 Alfa GTV during the charity ride -- one of the highlights of my weekend. Several drivers took turns running a couple laps at 4/10 speed, but the grins on the faces of the riders were all 10/10! Sunday afternoon s sprint races were shortened by a couple laps each in order to make room for one of the Saturday events that was scrubbed by the weather. Group D led off the afternoon under clear skies, with Bob Leitzinger taking the win once again from the pole. Mike Besic advanced from a third-place start to take second in his 1969 Alfa Romeo Duetta, and Mark Brown was third in a Super 7 from his outside-pole start. I watched this race from turn three, which crests and dives sharply to the left, offering the drivers a couple of great alternate lines and even an occasional passing opportunity. Just like clockwork, skies darkened again as the open-cockpit Group C cars lined up for their sprint. Seventeen drivers hoped for the best, but the skies opened up again after a couple of racing laps. Five drivers stuck this one out to the end, with Scott Durbin leading in his 1977 Tiga despite a quick spin coming #153 Brad Babb, 1966 Sunbeam Alpine; #98 Paul Harris, 1965 Wolseley Hornet Mk II. out of three. James Britnaell followed in his 1972 Mallock, and Frank Newton rounded out the podium in his 1971 Titan. Drying conditions greeted the Group B drivers for their sprint race, but the field had thinned a bit since morning, leaving just ten drivers to take the green. John Wittenauer took advantage of the drying track and light field to take the win in his 1964 Mini Cooper S, followed by John Deikis in a 1968 MG Midget and Nathan Burress in a Bugeye. The Group A Sprint wrapped up the published schedule with a welcome dry race. Sixteen drivers stuck around for this event, led from the pole by Chuck Buysse in his 1967 Kellison. Frank Newton hung onto Buysse to grab the runner-up spot in his 1969 Lynx B, and Bill Styczynski moved up several spots to finish third in another 1969 Lynx B. The CAN AM CHALLENGE wrapped up the racing day, having been rescheduled from Saturday afternoon. The late start really took a toll on the entry list, though, leaving a three-car field to race for the podium spots. Mike Pranka took the honors in this one in his 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV, and Greg Herr in a 1972 Porsche 914 and David Michele in a 1972 Alfa Romeo Alfetta rounded out the day s racing results. Victory Lane October

5 #88 Martin Hancock, 1989 Lola T88/90; #50 William Demarest, 1972 Titan Mk 6B. CAN-AM FESTIVAL CHALLENGE 1 8/B2 M. Pranka/1972 Alfa Romeo GTV 1: /B2 G. Herr/1972 Porsche /B2 D. Michele/1972 Alfa Romeo Alfetta ENDURO 1 8/B2 M. Brown/Lotus Super 7 1: /D S. Montgomery/1972 Mallock Mk 11B 1 2/C R. Gurolnick/1960 Porsche 356 Roadster 1: #28 Ike Keeler, 1971 Datsun /D J. Wittenauer/1964 Morris Mini Cooper S 1: /D D. Wittenauer/1972 Austin Mini Cooper 1 8/B1 T. Parvin/1972 Mazda RX3 1: /D M. Fay/1972 MG Midget 1 2/B A. Christopher/1961 Volvo P : G70/8 A. Mitchell/1986 Porsche 924S 1: /B2 G. Herr/1972 Porsche /C R. Cook/1963 Lotus Super 7 3 8/B2 J. Fisher/1964 Lotus 26R 1 2/A M. Moore/1962 Triumph TR4 1: /B2 B. Nevoral/1967 Alfa GTV 5 8/B2 I. Keeler/1971 Daysun /B2 M. Pranka/1972 Alfa Romeo GTV 7 8/B2 B. Leitzinger/1965 Lotus Elan 26R 8 8/B2 D. Denison/1969 Datsun 510 GROUP A 1 4/FV J. Kennelly/1972 Lynx B 1: /FV B. Styczynski/1969 Lynx B 3 4/FV G. Van Camp/1969 Lynx B 4 4/FV G. Dennehy/1968 Lynx B 5 4/FV S. Noppen/1968 Zink 6 4/FV E. Coppock/1969 Lynx B 7 4/FV J. Baker/1969 Lynx B 8 4/FV J. Tschiltsch/1969 Lynx B 9 4/FV F. Newton/1969 Lynx B 10 4/FV M. Beiser/1969 Lynx B 11 4/FV J. Buysse/1969 Lynx B 28 October 2016 Victory Lane 12 4/FV A. Wong/1969 Lynx B 13 4/FV C. Buysse/1967 Kellison 14 4/FV P. Windom/1965 Lynx B 15 4/FV S. Theobald/1968 Lynx B 16 4/FV D. Clardy/1969 Scorpion 17 4/FV M. Kitzmiller/1969 Lynx 18 4/FV D. Crosby/1970 Kellison 19 4/FV S. Aeppli/1969 Zink 20 4/FV R. Preiss/1972 Lynx B 21 4/FV D. Ariens/1967 Autodynamics Mk V 22 4/FV M. Medden/1965 Lynx 23 4/FV A. Stanton/1967 Zink C4 24 4/FV W. Gill/1965 Zink C4 25 4/FV T. Eden/1968 Zink C4 26 4/FV R. Shaw/1972 Lynx B 27 4/FV S. Lockwood/1968 Zink C /FV J. Scott/1969 Lynx 29 4/FV R. Sieling/1962 Lotus 20/ /FV D. Hayes/1965 McNamara GROUP B 1 2/D J. Salisbury/1962 Austin Healey MkII 1: /C M. Ford/1963 Lotus Super 7 1: /C R. Cook/1963 Lotus Super 7 1 2/B S. Alexander/1962 Triumph TR 4 1: #37 Don Carone, 1970 Winkelmann WDF3. 1 2/M D. Bruce/1959 Austin Healey Bugeye 1: /B T. Madawick/1959 Elva Courier Mk I 3 2/B R. Murphy/1961 Triumph TR 4 2 2/D N. Burress/1959 Austin Healey 1 2/A M. Moore/1962 Triumph TR4 1: /B J. Perry/1962 Volvo P /B D. Anderson/1963 Sunbeam Alpine 3 2/D M. Fay/1972 MG Midget 6 2/B A. Christopher/1961 Volvo P /B R. Freiwald/1961 Volvo P /B T. Detwiler/1969 Volvo P /D J. Wittenauer/1964 Morris Mini Cooper S 5 2/D S. Mente/1970 Datsun /E W. Thompson/1960 Austin Healey 1: /D D. Wittenauer/1972 Austin Mini Cooper 2 2/E J. Deikis/1968 MG Midget 7 2/D C. Van Sant/1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint /D S. Atkinson/1963 Cooper Mini 3 2/E D. Kelly/1961 Austin Healey 3 2/C B. Babb/1966 Sunbeam Alpine 9 2/D A. Burress/1962 Austin Healy 10 2/D J. Bauer/1959 Austin Healey 4 2/E S. Mason/1960 Austin Healey 4 2/C R. Gurolnick/1960 Porsche 356 Roadster 11 2/D P. Harris/1965 Wolseley Hornet MKII 12 2/D G. Kropf/1962 Austin Healey GROUP C 1 5/S3 J. Kelley/1988 Lola SC 88/90 1: /C T. Pixley/1978 Wheeler Super Vee 1: /C S. Livingston/1978 Argo JM2 1 4/CF T. Stephani/1978 Crossle 35F 1: #50 Mike Besic, 1969 Alfa Romeo Duetto. 1 5/S2 M. Hancock/1989 Lola T88/90 1: /CF S. Beeler/1979 Lola T 540 1: /FF J. Britnaell/1970 Hawke DL2 1: /CF S. Durbin/1977 Tiga FFA 3 7/C R. Smit/1971 Royale RP9 3 4/CF J. Jurgenson/1979 Dulon MP21 2 4/FF F. Newton/1971 Titan 3 4/FF D. Hayes/1967 Lotus 51C 4 4/FF W. Demarest/1972 Titan Mk 6B 5 4/FF M. Boller/1971 Royal 6 4/FF C. Van Dyke/1971 Lotus 69F 7 4/FF D. Carone/1970 Winkleman WDF3 8 4/FF M. Bagby/1970 Lola T /FF A. Freston/1972 Titam Mk 6B 10 4/FF R. Stadther/Dulon 11A 11 4/FF S. Frey/1979 Caldwell D9 1 3/D B. Thomas/1972 Mallock Mk 11B 1: /G T. Covert/1965 Moodini SR 1: /FF R. Burnside/1970 Titan 2 3/D S. Montgomery/1972 Mallock Mk 11B 3 3/D R. Maurer/1963 Elve Mk VII 1 7/F70 S. Coppola/1983 Alfa Rmeo F3 1: GROUP D 1 8/B2 B. Leitzinger/1965 Lotus Elan 26R 1: /C M. Kaske/1964 Causey Special 1: /B2 M. Pranka/1972 Alfa Romeo GTV 3 8/B2 I. Keeler/1971 Datsun /B2 M. Besic/1969 Alfa Romeo Duetto 1 2/B S. Fohrman/1964 MGB 1: /B2 M. Brown/Lotus Super 7 1 8/A J. Jagusch/1970 Datsun 240Z 1: /B2 J. Fisher/1964 Lotus 26R 1 6/TA J. Pearce/1969 Ford Mustang 1: G70/8 J. Putnam/1981 Mazda RX7 1: #181 Tucker Madawick, 1959 Elva Courier Mk /B2 D. Michele/1972 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 8 8/B2 D. Eichelberger/1970 Datsun /B D. Dickey/1965 MGB 9 8/B2 G. Harris/1974 BMW 2002tii 10 8/B2 R. Beer/1969 Alfa Roleo GTV 11 8/B2 S. Cummings/1965 Alfa Romeo GTA 12 8/B2 G. Herr/1972 Porsche /TA J. DeGaynor/1959 Devin Special 13 8/B2 B. Nevoral/1967 Alfa GTV 14 8/B2 A. Rorke/1965 Lotus Elan 26R 1 8/B1 T. Parvin/1972 Mazda RX3 1: /B2 J. Ostrowski/1969 Triumph GT /B2 G. Mikhail/1972 Alfa Romeo Spider 17 8/B2 J. Cohen/1973 BMW /B2 E. Durham/1970 Datsun 240Z 19 8/B2 A. Watts/1976 BMW /BP P. Taxman/1964 Jaguar XKE Coupe 1: /B N. Korey/1963 MGB 2 8/B1 K. Marquardt/1970 Alfa Romeo Gt Jr 2 G70/8 A. Mitchell/1986 Porsche 924S 20 8/B2 B. Nevoral/1962 Lotus Super /B2 R. Woods/1971 Lotus Seven Series /B2 D. Denison/1969 Datsun 510 #197 Sean Alexander, 1962 Triumph TR-4. SPRIDGETS 1 2/D J. Salisbury/1962 Austin Healey MkII 1: /D S. Schmidt/1972 Austin Healey 1 2/M D. Bruce/1959 Austin Healey Bugeye 1: /D N. Burress/1959 Austin Healey 4 2/D J. Donato/1962 Austin Healey 5 2/D J. Bauer/1959 Austin Healey 1 2/E W. Thompson/1960 Austin Healey 1: /E S. Mason/1960 Austin Healey 3 2/E J. Deikis/1968 MG Midget 4 2/E D. Streed/1959 Austin Healey Bugeye 6 2/D M. Fay/1972 MG Midget 7 2/D A. Burress/1962 Austin Healy 8 2/D J. Freers/1969 Austin Healey 5 2/E D. Kelly/1961 Austin Healey