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Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières, 6 Sep 1981

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Al Holbert Holbert CAC-2 - Chevrolet V8
#14 CRC Chemicals
42 1h 04m 11.353s
82.443 mph
2 Geoff Brabham Lola T530 [HU4] - Chevrolet V8
#3 Racing Team V.D.S. (see note 1)
42 1h 04m 24s
3 Jeff Wood Lola T530 [HU2 or HU10] - Chevrolet V8
#1 Carl Haas Racing Team (see note 2)
42
4 Teo Fabi March 817 - Chevrolet V8
#6 Paul Newman Racing
42
5 Danny Sullivan Lola T530 [HU8] - Chevrolet V8
#4 Garvin Brown Racing (see note 3)
42
6 Jim Trueman (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Ralt RT2/79 [153] - Hart 420R
#25 Red Roof Inns
41
7 Richard Guider (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Marguey CA80 [March 782] - Hart 420R
#68 Elite Racing (see note 4)
40
8 Dan Johnson Chevron B24/B28 [24-73-02] - Chevrolet V8
#38 Danny Johnson (see note 5)
40
9 Cliff Dawson (Can-Am 2l) 1.6-litre Brabham BT38B [13] - Ford BDD
#96 Team Canada (see note 6)
38
10 John Graham (Sports racing) 2-litre Chevron B26 [74-08] - Ford BDG
#77 Midland Racing (see note 7)
29
11 Horst Kroll Lola T330 [HU2] - Chevrolet V8
#37 Horst Kroll Racing (see note 8)
18 Electrical
12 Michel Prévost (Sports racing) 1.8-litre Lola T212 [HU34] - Cosworth FVC
#35 Michel Prevost
14 Unknown
13 Mike Freberg Lola T300 [HU15] - Chevrolet V8
#36 Race Safe Racing
10 Off track
14 Bob Roy (Can-Am 2l) 1.6-litre March 744/CF1 [74B-10] - Ford BDD
#44 COPES (see note 9)
9 Throttle linkage
15 Roman Pechmann (Sports racing) 2-litre Lola T290 [HU34] - Ford
#58 Roman Pechmann
7 Engine
16 David Giorgi (Sports racing) 1.8-litre Chevron B19 [71-33] - Cosworth FVC
#81 Winners Circle
6 Ignition
DNS Tom Klausler Frissbee - Chevrolet V8
#8 U.S. Racing [Herb Caplan]
Did not start
(Valve)
DNS Tony LaRosa (Sports racing) 2-litre Osella PA8 - Ford BDA
#18 Nino LaRosa
Did not start
DNQ John Sorbello (Can-Am) Sorbello GM5 [005]
#49 John Sorbello (see note 10)
Did not qualify

All cars are 5-litre Can-Am unless noted.

Qualifying
1 Al Holbert (Can-Am) 5-litre Holbert CAC-2 - Chevrolet V8 1m 25.25s
2 Teo Fabi (Can-Am) 5-litre March 817 - Chevrolet V8
3 Geoff Brabham (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T530 [HU4] - Chevrolet V8
4 Jeff Wood (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T530 [HU2 or HU10] - Chevrolet V8
5 Danny Sullivan (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T530 [HU8] - Chevrolet V8
6 Tom Klausler * (Can-Am) 5-litre Frissbee - Chevrolet V8
7 Richard Guider (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Marguey CA80 [March 782] - Hart 420R
8 Jim Trueman (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Ralt RT2/79 [153] - Hart 420R
9 Horst Kroll (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T330 [HU2] - Chevrolet V8
10 Bob Roy (Can-Am 2l) 1.6-litre March 744/CF1 [74B-10] - Ford BDD
11 Mike Freberg (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T300 [HU15] - Chevrolet V8
12 Dan Johnson (Can-Am) 5-litre Chevron B24/B28 [24-73-02] - Chevrolet V8
13 Roman Pechmann (Sports racing) 2-litre Lola T290 [HU34] - Ford
14 Cliff Dawson (Can-Am 2l) 1.6-litre Brabham BT38B [13] - Ford BDD
15 John Graham (Sports racing) 2-litre Chevron B26 [74-08] - Ford BDG
15 David Giorgi (Sports racing) 1.8-litre Chevron B19 [71-33] - Cosworth FVC
17 Michel Prévost (Sports racing) 1.8-litre Lola T212 [HU34] - Cosworth FVC
18 Tony LaRosa * (Sports racing) 2-litre Osella PA8 - Ford BDA
 
* Did not start

Notes on the cars:

  1. Lola T530 [HU4] (Geoff Brabham): Built April 1980. New to VDS Racing for 1980 and used as Geoff Brabham's T-car for the first part of the season, becoming his race car after HU3 was destroyed in a practice accident at Road America in July. Retained for 1981 and raced by Brabham until the team's new T530-based VDS-001 was ready. Sold to Rex Ramsey 1982 but very heavily damaged in an accident at Laguna Seca in October. The damaged and disassembled car sold to Mike McComas (Pampa, TX) 1988 and sold by him to Paul Sauer (Woodside, CA). In 2002, the car was still completely apart with the new tub still under construction.
  2. Lola T530 [HU2 or HU10] (Jeff Wood): Built July 1980 and invoiced to Bobby Rahal for Herb Caplan's U.S. Racing but the team decided to focus on their existing Prophet Can-Am cars and HU10 was returned to Carl Haas. It then appears to have gone to VDS as a backup car after their HU3 was wrecked at Road America in July 1980. If so, it is not known whether it was raced. Carl Haas then acquired the car again to replace HU2, after that car was wrecked at Watkins Glen in 1981 by Jeff Wood. Sold to John Foulston (Dunsfold, Surrey) in 1982 together with HU1 for use in Thundersports. When Foulton's car first appeared, it had red livery almost identical to Wood's usual car and with the same high rollhoop that only appeared on Wood's 1981 car(s). In September 1983, this car was observed to be wearing the HU10 chassis plate. Raced by Foulston and co-drivers HSCC Chairman Brian Cocks and John Brindley in Thundersports during 1983 and 1984. At that point Foulston wanted to modify the T530 to VDS form but too many modifications were required and the project was abandoned. Instead Foulston bought VDS-001 from Carl Haas and transferred the T530 HU10 plate onto it, inferring that he had modified HU10. After Foulston's death, his family sold the car to David Brazell (Towcester, Northamptonshire) 1996.
  3. Lola T530 [HU8] (Danny Sullivan): Built May 1980. New to RJ Nelkin (Roslyn, NY/Woodbury, NY) for Can-Am in 1980 and rebuilt on fresh tub after an accident. Sold by Nelkin to Newman Racing August 1980 but they changed their mind and the car quickly passed to Garvin Brown Racing for Danny Sullivan in the last half of 1980. Retained for 1981. Sold to Mike Brayton and raced in Can-Am in 1982. Later sold to Burke Ratcliffe to be used in Thundersports in England in 1986 but wrecked in a testing accident at Brands Hatch in June 1986. Retubbed and rebuilt by Jack Smith of VDS. Believed to be the car raced by Andy Ratcliffe (Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire), Mike Wilds and David Leslie in 1986, winning the last two races of the season. Also then likely to be the car shared by Wilds and Ian Flux through the 1987 season, winning two races, and then by Flux and other in 1988, when it dominated the series. Then to Mike McComas (Pampa, TX) 1989 and then to Bud Bennett of RM Motorsport (Wixom, Michigan) 1996. Completely restored by Bennett to Garvin Brown livery. It then went via either Scot Kennedy or Ron Coburn to Norm Goldrich (Cincinnati,OH) 1998 and was still with him in September 2001. Sold to Gregg Jackson (El Paso, TX) 2002 then to Kim Baker 2009 or 2010 and then to Larry Galbo (Buffalo, NY) 2011.
  4. Marguey CA80 [March 782] (Richard Guider): Richard Guider (Ben Lomond, CA) bought a March 782 from the Toleman team at the end of 1979, and fitted it with Tony Cicale's original blue 1978/79 body from the Cicale-Ralt Can-Am car. Guider named this creation the Marguey CA80, and raced it in Can-Am in 1980 and 1981. Guider shared the car with Bertil Roos at the August 1981 Lumbermens 500. Guider crashed on the final lap at Trois-Rivières in September 1981 and the car was extensively damaged.
  5. Chevron B24/B28 [24-73-02] (Dan Johnson): New for 1973 season. Doug Shierson for Peter Gethin: raced in UK 1973 (won Race of Champions) and US 1973. To Roger Bighouse (Eastlake, OH): raced in US 1974 (7 races); US 1975 (4 races + 1 DNS) - Pat McGonegle (Cincinnati, OH): raced in US 1976 (1 race) and Can-Am 1977 (4 races + 1 DNS); probably the car entered by McGonegle as 'Mannix MX-2' in Can-Am 1978; advertised April 1979 - Danny Johnson (Kewanee, IL) 1979: raced in Can-Am 1979 (1 race), Can-Am 1981 (5 races), Can-Am 1982 (6 races) - Brian R Taylor (now Clive, Iowa) for Mike Engstrand (Des Moines, Iowa): raced in Can-Am 1985 (3 races) - Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) - Anthony Taylor (Blackburn, UK) 2001: due to be rebuilt and raced in FORCE Historic F5000 series (UK) 2001. Then unknown until owned by Greg Thornton in 2011 and raced in UK and New Zealand 2011/12. Badly damaged in a fire at Thornton's garage in June 2012 but completely reconstructed.
  6. Brabham BT38B [13] (Cliff Dawson): New to Eligio Siconolfi (Montréal, Quebec, Canada), who raced in the Canadian FB series in 1972, sponsored by Downtown Datsun Ltd. To Peter Overing (Montreal, Quebec) for 1973, but only seen at Sanair in June. Entered by Overing for Reg Scullion (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Montréal, Quebec) in the Players Canadian Formula Atlantic series in 1974, but still with a Ford twin cam engine. Overing then acquired a March 74B for Scullion, and the Brabham was sold to Cliff Dawson (Mount Royal, Quebec), who fitted a BDA engine and raced it in Formula Atlantic in 1975, 1976 and 1977. After racing it in Regionals in the late 1970, Dawson converted the car to Can-Am specification with a body built in Montreal by Francis Cordolle and ran it in this form in Can-Am from 1980 to 1983, still with the 1600cc Cosworth BDA engine. According to Doug Waters, it was "sold in July 1984 to Martin Handforth in Ottawa, who soon sold it to Pennsylvania". (Note that Handforth had owned and raced a different BT38 in Quebec events in 1981.) Subsequent history unknown.
  7. Chevron B26 [74-08] (John Graham): After the closure of Red Rose Racing, Roger Hire struck a deal to run works-assisted Chevron B26s in 1974 under the name Forge Mill Racing. John Lepp ran the main car and Rafael Barrios joined the team to run a second B26, now positively identified as chassis 74-08. This car only raced once in 1975 but was then bought by Robin Smith to be used in endurance and Interserie in 1976. Gary Gove (Tacoma, WA) acquired it for Can-Am in early 1977 and raced it for three seasons, winning the Pacific Coast title in 1978 and the last BSR title at the Run-Offs. It went to John Graham in Canada for the 1981 season and then to Luc Behar-Bannelier for 1982. The B26 was sold to Gil Baird for Thundersports in England in 1983 then to Richard Piper for another three seasons during which time it was converted to DFV power before moving to Ireland in the late 1980s where it stayed for nearly 15 years. It was sold back to the US again around 2003 and has raced in US vintage racing.
  8. Lola T330 [HU2] (Horst Kroll): See full history: Lola T330 HU2.
  9. March 744/CF1 [74B-10] (Bob Roy): The early history of this car is unknown, but it may be the car raced by Gilles Léger (Lachute, Quebec) from Mosport Park in July 1974 onwards. By 1980 it was owned by Bob Roy ( Montréal, Quebec, Canada) and was being used in Can-Am. The car later went to Mauro Lanaro (Montréal, Quebec), and was raced by him in Can-Am then CAT races from 1984 to 1987. At some point, Lanaro found the monocoque had bent due to the Can-Am car's downforce, and replaced the tub with that of 74B/12. The tub and associated parts from 74B/10 remained with Lanaro until he sold his remaining stock to David Clubine (Brantford, Ontario) in 2018.
  10. Sorbello GM5 [005] (John Sorbello): See full history: McRae GM1/005.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.