OldRacingCars.com

Can-Am Challenge Race

Mid-Ohio, 28 Jun 1981

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Teo Fabi March 817 - Chevrolet V8
#6 Paul Newman Racing
63 1h 30m 20.884s
100.412 mph
2 Geoff Brabham Lola T530 [HU4] - Chevrolet V8
#3 Racing Team V.D.S. (see note 1)
63 1h 30m 21.002s
3 Rocky Moran Frissbee - Chevrolet V8
#10 American Spirit Racing
63
4 Al Holbert Holbert CAC-2 - Chevrolet V8
#14 CRC Chemicals
63
5 Danny Sullivan Lola T530 [HU8] - Chevrolet V8
#4 Garvin Brown Racing (see note 2)
62
6 Jeff Wood Lola T532 [T530 HU2] - Chevrolet V8
#1 Carl Haas Racing Team (see note 3)
62
7 Randy Lewis Holbert CAC-1 - Chevrolet V8
#2 Cribari California Wine
61
8 Gary Gove (Can-Am) 3-litre Williams FW07B [6] - Cosworth DFV V8
#52 Pete Lovely VW
60
9 Jim Trueman (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Ralt RT2/79 [153] - Hart 420R
#25 Red Roof Inns
60
10 Richard Guider (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Marguey CA80 [March 782] - Hart 420R
#68 Elite Racing (see note 4)
59
11 Graham McRae McRae GM9 - Chevrolet V8
#22 Burt & Hal's Skoal Bandit
58
12 Horst Kroll Lola T332 [T330 HU2] - Chevrolet V8
#37 Horst Kroll Racing (see note 5)
58
13 Greg Sorrentino (Can-Am 2l) March 77S/802 [77ST-1]
#41 Greg Sorrentino (see note 6)
52
14 S Peter Smith (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Bobsy - Hart 420R
#54 Red Roof Inns
51 Flat tyre
15 Dick Leppla (Sports racing) 2-litre Chevron B36 [36-76-06?] - Ford BDG
#57 Crane & Shovel Sales (see note 7)
51
16 Joe Salyer (Sports racing) 2-litre Chevron B26/B31 - Ford
#73 Systems Mechanical Contractors
41
17 Gerre Payvis Lola T332 [HU53] - Chevrolet V8
#31 Gerre Payvis (see note 8)
18 Chassis
18 Mike Freberg Lola T300 [HU15] - Chevrolet V8
#36 Horst Kroll Racing
9 Overheating
19 Dave Hoover Lola T300/T333 [HU5] - Chevrolet V8
#20 Crazy Horse Racing
5 Tyres
20 David Locke (Can-Am 2l) 1.9-litre March 77B - Ford BDA Hart
#55 David Locke (see note 9)
2 Gearbox

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

Qualifying
1 Teo Fabi (Can-Am) 5-litre March 817 - Chevrolet V8 1m 20.043s
2 Geoff Brabham (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T530 [HU4] - Chevrolet V8
3 Al Holbert (Can-Am) 5-litre Holbert CAC-2 - Chevrolet V8
4 Rocky Moran (Can-Am) 5-litre Frissbee - Chevrolet V8
5 Danny Sullivan (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T530 [HU8] - Chevrolet V8
6 Randy Lewis (Can-Am) 5-litre Holbert CAC-1 - Chevrolet V8
7 Gary Gove (Can-Am) 3-litre Williams FW07B [6] - Cosworth DFV V8
8 Jim Trueman (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Ralt RT2/79 [153] - Hart 420R
9 Jeff Wood (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T532 [T530 HU2] - Chevrolet V8
10 Richard Guider (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Marguey CA80 [March 782] - Hart 420R
11 S Peter Smith (Can-Am 2l) 2-litre Bobsy - Hart 420R
12 Mike Freberg (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T300 [HU15] - Chevrolet V8
13 Graham McRae (Can-Am) 5-litre McRae GM9 - Chevrolet V8
14 Horst Kroll (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T332 [T330 HU2] - Chevrolet V8
15 David Locke (Can-Am 2l) 1.9-litre March 77B - Ford BDA Hart
16 Joe Salyer (Sports racing) 2-litre Chevron B26/B31 - Ford
17 Gerre Payvis (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T332 [HU53] - Chevrolet V8
18 Dick Leppla (Sports racing) 2-litre Chevron B36 [36-76-06?] - Ford BDG
19 Greg Sorrentino (Can-Am 2l) March 77S/802 [77ST-1]
20 Dave Hoover (Can-Am) 5-litre Lola T300/T333 [HU5] - Chevrolet V8

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 [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.
  3. Lola T532 [T530 HU2] (Jeff Wood): Built March 1980. New to Haas Racing for 1980 and raced by Patrick Tambay, winning the Can-Am championship. Retained for 1981 when it was fitted with a taller rollhoop and raced by Jeff Wood but wrecked in practice at Watkins Glen in July 1981. Race reports say that Haas acquired VDS's backup T530 to replace it, so this car effectively ceased to exist at this point.
  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. Lola T332 [T330 HU2] (Horst Kroll): See full history: Lola T330 HU2.
  6. March 77S/802 [77ST-1] (Greg Sorrentino): Built new for 1974, fitted with a BMW engine and entered by March Engineering for Jean Ragnotti in the European 2-litre Sports Car championship, with Antar sponsorship. Fitted with a Richardson FVC after the first few races, and later with a Cosworth BDG. Retained by March for 1975, fitted with a Hart 420R engine, updated to 75S specification and plated as '75S-U2' for John Lepp to race. The car was retained again for 1976, now to 76S specification and reportedly using the identity '76S-1', now raced by Lepp as part of the Ultramar team. Sold to Bobby Brown (Hicksville, NY) for the 1977 Can-Am season, now using the identity '77ST-1'. Sold to Greg Sorrentino (Troy, Michigan) and raced in 1979. In 1980, it was converted to centre-seat specification with a new body fabricated by Dave Craddock and campaigned in this form by Sorrentino in 1981, described as a March 802. To Charlie Monk (Sarnia, Ontario) for 1982, and then via John Adams Racing & John Kalagian to J. Byron Walker (Detroit, Michigan). Raced by Walker in 1983 and 1984 before being stored. Walker later acquired the 1977 bodywork from EB Lunken, who had used it on his March 73S, and found Lepp's Ultramar livery under the layers of paint. In 2013, Walker was in the process of restoring the car to its 1975 specification.
  7. Chevron B36 [36-76-06?] (Dick Leppla): New to Mort Platt (Kansas City, MO) and used in SCCA BSR racing from 1976 to 1978, qualifying for the Run-Offs each year. Also used in Can-Am races at Road America in July 1977 and July 1978. Then to Chris Strong (Lawrence, KS) and used in Can-Am in 1979 and 1980. Then probably the car raced by Dick Leppla in Can-Am in 1981 and still being raced in BSR several years later. Then via Ed Henning (early 1990s), Rudy Junco and Steve Fusillo to Brian Stark (Mequon, WI) by around 2004. Still with Stark in 2013.
  8. Lola T332 [HU53] (Gerre Payvis): See full history: Lola T332 HU53.
  9. March 77B (David Locke): Rick Koehler (Milwaukee, WI) raced an Excalibur EE2B in Formula Atlantic in 1978, with sponsorship from Brooks Stevens. The car was essentially a March 77B and was described as ex-Shierson and ex-Brack in adverts in late 1978 and 1979. It was leased to Joe Castellano for the Long Beach race in April 1979, and then sat unused until August 1980 when it was sold to David Locke (Cambridge City, IN). Locke fitted the car with 79B bodywork and Bobsy fenders so that it could be used in Can-Am racing, using an 1850cc Hart BDA engine and Hewland FT200 gearbox. In October 1981, Locke ordered a Kevlar Cicale body for the car, and used it in this form in 1982 and 1983, but without success. He acquired a Hart 420R engine from Jim Trueman for 1984 and raced the car in Can-Am and then CAT until 1987. Chris Townsend advises that it was sold to Lee Johnson in Colorado in April 1988, and was still with Johnson in 2012.

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.