Can-Am Challenge Race

Lime Rock, 3 Jul 1983

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

Notes on the cars:

1. VDS 002 (Michael Roe): New for the VDS team in 1982 and raced that season by Al Holbert, but exactly when he used VDS-001 and when he used VDS-002 is still uncertain. Acquired by Norwood-Walker Racing for 1983, together with the brand new VDS-003, but VDS-003 was destroyed at its first race. VDS-002 was driven by Michael Roe in 1983. The team was renamed Dallas Motorsports Inc for 1984 and VDS-002 was modified to side-radiator form for 1984, joined later by a new car VDS-004 in normal front-radiator form. Roe dominated the season, winning seven races. VDS-002 reappeared once more at Mosport Park at the start of 1985 when Dallas Motorsports boss Don Walker crashed it heavily in practice. The car remained dismantled for some time while Jack Smith repaired the monocoque. Dallas Motorsports cars and equipment were sold to Frank D'Aquanno (Monterey, CA) in 1987, and in 1989 VDS-002 was restored and sold to Jimmy Landrum (Dallas, TX). In August 2014, Craig McCormick reported that this car was "in a private collection in the Dallas, TX area, completely restored".
2. Frissbee-Lola T330 [HU2] (Horst Kroll): See full history: Lola T330 HU2.
3. Lola T294 [HU75] (Bob Roy): Mike Hall bought a new Lola T294 in 1974 for use in SCCA BSR racing. He was highly successful in the car at National level, winning the Run-Offs in 1975, and also competed in the Can-Am series from 1977 to 1980. The car was then sold to Chuck Storrie in Quebec and entered for 'Uncle' Jacques Villeneuve in Can-Am in 1982. It was bought from Storrie by Bob Roy for the 1983 season. Bob recalls selling it back to the US to somewhere in the Great Lakes area. The SCCA log book next records it being raced by Joe Graziano in vintage racing in Oct 1993. Sold by Graziano to Peter Read about 2008 and then to Steve Read in 2010. Prepared by Pete Racely (Sports Racing, Inc.) for the 2011 season. At the beginning fo the 2012 season, HU75 was being raced by Mike Thurlow (Kingsburg, CA).
4. Toleman T850 [HU2-2] (Eddie Wachs): New to Docking Spitzley for Kenny Acheson to race in F2 in 1981. Identified by Autosport as Acheson's car at Silverstone in March, and presumably the same car used up to his accident at Pau. The car at Pau was a write off, but at the start of 1982, Autosport reported that Carlo Rossi was racing the ex-Acheson chassis with revised bodywork for the Docking Spitzley team. Sold to Eddie Wachs' Ausca Racing when the F2 season ended in August, and fitted with fenders by Docking for Can-Am racing. Wachs' regular car in 1982, and also used by him in 1983 and early 1984. Also driven by Cheryl Glass, Bill Alsup and Wally Dallenbach in 1984. The car is then unknown until June 1994, when Frank Zucchi (Livermore, CA) raced it in a San Francisco Region SCCA vintage event at Thunderhill Raceway Park. Raced by Zucchi in VARA events later that year. Next seen just over a year later, when it was bought by Paul Flowers (Dothan, Alabama) from Robert W. Keelips (Deland, FL) in February 1996. Flowers entered it as a #17 1980 Toleman F2 at the 5th Annual Jefferson 500 at Summit Point in May 1996. He also raced it in the SVRA Zippo Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in 1999. Seen again in 2004, by which time it was being prepared for him by Lee Chapman. Reported to have been raced until 2010, and then sold to Takuya Arai (New Paltz, NY) who only uses it for track days.
5. Ralt RT1/Cicale (Mike Freberg): Hugh Kleinpeter (Key Biscayne, FL/Hiawassee, GA) had a Cicale-bodied Ralt RT1 for Can-Am in 1979, but only appeared once, at Road America in July where he failed to start. He retained the car for 1980, again appearing only once in Can-Am, at Road Atlanta in September, but also appeared at least once in SCCA Nationals, scoring six points in Southeast Division A Sports Racing. For 1981, the car was sold to John Graham (Willowdale, Ontario) and entered by Midland Racing Enterprises for him in three Can-Am races that season. He returned for 1982, but after competing in two early-season races, the car was not seen until driven by Scott Goodyear at Mosport Park in September. The Cicale-Ralt then went to Chuck Storrie, who installed a Chevrolet V6 engine for the 1983 Can-Am season. Mike Freberg drove the car for Storrie Racing but it did not prove competitive with the 5-litre cars in its class. Freberg drove it again in early 1984 as a Mike Freberg Racing entry. Subsequent history unknown, but this may be the ex-Cicale Ralt RT1 that later turned up in Northern Ireland.
6. VDS 003 (Phil Compton): Built by VDS over the 1982/83 winter but not completed until after the team's equipment had been sold to Norwood-Walker Racing. To be driven in Can-Am in 1983 by Phil Compton but he crashed it heavily in practice at Lime Rock in July 1983, at what would have been its first race. The chassis was determined to be unrepairable but some of the surviving components of the car were amongst the VDS cars and equipment acquired from Dallas Motorsports by Frank D'Aquanno (Monterey, CA) in 1987. These components were all sold to Craig McCormick (Houson, TX) in May 2014 and in December 2014, the monocoque was being rebuilt.

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.