After a typically quiet August on the race calendar, Fall is approaching full of great race weekends and opportunities to exercise your now-well-rested race car.  Take a look at what’s coming up.

Lime Rock Fall Festival  Sept 2 – 5

If you are not already signed up for this Fall classic, it’s unfortunately too late but you can still participate in Sunday In The Park, the annual giant car show held on the track all day Sunday, Sept 4th.  CLICK HERE for a registration form to register your favorite classic driver. (A print & fax form will open in a new browser tab or window. Type directly onto the form fields, print, and fax to 860.435.5010.)

SVRA Watkins Glen  Sept 8 – 11

There’s still space on our truck for a couple more race cars for this terrific event.  Watkins Glen in the Fall is magnificent and the track is world class with a history going back to the Fifties, including Formula 1 for many years.  If you haven’t yet signed up and want to go, let us know right away.  Sign up by Aug 22.

SVRA New Jersey Motorsports Park  Sept 29 – Oct 2

Early sign up ends Aug 28th so don’t delay.  NJMP offers excellent facilities and a fun track and it’s reasonably close as well.  Sign up by Aug 28.

VRG Watkins Glen  Oct 14 – 16

If you can’t make the SVRA event in September, here’s a chance to race at The Glen in a friendly, low key VRG event.  There will still be Autumn leaves to see in October and a nice bite in the air.  Perfect racing weather!  Sign up by Sept 13.

VIR Gold Cup Races  Nov 3 – 6

Still good racing in Virginia in November at the Gold Cup.  This is always a fun event on the challenging and beautiful VIR full course.  Sign up by Oct 1.

VRG Turkey Bowl at Summit Point  Nov 25 – 27

Here’s a good way to work off that heavy Thankgiving dinner…race at Summit Point for the rest of the weekend.  The weather can be interesting, but you’ll be warm in the race car.  Sign up by Oct 24.

Legends of Motorsports, Sebring  Dec 2 – 4

The last Bobby Rahal event for the year is always a good one.  Race at famous Sebring and enjoy some early Winter Florida sunshine as well.  Sign up by Oct 29.

Legends of Motorsports
Sebring International Raceway
Dec 2 – Dec 5, 2010

Most normal folks go to Florida in the winter to escape the cold and bask in the famous Florida sunshine. Normal folks don’t go to Florida when it’s in the grip of a freezing cold snap. Whoever said racers were normal? We are, by definition, addicted to wonderful, old, historic race cars and going as fast as possible in them. And we’ll go anywhere that affords us that opportunity. Normal, we are definitely not. In fairness, the weather for Bobby Rahal’s final event of 2010, while downright chilly in the mornings, warmed up to a comfortable, sunny 70 degrees every afternoon. Perfect racing weather.

Harvey had a full truckload of cars for his long trip to Sebring. Along for this season-ender were Jim Lenehan’s Swift DB2 and his newly lightened and painted Datsun 240Z (more on this later), new customer Mike Dube’s Ford Taurus Busch North stock car, Kent’s Porsche 914/6 and Larry’s Ginetta G16. As insurance, we have been taking our VRS Swift whenever we can…just in case.

Load in on Wednesday had to wait until late in the day but there was plenty of space in Sebring’s enormous paddock area even though over 120 cars turned out… Rahal’s best attendance this year. By Thursday morning, all was ready for some serious testing and learning the track for those of us who had not raced at Sebring before. Brian did the honors with Jim’s cars, taking out the usually perfect Swift for a few laps and then shaking down the Datsun which had undergone some major surgery since Watkins Glen in September. In the race shop, the Datsun had lost 160 pounds and gained some track width as well as an entirely new chassis setup. Brian pronounced the 240Z terrific and ready to race and we all anticipated Jim’s reaction when he drove the car the next day.

Unfortunately, Thursday was not without drama as Mike’s Taurus ate a ring and pinion. Mike and his helpers were able to get the car running by noon on Friday only to find that the gearbox was pouring out fluid at a prodigious rate. A valiant effort got the car on track again only to lose fourth gear! Larry and Brian shared the VRS Swift in Saturday’s all-comers Enduro finishing 13^th. Brian says he’s a bit faster in the Swift but he has 65 fewer pounds to haul around too!

Sunday’s feature races saw Jim Lenehan with a great drive in the Datsun, starting last since he missed the qualifier, and passing eight or ten cars to finish 15^th. Jim was delighted with the Datsun’s new-found performance, shaving a full six seconds off his best previous time with the car. Since he had to leave the track early to catch his flight home, Jim ran the Swift in the IMSA GT/USRRC/FIA Makes/CanAm group, finishing an excellent 8^th overall.

Thanks to all of our VRS racers and race crew for an excellent 2010 season. There were lots of good times to remember and, of course, the raw materials for some special trophies were produced as well.

VINTAGE RACING SERVICES NEWS FLASH! Ben Sinnott named 2010 SVRA Rookie of the Year at Road Atlanta Season Finale.

New VRS driver Ben Sinnott’s first season of vintage racing has turned out to be nearly perfect.  A couple of podium finishes and a win at the VIR Gold Cup caused everyone to take notice of the bright orange Beach sports racer.  More importantly, Ben has approached the sport with a willingness to learn and a great attitude noticed by all.  Congratulations to Ben on a terrific first season and truly earning Rookie of the Year.

September 2010

For the second year in a row, the Lime Rock Vintage Festival was a smashing success due to the fine management of our friend Murray Smith.  With 320 vintage racers on hand, every race group was full exhibiting a terrific variety of historic racecars.  From Indy Roadsters to Porsches to pre-war machines that relied on bravery as much as skill to go fast, there was a magnificent collection on view for the fans.  The comment was heard in the paddock over and over that the festival was back to the way it used to be in the Charlie Gibson days…universally recognized as a very good thing.

Vintage Racing Services was out in force with a paddock full to the brim with twelve race cars:

Roger Werner, Porsche 911 2 litre                              Mayo Smith, Porsche 911 2.7 litre

Dave Gussack, Porsche 914/6                                     Kent Bain, Porsche 914/6

Josh Lewis, Lola S2000                                                Larry Neviaser, Ginetta G16

Robert Willis, Swift DB2 S2000                                    Ben Sinnott, Beach Sportsracer

Richard Kresch, Royale RP4 and Lola S2000         Brian Rechtiene, GRD Formula 3

Ed Mettleman, Porsche 914/4

The long weekend actually started on Tuesday with testing in the afternoon, a good opportunity to get each car sorted and ready for the weekend’s races.  All went well with the exception of Ben’s Beach which suffered a suspension failure causing him to have a very close examination of the wall on No Name Straight.  The Beach’s nose was somewhat rearranged and missing a few pieces and there was minor suspension damage, but thanks to quick work back at the job by Brian and John, Ben was back on track Friday morning looking like nothing ever happened.

The beautiful Connecticut autumn  weather  was enjoyed by everyone as racing proceeded on Friday, Saturday and Monday punctuated by Sunday’s terrific (and huge) Sunday in the Park car show and Concours (chaired by our own Kent Bain).  Some fine racing was on display all weekend and special recognition goes to Ben Sinnott who brought the Beach home in 3^rd on Monday’s final Group 2 race.  Many thanks to the VRS crew who did an outstanding job keeping everyone running and servicing such a large group of race cars.

Sometimes it’s just the engine we need to get our hands on.  Classic and Motorsports Magazine publisher Tim Suddard needed some help with a very historic Triumph GT6.  Great guy, great car and what an opportunity!  We have had our hands in a good number of Triumphs, including the original GT6.   AUDB 4, pictured below was the original works modified Spitfire Le Mans entry and the basic prototype for the GT6.   We restored this historically significant, Lemans class winning Triumph number of years ago for Bill Shanahan.  The works competition department produced a very small number of these alloy bodied Spitfires based competition coupes to campaign at Le Mans.  The link to the magazine article on our web site tells all but suffice it to say it was indeed a Triumph of Triumphs at Le Mans then again to be a part of its revival.  Great car, great run at Monterey, but that’s another story.

On to Tim’s terrific TR; Enter Harvey: Harvey Thompson has been a key part of our organization for years.  Prior to coming aboard, Harvey spent every extra dollar he had…and more from some of his superb stories, campaigning a series of TRs in SCCA thorough the sixties and early seventies.  He built and campaigned a TR4 then a GT6 spending weekends chasing and sometimes besting Group 44 & other TR guys around various circuits.  In truth, we are all TR guys here as many readers will likely know.  I’ve been racing Spitfires in vintage racing for many enjoyable years (note the photo below).  Taking Triumphs one step further; in 2006 Bill Shanahan and Murray Smith campaigned a VRS restored and supported Triumph Spitfire 1300 to win the HSR Rolex Endurance Championship against a field of Porsches proving that Triumphs can both speed on and endure!  Triumph indeed!

Again, and at last!!! back to Tim’s Terrific TR;   yes, we think he made the right engine builder choice; we were the right guys for the job.  We are impressed with what has come out of his efforts; Tim may be a publisher….but he’s also a good hands on car guy and has done a terrific job on his ex Group 44 national championship winning Triumph GT6.  We are both proud and pleased to have been a part of the project that attached article tells the story and we look forward to seeing Tim on track in his TR for years to come.

September 2010

Mid September weather in the Finger Lakes region of New York can be tricky and this year was no exception.  Watkins Glen provided a mix of damp, rain, cold and just a little sun to make the race weekend interesting.

Not to be deterred, Vintage Racing Services was ready with a hardy group of racers ready to race, rain or shine.  Jim Lenehan and his Swift DB2 Sports 2000 and Datsun 240Z was there with his lovely wife, Chris.  Watkins Glen regular, Bill Branson, was on hand with a Formula Ford for himself and one for friend, Bob Bruce as well as his beautifully turned out Porsche 911 and an Alfa Romeo Guilia shared by none other than world class mooch and vintage racing fixture, Bert Levy.  Also racing were VRS partners Brian Rechtiene with a GRD Formula B and Larry Neviaser with the Ginetta G16.

Rain was the order of the weekend and rain it did, on and off, most of the time making the choice of going on track at all much less the choice of tires tricky, indeed.  In spite of this, everyone logged lots of track time and enjoyed the camaraderie under the VRS tent.  Highlight of the event was Jim’s excellent 2nd place in the Swift in Group 7 despite a heavy downpour throughout the race.  Larry managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory during the Vintage Enduro by speeding in the pit lane.  The subsequent drive though penalty dropping him from 2nd to 4th at the finish.  Oh well.

Crew duties this weekend were handled perfectly by Brian, Harvey and John who once again handled their jobs with expertise and a smile.

This heading is efficient as was the organization at this two-day Vintage Racers Group event on the Thunderbolt track at the New Jersey Motor Sports Park in Millville, N.J., September 24th and 25th. VRG managed to pack as much track time into two very enjoyable days as we find at most three-day vintage events. Great weather, no less than three races per entry and welcoming paddock ambience were all contributors to the favorable impression we each fostered come the end of Saturday.

Under the VRS tent for this round of racing:

1. Roger Werner & his trusty 1965 Porsche 911 2 liter; Qualified 2nd finished 3rd and had a great event despite having to get back to Connecticut after his 2nd practice on Friday. He was back Saturday AM, courtesy of his piloting skills and as quick non track as ever. Dedication about covers it…Roger can drive (or fly) anything!
2. Jim Lenehan, Swift DB2L S2000; On the pace every session, always in the first few with 5th and 6th places finishes in races and lap times dropping throughout the weekend
3. Yours truly, Kent Bain and that buzzy Triumph Spitfire 1300; 2 races, two 1st place finishes all the while finding it a treat to race among a field of aware and courteous vintage racers. I hope I returned the favor

Also aboard was our rental…my car is down so here’s our Swift DB2L S2 race car…thankfully not needed as all were running well all weekend. This was not our 1st time at NJMS but it was our 1st trip to Thunderbolt. Hats off to founders Harvey and Lee: great track with a fine rhythm and huge interest in a relatively short under 2 mile circuit. The pictures tell the story, we all enjoyed it immensely. Many thanks to all who made it possible.

Hot on the heels of a terrific race weekend at beautiful Mont Tremblant comes the Kohler international Challenge with Brian Redman at Road America. Since different cars were going to each race, truck driver extraordinaire Harvey Thompson had to drive back to VRS on Monday and leave for Wisconsin at o’dark thirty the following morning, arriving at 10AM Wednesday. The KIC is a favorite of many drivers and one sees rare and special cars that seldom appear anywhere else. This is a big spectator event and this year the stands and paddock were filled with race fans who were not disappointed.

Our driver lineup for the weekend consisted of:

• Mark Simpson driving his beautiful 1958 Scarab reproduction
• Jim Lenehan and his Swift DB2 and Datsun 240Z
• Mayo Smith and his Porsche 911RS
• Brian and Larry sharing track time in the VRS Swift DB2

The weekend started on a very sad note. Ed Jenson, Group 6 Camaro driver and brother of SVRA Competition Director Carl Jensen died suddenly Thursday morning. Ed was a true gentleman and was well liked and respected by all who knew him. Only last October, Ed was named 2009 SVRA Driver of the Year, an honor that he was most proud of. All of us at VRS extend our sympathy to Ed’s wife, Suzette and to his family.

Thursday practice got off to a good start with Mayo back in to saddle again and going well in the Porsche 911. Mark’s Scarab looked and sounded great until an engine problem sidelined it for the weekend late Thursday afternoon. Having previously raced a Lola S2000, Mark jumped into the VRS Swift and felt right at home.

The race gods were not quite done yet on Friday as Jim’s Swift suffered (as Chrysler Corporation used to put it) a thermal event at the start of Friday afternoon practice. Fortunately, Jim got out quickly and was unscathed but the Swift looked a bit scorched. Further examination revealed that it looked worse than it actually was but not repairable for the weekend. Jim jumped to his other car, the Datsun 240Z, for the remainder of the weekend.

All went according to plan on Saturday. The cars ran perfectly and the drivers did as well. Mayo ran a good qualifying race to finish 2^nd in Group 8 and Jim was 24^th in a huge field of over 60 cars. Sunday’s Group 8 race was terrific as Mayo moved up to 1^st at the start and held off the field for a well deserved win. Good job! Jim also ran well moving up eight places to finish 16^th overall. This was just not going to be Mark’s weekend. After waiting all day for his 3PM Group 7 race, Mark drove out to the false grid just in time for the skies to open up with a deluge that filled the poor Swift up like a bathtub. Mark, being Mark, took it all in stride.

So long to the KIC for another year. We’ll be back to enjoy one of the world’s great road courses once again. Now it’s off to Lime Rock Park for the Fall Festival with Watkins Glen close behind. It’s hard to believe that the season is half over.

Joie de vivre et Joie de speed:  Legends Mont Tremblant 2010

Joie de vivre it was…all created by wonderfully welcoming Quebec, superb weather, a legendary racetrack second to none and, most importantly, our hosts Bobby Rahal, Zak Brown, and Peter Stoneberg’s Legends of Motorsports organization.  Together they created an event savored by racers and spectators alike with a relaxed, “we’re here for the fun of it all too” flavor complimenting the excitement.

Track time aplenty, good historic motorsports competition with an on target level of stewardship and safety were hallmarks of our weekend.   Any driver running every session over the event’s four days had all the track time they wanted and a car in need of post event service.  A hot and sunny Thursday practice provided opportunities for sorting both car and driver prior to commencement of the actual Legends event.  Friday’s sessions were foreshortened by a bit of rain ahead of a very welcome cool front which arrived Friday evening This set the stage perfectly for Saturday and Sunday as weather perfection ensued erasing Legend’s racers memories of a rain and fog soaked Watkins Glen weekend just one month prior.   Though track incidents were few and far between, seeing one of the exceptional group of F-1 cars on a flatbed headed out of the track Saturday afternoon caused some concern.   Concern was soon allayed seeing the very same machine on a pedestal in front of Mont Tremblant’s Fairmont hotel heralding the Legends party therein.  Great décor and great party.   Most importantly, thanks for all the generous hospitality.

So, how did the racers under the VRS tent do?  Very nicely.  First and foremost, we all had a great time.  The racing was good and we would encourage attendance by more in the vintage racing community.  It was a respectable field of entrants,  but a few more cars would make the collective experience all the better.  Yes, we know it’s year one for the organization but a bit of encouragement cannot hurt. Our “guys”:

• Bob Newman & historic 1974 Porsche RSR ended the his race 2nd in the IMSA GTA class & 2nd OA
• Peter Stoneberg  & 72 Porsche RSR  managed an exceptionally close 4th in class and 4th OA
• Larry Neviaser & Ginetta G16 qualified 3rd , head gasket failure in Saturday’s race.
• Richard Kresch & Royale RP4/Lotus ran well all weekend.  Sunday flight time precluded his race.
• Kent Bain, the VRS anchor ended 3rd in class and 3rd OA in the VRS 914/6 Porsche ….after a great back and forth with Peter.

As usual, VRS manager, Brian Rechtiene and Harvey Thompson did a superb job of looking after the cars and keeping everyone on track and competitive.

Thank you Le Circuit Mont Tremlant and thank you to our hosts, The Legends of Motorsports crew and organization. Together they created an event we’ll all remember fondly. We all look forward to the re-run come 2011. Race on!!