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!!

SVRA VIR Race Report
June 2010

Hot! Hot! Hot!  That was the forecast and that, indeed, was the weather at Virginia International Raceway for the 2010 SVRA Gold Cup Races.  But the storms and rain held off (for the most part) and sunny skies prevailed for some excellent racing.

SVRA seems to have the right formula for racing and fun as they attracted over 200 entries for the Gold Cup while other organizations are struggling to fill the grids.  Much can be attributed to Carl, Jack, Bob and the rest of the SVRA staff as they have the right attitude and the right approach to make the weekend safe and enjoyable for everyone.

Thursday’s test day got underway with Ben Sinnott and his Beach sports racer wisely learning the track by attending Peter Krause’s track orientation program.  Particularly at a complex circuit like VIR, this program gets a driver up to speed and comfortable much faster than the trial and error method.  Combine this with Peter’s track walk (more on this later) and you’re sure to go quickly right out of the box.  Dave Gussack and his quick Porsche 914/6 had been to VIR previously so Dave got right down to business working out the finer points of trimming his lap times.  VRS crew for the weekend consisted of Tim Ritchie, senior race mechanic, Harvey Thompson, race mechanic, truck driver, chef and giver of sage advice, and me with my Ginetta G16.

Serious qualifying sessions got underway on Friday as well as both Enduros.  In qualifying for the day, Ben posted the third fastest time in Group 1 and Dave was in the top ten of a large Group 8.  Every session saw our VRS racers moving up the field.  Right after lunch was the start of Enduro number 1 for smaller bore production cars and both Dave and Ben took the green flag for an hour of hard racing including one five minute pit stop.  At the finish, it was Dave holding down third place after an excellent drive.  Unfortunately, Ben stopped with a minor electrical gremlin shortly before the end of the race.  Not to worry, as Tim (electrical guru) had it solved before the next track session.  The second Enduro of the day for faster cars started under dark, glowering skies.  At the green flag, a line of Indy Lites cars followed by yours truly in the G16 wound our way around, up the esses and smack into a rain storm.  Out came the pace car and one by one the big formula cars (on slicks) peeled off into the pits leaving me in the lead!  Towards the end of the hour, the Lites cars, now on rains (except for ironman Travis Engen who toughed it out on dry tires for the whole race) got back by.  It was especially enjoyable as half the circuit was dry and half was soaked creating a very challenging race.  The Ginetta finished 6^th.

Saturday’s results were very impressive.  Rookie Ben took control of the qualifying race and won, guaranteeing pole position for the feature on Sunday.  Porsche driver, Dave Gussack, started on pole and finished second (although with the fastest lap time) for a great finish to the day.  VIR is the home of Dave Handy’s Sasco Sports.  Since the tragic passing of his son Ryan a few years ago, Dave has sponsored The Ryan Handy Memorial One Lap, a walking lap of VIR with instructor, Peter Krause.  As in previous track walks, Peter’s encyclopedic knowledge of practically every square inch of the track is incredible and gives those drivers who walk and pay attention a great advantage in constructing a fast lap.  Ben, Tim and I (Ben taking notes like crazy) walked the track.  It’s a great learning experience and it’s for a good cause.

Finally, Sunday of the long, hot weekend arrived with everybody ready to race but a little worn out from the oppressive heat.  Dave, clearly the smartest of us all, purchased a cool suit at Summit Point last month and remained cool and comfortable throughout while the rest of us cooked in our cars like baked potatos.  First out was the G16 in Group 5 to finish 6^th behind a couple of Group 6 ground pounders (slow in the corners but blast down the straights), a couple of Lola T70s and a Ford GT40.  Next up was Dave on the pole in a very competitive Group 8.  Working hard, Dave tried valiantly to hold off two MGB-GT V8s, but their superior horsepower was too much on VIR’s long straights.  The 914 finished a solid 6^th after a good effort on Dave’s part.

Last race of the day was Group 1 with our man, Ben Sinnott, on the pole in only his second race weekend.  A tough battle ensued with Fast Freddie Danovitz grabbing the lead from third spot only to throw it away with a spin at Nascar Corner.  Ben, who had dropped back to fifth, managed to work his way back up to second and execute a superb pass coming into into Oak Tree to take the lead and ultimately the win on the last lap.  Well done!  This was the perfect end to a great race weekend and our thanks to Dave and Ben for upholding the VRS honor.  Off to Mid Ohio in two weeks…see you then.

Larry Neviaser

Jefferson 500, Summit Point Raceway
April 29 – May 2, 2010

For the first time in recent memory, the Jefferson 500 was held under dry and sunny skies. Perhaps this was in honor of track owner Bill Scott, who died in December. Bill surely would have appreciated the great conditions for the race he and Brian Redman started 18 years ago. Beautiful, although a bit warm, weather prevailed throughout the weekend. VRG wisely condensed Sunday’s schedule to avoid predicted afternoon thunderstorms and all races were held under dry conditions.

The VRS paddock was, as usual, perfectly prepared and ready to go thanks to Brian, Tim, Harvey, and John. With the weather well under control, VRS drivers Richard Kresch in his Lola S2000, Dave Gussack in his Porsche 914/6, Josh Lewis in a classic Lola S2000 and Ben Sinnott in his newly acquired Beach sportsracer were ready for some serious track time and close racing. Also driving were VRS manager/partner, Brian Rechtiene in his GRD Formula B and Larry Neviaser, ARI/VRS partner, in his Ginetta G16. On hand to provide a woman’s touch in the paddock and, far more attractive than the rest of the VRS contingent, was Richard’s lovely wife, Jane.

Thursday test day got underway with Ben and Dave taking advantage of the services of professional driving coach (and S2000 driver extrordinaire) Peter Krause. Everyone enjoyed plenty of test time on Summit Point’s repaved (but less grippy) surface. Unfortunately, Thursday claimed two casualties, the G16 with input shaft problems and Ben’s Beach, with a distributor drive gear failure. The good news is that VRS was well prepared and had our Swift DB2 S2000 ready for just such an eventuality. With a little convincing, Ben jumped into the Swift and quickly felt right at home.

The Jefferson 500 is known for enduros and on Friday the first hour of the Brian Redman Enduro included all of the VRS drivers. At the finish, it was Josh in the lead, Richard in 4^th and rookie Ben in 7^th. Dave, who was going very well in his Porsche, had jet lag from his recent trip to China combined with the high temperatures sneak up and whack him causing some discomfort in the car. He wisely retired halfway through the race. Earlier on Friday, our own Brian Rechtiene, driving his beautifully prepared GRD won from pole in the Phil Hill Cup race for single seat race cars. Friday concluded with the VRS dinner at the Battletown Inn in Berryville. Good food, good drink, good friends and great stories combined to make it a fun evening then off to bed to be ready to race again the next day.

Practice, qualifying and the second hour of the Enduro were on the schedule for Saturday. The cars were gridded up in their finishing order from the day before with VRS man Josh Lewis on the pole. Ben, being a gracious gentleman, kindly offered rideless Larry the drive in the Swift. At the conclusion of the two hours, Josh took the win, Richard was 4^th, and Ben and Larry were 6^th. A great showing for the VRS team.

Dave was back in the saddle again on Sunday morning, having gotten his internal clock working again. Although lack of a qualifying time forced Dave to start from the back of the grid, he quickly moved up to 2^nd in the Eifel Cup race for Porsches. A battle then ensued with a well driven 911. Dave ultimately finished in 3^rd after an excellent drive. Next up was an all Sports 2000 race. A registration mix-up caused our guys to start toward the back, nevertheless, our man Josh charged up the inside into Turn 1, passing several cars. Clean pass completed, he was hit from the left as another car turned into him, knocking him out of the race. Richard had to drop out after having second gear decide it no longer wished to participate. Ben soldiered on to finish a creditable 6^th.

By anyone’s standards, this was a terrific race weekend. The weather was perfect, our drivers drove exceptionally well and excellent results were had by all. Special recognition must go to Ben Sinnott whose very first race weekend was a huge success. Ben’s great attitude and approach as well as obvious talent were a pleasure to observe. Well done Ben.

(Click first image above left for enlarged slide show & captions.)

The weather could not have been better. A somewhat muggy Thursday practice, then overnight showers preceded three straight sunny days of temps in the 70’s and great racing. SVRA’s Savannah season opener is always a good one and 2010 did not let this tradition down. Bob Williams and Jack Woehrle were up to their usual entertaining tricks with a LeMans start for Friday’s 2 hour Enduro. Everyone else on the SVRA team did their usual gracious and professional job of seeing to it that the racers enjoyed good sport and good times.

Despite lap time differences of over 30 seconds between the slowest and fastest Enduro cars, 25 entrants saw Friday’s full two hour “Dixie 200” Enduro come off without a single yellow flag lap. VRS drivers Dave Gussack (Porsche 914/6) Jim Lenehan (Datsun 240Z) finished well with a First in Class for each car. Both Brian and I got a turn behind the respective wheels as enduro co-drivers; much appreciated good fun and many thanks to Dave and Jim.

Also under the VRS tent for the weekend was Jim Lenehan’s Swift DB2, Brian’s GRD/Lotus Formula B, my Porsche 914/6 and the VRS rental Swift S2000. We always do our best to bring a spare rental race car to aid any of our guys should a mishap or other “bad car weekend” glitch develop. No need this time, everything worked perfectly, podiums on Sunday’s races materialized along with bags of track time. It all served to get drivers skills well exercised and honed to near perfection on Roebling Road’s tenacious tarmac. Our only regret is the size of the entry. It should have been bigger than the 100 or so cars that participated. SVRA does a great job and this is an event worth finding one’s way to. Come 2011 let’s all do our part. We encourage all to put it on their calendars and come to SVRA Roebling Road event next year, you will be glad you did.

Friday, March 12th from about 3:30 till…. the wee hours and WHAT A PARTY IT WAS!  We did something new for the annual VRS bash to celebrate all of our on track acts and a “achievements” in 2009.  THE PARTY STARTED WITH SOME REAL RACING!!!

Thanks to our friends at Grand Prix New York and Larry’s uncanny ability to liberate just the right amount of cash to cover, we all enjoyed loads of fast laps in their entertaining, if not a tad diminutive vehicles.   It really was good fun to have a track to ourselves to mix it up a bit and prove, at long last, that racing does in fact pay!  Sure, we all know about its enthralling entertainment value and adrenaline spikes aplenty, but the VRS event at GPNY paid real dollars.   Brian found the dough somewhere so we handed it out attached to very sophisticated GRADE 8 gold cad plated bolts.  Long after the cash is gone these on desk card, letter or note holders will serve the winners well.

Practice, an under attended ladies race (shame shame girls!!), then we split up into 10 two man teams for our half hour enduro… Whew…this is hard work, but good fun!!  Victory went to Brian Rechtiene and Josh Lewis with John Bubela and John Treshor a close second and Ben Sinott and Tim Ritchie almost by, but needing one more lap to finish better than 3rd.  The VRS Grand Prix finished the event with the smooth, steady and always on track Richard Kresch taking first, our own Brian Rechtiene taking his money back with a 2nd, and Ben once again besting 9 other racers to take 3rd.  Great time indeed and thanks to all who snuck out of work a bit early to attend the trackside activities and managed to get cleaned up and to the festivities afterward.

Racing requires energy and our hosts Richard and Jane Kresch gracefully came to the rescue as they have a number of times in the past.  We all left GPNY in Mt Kisco, NY on the Rally d’Kresch finding ourselves at their home in the north end of Greenwich, CT a short while later.  Painkillers of all descriptions started our evening in style.  Thereafter all were treated to a simply superb dinner followed by the annual “awards” ceremony for which anything untoward that occurs to anyone of us trackside is fair game.  Fun indeed, huge thanks to our hosts and all of those VRS stalwarts who shared their time and tales with us all on this evening in March 2010.  Photos will be posted soon.

West Palm Beach, Florida, was the scene Feb 5-7 of three days of track time and Brian’s annual dinner.  It was a great chance to get away from the winter snow and cold, and to start getting our favorite race cars warmed up for the 2010 vintage racing season.

Mayo enthusiastically exits Turn 2!!!

VRS Right Paddock

Murray Smith driving the magnificent Mercedes W154

Life's a Beach when you're Richard Kresch

Club Sport Porsche race with Kent Bain (20) and Mayo Smith (10)

Lime Rock 2009

 The Lime Rock Vintage Fall Festival has always been a highlight of our racing season.  As a cornerstone of large scale vintage events, the Fall Festival has, for years, been the standard by which other vintage racing events were measured.  Unfortunately, the last few years have not been kind to the festival with a declining entry and crowds thinning a bit.  Well, this year, things have indeed changed.  Despite a discouraging economic climate, the Fall Festival’s new director, Murray Smith, artfully recreated both the fun and the feeling this event has engendered in years past.  The cars were back, the crowds were back, the racing was great, and even the weather cooperated with four beautiful Connecticut Fall days in a row.  The Festival was all it used to be and more. 

 For our part, Vintage Racing Services had a wonderful collection of race cars (not to mention race drivers) under our tent.  Representing VRS:

 Tom Brown and his rapid, persistent and oft times rewarding 2 liter Datsun 510

Josh Lewis in his lithe and lovely Lola T590 S2000 Sports Racer

Richard Kresch in his perfectly piloted Beach/Abarth and Royale Lotus  sports racers

Mayo Smith and his hard driven, hard workin’ and rapid 2.7 liter Porsche 911

Larry Neviaser complete with his quick Ginetta G16/BMW sports racer

Yours truly, Kent Bain and his raucous but reliable Porsche 914-6

What a weekend.  There was track time aplenty with a varied race format over the weekend to allow the racers a variety of race experiences.  VRS cars & drivers found the podium from time to time, but the real reward for all attending was simply the joy and excitement of seeing this event reestablish itself as one of the highlights of our season.  Ah yes, one more thing: adding to all the high speed track activity was Sunday in the Park, an on-track concours that saw over 700 cars exhibited the full way round the circuit (more on this at www.automotiverestorations.com & www.limerock.com ). The photos tell the story.  NO fuss, no bother, just good racing and great fun with some of the finest vehicular machinery to be found anywhere.  WELL DONE!!! And a huge thank you to Murray, Skip Barber and all who made it work so well in 2009.  Long live the Lime Rock Vintage Fall Festival.

Host Dave Gussack and Harvey Siegel

Harvey and son, Luke

Kent trying out the complex Monticello track

Luke in the Porsche 944

Richard Kresch's racy Royale

So, Dave’s idea…gift is actually more appropriate:  Let’s get the VRS racers who can find the time together on one Saturday to tear up some tarmac, Monticello style.  It’s on me, it’s my treat and the more the merrier.   Our VRS racers lead busy lives and getting a date that all can come agree on is a virtual impossibility.  This group works and plays hard enjoying all the activity offers and each other’s company whenever we can get a race weekend together.  This was a day on the relaxed, posh and elegant side of the spectrum in fine form.  It was a treat indeed.  Despite busy schedules we did manage to fill one semi and a tag along with racing cars.  On track were Kent in his trusty Porsche 914-6, Dave in his Porsche 914-6 and his Ford GT 40 (second edition), Luke Siegel in a Porsche 944, Harvey Siegel with his trusty Elva Courier, Larry Neviaser in his Ginetta/BMW G-16, Richard Kresch and the rapid Royale RP4/Lotus and Brain Rechtiene in a GRD F2 car. 

All went well, lunch at the club house was great and we all had a terrific low hassle day with all the track time anyone could want.  Thank you Dave, thank you Monticello and thanks to VRs truck driver extrodinaire, Harvey Thompson for getting it all there right on time as always.  If you can find the time not to mention the opportunity…get to Monticello and have some good clean hassle free fun.