Road America

Bob Bondurant Drives a Scarab at Road America
The Kohler International Challenge at Road America…with Brian Redman as inspiration and host….. what could be better?

The trip from Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada to Road America just outside of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin was uneventfully for truck driver extrodinaire, and prodigiously skilled and experienced trackside tech Harvey Thompson. The Kenworth just purred, weather and road conditions cooperated such that HT had the VRS semi trackside mid day on Wednesday. The second half of this great mid-summer double header was set to unfold.

Brian, daughter Sarah, and Larry flew in from Connecticut while I hitched a ride with Mark Simpson in his very cool and clever Piaggio aircraft such that come Wednesday night all was set up and ready to go for Thursday practice. With regular chef Jim Stacy not available for the weekend, Sarah Rechtiene enthusiastically took over the cooking duties to everyone’s delight. Well done, Sarah…you’re hired!

Set to contest their various classes in SVRA’s 2009 Brian Redman International Challenge are 5 double header cars and 4 drivers fresh from Tremblant. Mayo, Mark, Kent and Larry in particular….but wait, there’s a ringer under the tent. None other than Bob Bondurant has joined us to put Mark’s Scarab to the test and try some vintage racing being just a bit vintage himself. What a terrific guy, what a great driver, and what fun it was to share this vintage weekend with Bob. A truly great professional driver of our favorite motor racing era who has done so much to educate so many of us on the finer points of racing, Bob went well and did a great job sorting a car that really needed more brakes.

Come race day VRS placed 3 cars in the top 10 of the 50 car plus SVRA group 8 field. Drivers Smith (2nd OA), Bain (4th OA) and Simpson (7th OA) did the honors not to mention the driving. Technicians Brian Rechtiene & Harvey Thompson saw to the equipment to be sure it happened. Great job by all and especially Mayo keeping that heavy 911 up there among those two Pesky 914 sixes!! Bob Bondurant took the Scarab out on cue, and with his usual style. Bob took the lead until those overworked binders made him slow down. Road America is a track of power and speed. The speed was there but the binders were not. Bob knows that discretion is the better part of valor and pulled off to let the others have a go. Precluding the possibility of anything untoward happening when using someone else’s car, whose brakes are wonky, is the sort of logic that prevails in vintage racing, making the activity all the more fun and safe. He has a great approach and let all know that the weekend had been great fun. He enjoyed the experience seeing so many old friends, both cars and drivers, though his autograph arm did indeed get sore. Bob’s race run, Larry went to work in his rapid Ginetta/BMW only to find that the pesky ignition based misfire he noted in Saturday’s qualifier returned mid race. Larry, as had Bob, got out of the way so others could have at it. His race was run with the fun and frolic of the weekend just a bit diminished.

Another great, safe and speedy weekend for the VRS crew. Thanks go to all at Road America who make it happen with a big, grateful nod to Brain Redman, Carl Jensen and the SVRA. Well done………as usual.