51 Cars Entered in Times Enduro
Fifty-one of the fastest and most exotic sports cars in the world, including 23 Camel GT prototypes such as Marches, Lolas, Porsche 962s, Jaguar XJR-5s and a new Nissan ZX-turbo, have been entered in the L.A. Times/Nissan Grand Prix of Endurance April 26-28 at Riverside International Raceway.
The 600-kilometer race--115 laps around Riverside’s 3.25-mile road course--is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Assn. This is the first year for the 600-kilometer distance. For the last four years it has been a six-hour event.
Al Holbert of Warrington, Pa., and Al Unser Jr., of Albuquerque, N.M., who finished second together in both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Sebring 12-hour race, will be favored in Holbert’s Porsche 962.
Unser is a late replacement for Derek Bell, who is Holbert’s regular driving partner. Bell, who also drove with Holbert and Unser at Daytona and Sebring, will be in Europe contesting the World Endurance championships.
Holbert and Bell finished second at Riverside last year and are first and second in the Camel GT standings with a win in the Miami Grand Prix and the two seconds.
Holbert has finished second four times at Riverside, including last year when a slow driver change cost him and Bell the race. Holbert is IMSA’s leading active driver with 32 wins, and also is director of Porsche’s competition program in the United States.
Unser made his Indianapolis car debut at Riverside in 1982 and later in that year lost a close Can-Am race to Holbert at Riverside. A week later Unser turned the tables on Holbert at Laguna Seca to win the Can-Am title.
“I was impressed with Little Al from the first time I raced against him, and when I needed a driver for my Porsche this year, I didn’t hesitate in calling him,” Holbert said.
Last year’s winners, Randy Lanier and Bill Whittington of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., are skipping this year’s race to concentrate on their Indianapolis 500 program. Lanier is also the defending series champion.
Two Jaguars, one driven by Brian Redman and Hurley Haywood of Jacksonville, Fla., and the other by Bob Tullius of Winchester, Va., and Chip Robinson of Far Hills, N.J., finished first and second in last Sunday’s Atlanta 500-kilometer race and both will be at Riverside. Haywood, with 31 IMSA victories, is only one behind Holbert. The all-time leader is the late Peter Gregg with 47.
Two Buick-powered Marches have been entered by Phil Conte of Paramount. One, driven by John Paul Jr. of West Palm Beach, Fla., and Bill Adam of Canada, was the fastest qualifier at both Daytona and Miami. The other will be driven by Whitney Ganz of Laguna Niguel and Ray McIntyre of Calabasas.
The Porsche 962s, which had won four straight Camel GT races until last Sunday’s loss at Atlanta, will have potent driving teams of Jim Busby-Rick Knoop of Laguna Beach, Pete Halsmer of Anaheim and John Morton of El Segundo, and David Hobbs of England and Bruce Leven of Redmond, Wash., as well as the Holbert-Unser team.
The turbocharged Nissan, driven by Don Devendorf of El Segundo and Tony Adamowicz of Culver City, will make its debut at Riverside.
The car was developed by Lola Cars, Ltd., of England, with Lola’s Eric Broadley and Devendorf, an aeronautical engineer, working together on the design. It features a modified V-6 turbocharged engine and the body is based on Nissan’s 300ZX passenger car.
Devendorf, who is one of only two drivers to win three different IMSA championships, GTO, GTU and Champion Spark Plug Challenge, will be going for his fourth in the top-of-the-line GTP class.
Also part of The Times/Nissan Grand Prix Sunday will be a Renault Alliance Cup race of 60 kilometers, and a Champion Spark Plug Challenge race of 100 kilometers for front-wheel-drive small stock cars using radial tires.
SPRINT CARS--Arizona’s Ron Shuman, five-time winner of Ascot Park’s Turkey Night midget race, will return to his favorite California track Saturday night for a Kraco-CRA main event. Shuman, although he does most of his racing on the World of Outlaws circuit, has 21 CRA wins and three Pacific Coast Nationals at Ascot. Facing Shuman will be track champions Bubby Jones and Dean Thompson, and the CRA’s hottest new driver, Brad Noffsinger, who won last week to extend his track lead.
POWERBOATS--Professional drag boats return to Irvine Lake in Orange County this weekend for the Coors Championships, opening event of the National Drag Boat Assn. season. The NDBA has pruned its format from the 17 classes last year to eight this season, focusing only on the fastest boats. Perennial winner Eddie Hill, who had a serious accident last October at Firebird Lake near Phoenix, has retired, leaving the field open in the blown fuel hydro class. Entries are expected from Dexter Tuttle of Rialto, Tim Morgan of Walnut Creek, Bill Todd of Auburn and Paul Allen of Fresno. Racing will begin each day at 9 a.m. . . . Former United States and world offshore racing champion Betty Cook of Costa Mesa and her throttleman, John Connor, have been honored by Heuer Electronics for their long-time contributions to offshore racing.
STOCK CARS--Jim Thirkettle and Billy Scott, winners of Mesa Marin’s first two races, and two-time runnerup Gary Collins, headline entries for Saturday night’s $19,000 40-lap open competition main event at the Bakersfield oval. . . . Pro stocks and bomber Figure 8s will race Sunday night at Ascot Park in the Curb Motorsports Winston Racing Series. . . . Track champion Ken Sapper will shoot for his third straight win at Saugus Stadium in Saturday night’s modified main event. Claimer stocks are running tonight at Saugus. . . . Bakersfield Speedway, in Oildale, will open its 1985 season Saturday night with the Spring Stock Car Invitational for pro-modifieds and street stocks.
SPEEDWAY CYCLES--California State champion Bobby Schwartz won the British League’s coveted Golden Helmet in a four-lap match race against world champion Erik Gunderssen last week in England and will be coming to Southern California for five appearances next week, Tuesday night at Ventura, Wednesday night at San Bernardino, Thursday night at Ascot Park, Friday night at Costa Mesa and Saturday at Carlsbad. . . . The new Carlsbad track will open Sunday. . . .U. S. champion Kelly Moran is having his problems making the field at Costa Mesa, but at Ventura he won his fourth straight scratch main event Tuesday night. Sam Ermolenko, with his sixth win in seven starts Wednesday night, is the hot rider at San Bernardino’s Inland Speedway.
TRUCK PULL--The father and son team of Bud and Steve Jaske of Golden Lake, Wis., will be seeking their third national truck-pulling championship when they compete in the Meister Brau U.S. Hot Rod competition this weekend in the Sports Arena. It is the opening event of the season. Their truck, the Golden Ox, will be driven by Bud, 47. Steve will drive a 4,000 horsepower modified tractor, the Blazing Bison, in the tractor class. Competition is set for 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
POTPOURRI--The 16th annual Antique Nationals, put on by the Four Ever Four Cylinder Club, are set for Sunday at L.A. County Raceway in Palmdale. Gates will open at 9 a.m. . . . The CMC will hold its weekly motocross program tonight at Ascot Park.
