High Speed Auto Show : GT Weekend at Riverside Raceway Features the Latest in Exotic Machinery
Sitting in on an International Motor Sports Assn. Camel GT weekend is like being at a moving auto show.
All of the latest exotic machinery from Europe--turbocharged Porsches, Jaguars, Lolas, Marches, Albas and BMWs--is here. From Japan there are Nissans, Toyotas and Mazdas. America is represented by Ford, Chevrolet, Buick and Pontiac.
Few of the cars on display, though, bear much resemblance to the cars you can buy from your neighborhood dealer.
And, as at the better auto shows, there are one-of-a-kind cars here for the Times/Nissan Grand Prix of Endurance. Their first race will be 600 kilometers--or as far as they can go--Sunday at Riverside International Raceway. It is race No. 5 in the 18-race IMSA series, but it is their first.
Don Devendorf, one of the winningest drivers in IMSA history, has a Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo, a car wedding a modified V-6 turbocharged Nissan engine with a chassis constructed by Eric Broadley at his Lola factory in England. It is so new that it will turn a wheel for the first time today.
Dan Gurney will unveil a turbocharged Toyota Celica in the GTO division of Sunday’s program. Dennis Aase of Orange and Rocky Moran of Pasadena will drive the car, a modified version of last year’s GTU car but with a new power plant. It is powered by Toyota’s 2.1-liter turbo engine, which has been developed for use in world rally competition.
Jim Trueman, owner of the Mid-Ohio race track, is unveiling a Ford Alba powered by a 3.9-liter turbocharged Cosworth engine similar to those used in Formula One. An Alba is a made-for-racing model from Italy. Another Cosworth-powered Alba will be driven by veteran Gianpiero Moretti of Italy.
A Pontiac Fiero, with a 2.7-liter engine, will make its debut in the hands of two Northern California drivers, Bob Earl of Novato and Dominic Dobson of San Anselmo. The car, owned by Joe Huffaker, will compete in the GTU (under 3.5-liter engine size) division.
Devendorf’s new all-black Nissan, with an electronically computerized engine developed at the Electramotive Engineering firm in El Segundo, made a brief appearance Thursday but did not get on the track.
“The chassis didn’t arrive from England until last Friday, and we’ve been doing all the wiring and plumbing and final fitting of the engine to the bodywork,” Devendorf said. “We’ll turn the engine over Friday and get 2 1/2 hours of running to sort things out.”
Qualifying will start today at 3:15 p.m. for the two spots in the front row of Sunday’s race. The rest of the field will be determined Saturday.
“I’m not looking for one of those front two spots,” Devendorf said with a smile. “We’ll just use that time to get in some laps.”
Al Holbert, in a Porsche 962, and John Paul Jr., in a Buick-powered March, are the favorites for the pole. Paul has won two poles and Holbert one this season.
Devendorf, in making his first start in the top-of-the-line GTP class, is seeking to become the first driver to win championships in four categories of IMSA racing. He won in the Champion Spark Plug RS class in 1977, the GTU in 1979 and GTO in 1982--all in Datsuns. Only one other driver, Roger Mandeville of Spartanburg, S.C., has won those three.
Devendorf is also fourth in total IMSA wins with 22, trailing only the late Peter Gregg, Holbert and Hurley Haywood.
“I never set out to arrive at this point,” said Devendorf, a Hughes Aircraft electronics engineer who won five Sports Car Club of America championships before moving into professional racing. “I believe in setting short-term goals that are achievable and go on from there. Where we are today is a natural progression.”
The Nissan GTP program has taken more than a year since the decision was made to create a car capable of competing with the 230-m.p.h. Porsche 962s and the new March and Lola creations.
“Our original concept was to design our own car, as well as develop our own engine, but the more we looked at designs, the more we decided a Lola had the capability of matching the new turbocharged Nissan engine,” Devendorf said.
“We approached Eric Broadley about it, and he agreed to create an all-new car. It isn’t a Lola because the design encompasses a number of our own ideas related to the cooling system. A turbocharged engine in such a small package creates an unbelievable amount of heat and keeping it as cool as possible is of the utmost importance.”
The chassis incorporates the latest in high-tech space-age material. The body is made from carbon fiber, Kevlar composite and aluminum honeycomb.
Tony Adamowicz of Culver City, a former Formula 5000 champion, will be Devendorf’s teammate.
“Our main hope is to finish,” Devendorf said. “We have a whole series of new ideas incorporated in this package, any one of which could jump up and bite us. I am confident we will ultimately have them all sorted out, but for a start, I’ll settle for 600 kilometers of running. That would give us a fine insight into the future.”
Gurney’s Toyota Celica is one of last year’s GTU cars updated in the All-American Racers’ garage in Santa Ana.
“It is basically the same body but with a new front half of the chassis,” Gurney said. “We decided to move up to GTO with an idea toward getting into GTP next year or the year after. The larger engine is putting out 75 to 100 more horsepower than the GTU engine so we should be competitive.”
