10 replies to this topic

[island]

Hi!
Did members of this board attend the Can-Am
&F5000 races there in the 70s?

[Dennis David]

No but I did attend the same at Laguna Seca.

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Regards,

Dennis David
Grand Prix History

Life is racing, the rest is waiting

[Art]

No.

But I attended the first two races ever held there.

Art

[luisfelipetrigo]

I DID in 1973 !!!

I was at Riverside when Mark Donahue won on the super Porsche 917/30, blue and yellow with Sunoco sponsorship.

This was also the year and site for the first ever IROC race; ran in Porsche 911s... also won by Mark.

I was sitting in turn six, one of the most exciting views with cars going through a series of s-bends with lots of dirt on the sides ... it just took one driver to loose the car and a cloud of dust would make it really tricky for those behind.

I had seen Peter Revson at Monza the previous year and was really rooting for him, I do not recall how well (or bad) he did, I seem to recall Jody Schekter was there driving car number 0. I am not sure if Jackie Stewart was there in the L&M Lola.

On one of the supporting races, Formula Ford, there where two Mexicans: Freddy Van Beuren (his son is now racing in Mexico) and Hector Rebaque (who made it to F1 years later).

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Saludos
Luis Felipe


[This message has been edited by luisfelipetrigo (edited 04-13-2000).]

[Ray Bell]

That was before you needed the nurse, right, Art?
Come on, tell us about it - was it SCCA, MGAs and bug-eye Sprites, or what was running? Riverside opened in 1959, didn't it? So there would have been Hill and Gurney and possibly Shelby in some potent sports cars?

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Life and love are mixed with pain...

[Art]

Ray Me Boy.

Races were run by the Calafornis Sports Car Club. I also sat in the top of the bleachers in turn six. Gurney,Hill,Shelby,Ginther, Gregory,Rodriguez both,Pinske,Fitch,McQueen,and many I can't remember. The esses dropped off into a valley no guard rails or anything. Shelby destroyed a 4.5 Maseratti and a driver in front of us was killed fliping a car after hitting the bank. That was when Riverside was a real race track.

Art

[Don Capps]

Ray, it opened in mid-1957 if I recall. Its first Big Race was the USAC race in the Fall of 1958 that Chuck Daigh won in the Scarab. I saw races there in the 60's and the 70's and even into the 80's when NASCAR was about the biggest turnout the track saw in those days.

I managed the 65 Fall race and the 67 Can-Am as two I really remember. As Art said, it was an unforgiving place at times.

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Yr fthfl & hmbl srvnt,

Don Capps

Semper Gumbi: If this was easy, we’d have the solution already…

[Art]

Don.

What year did Gurney go with Ferrari? On saturday he drove a Triumph and Sunday I believe he drove Frank Arcierros 4.9 Ferrari?
And shortly there after he drove for the Ferrari factory team.

Art

[island]

Hi luisfelipetrigo,
Pete Lyons writes in his Can-Am book that the
1973 Riverside Can-Am was a "dismal procession" behind Donohue. Scheckter and
Follmer must have damaged their 917/10s by
clipping tire turn markers. Only real fight
was between Kemp`s 917/10 and Oliver`s
Shadow (there is a picture in the book).
Do you remember that?
Redman`s 917/10 had a suspension collapse
in practice and another one in the race, Ted
West tells in his Redman story in "Vintage
Motorsport" 2000/3. Both happened at 200 mph!
Interestingly, Redman discovered later that
beneath the 917/10`s bodywork was the tub
and suspension of Siffert`s 1969 917PA,
the VM continues...

[Eagle104]

Art: Gurney started with Ferrari F1 at Reims in '59.

[Art]

Eagle104.

You are a broadcast Engineer. Could the Spectrum Analizer of been used as I mentioned in the post on traction controle? I have an Amateur Extra License-NX3L but am inactive at the present time.

Art