24 January 2017 • Victory Lane

VRG at the Glen Watkins Glen International, N.Y.October 7-9, 2016

Victory Lane • January 2017 25www.victorylane.com

#101 Donald Denomme, 1980 Van Diemen, leads a pack of Group 2 cars at Watkins Glen International.

26 January 2017 • Victory Lane

– story and photos by Terry Johnsen

Driving through the Finger Lakes region of New York in autumn is always a feast for the senses. The beautiful countryside, the vibrant colors, and the crisp bite in the air all converge to create a unique and unforgettable

experience. Memories of autumn days gone by also shape and identify this time of year in the Village of Watkins Glen, beginning with the original Grand Prix that raced through the streets in 1948. Years later, the current location of Watkins Glen International hosted the Formula One circuit from 1961-1980.

So, on the weekend of October 7-9, Vintage Racer Group visited again for their VRG at The Glen. Watkins Glen has it all. Known as being a driver’s track, the added variable of changing weather conditions in early October combined to make this not only a race meeting, but also an event. It was sunny,

it was cloudy, it rained, and it was even very windy at times. But that didn’t matter. This was Watkins Glen. The drivers of VRG were taking to the same track, at the same time of year, that saw the likes of Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, and Emerson Fittipaldi take the checkered flag at

the United States Grand Prix. VRG Pres ident Mack

McCormack noted that in a previous survey of their members, Watkins Glen was the clear favorite of all the racetracks. This year they partnered with the racing group from the New York SCCA Glen Region. VRG’s weekend schedule featured practice, qualifying, and full slate of races for four groups: Group 1/Vintage (all pre-1960) plus small-bore (under 1300 cc), Group

2/Formula Cars, Group 3/Historic Production under 2.5L and Sports Racers, and Group 4/Historic big-bore (over 2.5L). The new Royale Formula Ford Series was also featured.

The Royale Formula Ford Series began this year and has already held races at Summit Point Motorsports Park, Thompson Motorsports Park, and New Jersey Motorsports Park. Watkins Glen serves as the fourth race in the series, which will then wrap up with the fifth and final race at Dominion Raceway in

late October. McCormack stated the Formula Fords are a popular and growing category for VRG. Mack was a flagger at the recent SCCA Run-Offs at Mid-Ohio, for which there were 14 Formula Fords entered. In contrast there were 35 entries on hand for the VRG @ The Glen.

Looking towards next year, Mack stated VRG’s 2017 schedule should look very similar to 2016. The scheduled board meeting in November should solidify those plans. Based on the feedback in the paddock from many of the competitors I spoke with, you can bet Watkins Glen is high on the list for a return engagement.

GROUP 1 hit the track with over 25 entries. Peter Carroll (#55) driving his 1963 Austin

Healey Sprite could be seen at the front of the field throughout the weekend. Peter stated this was his first time racing at The Glen since the resurfacing project was completed. He described the track as fast and smooth as glass.

#57 Vic Schuster, 1957 Triumph Ambro.

#93 James Van Deurzen, 1969 Merlyn Mk 17.

#53 Jason Di Cesar, 1969 Volkswagen Beetle.

Victory Lane • January 2017 27www.victorylane.com

Peter scored two wins during the weekend. John Faulkner (#28) claimed victory during the Saturday morning session, while Randy Williams (#127) took home top honors on Sunday.

GROUP 2 fielded a healthy grid of 35 cars. Kevin Young (#160) traveled down from Toronto to race his 1971 Crossle 20F. Kevin noted this was his first time racing with VRG, adding it is a good group and a well-run event. Group 2 ran a split grid for their races. Competitors from the Right Coast Formula Ford Series (RCFFS) joined VRG this weekend. They run with treaded tires, where as VRG uses slicks. This weekend’s variable conditions were a definite advantage for the guys from RCFFS. Charles Foster (#27) was the class of the field in his 2009 Piper DF5 taking three wins on the weekend. Daniel Pyanowski (#18) claimed victory in the Sunday Group 2 race.

GROUP 3 sported a field of over 30 cars. David Zavetsky (#159) drove the sleek and ever-impressive 1959 Devin-Healey-Chevy

283, and could be seen consistently mixing it up at the front of the field in every session. David stated that he’s been coming to The Glen since attending an early 1990’s IMSA endurance race. He said sports car racing is in his blood. He even has the same poster of a 1966 white-winged Chaparral in his trailer that used to be on his bedroom wall as a kid. Group 3 offered equal opportunity glory for their races. Bob Tkacik (#30), Randy Williams

(#127), and Henry Frye (#29) each won a race. The fourth race of the weekend for Group 3 was a combined race with Group 4. The highest finisher for Group 3 in that event was David Zavetsky (#159), who claimed 8th position.

GROUP 4 rolled out 23 cars to the grid. One of my favorite cars of the weekend was the 1982 Porsche SC (Super Carrera) driven by Gary Allen (#32), from Brooklin, Ontario. Gary was one of the Canadian competitors that came down with the Vintage Automobile Racing A s s o c i a t i o n o f Canada (VARAC) to compete with VRG. I asked Gary about the wet conditions t h a t S a t u r d a y morning, and he

said with a smile, “We Canadians don’t mind the rain…we’ll go out and splash around.” He also noted The Glen was his favorite track in the States, and that it is very similar to Mosport. Gary said VARAC and VRG would often work together as organizations, each supporting the other’s series. He described VRG as a happy and friendly club, with good

clean racing. Group 4 also exhibited wide-open racing at the front of the field, with three drivers each taking a win. Randy Williams (#29) won the first race on Friday, while Neil Young (#48) and Paul Netterstrom (#88) won the Saturday events. Chris Horner (#49) won a tight battle over Jim Glass (#3) in the combined Group 3/Group 4 Sunday race.

The ROYALE FORMULA FORD SERIES race was

held on Sunday after an adjustment to the schedule. This allowed for the weather to improve, and the race was run under sunny skies. Bernard Bradpiece (#16) stormed away from the field in his 1972 Crossle 20F. His margin of victory in the 10 lap event was 19.549 seconds. Nigel Cass (#41) earned second spot on the podium driving his 1975 Merlyn Mk 29., while Donald Denomme (#101) challenged from behind and secured third place in his 1980 Van Diemen RF80.

Being at Watkins Glen at this time of year is always an amazing experience. Though each visit may vary, they’re filled with similar memories of beautiful fall colors, and the exhilarating sound of race cars. My

first October at The Glen was in 1978 for the United States Grand Prix. Mario Andretti had just clinched the Formula One World Championship at the previous race in Monza, Italy. We were all thrilled to see him secure pole position for the race in his elegant John Player Special Lotus 79. Ultimately, Carlos Reutemann and Ferrari took the win on the cold and windy day.

So many competitors shared with me their Watkins Glen memories. Coming here and racing, especially at this time of year means something very special. They’re driving in the tracks of history. Memories of the past live on with each turn of the wheel.

#61 Eric Russell, 1961 MGA.

#102 Rick Neves, 1956 Austin-Healey 100-4 BN2.

#262 Joe Viola, 1972 Datsun 240Z.

#159 David Zavetsky, 1959 Devin-Healey-Chevy 283.

28 January 2017 • Victory Lane

ENTRANTS LIST GROUP 1 DRIVER/CAR R. Brown/1960 Austin Healey SpriteR. Brownlee-Tomasso/1958 MGAP. Carroll/1963 Austin-Healey SpriteD. Di Cesar/1960 MGAJ. Di Cesar/1969 Volkswagen BeetleJ. Faulkner/1959 MGA 1600T. Hartman/1964 Beach Mk 5 FVR. Jefferson/1967 Austin-Healey SpriteA. Konopka/1963 Triumph SpitfireN. McCabe/1967 MG SpridgetM. McCormack/1966 Morris Mini

Cooper S

#29 Randy Williams, 1967 Jaguar XKE.R. Neves/1956 Austin Healey 100-4 BN2R. Novrit/1967 MG MidgetD. Oesterle/1962 Triumph SpitfireR. Quaranto/1967 Alfa Romeo DuettoB. Rampe/1966 Triumph spitfireA. Raymond/1965 Fiat 1000TCM. Richmond/1959 Austin Healey SpriteE. Russell/1961 MGAS. Ryan/1995 MysterianV. Schuster/1957 Triumph AmbroC. Seifert/1968 Austin Healey SpriteJ. Shoemaker/1984 Caldwell D-13D. Smith/1959 Austin Healey SpriteJ. Smith/1962 Devin CD. Sopp/1966 Triumph SpitfireD. Todd/1960 MGAT. Wetzel/1957 Turner Mk 1

GROUP 2 DRIVER/CAR D. Blandin/1981 Crossle 45FR. Boyer/ Van Diemen RF 92B. Bradpiece/1972 Crossle 20F FFN. Cass/1975 Merlyn Mk 29D. Denomme/1980 Van Diemen RF80R. Dona/1980 Crossle 45S. Field/1976 Crossle 32FD. Finocchiaro/1980 Crossle 40FC. Foster/ Piper DF5C. Gagne/1972 Lotus 61MA.. Hess/1970 Merlyn Mk 17D. Holmes/ Swift DB1P. Kingham/ Zink Z-10CD. Kinsey/1980 Zink Z-16G. Kokolus/ PRS RH-01T. LaCosta/1967 Titan Mk IV FFA. Levine/1974 Club Ford Lola 342E. Luce/1968 Lotus Type 51J. Marcinski/ Royale RP24R. Miscovitch/1976 Royale RP21P. Moody/1982 RoyaleF. Newton/1971 Ford Titan Mk 6

#38 Richard Madia, 1974 Datsun 260Z.W. Nicolette/ Lola 1973 T-340D. Petzko/ ReynardD. Pyanowski/ Van Diemen RF-00M. Rand/ Crossle 30FS. Roux/ Wyvern SR1C. Shoemaker/1971 Royale RP16A. Stein/1970 Merlyn Mk . 11/17M. Stumbo/1972 Titan Mk 6

T. Taylor/1971 Royale RP-3AJ. Van Deurzen/1969 Merlyn FF Mk 17C. Van Slyke/ Crossle 62FK. Young/1971 Crossle 20FGROUP 3 DRIVER/CAR J. Acquilano/1975 MGBM. Agnifilo/1972 Datsun PL510R. Black/1971 Ford PintoC. Bordin/1959 Philson/Falcon Sport

Racer

#55 Peter Carroll, 1963 Austin-Healey Sprite.S. Bullard/1974 Alfa Romeo GTVD. Cullen/1958 Elva CourierJ. De Pol/1971 Triumph GT6H. Frye/1968 Triumph TR250B. Houston/1968 Zink Z-8S. Long/1976 Porsche 914 2.0M. Malley/1969 Ford GT Cortina Mk 2N. Michael/1961 Volvo PV544D. Miller/1962 Triumph TR4A. Schirano/1973 Triumph TR6B. Schirano/1969 Triumph GT6R. Scott/1972 Mallock M11bM. Spraggins/1970 Porsche 914D. Styduhar/1958 Triumph 20TR3J. Styduhar/1962 Triumph TR3BJ. Teplitz/1969 Datsun 510B. Tkacik/1964 Lotus 1964 Lotus 30W. Tobin/1970 Triumph TR-6T. Vail/1974 Ferrari 308 GT4R. Williams/1959 Triumph TR3K. Williamson/1963 Elva Courier Mk 3Cp

K. Williamson/1964 MGBJ. Wisbon/1976 BMW 2002J. Wood/1972 BMW 2002tiiD. Zavetsky/1959 Devin-Healey-Chev

283 SpecialGROUP 4 DRIVER/CAR G. Allen/1982 Porsche SCA. Battifarano/1968 Lotus Super 7B. Bogner/1966 CorvetteJ. Coey/1970 Porsche 914/6 GTM. Dube/1973 CamaroJ. FitzGerald/1969 Porsche 911J. Glass/1971 CorvetteT. Goneos/1968 Porsche 911C. Homer/1964 CorvetteR. Hurley/1966 Porsche 911M. Kincaid/1965 Ford MustangC. Lampe/1968 CamaroD. Lebrun/ Porsche 914/6S. LeBrun/1970 Datsun 240zR. Madia/1974 Datsun 260z

#109 Mack McCormack, 1966 Morris Mini Cooper.P. Netterstrom/1961 Lotus Super 7K. Poole/1970 Porsche 914/6S. Rauh/1972 Alfa Romeo GTVT. Reid/1992 Lotus Super SevenB. Singh/1969 Porsche 911A. Tosler/1966 Lotus ElanJ. Viola/1972 Datsun 240-zJ. West/1974 Porsche 914/6R. Williams/1967 Jaguar XKEN. Young/1971 Datsun 240Z

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