2016 News

2016 Monday, August 22: Great Historic Can-Am Action was the Star at the August 18-21 Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion the Last of the Can-Am 50th Anniversary 1966-2016 Celebrations and Features at Four Great Vintage Racing Weekends

Two Saturday feature race grids, 5A for 1966-1968 Can-Am/USRRC cars and 7A for 1969-1974 cars. Each group had 2 feature races: A Saturday morning pair and a late Saturday pair, each had outstanding Can-Am car examples of their Can-Am periods. In the Can-Am USRRC races, the actual 1966 Lola T70 driven by John Surtees caught everyone’s eye. In the Can-Am features for later cars, the two 1974 Shadow DN4 Can-Am cars’ performance showed how they were driven to a 1-2 championship place by Jackie Oliver and George Follmer.

In recognition of the significance and crowd attraction of these great cars, five big awards were given to the Historic Can-Am cars and their owners. The Historic Can-Am Association Can-Am Spirit Award went to Johan Woerheide, owner/driver of the 1966 Can-Am Championship Surtees Lola T70. The Bonhams Cup for Can-Am Cars went to Brian Blain owner/driver of the 1967 Team McLaren M8A raced by Mark Donohue for Roger Penske in 1968. The Rolex Award for entrant or driver went to Jim Bartel owner and entrant of the UOP Shadow Tribute Team of the two 1974 Shadow DN4 Championship cars. The Rolex Award Race 5A was awarded to Marc Devis driving the 1967 John Surtees Lola T70, and the Rolex Award Race 7A was awarded to Emmett Murphy with the 1972 McLaren M8F/P.

There will be many photos and videos from many sources posted online due to the excitement of these great cars.

2016 Friday, August 5: Can-Am Winning Lola at 50th Celebrations!

The 1966 Can-Am series championship for drivers of unlimited sports racers was won by John Surtees driving a 1966 Team Surtees Lola T70 MK11 with its distinctive big white arrow on the nose of the red car. That historic Can-Am Lola will be raced by owner/driver Johan Woerheide in one of the 50th Anniversary of Can-Am features at the August 18th-21st Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Can-Am car has been raced at the earlier three 2016 Historic Can-Am 50th Celebration weekends: Road Atlanta, Mont Tremblant and Road America.

The 50th Anniversary celebrations and feature races for Monterey are on Saturday, August 20: USRRC – Can-Am at 4:00pm for 1963-1968 Can-Am and USRRC Cars and 5:00pm for 1969-1974 Can-Am cars. The 1966 first Can-Am season grew out of the 1963-1965 United States Road Racing Drivers Championship for drivers of either “over or under 2 liter sports racers.” In 1965, George Follmer driving a Lotus 23B powered by a 2-liter Porsche engine edged out the 1964 champion Jim Hall driving his Chaparral Chevy. The spectator interest and entry was so large that the Sports Car Club of America and the Canadian Auto Sports Club created the Can-Am Series for unlimited Sports Racers at great road racing circuits starting in 1966.

That first year both big V8-powered Sports Racers from Lola, McLaren, Chaparral, Genie and McKee were occasionally challenged by Lotus 23s with 2.7 liter Climax engines, Elvas with 2.5 and 3.0 liter Porsche engines and Brabham BT8 with Climax engines, Genie MK4s and others. It was a time for big power however, and big V8 Chevy power in the Lola T70 took John Surtees to the Championship.

2016 Tuesday, July 12: Two Big Vintage Race Weekends Celebrate a Golden Age of Road Racing When “ The Only Rule Was There Are No Rules” and When Excess Was Barely Adequate

The 50th Anniversary of the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) series will have big feature races of over 50 great unlimited vintage and historic Can-Am cars. July 14-17 at Road America’s Weathertech International Challenge with Brian Redman Vintage Races. There is a Saturday 2:30pm and Sunday 1pm Historic Can-Am feature.

August 18-21 at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. There is a feature for USRRC/Can-Am Cars and a Can-Am feature, both on Saturday.

Both events are sanctioned by the Historic Can-Am Association.

Info:

Historic Can-Am Association: www.historiccanam.com.

2016 Thursday, July 7: There Are Many Vintage Racing and Collector Auto Auctions During Monterey Auto Festival August 13-21, Rick Cole Auctions, with Smart Phone Bidding and 4-Day Cars on Offer Display at Monterey Marriott is the most Unique and Very Bidder-Friendly

Rick Cole started the vintage racing and collector auction movement accompanying the Monterey Historic Races and Pebble Beach Concours in 1986. The Rick Cole Monterey Auction held the last few years lets bidders view the cars in person or online and bid with a smart phone from anywhere until Saturday midnight. Registered bidders visiting the exhibition enjoy hosted food and bar to create a party atmosphere. Consignments and bidder resignation, contact: terryprice@rickrole.com or rickcole@rickcole.com, phone (toll-free) @ (844) 474-2526, web @ www.rickcole.com

2016, Tuesday, March 15: Tribute to the USRRC Roundtable of Legends and Hall of Fame, April 9 at NHRA Museum in Pomona, CA. Limited Tickets are Still Available

This big event with a special banquet, roundtable and USRRC Hall of Fame induction to be attended by original participants has very limited guest tickets available. Visit www.tributetotheUSRRC.com for more details.

The United States Road Racing Championship was the major professional road racing series from 1963-1965 and continued as a big spring series in 1966, 1967, and 1968, alongside the fall Can-Am series. The USRRC had great champions, including Jim Hall, George Follmer, and Mark Donohue, along with great manufacturer participation.

2016 Friday, January 29: Last-minute Reminder: The 2016 August 18-21 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Request for Entry Closes Sunday, January 31

BMW is the featured marque, celebrating 100 years. The Can-Am 50th Anniversary is celebrated Saturday with two feature races: Can-Am/USRRC for early Can-Am cars and Can-Am for later cars. About 550 entries will be accepted in 15 race groups.

For entry, go to www. http://www.scrampracing.com/. or e-mail ardelle@mazdaraceway.com