Cars that did not start

A GTO wins overall!

The third race of the 1983 Championship was to take place, as per usual, on the Sebring circuit. An old airfield which was used since 1973 by the IMSA Championship. Yet, it always has been one of the most popular race of the season. For this race, the track has been modified and had lost 0,44 mile. The very extreme part of the track had been deleted and a brand new section was to be used by the racers. What's more, the road had been entirely repaved, which was a good thjng, from the racers point of view. The Sebring spirit remained the same with a lot of extra-race action. Many spectators were there not only for the race but to spend some time watching cars while drinking and having a good time : that was Sebring. The entry for this year was plentyful but potential winners were not to be more than nine or ten cars. It was essentially the Jaguar XJR5, the single Lola T600, the two March 83Gs and the 82G Porsche powered, and the four best Porsche 935s, plus the unusual Grid S1 Cosworth. The other cars could not hope victory if the best cars proved reliable. But on such a track, everything remained possible. 87 cars would take the green, which was a record for this race. But many old cars would take the start, and quantity did not make quality, it was an obvious fact for this very race, but it would make any spectator happy. The different practice sessions were splitted by category, and the last one would be run by every car in a free running session. At the end, it was John Paul Jr, who had been hired by Preston Henn, who took the pole in 2m23s965, just ahead of a surprisingly fast Jaguar XJR5, who did 2m25s590. Third was John Gunn, on his Phoenix JG1 Chevrolet, just a little bit behind the Jag. This homebuilt car proved quite fast but the reliability was really the problem. Fourth was the March 83G Chevrolet driven by Marty Hinze-Randy Lanier-Terry Wolters and the single Lola, driven by Ralph Cooke-Jim Adams and Josele Garza. Two Porsche 935s took the sixth spot, the Bob Akin Coke car leading Bruce Leven's one, driven by Leven himself, Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood, a team that you could not underestimate! Then, Pepe Romero's pink March 83G Chevy driven by Doc Bundy and Bill Whittington, the second Swap Shop car, the Grid driven by Milt Minter-Skeeter McKitterick was tenth and this car led the first GTO car : the Stratagraph Camaro driven by a fantastic Gene Felton. He was no less than six seconds ahead of eventual winner Wayne Baker, on his Porsche 934! A pair of good Oftedahl Pontiac Firebirds, a very fast Mazda RX7 and a bunch of Porsches, Corvettes and Mustangs would make for the huge field. The GTU category was led by John Casey's Mazda RX7 driven by Joe Varde-Jack Baldwin and John Casey. Two other Mazdas followed, the Kent Racing car driven by Lee Mueller-Terry Visger and the Mandeville car, driven by Roger Mandeville himself and Amos Johnson-Danny Smith. The next car was the BF Goodrich Porsche 924GTR driven by Paul Miller-Jim Busby-Ron Grable. Plenty of close racing should have to be seen in this category. A lot of very old cars were allowed to make for the start, such as a Ford Capri, a Renault 12 and a BMW 2002. That was racing in those days. The start of the race was to take place at 11am. A fine weather was there to welcome a big crowd in the early morning. At the start, the Jaguar jumped in the lead but she was soon overtaken by Bill Whittington driving Pepe Romero's pink March 83G. Pushing hard, he extended his lead over the British car up to 30 seconds by the seventh lap. He would go no further as the transmission let go on the next lap. He knew that the car would not survive so he did pushed it to the limit. The Porsche 935L driven by Derek Bell did not run strong as handling did not seem to be allright and turbos lost pressure. He would stop to get his problems fixed and was eleventh at the end of the first hour. Don Whittington then hit something on the track and would lose a lot of time in the pits for lengthy repairs. The Stratagraph Camaro hit the wall too and would lose two hours for repairs. It would be obvious that the section of the track was quickly fading and pieces of tarmac were getting torn away as cars passed by. Soon, the race direction would decide to have the race stopped. The pace-car was out and wiping cars would clean the track. The race was off for 43 minutes. The Jaguar had taken the lead of the race but she had put up a good fight with the Bayside Racing Porsche 935. It would last until the end of the fourth hour but the Jaguar would be stopped by a broken head gasket. The Porsche 935 driven by Al Holbert-Hurley Haywood would soon have a clear race of its own. The Lola T600 driven by Ralph Cooke had a tyre burst and broke oil lines, the car was badly damaged. The Grid had to stop to change the front end and the Preston Henn's Moby Dick 935 was to be stopped at regular intervals, running fast between two pit stops. Running smoothly, the leading car was soon hampered by minor problems. A broken body prop and a gearbox failure. Lying in ambush, two cars were soon fighting for the lead. The Coke machine driven by Bob Akin-Dale Whittington-John O'steen and the March 83G Chevy driven by semi-pro drivers Marty Hinze-Randy Lanier-Terry Wolters. Those two cars would swap their positions on every lap and captivate the crowd. But luck was not to be on the March side as a stone would soon tear its radiator. The car would retire quickly after the engine broke. The Porsche 935 driven by Michael Andretti retired at the same moment. The Bob Akin Porsche 935 was a clear leader at this moment and was two laps ahead of the fantastic Racing Beat Mazda RX7 driven by Rick Knoop and Pete Halsmer. The Bayside Porsche was third overall but this car was now constantly slowed down by electric problems. The Grid was working its way to the top spots and was a clear fourth. After ten hours of racing, the Coke Porsche was always leading the race. Dale Whittington took the wheel but suddenly could not restart the engine. Losing more than half an hour, the mechanics would soon discover that water was found in the gas. That same incident that took place at Daytona in 1976 and, all of a sudden, panic would spread like gunpowder. Meanwhile, a small car had just taken the lead of the race : the Mazda RX7. The car was running a constant 2m52s per lap but losing a clear 10s per lap on the Grid and the Bayside Disposal car. The Mazda drivers did believe in their chance to win and were pushing hard. Unfortunately, Pete Halsmer would spin at the Camel hairpin and damage his left-rear wheel. Coming back to the pits, his mechanics would do their best but the car had suffered too much, it was a retirement for the valiant little car. The Grid was now in the lead but began to experience handling troubles. Haywood-Holbert were closing on and, with one hour left, no one could guess who could win the race. But the two cars would surprisingly stop many times for minor checkouts. The Grid was having its front-end checked and the Porsche was having its lights fixed. A wheelnut would definitively stop the Grid. At that moment, Bruce Leven was reasonably thinking about a new victory, after the '81 one. Then came the Porsche 934 driven by Kees Nierop-Jim Mullen and Wayne Baker.

Wayne Baker, Jim Mullen and Kees Nierop took an overall victory with their Garretson entered Porsche 934.

Running very constantly from the beginning of the race, it was now in second position. As the leading car did not have its lights working correctly, the Porsche 934 finally took the lead as the Bayside Porsche stopped again and again. This car would finally lose the second place to the Coke machine, who had finally his water in the gas trouble resolved. Dale Whittington had stormed back to second place and was aiming at victory. But his effort was not to be rewarded by luck as, when the chequered would fall, he would be still 1m34s down the winner. This car was a complete surprise winner and was, to his owner Bob Garretson, looking like a revenge. Jim Mullen, Kees Nierop and Wayne Baker were the greatest upset victory of those glory days. The Porsche 935 was winning the GTX category and a Mazda RX7 won the GTU class with Jack Dunham-Jeff Kline-Phil Compton just ahead of Joe Varde-Jack Baldwin-John Casey similar car.