Cars that did not start

Lost hopes

A fine sixty car Field was to take the green at the famous and fast Road America track. Three Porsche 962s would havé to face a splurge of Marches, Jaguar and Lolas. But the race should really be exciting. Al Holbert, however, was also getting accustomed to his car and proved to be the Man to beat. Hé sat on the pole just ahead of the Blue Thunder March 84G Chevrolet driven by Randy Lanier and Bill Whittington. the Ford Mustang GTP driven by Klaus Ludwig and Bobby Rahal was third, with the Kreepy Krauly March Porsche next and the first Jaguar XJR5, driven by Brian Redman and Hurley Haywood. It sounded nice, and the race just had to be great, but it wouldn't. Al Holbert would set a new track record with a 2m02s377, but three cars were within a second or so of that lap time. the Ford would just blow an engine, and the crew was working hard to make it to the start. When the grid shook for the start, the Argo JM16 Ford was to take the green at the end of the field. When the green flag was waved, Kenper Miller went right to his pits. Gene Felton's Chevrolet Camaro also broke his transmission. He went to his pit and lost thirty minutes, losing the race on the very first lap.The Lowenbrau Porsche 962 would not let anyone grab the lead and Al Holbert would set a terrific pace right from the start. Whitney Ganz Argo JM16 Buick went into a guardrail, but the driver would be back on the track and go for repairs. Another Argo, driven by Jim Downing, was to pit for a nose replacement. While the leaders were quickly lapping the backmarkers, the cars would suddenly run together, in some kind of procession. the second Blue Thunder March, driven by Don Whittington, was in the pits, also with the right front of the car shattered, losing two laps in the process. Bill Whittington would overtake Brian Redman for second, but right after, he would have his nose somewhat shattered.

Yves Courage Cougar C02 Porsche made one of its rare outing in the US.

The second Blue Thunder car would lose the race after fifteen laps. Al Holbert had a ten second lead over Brian Redman, who counted on a lower fuel mileage, so the race was really interesting, at that point. Al Holbert would pit for fuel on lap 26. A very quick and neat pit stop. When the Jaguar was to pit, a full caution period was to be set after Al Leon's March went into the guardrail. Sarel van der Merwe was on the lead when the yellow period ended. Al Holbert was second, followed by Brian Redman, Bobby Rahal and John Morton's Conte March 84G Buick. Ian Scheckter took over Sarel van der Merwe on lap 34, running well, but he would spin and lose the lead. Derek Bell took back the lead, followed by Bobby Rahal, in the Ford Mustang GTP. Ian Scheckter would spin again, hitting Bob Tullius Jaguar. Both cars went back to their pits with body damage. The second Blue Thunder March was out in the meantime. Hurley Haywood, who was in the top three, also pitted with mechanical problems, losing ground on the leaders. Al Holbert and Derek Bell were threatened by only one car, well before reaching mid race. The Ford crew suddenly dreaming of a last season's repeat. Two other were on the same lap, but well behind them. John Morton's March and David Hobbs Bayside Porsche 962. Bill Whittington was running very hard, but one lap down. Unfortunately, the challenge given by the Ford Mustang GTP disappeared, with the failure of a turbo wastegate. The car would be back on the track, but a misfire would appear, ending the hopes for the Ford squad. the Conte March 84G would settle for second, running strongly, but it would not match the pace of the Porsche. Then it looked like it would not be able to finish the race. The engine went knobbly and the car would stop for good on lap 113. Bad luck. Bill Whittington had moved up to second place, passing the Bayside Porsche. Well in arrear was the Kreepy Krauly March Porsche, just ahead of the First Jaguar. But Porsche had to win That race, with Bill Whittington back in the pits, for a radiator replacement. the crew did an amazing job, and third place was finally salvaged. Al Holbert and Derek Bell really owned the race, from start to finish. They set a new race record in the process. The GTO race was utterly dominated by the Porsche 934 driven by Chet Vincentz, who found no consistent challenge, when the Stratagraph Chevrolet Camaro went into trouble. Then, it was the Rob Dyson-Ken Slagle Pontiac Firebird which kept second place for a long while, but it retired after 69 laps. In the end, it was another Pontiac Firebird, driven by Dan Schott and Jim Fay, who would up second, but three good laps down. Billy Hagan and Gene Felton managed to finish third in class, which was quite fantastic! Roger Mandeville Mazda RX7 finished fifth, but he Led the points battle. The GTU class was somewhat marred by the way the cars were pushed aside by the faster cars. It was clear that the speed différence between the two classes was kind of too much. The Pontiac Fiero driven by Clay Young would last only nine laps, and two Porsche 924GTRs were out two laps before. Chris Cord and Jim Adams Led for a long while before retiring. Jack Dunham and Jeff Kline then took the lead, followed by the father and son team of Kelly and Don Marsh and Ron Pawley. The race would end up this way, with Tim Selby and Earl Roe finishing third in class in a Porsche 914/6.