Cars that did not start

It was the first time that the GTP cars would hit the Columbus roads. And it seemed that they would really enjoy their stay. The racetrack was beautifully designed and very spectator friendly. So everybody would be happy with this new venue. Thirty two GTP and Lights cars would take the green. It seemed to be a Ford vs Porsche battle, as the two makes dominated the practice sessions. John Paul Jr, who seemed to be able to stand apart, was to be hampered by a broken suspension mount. In fact, it would be Klaus Ludwig who finally took the pole, capturing the 100 bottles of Champagne in the process. Bob Wollek was a fine second, just ahead of Al Holbert, who was concentrating on his Porsche 962 setup. Drake Olson was fourth in the Dyson Racing Porsche 962, with Bob Tullius Jaguar XJR5 just behind him. David Hobbs was in sixth place at the wheel of the Chevrolet Corvette GTP. The best Lights car was the Tiga GT285 Mazda driven by Ron Nelson who was co-driven by rising star Scott Pruett. Jim Downing and John Maffucci were next. The race was to see Klaus Ludwig take the lead and hold it for six laps, then he was passed by Drake Olson, who extended his lead to seven seconds. He would hold it until lap thirty nine, and then pitted for fuel. Klaus Ludwig was still in second place, followed by Bob Wollek, Bob Tullius and Pete Halsmer. By that time, Brian Redman's Jaguar had succumbed to a string of broken devices, including a throttle and a pinion. When the Bob Wollek and Pete Halsmer also pitted for fuel, Bob Tullius would take the lead, but he would keep it only one lap, before also succumbing to a broken pinion. Next, it was Klaus Ludwig's Ford Probe to retire with a broken gear linkage, then Rick Knoop's Porsche 962 caught fire. A full caution period would ensue. After the first refueling session, Rob Dyson was now in the leading car, followed by Mauro Baldi who had taken over the Bayside Porsche, and John Morton in the BF Goodrich car. Mauro Baldi would have a spalsh and dash during the caution period. In fact, it was at this moment that the leading car probably won the race. The following cars would simply not follow his pace as he was allowed to pace the lap without the pace car. He would restart the race with a 35s lead over John Morton. Mauro Baldi would be able to overtake John Morton later in the race, and even to take the lead when Rob Dyson. However, it seemed that he had probably pushed his tires too hard, and John Morton was able to recover the lead. The next series of pit stops gave back the lead to Drake Olson. He would drive his car to the finish, with Bob Wollek slowly closing in on him. His fading brakes were a real concern in the end, as were Pete Halsmer's, who carefully drove his Porsche 962 to third place. Ludwig Heimrath and Jim Trueman had a fine race with their Alba AR5 Ford, taking fourth place, after duelling for a long time with Gianpiero Moretti's similar car. Al Holbert had a very bad day, when his car caught fire. He did not win the $100000 purse, which was to be earned by the driver who could win both Ohio races. The Lights race had been dominated by Ron Nelson and Scott Pruett's Tiga GT285 Mazda, as expected. The duo had built a 27s lead over David Loring's Mazda GTP and Jeff Kline's Alba AR3 Mazda. Shortly after Ron Nelson took over Scott Pruett, a shock tower broke and the car was retired. A few laps later, it was David Loring who parked his car when his gearbox failed. Jeff Kline and Jack Baldwin were in the lead, with Jim Downing and John Maffucci right behind them. A broken driveshaft left a clear path to the Argo JM19 Mazda driven b y John Maffucci. Both of them had built a clear lead of more than one minute over Charles Morgan and Bill Alsup Royale RP40 Buick, but a puncture would seriously reduce their advantage. Back to the track after a tire change, Jim Downing was able to keep ahead of Charles Morgan, capturing another Lights win. Don Bell and Mike Brockman ended up third in class. A very entertaining race in the end.