Cars that did not start

24 Hours of Daytona 1985 : Wollek-Foyt

It was the first event of the 1985 season. An impressive entry list was to be seen at the famous speedway, and it promised an exciting race. As expected, many Porsche 962s were entered and you had to search the winner amongst them. Two cars were entered by BF Goodrich, the team had switched from last year's Lola T616 Mazdas and had an all star line-up. Jim Busby ran the team and he drove as well. He was partnered by Rick Knoop and Jochen Mass on the #67 car while Pete Halsmer, John Morton and Dieter Quester were on the #68. Al Holbert, Derek Bell and Al Unser Jr drove the Holbert Racing car. They were the favorites but they should have to be very cautious at their opponents, who were very hungry and searching for new honours with their potent new cars. Bob Akin had entered his 962, which was driven by himself, Hans Stuck and Paul Miller. Preston Henn had entered a 962, and the car was driven by the well-known trio, Bob Wollek, Al Unser Sr and AJ Foyt. It was now a very good team, accustomed to racing together. Bob Wollek and AJ Foyt even appeared as good friends, and everything looked allright. The last car was entered by Bayside Disposal, Henri Pescarolo was partnered by Thierry Boutsen and Bruce Leven. The opposition had materialized in the form of two Jaguar XJR5s, entered by Group 44. The two cars were driven by Bob Tullius, Brian Redman and Hurley Haywood, and Claude Ballot Léna, Jim Adams and Chip Robinson. The boss was very confident about his cars, and could couunt on the two cars' reliability. They would run at their own pace, which was nearly practice times. A bunch of Marches was still entered by different teams. While slightly outpaced, they could still play a major role in Endurance racing. The most efficient car was undoubtedly the Phil Conte Buick powered Hawk. Based on the March chassis, the car had been thoroughly modified and obviously improved. Very fast, it had to be improved on the reliability level. John Paul Jr was an excellent recruit for the team. His co-drivers were Bill Adam and Whitney Ganz. The practice sessions would confirm this statement as John Paul Jr would easily claim the pole position. John Kalagian had still a Chevrolet powered 84G model, and he was eagerly waiting for the 85G Porsche powered he would debut later in the season. Kreepy Krauly was again here, the 1984 winner had a Porsche powered March 84G, Sarel van der Merwe was partnered by Ian Scheckter and Tony Martin, with the secret hope of making it two in a row. Vandermerwe85The last year winning March 84G Porsche had a very disappointing race Copyright Dave Kutz The Al and Art Leon brothers had two cars : a 84G Chevrolet and a 85G Porsche. They were driven by Art Leon-Skeeter McKitterick and Terry Wolters on the 84G and Al Leon-Randy Lanier and Bill Whittington on the 85G. Neil de Atley had brought a 84G for Tommy Byrne-Darin Brassfield and Michael Roe. Twonother cars were to be seen, the Red Lobster one would have one of its last appearances on the IMSA circuit and the Pegasus Racing car, driven by Ken Madren-Wayne Pickering and Cliff Allison would have a quiet race. A single Lola T710 Chevrolet was here and aroused everyone's curiosity. It was a new car which was not factory backed, so it could not be much of a threat for the rest of the field. Momo Corse entered its Alba, which was still Ford powered. Gianpiero Moretti, Jim Trueman and Massimo Sigala were the drivers. Many Porsche 935s were entered, and they were now second hand cars, purchased by semi-professionnal teams. They could of course no more win any race, but they were still very spectacular cars to watch. Bob Akin still owned his 935-84, and he entered his car for Jim Mullen-Ray McIntyre and Kees Nierop. The car was now carrying the Polo Ralph Lauren colors, and it was still fast. Chuck Kendall had chosen to run his K3, which he ran with John Hotschkis and Peter Fitzgerald. Preston Henn had chosen to act as Bob Akin as he entered his 935L for Jean Louis Schlesser-Harald Grohs and Walter Brun. T and R Racing had a J car for Tico Almeida, Miguel Morejon. Lance van Every had dropped his usual Porsche Carrera and had a 935, which he drove with Ash Tisdelle and Jack Refenning. Wayne Baker, Jack Newsum, Chip Mead and Ren Tilton drove the car which had the longest history. It ran in 1983 as a Porsche 934 and had been reconverted to 935 specs. Fred Baker, Richard Silver and Rick Maher were also driving one, as well as Paul Goral, Hugo Gralia and Emory Donaldson. Both teams were driving really outdated cars, but running is fun, isn't it. An old but beautiful Aston Martin Nimrod was present. Driven by Jack Miller, Carlos Ramirez and Tom Redding, the car would not start the race. An old Lola T600 Chevrolet, with a modified front nose, could be seen. Driven by Richard Anderson, Bard Boand and Mike Brummer, gone were the days of their domination. Lyn St James entered an Argo JM16 Ford with Tim Coconis and Eric Lang, with very little hopes for the win. The newly introduced Camel Lights category appeared to be a mild success. Charles Morgan, Jim Miller and Bill Alsup drove a Buick powered Royale RP40, with the victory in mind. Jim Downing, who was the instigator of this new class, had a Mazda Argo JM16. His co-drivers were John Maffucci and Yoshimi Katayama and the three of them were very confident about their car. Peter Welter, Nick Nicholson and Tom Burdsall had a Tiga GT285, while Kelly Marsh, together with brother Don, shared an Argo JM16 Mazda with Ron Pawley. The GTO class was still as much exciting, with many spectacular cars. A new marque seemed to be willing to set its domination : Ford. Jack Roush had two very fast cars, which had debuted at the 1984 Daytona Finale, and they easily won. John Jones-Wally Dallenbach and Doc Bundy drove the number 65 car, Willy T Ribbs-Jim Miller and John Bauer the #06, which was a Trans Am Mercury Capri converted to IMSA GTO specs. As per usual, a handful of Chevrolet Corvettes, Camaros and Pontiac Firebirds would make for the field. The Fords best opponents appeared to be the Chevrolet Corvette driven by Allen Glick-Billy Scyphers and Dan Marvin. Les Lindley was not too far with his Chevrolet Camaro. He was co-driven by Neil Bonnett and Loren St Lawrence. A Pontiac Firebird entered by Dingman Bros Racing, and driven by Walt Bohren, Billy Dingman and Ron Bouchard should do well, but would start from the back of the pack. One should keep an eye on the steady Pontiac Firebird entered by Les Delano, Andy Peterey and hot shot Tommy Riggins. A single Porsche 934 was on the entry list, driven by Rick Borlase, Don Kravig and Jim Torres. In GTU, the now usual fight between Mazda and Toyota was somewhat antiquated with the now GTU legal Porsche 924GTR, which could provide a very strong opposition. The best car appeared to be a Porsche 924GTR, driven by John Schneider, Elliot Forbes Robinson and Don Istook.. Regular Mazda racers such as Jack Baldwin, the 1984 IMSA GTU Champion, Ira Young and Jeff Kline were close behind, followed by Paul Lewis, Scott Pruett and Joe Varde. The sole Toyota, driven by Chris Cord and Dennis Aase edging the Amos Johnson, Jack Dunham and Yojiro Terada Mazda RX7, which was not far behind. Plenty of close racing action was to be awaited by the 50000 spectators. A bunch of Porsche 911s would try to have their reliability prevail upon speed. Another interesting car was the single Pontiac Fiero, which had done very well the previous year. Entered by Entech, the car, driven by Clay Young and Ron Grable would start dead last. The practice sessions would be reduced in time and the competitors would have only two ones, scheduled on Thursday and Friday. No one seemed to be willing to blow an engine and the sessions appeared to be much calmer than the previous years. John Paul Jr did not mind and was clearly set for a new lap record with a 1m41s490, which was a new track record. Second was Sarel van der Merwe, but he was more than one second and a half slower than the polesitter. A March front was soon established, letting the Porsche 962s, which were obviously the favorites for the race, behind. Third was finally Bob Wollek, who managed to do a 1m43s588 in spite of a gearbox fork which jumped out of place. The Porsche squad experienced various problems during practice, but the race would be another story, of course. The race would be set under a very bright weather, with a comfortable field of seventy six starters. After the usual ceremonies, held under a clear blue sky, the race was set. Immediately after the green, the two leading Marches pulled ahead of the rest of the field. John Paul Jr and Sarel van der Merwe led, followed by an extremely cautious AJ Foyt, who was rapidly getting threatened by a bunch of eagerly waiting drivers. The first car to retire was the Pontiac Fiero driven by Clay Young, at the end of lap one. Al Holbert would soon get past him. In fact, many drivers would then do the same and one could wonder if AJ was not undergoing troubles on his car. In fact, it was pure strategy, as you could see on Preston Henn's absolutely delighted face. Al Leon then had a puncture, which resulted in a damaged front end. Preston Henn lost his second car when Harald Grohs retired on lap sixteen with engine problems. As the first hour of race was being broadcasted, every driver in front was trying to give his sponsor a good run for their money. The two leading cars did do that job very well, until the first refueling session. The Kreepy Krauly March stopped on the track, after running out of fuel! He would lose a lot of time, coming back to the pits, then the fuel pump would seize, and it was a dnf for the previous year's winner. Al Holbert, who was second, took the lead when John Paul Jr pitted for fuel. The Bob Tullius Jaguar took the lead during the thirty fifth and thirty sixth lap when the leading car stopped, but AJ Foyt, who was still running slowly had still not refueled! When Bob Wollek took the wheel of the car, he was just behind Derek Bell and ahead of the Conte Racing Hawk Buick. The Holbert Racing car kept the lead but the Jaguar, who had a lower fuel consumption, was a clear second when it came to the second refueling session. The British car took the lead when Derek Bell pitted for fuel. Chip Robinson, on the second Jaguar, punctured and damaged his car, losing five laps in the process. Later in the evening, it was the weather that would bring some kind of animation to the racers. A big rain shower soon forced everybody to the pits to switch for rain tyres. As it was to last about for ten minutes, again everybody would come back to the pits for slicks. No incident was to be noticed during that short, raincast period. John Paul Jr, who was still well placed, soon experienced rear suspension problems. The Red Lobster March 84G Chevrolet would then retire with gearbox problems. As the night was slowly falling on the track, the first major incident took place when the leading GTU car, the Porsche 924GTR driven by John Schneider, hit the wall. The pace car was out. Many drivers would stop during this neutralisation. It was during that period that the Bayside Disposal car, driven by Henri Pescarolo, Thierry Boutsen and Bruce Leven, would retire after the ignition went hay-wire. The GTP Corvette had retired too, after a very unnoticed race. When the green was set again, many of the fastest cars found themselves jammed at the rear of the field, and they had to overtake the slower cars. Pete Halsmer tangled with a Chevrolet Corvette, which resulted in a new caution period while the two cars were withdrawn from the track. Both drivers were unhurt. Al Holbert led the race, followed by Bob Tullius and Bob Wollek, one lap down. Behind them, the leading GTO car was up into tenth place, it was the Roush Racing Ford Mustang driven by Wally Dallenbach, Doc Bundy and John Jones. Some of the possibly contenders had suffered from the top ten leaderboard. John Paul Jr spent a great deal of time changing the CV joint. The Bob Akin Porsche 962 lost its front cover on the track. While the three first cars were on the same lap, Bob Wollek and his co-drivers were fourth, three laps down. While the Jaguar was second, they would unfortunately be pulled out of the race, after a rear tyre blew out when exiting the chicane. An oil line had been torn off, resulting in a fire break. It was of course a retirement as well.

The stunning new Corvette GTP was privately entered by Lee Racing.

Bob Tullius was lucky not to suffer more than slight burns, as he was stuck in his car for a long while. The pace car was out again. Thierry Boutsen had been hired during the night and was now co-driver on Preston Henn's Porsche 962. After another pace car session, he went back to the pits with his turbo stuck at maximum pressure. He lost about fifteen minutes. After ten hours, the Holbert Racing car was comfortably up front, Preston Henn's car was still second, while the Jochen Mass-Jim Busby-Rick Knoop car was third. The first Porsche 935, which was Bob Akin's car, driven by Jim Mullen-Ray McIntyre and Kees Nierop, was an excellent fourth overall, but eighteen laps down. then came the March 85G Porsche driven by Al Leon, Randy Lanier and Bill Whittington. They were just ahead of the sister car, driven by Art Leon-Skeeter McKitterick and Terry Wolters, whilst came next the GTO dominating car, the Ford Mustang driven by Wally Dallenbach-Doc Bundy and John Jones. As the night went on, the positions remained quite unaltered. As dawn slowly broke over, the BF Goodrich Porsche 962, still holding third place, pitted for lengthy repairs on the brakes, and the car fell down to sixth place. Holding the lead firmly, it seemed that the Holbert car would make it quietly to the finish, and they could afford lengthy pit stops. However, at 9:19, the car suddenly came back to the pits at a very slow pace. Things seemed to worsen, after the drivers had complained about a misfiring engine. The fuel filter seemed to be cleaned again, losing four laps. Behind them, the race seemed to gain in attrition, and the Coke Porsche 962 lost again its front cover. At 10:30, it started to rain again and everyone went in the pits for a tyre switch. The leading car was beginning to slow down again and was now losing ten second per lap. Now clearly faster than the leading car, the Porsche 962 driven by Thierry Boutsen was only four laps down after 600 laps! Al Holbert had serious trouble keeping up with every remaining GTP car, and he stopped to try to have his electric problem fixed, but it was to no avail. He knew that the race was lost. At 14:48, Preston Henn's car was in the lead. Derek Bell's car refused to fire up during one of his last pit stops. The BF Goodrich car, driven by Jochen Mass, was now ready to get past Derek Bell, but the latter finally was able to maintain his position until the chequered. He stuck himself thirty meters from the finish line, waiting for the flag to be waved. Enjoying a much more quiet end of race, Hans Stuck, driving the Bob Akin Motor Racing car, finally took fourth, overtaking the team's Porsche 935-84. Porsche took the first five positions, while the Leon Bros Marches took sixth and seventh. The next car was the Ford Mustang winning the GTO class, which was clearly the class of the field. The winning Lights car was the Argo JM16 Mazda driven by Ron Pawley, Don and Kelly Marsh. They finished three laps ahead of the second place Argo JM16 Mazda driven by Jim Downing, John Maffucci and Yoshimi Katayama. The GTU class was won by the Team Highball Mazda RX7, driven by Amos Johnson, Jack Dunham and Yojiro Terada. The Toyota Celica challenge went loose, when the transmission failed on Chris Cord and Dennis Aase car. At the end, it was a new victory for the TBird Swap Shop team, and Bob Wollek, AJ Foyt, Al Unser Sr and Thierry Boutsen were quite happy with that. The March and Jaguar challenge would become more difficult to hold, with the now regular six or seven car entry, and the Porsche domination was just going on.