GT40/R Wins at US Vintage Grand Prix - Watkins Glen

[Alan Petersen]

The 2009 US Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen was held this past weekend, and it saw an incredible array of the most exceptional racecars and drivers. And despite the storied marques represented, the Pathfinder Motorsports/Superformance GT40/R won in its class in both the Grand Prix event and the prestigious New York Governor’s Cup Race. And it even beat several McLarens and Lolas boasting much less weight and significantly more horsepower.

Expertly driven by Dennis Olthoff, the GT40/R was very popular with the crowds in its spectacular British Racing Green and yellow livery. And its multiple victories were enthusiastically received by dozens of GT40 fans. Dennis managed impressive times in each of his events, with a fast lap time of 2:07.924 in the Governor’s Cup Race. Wow! We're really proud of this extraordinary accomplishment, especially for a car that we began designing and engineering only last Fall, with this particular chassis (P/2090) having been assembled in just the past 60-days.

Believe me, many months of hard work went into developing the GT40/R to be an authentic and capable vintage racer. And until this week we had not even had the opportunity to test it. Our goal was to come away from Watkins Glen with some solid test data for refining the development of our racecar for future races. Well, at The Glen there were two races and two class wins, which is one hell of a great test!

Many thanks go to Dennis, his chief mechanic Merlin, and the whole team back at Olthoff Racing, as well as the folks at Superformance (thanks Lance!), Hi-Tech, and of course Pathfinder Motorsports who have all worked tirelessly to produce the most exciting racecar in almost 50 years: The GT40/R. Special thanks to Jimmy Price and his team in South Africa for working so hard to make this such an authentic and capable racecar. Also thanks to Holman Moody for their hand-built engine that, like the originals in the mid-60’s, came through in the end. Now it’s on to Sebring, as well as Daytona where Derek Bell will slip be behind the wheel of P/2090.

Stay tuned for information on soon-to-be-posted in-car video of both races on YouTube.

Alan

[Steve Briscoe]

Congratulations! What transaxle were you using?
Thanks,
Steve

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Quaife ZFQ transaxle, worked just fine.

[Chris Martino]

Congratulations to all, enjoy your your success!


Chris

[Allen English]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder Motorsports

The 2009 US Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen was held this past weekend, and it saw an incredible array of the most exceptional racecars and drivers. And despite the storied marques represented, the Pathfinder Motorsports/Superformance GT40/R won in its class in both the Grand Prix event and the prestigious New York Governor’s Cup Race. And it even beat several McLarens and Lolas boasting much less weight and significantly more horsepower.

Expertly driven by Dennis Olthoff, the GT40/R was very popular with the crowds in its spectacular British Racing Green and yellow livery. And its multiple victories were enthusiastically received by dozens of GT40 fans. Dennis managed impressive times in each of his events, with a fast lap time of 2:07.924 in the Governor’s Cup Race. Wow! We're really proud of this extraordinary accomplishment, especially for a car that we began designing and engineering only last Fall, with this particular chassis (P/2090) having been assembled in just the past 60-days.

Believe me, many months of hard work went into developing the GT40/R to be an authentic and capable vintage racer. And until this week we had not even had the opportunity to test it. Our goal was to come away from Watkins Glen with some solid test data for refining the development of our racecar for future races. Well, at The Glen there were two races and two class wins, which is one hell of a great test!

Many thanks go to Dennis, his chief mechanic Merlin, and the whole team back at Olthoff Racing, as well as the folks at Superformance (thanks Lance!), Hi-Tech, and of course Pathfinder Motorsports who have all worked tirelessly to produce the most exciting racecar in almost 50 years: The GT40/R. Special thanks to Jimmy Price and his team in South Africa for working so hard to make this such an authentic and capable racecar. Also thanks to Holman Moody for their hand-built engine that, like the originals in the mid-60’s, came through in the end. Now it’s on to Sebring, as well as Daytona where Derek Bell will slip be behind the wheel of P/2090.

Stay tuned for information on soon-to-be-posted in-car video of both races on YouTube.

Alan

Man that is sooo cool Congratulations!
What engine did you have Holman Moody build, and what are you cranking out at the wheels?

Wow that resembles this car from the Portland International Raceway races I was at a few years ago.



Great looking car!

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Engine is 302 with webers and Dennis said it dyno'ed 515 RWHP on his dyno.

[Garry]

That's what I'm talking about! Great car!
Garry

[SouthernGT40]

Some pictures of the engine and transaxle instillation.

[speed220mph]

Alan: Did you do any testing with the canards and spoiler against a baseline? Any info would be helpful.

By the way, congratulations on your good showing at the Glen. What's next . . . VIR, perhaps?

[Eric Johnson]

Fantastic job you guys. Congratulations!

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Originally Posted by speed220mph

Alan: Did you do any testing with the canards and spoiler against a baseline? Any info would be helpful.

By the way, congratulations on your good showing at the Glen. What's next . . . VIR, perhaps?

Dennis O says they work "Bloody well!!!!"

The car will race at the Daytona and Sebring historics...............and the drivers will be people you will have heard of (no offense to Dennis). Stay tuned for the Petersens announcement.

[Luix]

Congratulations!

When will be the dates to daytona and Sebring, I won't miss those two.

[Alan Petersen]

Originally Posted by speed220mph

Alan: Did you do any testing with the canards and spoiler against a baseline? Any info would be helpful.

By the way, congratulations on your good showing at the Glen. What's next . . . VIR, perhaps?

We originally installed canards and the Shelby-style adjustable rear wing on P/2192 - the prototype for the 'R' series. Several test sessions at Sebring revealed that there was appreciable downforce from the canards that reduced the front ends tendency to 'hunt' at high speeds. P/2090R is a new car, and the first true 'R', and since we hadn't had an opportunity to test it at VIR, Watkins Glen was to be the first opportunity to see how the 'R' standard aero kit features worked.

Well, as Rick indicated, we were very pleased with the result. Dennis opined that the canards were especially helpful and gave an improvement in front-end downforce – helpful in a high-speed track like The Glen – over his own well-sorted Mk. II. And they look great!

Apart from several car shows and regional events, next for the P/2090R car will be:

• Hilton Head Concours and Motoring Festival - Oct. 29-31
• Daytona Speedway Continental Historic Races - Nov. 5-8
• Sebring International Raceway Historic Fall Classic Endurance Race - Dec. 3-6

We hope to see you there!

Alan

[Alan Petersen]

Originally Posted by Allen English

Man that is sooo cool Congratulations!
What engine did you have Holman Moody build, and what are you cranking out at the wheels?

Wow that resembles this car from the Portland International Raceway races I was at a few years ago.

Great looking car!

Hi Allen:

You're right about the other GT40 - it's the closest color scheme to ours we've seen. And there are some nice photos of that Mk.I in John Allen's book. Ours has a different stripe patterns, and colors more associated with British Petroleum (and Lotus cars) from the sixties.

We're definitely pleased with the HP numbers Dennis got off of the Holman Moody engine. Driving at Watkins Glen revealed a problem other wet sump cars have at that track: oil escaping through the oil catch-tank vent, and it took several re-configurations to reduce the amount of oil escaping onto the engine when the car entered high-G corners. Dennis and Merlin worked really hard to sort it out and we finally reduced the oil loss to an acceptable level. That said, we may go to a dry sump in order to totally eliminate the problem in the future.

Hey, that's what testing is all about! With every improvement made on P/2090, we improve the 'breed' and all the 'R' cars. Now its on to the last three races of the year.

Alan

[Johan]

That transaxle is neat. Is there a difference between that and a ZF 25 or an RBT ?

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Johan

That transaxle is neat. Is there a difference between that and a ZF 25 or an RBT ?

Fill him in Chris..............

[Jack Houpe]

I wish I had that transaxle, the ZFQ has a 3.77 ring and pinion with a taller 5th gear I think. Maybe since this is a small block it has 4.22. Like Rick said Chris will chime in.

Lets see Florida in November and December ??? I want to go!

[Johan]

So it is just a difference in ratios ? I had never heard of a ZFQ and was curious. thanks !

[SouthernGT40]

Hi Guys

The transaxle was designed as a direct replacement for the ZF DS25 Transaxle. Ratios 1st 2.533 2nd 1.619 3rd 1.20 4th 0.929 5th 0.742. The final drive ratio is 3.750 and the differential is Quaife's own ATB unit. Hope this helps. More information is available on Quaife's web site. Units are available from stock and all now have the superfinish process as standard.
To date we have sold in excess of 55 units and are proving a hit on road and track.
Check out: ZFQ new proposed GT40 transaxle
Regards Martin Gough
GT Transmissions

[Johan]

I think it sounds like a nice alternative to the ZF or RBT and there is no question that there was a need in the marketplace.