A new era?

I attended the Historic Race at Daytona this weekend put on by HSR. I also attended last years inaugural event and feel this years didn't quite muster up to lasts. Sure, there were plenty of cars but not enough to satisfy my craving for what I would arguably call the "Golden Era" of sports-car racing that being the early 60's to early 70's. I struggle to think of one Ferrari, Maserati, GT 40, or Prototype Porsche seen at this event. Although there were more then enough P-cars there to satisfy those liking that marque but to me it was a tick away from being a Porsche Fest of 911, & 914's.

After walking through the entire pit area I noted one Replica Gulf Liveried GT 40 driven hard by the same driver of last years BAILEY'S GT 40. Sadly, I only saw him on track once but he was gone by 1 pm Saturday afternoon not having entered the event. There was also a very nice Replica Porsche 906 but again not raced while I was there. The car I wanted to see was the Matra and she did not disappoint in how she was presented. The car did not carry the ear piercing V-12 but a stunning GT 40 engine which was the motor put in the car initially as the V-12 was not ready in time. This car too was a Replica, stunning as it was. There were also a few tasty Lola T70's in attendance, (most were high end Replicas too) and a couple of very quick (real?) Chevrons.

So are these the cars we'll see in most historic races? Its my opinion other then the BIG events like Goodwood, Lemans, Spa, and Pebble we might not get to witness the real McCoys out on track at these "lesser" events. Not that HSR isn't putting out a good event but I couldn't believe not one early 60's or 70's Ferrari was seen nor any unique Prototype Porsche's from that era.

The weather was perfect and as usual the pit crews and drivers were as keen as can be to tell you all about their cars.

Some notable drivers in attendance and seen were Sir Derek Bell, Brian Redman, Jochen Maas and a few others.

Its a good beginning for HSR but its my hope they can get a few more cars from the "Golden Era" to really make things more interesting for fans like me.

Of course this is only my opinion so others will have their own. I just loved that period of cars and not seeing more from that era made things just a tad underwhelming.

BTW, after their early night stint the drivers of the Matra could sense my joy of seeing their car there so they felt pity on me and invited me to take a seat behind the wheel. They didn't have to coax me I can tell you!

I'm adding this link found on Bring a Trailer that talks about this fantastic car. Hope it works.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ms630/&usg=AFQjCNHG1o70jEAxOcH_jQVT1_y3vKvhDA
 

Kirby Schrader

They're mostly silver
Lifetime Supporter
I attended the Historic Race at Daytona this weekend put on by HSR.
and a couple of very quick (real?) Chevrons.
Its a good beginning for HSR but its my hope they can get a few more cars from the "Golden Era" to really make things more interesting for fans like me.

The red #44 Chevron B16 is my son in law's car and it is the 'real deal'.
In fact, it ran in LeMans in 1970 and you can see it in the Steve McQueen movie, 'LeMans'.

He won Group A and his class. The nearest car was a T70 two laps back.
A good night video of his co-driver driving is here.
http://youtu.be/aa2F0yCHEf4

Darn it... I posted the wrong link.
Here's the 'in the cockpit driving' video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aREHaT5WjI

He also owns a B26 and a B39.
All of them are the 'real thing', not replicas or continuations.

He loves vintage racing and loves going to Daytona. You'll see him there again.
He was at CotA the week before with his B26 and B39.
Last year, his B16 won 'Crowd Favorite' car at CotA.

FWIW,
Kirby
 
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Kirby Schrader

They're mostly silver
Lifetime Supporter
That is just too cool Kirby. Saw a B-8 in the mix too.

I hope you watched the in car video... I goofed and put the wrong link the first time.

I love it when he gets out of the car to hand over to Gray and yells... there's a lot of oversteer!

Yeah.... really?
:shocked:

FWIW,
Kirby
 
Kirby, great video, great car and beautifully driven. Such consistent laps, he almost makes it look boring and catches the oversteer like a seasoned pro. I did take a look at the car quite a lot when in the pits and liked it as I'm a lover of closed coupe cars from that era.

Wished I would have recalled he was kin to you as it would have been nice to make the connection with him knowing he had a fellow 40 owner in the family.
 

Julian

Lifetime Supporter
Awesome Kirby, thanks for posting.

I couldn't hear a lot of talking, but assume the button he was pressing on the left of the steering wheel was communications?

Julian
 
The PTT radio switch is always supposed to be on the opposite side of the wheel as the shifter, as it is in this case. It is annoying if it is not as one must stop mid sentence to change gears.

Here is a rapid repair behind the wall of one of the T70s. Great race in group A between the Chevron and the T70s.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xu1uVD-gWhs
 

Kirby Schrader

They're mostly silver
Lifetime Supporter
Awesome Kirby, thanks for posting.

I couldn't hear a lot of talking, but assume the button he was pressing on the left of the steering wheel was communications?

Julian

Yes, he has a radio in the car to talk to the pit crew or other driver.
It's limited range, but works pretty well.
For example, we were are Turn 19 at CotA and it would fade out when the car was at Turn 11.

FWIW,
Kirby
 
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