GTP: Rolex 24 Retrospective

Enjoy a collection of Rolex 24 photos from our archives, with images ranging from 1985 to 1993.

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GTP: Laguna Seca IMSA Broadcast Compilation

The 2009 American Le Mans Series just came to a close at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and in honor of that thrilling season finale, let’s take a look back at some of the exciting IMSA GTP races from the classic track’s past.

All videos are courtesy of the American Le Mans Series.

We’ll start with the 1985 edition.

GTP: 1985 Laguna Seca Race Broadcast from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

1986

GTP: 1986 Laguna Seca IMSA GTP Race Broadcast from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

1987

GTP: 1987 Laguna Seca Race Broadcast from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

1993

GTP: 1993 Laguna Seca Race Broadcast pt1 from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

GTP: 1993 Laguna Seca Race Broadcast pt2 from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

GTP: Wheels Of Fortune

They were the wheel of choice in the IMSA GTP series and remain the wheel of preference today in the American Le Mans Series. What started as an original equipment supplier association with Porsche’s GTs and Prototypes turned into one of the few common threads of the most diverse sportscar series of the seventies, eighties, and nineties.

Cars, teams, and drivers changed, but look across the various history books about the IMSA series, and BBS wheels were the dominant choice from Porsche 935 to the Toyota Eagle Mk III.

I first fell in love with the look of BBS wheels with those 935s; the gold, webbed wheel centers were dramatic; they looked equally as fast at rest as in motion. If other wheel manufacturers only cared about low weight and high strength, BBS recognized that aesthetics were equally important.

They ticked all the boxes for lightness and durability, so why not go the extra step to design wheels that looked less like appliances and more like pieces of art? Why not sell a wheel that complimented the flowing likes of a sportscar.

In America, BBS had (and still has) John Slagle and Craig Donnelly to thank for supporting the burgeoning IMSA series when it transitioned from a well kept secret into the monster series that dominated its era.

For Donnelly, a BBS employee since January 1st, 1980, and Slagle, rescued from the road car division in early ’86, the days supporting GT and GTP racing came less by choice and more by necessity.

“Back at that time we had a lot of the guys that came into the GTP cars were coming out of the 935 Porsches,” said Donnelly, “they were Group C cars from Europe which, obviously, BBS had already been making wheels for. And a lot of the car manufacturers that were based in England like March and Lola; we had relationships with that we just continued those relationships here with already existing teams that we were servicing.

“But because we were doing racing service and we were already at 20 plus events a year, there really wasn’t anyone else that was as visible. So it made it pretty easy to build our brand in IMSA.”

Slagle landed at BBS at a time where the quality of their wheels stood out in the series. “One of the things I think that was important in that era was that if you really looked at it, as those cars evolved there weren’t many wheel manufacturers that they could go to. You can either use a one-piece wheel manufacture like Dymag or Speedline but they were very expensive then; they weren’t very service friendly. And BBS became, especially in the States, the trusted wheel supplier because the supply of once-piece wheels here was very difficult.”

Once BBS became established as ‘the wheel’ to have, sportscar manufacturers began to lean on the Braselton, GA operation to manufacture lighter and stronger units. As downforce spiked and lightweight chassis construction materials became popular, wheels went from being an afterthought to a major area of performance to exploit. As BBS modified their wheels to keep pace with the rampant development in wind tunnels and autoclaves, their rivals tried to attract BBS’ customers with promises of better wheels. Donnelly recalls it didn’t always go as smoothly as their competitors had hoped.

“Teams were always looking for that edge. So there were guys that would bring in some stuff from Europe here to race on. And they would fail here because the racing conditions in America, on our tracks, especially in GTP, was much different than Group C in Europe, which were tabletop-smooth race tracks. Where in this country, we were brutalizing stuff on these cars here. Plus the GTP cars would run with downforce, I think, that had developed way beyond what they were doing for that in Europe. So we saw situations even on our products here, we saw stress factors in North America that they did not see in Europe.

“We were giving feedback to BBS Germany to develop parts at a faster rate; as cars developed, tires improved, suspensions improved, aerodynamics improved, more downforce – then you have to also upgrade wheels to deal with the additional stress. And this is a standard thing that you do throughout the evolution of certain racing series. But with this, we were the ones pushing that to Europe, not Europe saying this is the latest spec stuff for us to use.”

Donnelly would grow accustomed to a difference in opinions between BBS Germany and BBS USA. “The term ‘Heavy American Air’ became kind of a standard when we were discussing things with the Germans then. Because we were giving them stress and downforce load numbers like nothing they were seeing in Group C, they said it was all due to the heavy American air, which created more downforce and more stress and all this. That was kind of humorous.”

The fallacy of ‘Heavy American Air’ would come to light in 1992 at Road Atlanta when both Nissan GTP cars suffered spectacular tire failures resulting in gravity defying barrel rolls. The sheer violence of both incidents actually helped Donnelly and Slagle to get their parent company’s attention.

“Fortunately, Goodyear found out about the ‘Heavy American Air’ with the Nissans,” Slagle said. “After those crashes I think Germany had a greater respect for what we were trying to deal with because Nissan admitted to Goodyear that the downforce numbers they supplied them were inaccurate. It shed a whole different light on what we were dealing with and made Germany sit up and listen when we told them our cars had greater needs than what they were used to.”

Decades after their first involvement in the IMSA series, the two men can’t help but wax nostalgic about the times and the cars. Their look back into the series also reminded Slagle that while times have changed, many things have stayed the same.

“When you compare it to today, the funds were so much lower, the cars were really cool. Competition was fabulous. But it was much more low key in that one team could party with the other team and things of that nature. But from the work aspect, when I look back on it, it’s really kind of comical because we would pull up in a minivan that we rented and we’d be back there schlepping wheels. We didn’t even have an air gun to assemble or disassemble wheels; we were taking them apart with a speed handle!

“And it’s really funny because everybody used to laugh: you’re back here in a rental car fixing wheels – and yet last year I was in Salt Lake City for the Rolex finale and we were doing virtually the same thing! Okay, we have a Snap-on air ratchet now but in a lot of ways things hadn’t really changed. The products changed and evolved but a certain part of it really hasn’t. I can’t remember who it was, somebody was laughing, ‘You’ve been doing this for like 20-something years, we thought you’d change.’ And I think back on it and yeah, it’s been over 20 years. And we’re still doing it…”

GTP cars – no matter the manufacturer — were usually found on gold BBS wheels. The color was a perfect fit for the various cars they were fitted to, but as Donnelly recalls, it wasn’t a choice.

“Gold. Standard BBS color. Everything was gold. There were no 962s that I know of that ever left that shop other than gold. I don’t think we even did black…you could have pretty much any color as long as it was gold…”

If gold was the traditional color, the cross-spoked wheel design was also a BBS trademark. “You know, that cross-spoke design was spawned out of a number of different racing center ideas but at that time it had the best stiffness-to-weight ratio of anything going,” Donnelly offered. “The only thing you could compare it to, weight wise and was lighter, were the trick Speedline monoblocs that were hollow-spoked.

“Our wheel centers actually had hollow chambers inside. They use a loss type system in the casting and you’d actually have a hollow chamber inside there. It even had a Porsche part number on the wheel center. It was a 956 part number in those days. But it was definitely developed with Porsche directly. We used that technology for years to come with our customer products in GTP, and a lot of other companies tried to copy them with little success.”

Another unique visual from the GTP days were ‘wheel fans,’ first seen on Porsches (that I can recall) and soon requested by the majority of BBS’ clients. Donnelly found most GTP teams were trying to keep up with each other, asking BBS to sell them what they’d seen on their rivals cars without always understanding if it would help or hinder their own cars.

“The fans were really kind of comical because in some cars, depending on the aero package that they ran, they didn’t work at all,” said Slagle. “It became a bit of a game, especially – I know we’re talking about GTPs but we were so prominent in Trans Am and IMSA GTO back then – but really in the saloon cars it was funny because depending on the package they had on the car or whatever, they might help cool the brakes, they might help aero wise, they might not do anything, they might even be a negative!

“And so whoever was leading or winning in the series, we had all these little games being played by their competitors and people would be trying to copy them. They’d say, ‘It had to be the fans!’ So they’d put fans on the car too. We had crew chiefs talking our ears off trying to find out how the fans would help their individual cars, but because all of the chassis were different and had different aero concepts, we had no answers for them. It was all just head games. But it was all part of the fun of the series.”

Wheel fans made their way into other series – notably on the fearsome Audi Quattro Trans-Am cars. Donnelly smiled when recounting the extremes Audi went to in crafting their own fans. “Audi spent more money developing the cooling cones than they did buying wheels! BBS didn’t develop those cooling cones. That was developed in the wind tunnel – actually through some universities – with Audi and they were basically trying to evacuate any air underneath the car. It wasn’t about cooling brakes; it was about getting everything out from beneath the car. For a lot of the other guys, though, you couldn’t always have a logical conversation with someone about the actual benefits. They were going to do what they were going to do and they believed they were going to get the benefit out of it, one way or another.”

BBS used aluminum to make wheels for many years, eventually developing a one-piece wheel that became popular in the GTP series, but when Nissan came asking for the same wheel to be made from a lighter alloy, BBS obliged, even if the costs seemed astronomic at the time.

“They went to the one-piece wheels only because of weight,” said Donnelly. “And then Nissan bought the one-piece magnesium wheels they were commissioned from us. For us, we were like, ‘That’s a lot of money!’ But at the same time, if they were spending to save three pounds of unsprung weight, it was worth it to them And how much money would you have to have stacked up to buy the engineering and build the components to take that weight off elsewhere? It was a no-brainer for them.”

“Back then I think a three-piece on that car was somewhere around $1300, something like that. And that would have been with all the best components that we could muster up at that point. For the magnesium one-piece, add about another 50% added on and that was the price and we were kind of almost like shell-shocked and embarrassed to try to quote that price. And then the reality, I guess, when you look back on it they were burning so much money it didn’t matter. That was actually pretty cheap.”

GTP: 1977 McLaren BMW Camel GT Press Kit

Press kit for the 1977 McLaren BMW 320i Camel GT team and driver David Hobbs. Powered by a 2.0L four cylinder engine, the flame-spitting Citicorp-sponsored 320i took four wins during the 1977 Camel GT championship.

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GTP: 1986 Daytona Finale IMSA GTP Race pt1

The final win for Bob Tullius in the GTP series also marks the first win for Chip Robinson in part 1 of the 1986 Daytona finale.

Courtesy of the American Le Mans Series.

GTP: 1986 Daytona Finale IMSA GTP Race Broadcast pt1 from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

GTP: 1986 Daytona Finale IMSA GTP Race pt2

The final win for Bob Tullius in the GTP series also marks the first win for Chip Robinson in part 2 of the 1986 Daytona finale.

Courtesy of the American Le Mans Series.

GTP: 1986 Daytona Finale IMSA GTP Race Broadcast pt2 from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

GTP: Mosport 1981

You’re starting last at Mosport in the newest, fastest machine on the sportscar scene, the Lola-T600.

You have six hours to slice through the three dozen cars, so time isn’t a major concern, but with the grid filled with bullet-like Porsche turbos, making it to the front won’t be the easiest of undertakings. Throw into the mix that like most tracks of this time, the daunting, brutally fast circuit has yet to receive many of the safety measures we take for granted today, and the race appears to have more chances for calamity than success.

Welcome to the world of sportscar legend Brian Redman and co-driver Eppie Wietzes, sharing the yellow #7 Cooke-Woods Racing car 28 years ago this month.

On that day in Mosport — August 16th, 1981 — Porsche prevailed as veterans Rolf Stommelen and Harald Grohs piloted their Andial Meister 935 to victory, despite a storming drive by Redman and Canadian Trans-Am veteran Wietzes to take second place.

After years of road car-themed Porsches, namely the 935 silhouettes, Lola unveiled the first serious alternative to GT racing (then classified as ‘GTX’) by bringing a real GTP solution to North America.

Facing a large horsepower deficit, Redman and Wietzes used all of the power their 5.7L Chevy V-8 had to offer, and relied heavily on the Lola’s advanced aerodynamics and superior downforce to scythe through the competition.

While it was still early in its development at Mosport, the T600’s massive underwing and sleek shape fulfilled everything IMSA founder John Bishop hoped the new GTP regulations would represent.

Thanks to the Lola, Porsche 935 owners knew their best days were behind them.

Many of the great sportscar names from the period were there at Mosport — Derek Bell in a Porsche 934, David Hobbs and Hans Stuck in a BMW M1, Hurley Haywood sharing a Bayside 935 with team owner Bruce Leven, Bobby Rahal and Gianpiero Moretti in their Momo-liveried 935, Bob Akin and Skeeter McKitterick in their Coke 935…Porsche icon Bob Garretson…Jim Busby and John Fitzpatrick…Spanish racer ‘Jamsal’…it was a packed grid.
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The locals were also well represented, with esteemed Canadian driver Bill Adam in the race (driving a brutish Camaro), along with Uli Bieri, Ludwig Heimrath Jr. and Sr., and a large contingent of skilled professionals and enthusiastic gentlemen racers.

Look beyond the heavy hitters, and a few mechanical oddities made their way onto the grid — Porsche 914/6s, and even (take a deep breath) a Triumph TR-8!

Five wins in the GTP-class Lola helped to deliver the 1981 IMSA GT driver’s crown to Redman, yet Porsche’s sheer numbers meant Lola would have to settle for second in the manufacturer’s contest.

Enjoy this 38 minute highlight reel of the event — Redman’s Lola makes extensive use of in-car footage during the race — well ahead of its time in 1981.

Learn more about the ALMS by visiting www.AmericanLeMans.com.

(Video courtesy of the American Le Mans Series)

GTP: 1981 Mosport IMSA GT Race Broadcast from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

GTP: 1989 Portland IMSA GTP Race Broadcast

Spend 97 minutes with Geoff Brabham, Price Cobb, Davy Jones and the rest of the players in the 1989 Portland IMSA GTP race…one that went down in great controversy after the checkered flag was displayed early.

Jaguar’s Price Cobb crossed the finish line first as the checkered flag waved prematurely, and Geoff Brabham crossed it last just when it was scheduled to fall. Despite Nissan’s victory circle celebrations, the win would be overturned and given to Cobb.

While it made for great drama at the time; it’s all IMSA fans spoke about, but the altered outcome did little to sway the championship as the Nissan/Brabham freight train carried onto their second consecutive GTP title.

1st Lammers / Cobb Jaguar XJR-10 Castrol Jaguar Racing
2nd Geoff Brabham Nissan GTP ZX-T Electramotive Engineering
3rd Chip Robinson Nissan GTP ZX-T Electramotive Engineering
4th Nielsen / Jones Jaguar XJR-9 Castrol Jaguar Racing
5th Miller / Earl Spice SE89P Chevrolet Jim Miller Racing
6th Andretti / Wollek Porsche 962 Busby Racing
7th Moran / Ribbs Eagle HF89 Toyota All American Racers
8th Mass Porsche 962C Bayside Racing/Bruce Leven
9th Adams Porsche 962 Hotchkis Racing
10th Gianpiero Moretti Porsche 962C Momo/Gebhardt Racing

GTP: 1989 Portland IMSA GTP Race Broadcast from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

GTP: 2009 Monterey Historics Trackside Action

Here’s 36 shots from trackside at the 2009 Monterey Historics, featuring the IMSA GTP cars.

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GTP: Hotchkis Porsche 962 In-Car, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Mark Hotchkis leads the GTP race from pole during the 36th annual Rolex Monterey Historics held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, winning handily and lapping cars by the 5th tour in this 10-lap race.

In what might be a first, Hotchkis races the 962 with a helmet-mounted camera, giving the viewer the same view he has from inside the cockpit of the famed German prototype.

Driving his family owned 962, the purple Wynn’s Porsche was purchased new and raced by the family in 1986 and has remained in their hands ever since.

With the majority of the 962s having changed hands multiple times throughout the years, their story is unique in that the GTP car was first driver by John Hotchkis Sr, then John Hotchkis Jr, and now now by the youngest son, former Indy Lights star, Mark Hotchkis.

Despite the polite nature vintage racing has associated with it, Mark does anything but treat his 962 with kid gloves.

Hotchkis managed to lap almost half the field in the 10-lap event where he was chased home by ALMS star Gunnar Jeanette in a 1994 Kremer-Porsche K8. Rudy Junco finished third in his 1988 962, Patrick Dempsey took 4th with the stunning Mazda RX-792P, and Tom Malloy earned fifth in his Leyton House-liveried 1988 962.

Enjoy the full race below from Mark’s perspective. He used the adjustable boost knob on the bottom left as necessary on the straights, and also holds his foot on the brake pedal as he leads the field to the start in order to build 50+ psi of turbo boost.

The sounds of the chirping wastegate is pure heaven…

GTP: Hotchkis Porsche 962 In-Car, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

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