Club Arnage

Someone brought up the name Pete Lyons the other day (Fax?) I don't remember reading his reports in Autosport but did recall his name.

I came across his web page from a link on another site.

http://www.petelyons.com/Biography.html


There are some wonderful photos from the glory days of CanAm and Sportscars.

For heaven's sake I'm trying to work here!

Gurney Eagles - Beautiful.

D.A.

Great Link!! His books are well written and the photos are always top notch. So, I got on the web site and thought I'd click on Lotus 30 as my late Step Father had raced one in the mid 60's that was owned by Newt Davis. The photos that he has are of that car! What are the chances of that. The first race that I ever attended was the Govenors Trophy in Nassau, Bahamas in 1965 and we had trailered that car from New York to the port of Miami. That race is when I fell in love with the Chapparals, and one of the photos includes both the Lotus 30 and Chapparrals. I think I'll need to buy that photo. 8)

Been to Goodwood today, and to me the most impressive cars on the line were the Can-am cars. All noise and vibration as they spin the wheels as they approach it, engine spluttering as it waits. Then with a clap of thunder it's away in a snaking cloud of smoke.
Dad took me to a race in the 70's at Brands Hatch featuring Can-am cars, young at the time but still remember the noise.

Canam cars where and still are the mutts nuts as far as I am concerned.

The only time I have seen them race is either at ThunderSports meetings or Classic races.

In the back of my mind there is a nagging thought that there was a libre race at Brands in the early 70's that was won by a shadow canam car that i was at, may have been a 'money race', could it have happened or did i dream it?

If your numbers come there is a chance to buy some of the best ever cars at auction, Jackie Stewart's Lola, a 917 or a couple of Shadows.
http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=USA&screen=carsusaquail

Hi guys,
As I've said before the Can-Am was my first love.  The very first racing cars I ever saw come past me in anger were the two factory McLaren M8F's of Denny Hulme and Peter Revson at Mid Ohio in 1971.
My father, uncle, brother & I had arrived at the circuit on Saturday morning, just as morning warmup for Group 7 was getting underway. Pulled over next to the the turn 1 bridge and heard thunder rolling at us from the other side.  In a flash two ornage blurs were on us and just as quickly rocketed up the hill torward the Keyhole in a blare of sound.  I was nine at the time, and my life changed forever in a split second.  The Can-Am was just a wild series, basically the rules were...there were no rules!  People think the Ferrari 512 and Porsche 917 LM cars were fantastic, but every year at Watkins Glen, when the Six Hours was on Saturday and the Can-Am on Sunday, JWR lads would install fresh engines in the Gulf 917's on Saturday night and race them in the Can-Am on Sunday, and the Group 7 Can-Am cars would leave the 917's like they were tied to a tree.  Wasn't until Porsche created the 917/10 Turbo Spyder that they could compete with the McLaren's.  Pete's website is lovely and I have several photos from his archives.
Fax

The start of the first race I ever saw, and on the grid at Donnybrook in 1972, one of my favorite pics.  One minute to go, hands in the air signaling engines are started...I can still hear the noise now.  Donohue and Follmer on row one in the Penske Turbo Porsche 917's, Revvie and Denny in the factory McLaren M20's on row two, eventual winner Cevert and Oliver in the Shadow on row three.  It didn't get any better than this...
Fax

I should add that I "borrowed" them from Pete's website.
Sorry Pete! Really he's a racing geek like the rest of us so doubt if he'd mind.
Fax