To most sport compact performance enthusiasts, vintage racing must seem just a bit stuffy. We like the cars because they are accessible, easy to buy and easy to make fast without spending a fortune. In contrast, vintage racing can sometimes seem to be a venue primarily for wealthy collectors to parade around in their million-dollar-plus European exotics, sipping Perrier in the shade of canopies hanging from the sides of their $80,000 transporters. Chugging a bottle of Gatorade and sliding under one's own car, wrench in hand, is unseemly. There are rules about which cars may compete, but while certain Japanese cars qualify by the letter of the rulebook, those who have prepared and attempted to race them at vintage events have often been made to feel unwelcome. Even those who race the less expensive vehicles from "approved continents" have sometimes felt under-appreciated in the paddock. Thanks to the formation of the Vintage Sedan Racers Group, that is changing.
With membership free and open to anyone, VSRG was organized to provide a quality vintage racing experience for drivers of small-bore sedans, typically those that originally competed in SCCA's Trans-Am 2.5 and B-Sedan categories. Instead of one or two drivers showing up with a low-buck car, there is now a whole race group organized around the idea of replicating the 2.0-liter-and-under Trans-Am races, producing some of the fiercest small-bore production car racing ever seen in this country. Trans-Am was created by the SCCA in 1966, and continues to be the series representing the organization's professional racing efforts today. There were only two classes originally, Over 2.0 Liter (O-2) and Under 2.0 Liter (U-2), the resulting vast differences between cars equalized by a weight-per-displacement formula that varied depending on engine configuration. More sophisticated engines had to carry more weight per cc.
Alfa Romeo's aluminum-bodied GTAs were dominant the first year, then played also-ran to the Porsche 911 for two seasons, which was eligible by virtue of its seat-shaped rear parcel shelf. In 1969 and 1970, the Trans-Am became an opportunity for domestic factories to market their pony cars, and the U-2 class, on the track at the same time, quickly became the slower sideshow. While Mark Donohue and Parnelli Jones drew attention to the Mustang-Camaro wars, the 911 was no longer allowed. In 1970, U-2 was run separately from the big cars for safety reasons, but continued to consist mostly of Alfa Romeos reliably beating up on BMW 2002s. Only one victory went to the German marque. When a Datsun 510 was entered in the Trans-Am for the first time at Kent, Wash., it was the first hint of what would become a season-long dogfight the next year, one of American road racing's best stories.
In 1971, U-2 became the 2.5 Challenge to make more cars eligible, a move that mattered little, as the front runners were still under 2000cc. Pete Brock, having just won a national championship for Datsun with the 240Z, organized a program with Datsun's "other" car, the 510 sedan. A five-week development thrash got the BRE team to the second race of the season at Bryar, N.H. and John Morton showed the Alfas what the back of a Datsun looked like, until a mechanical failure caused him to DNF. He won the next two races, however, beginning a points chase that would end, literally, after the wire.
The last race, scheduled for Kent, was cancelled due to lack of spectator interest. The Datsun team was trailing in the points and needed another event to make up the difference, so Datsun guaranteed the purchase of enough tickets to cover the 2.5 Challenge purse if Laguna Seca's management would add a 2.5 event to a scheduled Can-Am race. The competition was ferocious, with an entire season's results on the line. John Morton was able to lap faster than the lead Alfa driver, Horst Kwech, when not dicing directly with him, but the Austrian set Morton back by tapping his rear bumper and causing him to spin at the top of the Corkscrew. After spending 9 sec. in the pits to refuel, Morton trailed by 14 sec., a margin he trimmed to just six by the end. If Kwech had pitted, Morton would have taken the checker, but the GTA kept going, running out of fuel on the cool-down lap.
There was a sense in the BRE pits that something wasn't right, but it took 24 hours for race officials to officially announce the Alfa's disqualification. With fuel capacity limited to 15 gallons, Kwech's tank was measured at just more than 18. With Morton taking the win, Datsun and Alfa Romeo were tied in points. The championship went to Datsun, however, because the 510s had six wins to Alfa's four.
Pete Brock said he knew when the flag fell that something was wrong. "The fact that they decided to go the full distance with a big tank is too bad, because the rest of the car was really brilliant. It's the best preparation that we'd run against all year." John Morton called it "one of the best races I think I've ever been involved in."
With a season of development behind them, the BRE team won nine out of 11 races the next year and took the championship again. In 1973, the Trans-Am format was changed and declined rapidly, going out with a whimpering three races in 1974.
The Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge series aims to revive the rivalries of the 1970-1972 Trans-Am era, using cars built to a vintage racing standard: period competition preparation with modern safety equipment. On the West Coast, all seven races on the first season's schedule are to be run in conjunction with Historic Sportscar. Racing-West, while two events are scheduled at Virgina International Raceway, the first tied to a VSCCA event. Rules for the Vintage 2.5 Challenge closely mirror the original book. Individual vehicles don't have to have actual race history, but must be built as they would have been for racing 30 years ago. The three most popular cars are, of course, the Alfa Romeo GTV and GTA, Datsun 510 and BMW 2002 or 1600 (the same car with a smaller engine), but Lotus-engined Fords have finished higher in the standings than their numbers would suggest.
The important thing to remember is that this is vintage racing. Body contact, while not enforced with a zero-tolerance policy as it has been at times in the past, is strongly discouraged. The four ingredients-fast, slow, cars and drivers-can be expected to be mixed more or less evenly, so it's not really a true test of vehicles or drivers. It's about excitement and having fun with neat old cars in a safe environment and spending time with others in a like frame of mind.
SCC went out to Willow Springs Raceway to see the first Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge race this last spring. VSRG's guest of honor was John Morton, giving Trans-Am fans an opportunity to meet the legend and setting the stage for a twist of intrigue. Morton had not intended to drive at the event, but on Saturday, was invited to drive an Alfa Romeo TZ in another group. Driving gear was found and he accepted the honor. Reaching the grid as cars began rolling, he started at the back and steadily worked his way toward the front, surprising no one.
The surprise was when David Wall asked Morton to drive his 1967 Alfa GTV, gridded fourth for the 2.5 Challenge qualifying race. It took only a handful of laps for Morton to catch Kevin McKee, driving another 1967 GTV. The duo battled it out until the rear of McKee's Alfa to stepped out of line in turn three. It was just enough for Morton to get past, taking the checker at the end of the lap. Reactions were varied: Some members of the 510 camp were outraged, while Alfa owners seemed just a little smug. The latter may have been because the top 510 finisher was Steve Link in fourth, driving a car campaigned in the original 2.5 Challenge. John Morton, a driver's driver, seemed simply to have enjoyed driving another good race in a good car. On Sunday, McKee led flag to flag, followed by Alan Ward in a 2.0L GTV and Steve Link. Jeff Hecox, in a BMW 1600, and C.J. Bonura, who had started at the back of the grid in his Ford Lotus Cortina following a mishap on Saturday, were trailed by a pair of 2002s.
The second event of the season was held in late April at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Alan Ward's race weekend came to a close on Saturday with a loss of oil pressure, while Kevin McKee spun in the qualifying race and had to start on the third row Sunday. This time, Steve Link had his 510 dialed in and battled closely with C.J. Bonura both days. Link took the qualifying race on Saturday and set fast lap in Sunday's race, but it wasn't quite enough to squeeze out Bonura's Ford Cortina, which took the win. Jeff Hecox was third and David Wall took fourth. Kevin McKee had the hard luck story, managing to finish fifth despite his transmission being jammed in third from the start. The results so far give C.J. Bonura, Steve Link, and Kevin McKee 13 points each in VSRG's season championship. Vintage 2.5 Challenge drivers held their own against other categories as well, as Hecox teamed with Bob Sullivan to win a Porsche vs. Sedan Enduro contest and Bonura claimed the BMW-Lotus Challenge race.