Can Am Thunder Returns to Mosport

[Vicsr44]

Mark next June 20-22 on your calendar to be there when the thunder of Can Am racing returns to Mosport, the site of the first Can Am race. The 2008 VARAC Festival brings back the excitement of the powerful Lolas, Chaparrals, McLarens, Porsches & Coopers. Based on the inquiries & entries (already!) from owners of these cars, the Can Am Thunder feature promises to be one of the most exciting events of 2008. If you attended any of the original Can Am series, you know why many consider this to be the greatest racing series ever in North America. If you did not, then this year's Festival gives you a chance to see heart-pounding ground-shaking racing at its finest!

[Fastone60]

June 22, 23, 24 2008 are Sun, Mon and Tues. The Festival in 2007 was on these dates. Clarification, please.

[Vicsr44]

Sorry, have to learn to look at the right calendar!!!

The dates for the Festival are June 20, 21, 22!

Blame it on old age...that's my excuse & I'm stickin' to t!

[Vicsr44]

From Lola Heretige website:
"One of the truly significant Lola's that we have been told will be participating is Johan Woeheide's T70, the car that Dan Gurney drove to victory in the second ever Can-Am at Bridgehampton. We expect a huge turnout of Lolas to help celebrate this momentous occasion. Can-Am Lolas will have the option of parking in the "Can-Am" paddock or the "Lola" paddock.

Among those who have already indicated they will be attending is the previously mentioned John Woerheide; Dave Handy and Jim Simpson, both in McLarens; Tom Stephani in the "Vinergaroon" and Tom Simpson in his McKee, and this almost eight months prior to the event. Judging by the inquiries and the enthusiasm about Mosport it promises to be a huge turnout. I’ve even had reports of at least three driver’s in the market to buy cars just so they can make the event!"

The excitement builds! This will be a truly outstanding event based on the buzz on the internet.

[John Powell]

One of the most spectacular sights and sounds ever ... first lap of a Can-Am at Mosport with a still tightly bunched pack of un-muffled Group 7 cars at full throttle cresting the hump on the back straight just before shutting down for turn 8 ... Rolling Thunder!!! :eek: :D :D

[Vicsr44]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlWPsra-vjI

A video from the 40th anniversary of Can AM at Road America. Mosport will look & sound something like this next June 22-24!

[GTA Fan]

Are the single-seaters coming as well? Last year there was a Frisbee that did a few laps at lunch.

It would be great to see some of these as well, even if the purists say they arent 'real' Can-Am cars..

[timewarp9]

Also look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRwYDA-LxKU&feature=related

[Transamdriver]

Can-Am cars at Mosport will be a great event! (BTW, the first Can-Am race was held at St. Jovite, not Mosport)

I was there for all those early Can-Am races and was lucky enough to drive in the sedan support races in 69 and 70 (2nd and 3rd).

Might just make that trip back east one more time in June 08.

Anyone here have photos of those 69 & 70 races including the support events?

Robert Barg

[Searle19]

Actually, I thnk that Mosport was the site of the third ever Can-Am event, on September 24th, 1966. The first Can-Am was held at Mont-Tremblant on September 11th and the second one was at Bridgehampton.


Mark next June 20-22 on your calendar to be there when the thunder of Can Am racing returns to Mosport, the site of the first Can Am race. The 2008 VARAC Festival brings back the excitement of the powerful Lolas, Chaparrals, McLarens, Porsches & Coopers. Based on the inquiries & entries (already!) from owners of these cars, the Can Am Thunder feature promises to be one of the most exciting events of 2008. If you attended any of the original Can Am series, you know why many consider this to be the greatest racing series ever in North America. If you did not, then this year's Festival gives you a chance to see heart-pounding ground-shaking racing at its finest!

[Transamdriver]

Most of us in those days referred to the Mont-Tremblant track as "St. Jovite", as that was the name of the small town just outside the track.

I also remember travelling to the Bridgehampton Can-Am where Jim Hall unveiled the big rear wing on his Chapparal. It's hard to imagine now that 4 of us travelled there in a Sunbeam Imp. We drove straight down, saw the race, and returned straight home.

Anyone here on this forum involved with those early Can-Am days at Mosport, perhaps as a driver or crew, or turn worker/ official etc?

Robert Barg

[Vicsr44]

I was a marshal for the first two years of Can Am. I started at Mosport when it opened & to me the Can Am was an extension of the Players races. I am looking forward to this year's Vintage Festival even more than last year's F1 Reunion because these are the cars that represent the top of the racing world to me. As I read somewhere a comment about Can Am from either Bruce McLaren or Mark Donaghue, Can Am was the ultimate series because there really were very few rules. It was about going as fast as possible (a race car driver's dream!).

If you love the sound of the big V-8, if you like the feeling of the vibrations from these motors as they hit your chest, you know you don't want to miss this event! If you are too young to have experienced the original Can Am, I can guarantee that if you attend the Festival, you will know why people who were there in 1966-1974 talk about that era as being the best racing ever!

One other note: If you believe Formula 1 is or was the ultimate in speed & technology, remember that in the later years Can Am cars were faster than the Formula 1 cars of the day. For technology, look at Jim Hall's Chaparral 2G (I think) that used auxillary motors to suck the car down onto the track. It was so fast it was outlawed but Colin Chapman used ideas from that car's design in later Lotus Formula 1 cars!

[John Powell]

And the whole Group 7 class started with Bill Sadler's Mk. V. :D

[Searle19]

The Chaparral "sucker" car was the 2J model

I was a marshal for the first two years of Can Am. I started at Mosport when it opened & to me the Can Am was an extension of the Players races. I am looking forward to this year's Vintage Festival even more than last year's F1 Reunion because these are the cars that represent the top of the racing world to me. As I read somewhere a comment about Can Am from either Bruce McLaren or Mark Donaghue, Can Am was the ultimate series because there really were very few rules. It was about going as fast as possible (a race car driver's dream!).

If you love the sound of the big V-8, if you like the feeling of the vibrations from these motors as they hit your chest, you know you don't want to miss this event! If you are too young to have experienced the original Can Am, I can guarantee that if you attend the Festival, you will know why people who were there in 1966-1974 talk about that era as being the best racing ever!

One other note: If you believe Formula 1 is or was the ultimate in speed & technology, remember that in the later years Can Am cars were faster than the Formula 1 cars of the day. For technology, look at Jim Hall's Chaparral 2G (I think) that used auxillary motors to suck the car down onto the track. It was so fast it was outlawed but Colin Chapman used ideas from that car's design in later Lotus Formula 1 cars!

[Transamdriver]

Does anyone have the Can-Am programs from 66 & 67? I am curious as to who raced in the support races? I have some later Can-Am programs from 69and up but not those first 2 years.

Robert Barg

[Vicsr44]

And the whole Group 7 class started with Bill Sadler's Mk. V. :D

John
Do you remember when Grant Clark (?) became airborne over the hump into corner 8 the first time the Mk V was on the track? I was on another corner that day but as I recall he landed past the end of the straight.

Were you a marshal in those days? I seem to remember you doing both marshaling & driving.

[John Powell]

John
Do you remember when Grant Clark (?) became airborne over the hump into corner 8 the first time the Mk V was on the track? I was on another corner that day but as I recall he landed past the end of the straight.

Were you a marshal in those days? I seem to remember you doing both marshaling & driving.

I heard about Grant Clark's flight but I didn't see it. I marshaled in the mid-sixties but only at Regional weekends. I did 2 novice races in '63 in Lotus 6 a buddy and I purchased from Dave Hunt, but we ran out of money. I didn't start again until '67 when I ran two novice races in a bog stock MGB, and it all ended in '70 at Harewood in a FA car that got airborne and was written off, much to the chagrin of the loan manager at my bank. :rolleyes:

The main thing I remember about the Mark Vs was watching them come out of 5B and head up the back straight ... corner exit, rear end squats, and then ... they're GONE!!! :D

[Vicsr44]

Dan Blocker's ("Hoss Cartwright" on " Bonanza") Nickey Genie Mk 10 - Chevrolet "Vinegaroon" is returning to Mosport for Can Am Thunder on June 20-22, 2008. Tom Stephani, son of one of the original owners of Nickey Chevrolet will be driving the car. John Cannon of Montreal won the Stardust Grand Prix in Las Vegas in 1966 with this car.

[John Powell]

I remember that car. But the Can-Am highlight for me was Dan "the man" Gurney. I don't remember which year or car (but I think it was a McLaren), but he's the only driver I ever saw who took 5a and 5b in one smooth arc steering with both the wheel and the throttle ... and that was on the old narrow track! :eek:

[Trackside]

I remember that car. But the Can-Am highlight for me was Dan "the man" Gurney. I don't remember which year or car (but I think it was a McLaren), but he's the only driver I ever saw who took 5a and 5b in one smooth arc steering with both the wheel and the throttle ... and that was on the old narrow track! :eek:

John here is a link, although about slot cars, about the M8D that I believe you saw Dan in. It also mentions inthe article attached about seeing Gurney in the car at Mosport

http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/Cars3/McLarenM8D.html

[John Powell]

John here is a link, although about slot cars, about the M8D that I believe you saw Dan in. It also mentions inthe article attached about seeing Gurney in the car at Mosport

http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/Cars3/McLarenM8D.html

Nope, wasn't that one. My thought was that it was much earlier, a darker colour, and not number 48, so I went looking for some old racing photos, and I think it was the 1966 Can-Am at Mosport, the car was a Ford-engined Lola, and it had number 30. Sorry, I can't post the shot as it isn't digital.

[Vicsr44]

John
This link may show the car you saw. It's Gurney at Bridgehampton in 1966.

http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1966/Bridgehampton-1966-09-18-030.jpg

[John Powell]

Yup, that's the one. I downloaded and saved it, but when I tried to open it I got a message that the file was corrupted and it couldn't be opened. Any suggestions?

[Vicsr44]

John
I downloaded it to see if I had a problem. It worked fine. I suggest downloading it again (if you have not already). If that fails to work, email me & I will send you the file.

[Transamdriver]

The Sports Car Graphic June/66 issue features the "Vinegaroon" Genie with a photo on the front page (Blocker leaning over the car talking to driver Cannon). There are some more photos and a nice article about the mechanics of the car. It only had a small 300 ci Traco Chev small block with Webers, supposedly making about 385 HP, but the race weight of the car was just under 1400 lbs.

Robert Barg

[John Powell]

John
I downloaded it to see if I had a problem. It worked fine. I suggest downloading it again (if you have not already). If that fails to work, email me & I will send you the file.

Thanks for the offer, but I don't think it'll work. I e-mailed it to myself, downloaded it, saved it to file, and when I tried to open it the same thing happened. I then went to the Racing Sports Cars site and tried from there with a couple of photos and the same thing happened again, so I guess they've put some sort of a tag in the URL so you can't download and save photos. I think what I'll do when I have time is to contact them and see what their policy is on downloading and saving photos as there's more stuff there which may be interesting.

[Vicsr44]

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/canam/

The link takes you to a site that has pictures of some of the awesome Can AM cars of the 1966 - 74 period. We all know about the McLarens & Lolas but how many remember the brutal Ferrari 712 or the Porsche 917/10K? Hopefully we will have examples of these cars at VARAC's Vintage Festival, June 20 - 22. One of the interesting pictures is of the 1966 Holman / Moody Honker II.