by Steve Holmes » Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:54 pm
Round 9: Laguna Seca The Lola T260 fronted up for Laguna Seca in what would be its most radical, and most memorable guise, with a large wing mounted way out ahead of the bodywork attached by four tubes, in perhaps the ultimate expression in the pursuit of increased front downforce. For a car that had suffered all season long from a lack of front-end grip, the new addition did appear to remedy the situation, given the angle of the rear wing.
Once again the McLarens dominated qualifying, with Revson again coming out on top. However, this time, Stewart was not third. He was headed off by David Hobbs, driving the returning and improved Bryant Ti22 ‘titanium car’, although no longer with any Peter Bryant involvement. On row three was Oliver, in the Shadow, and no doubt unimpressed at the site of ‘his’ old car (Oliver drove the Ti22 in 1969 and 1970) starting directly in front of him! Next to Oliver was another returnee, one of the BRM P154s from 1970, having undergone several upgrades, enough to be given a new designation as a P167. Driving the BRM was Brian Redman, who’d recently raced the car to victory at two Interserie (European Can-Am equivalent) events.
At the start, Revson shot away, chased by Hulme, while Stewart dived under Hobbs at the Corkscrew, followed later that same lap by Oliver. Stewart chased the two McLarens throughout the early laps as all-hell broke loose behind with spins and crashes, and eventually Hulme’s big Chevy went off-song, allowing the Lola up to second. But Stewart could do nothing about Revson, who, little by little, increased his lead. Then, however, the intensity was ramped up, as when lapping Kazato, Revson and the T222 banged in to each other, with the Lola spearing off into the dust. Revson ducked into the pits with the right side door swinging open, and his crew fastened it back on again, and sent him back out to continue the fight. When he resumed, Stewart was less than 10 seconds behind, and while this raised the excitement levels somewhat, Revson then got his head down and began to draw away again.
On lap 70, of 90, Revson felt his motor begin to lose power, so began nursing it to reach the finish. With three laps to run, the McLaren looked to be cruising to victory, Stewart was still well behind and although his motor was getting weaker, he was nearly home. But with two laps left, smoke began emitting from the giant right side pipe, and as he shot across the start/finish line to begin his last tour, a black flag was held out for him. Revson says he didn’t see it, and swept around the final lap, and across the line, only to see the black flag held aloft once more. Confused, he completed another tour, this time to see the checker held out, but rather than being waved at him, it was held until Stewart blasted across the line. Revson completed his cool-down and drove to the winners circle, while Stewart parked the Lola beneath the starters bridge. Carl Haas protested the McLaren, and everyone set about arguing the facts for the next two hours until it was declared Revson was the winner, albeit, with a $250 fine for ignoring the black flag.
Round 10: Riverside The 1971 Can-Am championship concluded at the fast, sweeping Riverside venue, as it had done the year before. Stewarts early season hopes of winning both the F1 World Championship and the Can-Am Championship all in the same year were a distant memory. Fortunately for the punters, although the Lola challenge fell short, at least the championship itself went down to the wire, to go the way of either Revson or Hulme. Revson, who’d started the season quietly, now led the points, on 127, with Hulme on 112. With first place being rewarded with 20 points, second 15, Hulme would need a healthy dollop of luck to win it, but even the factory McLarens were not bullet-proof.
Stewart entered his last ever Can-Am race with the Lola in much the same guise as it had appeared at Laguna Seca, with the big cow-catcher mounted way out in front, now with end-plates attached to direct the air-flow more effectively. Stewart qualified third, again, and although his best time was close to that of Revson in second, Hulme was showing he wasn’t going down without a fight, and punched in a time a full second faster than his team-mate. But Stewart wasn’t happy with his Lola. The severe understeer that had been apparent for much of the season was still there, but now the car snapped from understeer straight into rampant oversteer, keeping its pilots elbows flailing about wildly through most corner exits. Also, whereas earlier in the season the Lola was significantly faster in a straight line than the McLarens, now it was slower! The fact the two orange machines were fitted with big 509ci Chevys may have had something to do with it, or maybe it was the added downforce attached to the Lola in the form of those wings. In fact, it was probably a combination of the two. Although Stewart was as fast as his rivals on many of the turns, it was a battle all the way.
Next to Stewart on the grid was George Follmer (McLaren M8E), followed by Oliver, Moschenbacher, Sam Posey (McLaren M8E), Adamowicz, Howden Ganley, driving the BRM, Chuck Parsons, and the rest. The race itself was pretty dull, with Hulme clearing out, leaving Stewart to chase Revson, until the Lola driver ducked through when they hit traffic. Revson was happy to run third, safe in the knowledge the resulting 12 points would secure him the title. In the end, he finished second, as Stewart went out with piston failure. Revson was champion.
[attachment=0]Photo6.jpg[/attachment]
[b]Round 9: Laguna Seca[/b]
The Lola T260 fronted up for Laguna Seca in what would be its most radical, and most memorable guise, with a large wing mounted way out ahead of the bodywork attached by four tubes, in perhaps the ultimate expression in the pursuit of increased front downforce. For a car that had suffered all season long from a lack of front-end grip, the new addition did appear to remedy the situation, given the angle of the rear wing.
Once again the McLarens dominated qualifying, with Revson again coming out on top. However, this time, Stewart was not third. He was headed off by David Hobbs, driving the returning and improved Bryant Ti22 ‘titanium car’, although no longer with any Peter Bryant involvement. On row three was Oliver, in the Shadow, and no doubt unimpressed at the site of ‘his’ old car (Oliver drove the Ti22 in 1969 and 1970) starting directly in front of him! Next to Oliver was another returnee, one of the BRM P154s from 1970, having undergone several upgrades, enough to be given a new designation as a P167. Driving the BRM was Brian Redman, who’d recently raced the car to victory at two Interserie (European Can-Am equivalent) events.
At the start, Revson shot away, chased by Hulme, while Stewart dived under Hobbs at the Corkscrew, followed later that same lap by Oliver. Stewart chased the two McLarens throughout the early laps as all-hell broke loose behind with spins and crashes, and eventually Hulme’s big Chevy went off-song, allowing the Lola up to second. But Stewart could do nothing about Revson, who, little by little, increased his lead. Then, however, the intensity was ramped up, as when lapping Kazato, Revson and the T222 banged in to each other, with the Lola spearing off into the dust. Revson ducked into the pits with the right side door swinging open, and his crew fastened it back on again, and sent him back out to continue the fight. When he resumed, Stewart was less than 10 seconds behind, and while this raised the excitement levels somewhat, Revson then got his head down and began to draw away again.
On lap 70, of 90, Revson felt his motor begin to lose power, so began nursing it to reach the finish. With three laps to run, the McLaren looked to be cruising to victory, Stewart was still well behind and although his motor was getting weaker, he was nearly home. But with two laps left, smoke began emitting from the giant right side pipe, and as he shot across the start/finish line to begin his last tour, a black flag was held out for him. Revson says he didn’t see it, and swept around the final lap, and across the line, only to see the black flag held aloft once more. Confused, he completed another tour, this time to see the checker held out, but rather than being waved at him, it was held until Stewart blasted across the line. Revson completed his cool-down and drove to the winners circle, while Stewart parked the Lola beneath the starters bridge. Carl Haas protested the McLaren, and everyone set about arguing the facts for the next two hours until it was declared Revson was the winner, albeit, with a $250 fine for ignoring the black flag.
[b]Round 10: Riverside[/b]
The 1971 Can-Am championship concluded at the fast, sweeping Riverside venue, as it had done the year before. Stewarts early season hopes of winning both the F1 World Championship and the Can-Am Championship all in the same year were a distant memory. Fortunately for the punters, although the Lola challenge fell short, at least the championship itself went down to the wire, to go the way of either Revson or Hulme. Revson, who’d started the season quietly, now led the points, on 127, with Hulme on 112. With first place being rewarded with 20 points, second 15, Hulme would need a healthy dollop of luck to win it, but even the factory McLarens were not bullet-proof.
Stewart entered his last ever Can-Am race with the Lola in much the same guise as it had appeared at Laguna Seca, with the big cow-catcher mounted way out in front, now with end-plates attached to direct the air-flow more effectively. Stewart qualified third, again, and although his best time was close to that of Revson in second, Hulme was showing he wasn’t going down without a fight, and punched in a time a full second faster than his team-mate. But Stewart wasn’t happy with his Lola. The severe understeer that had been apparent for much of the season was still there, but now the car snapped from understeer straight into rampant oversteer, keeping its pilots elbows flailing about wildly through most corner exits. Also, whereas earlier in the season the Lola was significantly faster in a straight line than the McLarens, now it was slower! The fact the two orange machines were fitted with big 509ci Chevys may have had something to do with it, or maybe it was the added downforce attached to the Lola in the form of those wings. In fact, it was probably a combination of the two. Although Stewart was as fast as his rivals on many of the turns, it was a battle all the way.
Next to Stewart on the grid was George Follmer (McLaren M8E), followed by Oliver, Moschenbacher, Sam Posey (McLaren M8E), Adamowicz, Howden Ganley, driving the BRM, Chuck Parsons, and the rest. The race itself was pretty dull, with Hulme clearing out, leaving Stewart to chase Revson, until the Lola driver ducked through when they hit traffic. Revson was happy to run third, safe in the knowledge the resulting 12 points would secure him the title. In the end, he finished second, as Stewart went out with piston failure. Revson was champion.