IMSA GTP Fans, I need your help!

Maroon92 wrote:

pete240z wrote: I was getting free cigarette 1/2 packs from the Camel tent at Road America. Smoked them all and kept buying Camel lights.........what was that all about?

Dunno, but it accomplished what PM wanted it to. You were smokin' their product. I don't smoke, and I never have condoned it, but I do miss tobacco sponsorship.

I quit 18 years ago. I really started smoking after packing a bag full of free cigarettes too. I was an idiot but I too enjoyed the races. I believe that camel joe guy was around too.

The first GTP car.

An utterly underwhelming and ugly car, driven by a personal favorite, Mr. David Wishart Hobbs. He was described in a press release as "competitive driver, articulate motorsport spokesman, and wry wit".

Maroon, you may want to try contacting Dave Klym, the founder/owner of Fabcar. His company was contracted by Porsche to build and repair 962 chassis. Seems like he has some impressive credits on his resume.

Here's a link that may help in reaching him: http://www.spoke.com/info/pFdUtAf/DavidKlym

In reply to oldsaw:

Thanks for that.

I have a few contacts at ANDIAL as well. They may be worth speaking with.

Maroon92 wrote: I may as well bump this back up. It has been 4 days! I have spoken with Hal Crocker at least 5 times and exchanged several e-mails with him. I will hold my cards close to my chest for the time being, but expect to see something really cool coming from us in the future. As it goes however, please keep your stories coming. Who was where, doing what, and why?

1988 or so Road Atlanta GTP (practice session). Working the blue flag station at T5 (the old one, drivers' left near the apex). There's a Lights car struggling through the bottom of the esses with some kind of engine problem, when Geoff Brabham (in Kastner's Electromotive Nissan) pops up over the hill at T3 at warp speed. I'm so startled by the speed differential that I pop the blue out, "flutter" & "rock" it at the Lights car (we didn't use waving blues then) like Armageddon is coming. The Lights driver stays off-line as he slowly climbs the hill. Brabham blows through the esses like he's riding a lightning bolt...

And takes a hand off the wheel to wave "thanks" to me as he goes by the flag station.

Brad, forgot to mention..local legend has it that Jim Downing was the one who persuaded IMSA to call the FIA C2 cars running in IMSA GTP "Camel Lights" in the first place. Jim's also in Atl. Metro (IIRC, he's now running SCCA CSR in his semi-retirement), and you may be able to reach him at the website for his shop.
http://downingatlanta.com/downingatlanta/

If there's an untold story about GTP, it's about the Lights.

In reply to Maroon92:

I think I might have some old programs. Do you need anything like that?

Yeah, that would be great if you wanted to part with them. PM me with details.

A friend of mine has two of the Nissan GTP cars in his shop right now. One is totally disassembled (an "88 model), another is a down to the chassis (a '90 model). He's restoring them for a customer. I don't have to tell you they are MAJOR cool. Most of the pieces are extremely light, and the fabrication is also done to a very high standard.

He's driven one of them at Road America a few years back during a test day. His lap times would have put him in the top half of the field for the CART race that year.