After the first lap, I started driving the car, determined to keep the other guy behind me! Great fun, Cat
I'm with RevKev in thinking the reddish car is a Lotus 11 or 15. They're light, have good brakes, a little twin cam 4 cylinder engine and driven well are fast as hell. On a flat, short, tight track they're hard for the big bore drum brake cars like the Scarab to beat.
Propwash, Red car is not a Lotus 11. Think about the standing start with the red car probably next to the Scarab - but out accelerating it! No way a Lotus 11 can do that, even if it is a 15 rather than an 11. The shape is very similar, however, but much larger, I think.
I know I will catch hell for this but I don't care. I am not doing nothing wrong, just making a point. Dearest Ryan, "American Bread" is "Wonder" "Weber" "Home Pride" etc.......etc.....what you meant to say is "American Bred". ok, got that off my chest.
The people standing along the track are corner workers. They were a very brave group back then- no berms - no cement or steel barriers and very few of them. Great footage - thanks for sharing. And the voice sounds like Steve McQueen.
Not 'gonna catch hell from me... but perhaps the man was referring to the wealth that a Woolworth-Hutton heir could spend on pure, competitive, automotive art. I was fortunate enough to watch Chuck Daigh in chassis 002 race Phil Hill in the equally impressive 412 M.I. Ferrari at Riverside in '58. I have seen many races in the ensuing years but for about 90 minutes, until the Ferrari started to have vapor lock problems it was and is the finest contest between equal competitors I have ever seen.
This footage is from a five-lap match race held over Labor Day at CDR in 1960. Harry Heuer is driving the Meister Bräuser (formerly Scarab 002) against Bob Carnes in the Bocar XP-6 (the Chevy engine has a blower on it, hence the red car getting the hole shot over the normally aspirated Scarab/Meister Bräuser.) The Bocar was the bigger hammer; Heuer won by outbraking/out-driving Carnes on track not well-suited to either car. Great find, Ryan. Cris
I worked for the guy who bought out Briggs Cunninghams collection. It's now located in Florida. The scarab that he owns is still Raced and raced hard! It was just wrecked maybe 2 years ago. And is currently being restrored I believe it rolled about 3 times. Neat race car
Here's a few laps, with unnecessary orchestration, at Riverside with Lance and the Grand Prix Scarab. Must be a longer film attached to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TLEEKbBK04
Lance Reventlow and the Scarab....I haven't thought about them in a long time. Thanks for bringing back fond memories of when a kid I drooled over pictures and stories of them. Always thought the Scarab was a beautiful car and I loved it when it competed successfully with the Europeans. The one thing these videos bring out is how things have changed. Course workers unprotected at track side, roll bars that were shorter than the driver, skinny tires, helmets and drivers' suites that probably would have done little to protect those that wore them. Thanks again Ryan for a great and exciting look into the past.
I stand corrected on the Lotus ID concurrence - the evidence presented in a couple of subsequent posts indicates that it is indeed the Bocar.
I drive by CDR all the time. It's mostly completely gone now, but you can still spot the earth embankment to the west of where the straightaway (drag strip) used to be. I remember watching Garlits changing oil between rounds in Swamprat II, or III, or IV, (or some roman numeral). He just opened the drain plug and let it go all over the ground. I also heard that the first time Shelby raced his Cobra was there at CDR. Great times!!
Thanks for the very interesting background about this race. It makes the race and video even a lot more interesting.
Well done, Ryan. CDR was a raceway that dissolved too quickly. I have a track official's shirt from there from the late great Jack Richards. Many from Colorado do not realize the racing heritage of the Mile High state.
Heck, I must have clicked on the wrong damned video. I got a big boobed blonde girl bouncing around in a tight-as-a-drum white shirt. Ryan, what are you doing to me? I was trying to focus on the action and ended up gettin' a nose bleed after that...
Ryan... Thought all of you here would enjoy this piece of "Lance" Trivia: While I was living in Hollywood in '64, one of the hottest new places was (in it's earliest "In-Crowd" stage) "Whiskey A-Go-Go". One night when I was there, in walks Lance Reventlow, Tuesday Weld, George Hamilton, Yvonne Craig (pre-"Batgirl" days), Jimmy Boyd (who'd been married to Craig), and, Jill St. John (who'd been married to Reventlow). Talk about a "turn-your-head-and-look-that-way" moment ! Now, the "Whiskey" always was heavy with Celebs...but that particular "they-all-walked-in-at-one-time" photo op was truly one of the GREATEST I was involved in at that club ! And, when seeing Reventlow in his "street clothes" as opposed to his track gear, you had to look twice before it registered as to who he really was. Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net
I remember seeing footage of that wreck. John Morton was driving the car at Laguna Seca (or whatever it's called in this day and age) in an exibition connected to one of the big concours deals. I forget how many times it went over, but it looked like more that three, but I'm not sure that it makes a great deal of difference. The main thing was that it sure looked expensive.
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