Restoration-Mini

General Discussion => Events and Mini Clubs => Topic started by: MiniDave on October 14, 2017, 12:16:56 PM

Title: LGGPR
Post by: MiniDave on October 14, 2017, 12:16:56 PM
https://www.facebook.com/LGgrandprixrevival/ (https://www.facebook.com/LGgrandprixrevival/)

or for the non-Facebookians.....

lggpr.org (http://lggpr.org)

This is a race event I've talked about before, I used to go to this race back in the late 60's early 70's when it was an actual SCCA regional/national race weekend. Imagine a narrow two lane road around a small city park lake, there is a dam at one end of the lake and the road goes over this dam.....there are concrete bollards lining the dam on both sides and the road narrows as it meets the dam.

Now imagine a hoard of Corvettes, Cobras, Allards and Maseratis hurtling towards that narrow opening at well over 150 mph, 2 or sometimes 3 abreast, all hell bent on getting thru there first! This pic is of the turn leading onto the dam......

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LDAg9XaChso/TyX7KDzQ7nI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/oC6GRbVKF_Q/s1600/Lake_Fegan_Panorama.jpg)

.....and that my friends was the Lake Garnett Grand Prix.......it ran from 1959 till 1972, when a sports racer hit a tree and the driver died - I was there that day too.

Today's event is called the Lake Garnett Grand Prix Revival, and while fun is nothing like the races of years past. One of the other things that killed the original race were the hoards of rowdies who would camp out at the lake (which is right in the middle of the tiny town) get drunk and proceed to tear the town itself a new one.

Here is a link to a great article on the race in '63 when even ol Carrol Shelby hisownself showed up with a truckload of Cobras, just to teach them Corvettes a lesson!

http://www.davemacdonald.net/gallery/closeups/cobralakegarnett.htm (http://www.davemacdonald.net/gallery/closeups/cobralakegarnett.htm)

(https://i1.wp.com/hooniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1968_Program.jpg?w=500)

Check this one out.....

http://www.chuckbrandt.com/kcslg4.jpg (http://www.chuckbrandt.com/kcslg4.jpg)

Here is a quick vid that shows how narrow the new widened and repaved road looks, watch for the bridge over the dam. The white car with the blue stripes is a South African built Capri Perana, driven by my friend and the race organizer Darren Traub.



Today they run in speed limited groups - 60, 80 and 100 MPH top speed on the back straight. Exceeding your group's limit gets you black flagged and speeds are monitored via radar gun. In years past they didn't do this and some Porsche assholes got carried away and thought it was an actual race - several crashed Porsches later speed limits are imposed.

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be cool, dry and sunny so Don and I are headed down in our classic Minis to watch some of our friends out on the track......it's a little over an hour's drive for us.


Title: Re: LGGPR
Post by: MiniDave on October 15, 2017, 01:55:48 PM
Had a great time at the "Races" today, for me the highlight was watching Scott Schmidt in his Schmidtbox Sprite chase down and PASS a Ford GT that was being driven in anger as well.......that is simply one fast Sprite! They had a class for regular racecars and they did not speed limit them or use the chicane before the bridge - they were able to pass at will anywhere on the track too......

As always, one of the Porsche guys got black flagged for doing 97 in his 80 mph class - c'mon, if you want to run fast, run in the 100 mph group! Asshole.....

Another highlight was watching a GTR that was incredibly fast and well driven.

All in all a fun day, I drove my Racing Green Mini and Don his Midget - it was about 150 mile round trip, and the weather was perfect, sunny and about 62*

Next week there's a race at Hallet, but I'm committed to a local Mini event.
Title: Re: LGGPR
Post by: gr8kornholio on October 15, 2017, 06:21:25 PM
I've wanted to catch the traveling exotic car driving group when they go to Hallet, looks like an awesome track from the satellite images.