CANADIAN AMERICAN CHALLENGE CUP

[Music] [Music] so well i know we've never been able to take a friend around before it's very twisting very fast so you just have to keep working i don't have any problems operating it's going to be another hot one they've made a lot of nicer improvements it's the same actual course except for the first turn which they straightened out a great deal but they've made they've cut the banks away like in the s's and you can see the course more so now where it used to be blind corners i'd prefer it as it was before where i was just a little tighter through the s's it is a different circuit but i still think that uh it will always remain riverside it's going to be a tough long grind i'm sure riverside round five of the canyon fast hot and dusty the canadian-american challenge cup race the times grand prix at riverside california the times grand prix at riverside california brought to you by fram corporation maker of the finest in oil air and fuel filters [Music] a sports car by its very nature should be able to compete on any type of racecourse riverside international raceway in southern california's desert country has the widest range of conditions offered by any racing circuit in the united states a serpentine stretch of essence [Applause] an uphill right angle turn a blind horseshoe curve [Music] a tricky butt hook that leads into a foot to the floor mile long straight away [Music] ending in a brake burning steel wall u-turn [Music] past the pits and into a pressing left-hand bend for another lap to lap riverside raceway at 115 miles an hour or better you must not only be a fine driver and have a good car but a crew chief with a space age outlook as well do you set up for maximum speed on the straights or do you tune engine and chassis for the turns maximum performance at best is a compromise well you have to have it so it goes everywhere because if you have a slow straightaway speed somebody will drive right by you we're geared to run about 188 down the back stretch and that's the only place uh he uses high gear just momentarily over here going into turn three but uh turn two but actually we try to get it geared everywhere on the racetrack otherwise we lose ground doesn't quite have the torque of some of the other cars coming off the turn but after you get out on the straightaway you get about halfway down it comes on quite well we changed the rear end and we have to reset the chassis to uh accustom this new uh change we made to the car so uh finally turned to lap 141.4 this morning and i don't know whether they have it on the timesheet or not but that's been our fastest lap we're trying to get him another half a second and do that we'll be all right our car in particular it seems that is faster through the corners than down the straightaway but this was something that we built into the car when we were building it uh riverside it shows up more than other places because you have this tremendous fast long straightaway and our car seems to be better through the corners than down the long straightaway we're down a little bit on straightaway speed uh largely because we're down a little bit on maximum power our car is basically not very good aerodynamically it's reasonably quick but it's not as quick as we thought it was going to be so this is just a matter of shape danny will superior handling of the car enable you to make up for the loss of speed on the straightaway yeah this is basically where we're getting it back is a short burst in between the short parts of the circuit this is where we score most this is a very fast racetrack as far as straightaway is concerned and it has s's and corners like that and you have to compromise in between aerodynamics and handling of the automobile how have you approached this problem well we have a pretty strong engine and we've worked our best on the chassis and we feel everything's a pretty good combination now will you be able to out straight away the majority of the cars here yes i believe so how about coming off the slow corners uh well we've modified our chassis a little bit from a standard low lane it seems to get a lot better tracking than a stock machine [Music] it's been standing around for a year it's last year's cars you know and um we're just sort of getting some of the old age out of it i suppose are you happy with its performance compared with the car you've had in previous can-ams we've got a few little problems on the uh performance side the reason we're running last year's car is uh part of this program to double check things some of the faults we've had with the other car and as such um it's behaving very well but handling and things is performing very well indeed really considering it's uh what two models back mario the new car seems to be getting better with every race isn't it well chris a lot better and actually uh just like i always said uh right along just needed miles and it seems like the more miles we put on the more we learn about it and just do the right things so the chances to bring it as they say in the ballpark you've got a very fast qualifying round uh way under the old record and you're right up front in the starting grid do you think that you'll be able to race the mclarens and all the early stages well i think so uh actually uh they might be running just a little harder than my cargon standard so i just probably try to keep him in sight but if there's any way that i can race him i will group seven racing in this country has come a long way and the can-am series this year has been very interesting and you've played an important part in it but the rivals are getting closer and closer aren't they yes um this is something we sort of expected and um it hasn't got us too worried although it keeps us on our feet and try to keep me in front of them but i think this is a big circuit where we're going to hurt the most what about the race uh it's drawing near the close of the can-am series will there be a team strategy employed by the mclaren team today uh yes uh at the moment that strategy is to try and beat guernie um one of us will try and race just as hard as we can go with gurney and the other will uh will sit pretty much uh without straining the car more than necessary and trying to stay in within range the feel for the times grand prix is an impressive one 39 cars will take the flag and the first 16 of which have cracked the old qualifying record pacesetter in the time trials was dan gurney a favorite son here in california with a record 118.7 mile an hour lap the engine in this lola afford and there are three other four drivers in the race indianapolis winner parnelli jones usank champion mario andretti and california great jerry titus and they're up against the field that has 30 chevrolet powered cars two ferraris two oldsmobiles and a lone repco [Music] riverside round five of the can-am challenge cup series fast hot and dusty today's chapter about to unfold rose mclaren race car designer builder winner of nearly every major race car event in his class with over 500 horsepower and speeds of over 170 miles per hour he wants his car his engine equipped with the best of everything in oil filtration he insists on fram and only fran the reason he said it himself wearing life on an engine like this is one of the most important things we have to watch and there of course we use fram filters all the time that's the only thing for us ram is the filtering system for your car too the same fram oil filters used by bruce mclaren and other race experts the world over will keep the oil and your car's engine just as clean effective filtration is keeping dirt outside so that things work better inside the oil air and fuel the final word infiltration is fram fram filters they work on the track they work on the road this is less kiter mike side to bring you the 10th annual times grand prix for sports cars fifth race in the rich canadian american challenge cup series fastest qualifier dan gurney leads bruce mclaren and jim hall from the green flag start barnelli jones gets off quickly bursting from sixth place in the grid to fourth as they enter turn one native californian gurney shows the way through the s's driving the latest version of the english lola ernie westlake ford delivers about 425 horsepower highest rated in the field over the blind horseshoe it's still gurney behind the leaders are holm and andretti mark donahue and teammate palmer have moved ahead of sirtes and spence [Music] through the button hook at turn eight the field is still tightly punched something has hit dennis holmes car cornelli jones just ahead of home almost drove over the tire markers at the side of the track on the high speed back straight home obviously slowed andretti and the number 17 port hunker gets by into fifth place at the completion of lap one it's still gurney the improvements to turn one have cut about two seconds off lap times it's a wider and less severe bend now the times grand prix attracts the top drivers in the world of auto racing as well as the fastest sports cars [Applause] [Music] cornelli jones turns it on he's past jim hall ernie's dropped the second behind mclaren and jones goes deep into turn nine for the lead these route 7 sports racers top out at about 195 miles an hour on the mile long straight mclaren tries to regain the lead but jones out drags him onto the pit straight jones is using a ford engine originally designed for indianapolis cars boosted in horsepower to compete with the bigger chevy import engines dennis holm is in the pits with part of his fender work missing jerry titus is also in this is the first try for the shelby-built king cobra and for titus in the fast group 7 racing pre-race favorite dan gurney continues to drop back and ready in car number 17 moves into fourth mclaren tries again but no goal tremendous early race action the order jones mclaren hall andretti and gurney average speed is over 112 miles per hour for three laps faster than last year's top qualifying speed [Music] home is ready to join the fray as left wheel almost naked of bodywork however the pit marshall gives home the weight signal for a clear track but it looks like they're not going to let home onto the course the chief pit marshal is waving home out not quite clear on the regulations here but apparently the officials are disqualifying home because of the absence of sufficient body work over the wheel how often have you seen this at a race home wants a clarification of the rules i'm sure a tough break for hall he won three races thus far in the can-am series and leads in the standings with 27 points holm is out of the car and now talking with the chief steward mclaren team manager teddy mayer is getting in there also but the decision has been made and home is out of the race reporter chris economy is in the thick of things go ahead chris danny what has happened actually one of the leading cars threw a tire up in the air and i couldn't avoid it and just hit the top of the wing and smashed it in and this they knocked you out of the race because of the fender missing yeah apparently but i haven't touched anything that's what annoys me there's 9 damage the car structurally or anything i see thank you jenny home out of the race dan kearney has fallen way back in the field and the trail of smoke from his engine pretty much tells the story he's laying a trail of oil also and john certis slides off the track at turn one and into the desert that brief tour in the rough wasteland seems not to have affected the car sorties is racing again not so for gertie his car is quit at turn eight and hard luck dan is out of it up ahead of turn nine bruce mclaren has regained the point dropping jones to second with paul making a bid for that spot paul and the chaparral apply the pressure but jones gamely holds on sandwiched between the bigger engine cars trouble to turn seven jim paul has spun his mclaren chevy allowing bud morley and doug hooper to get by he's okay though and back in it but well down to the leaders andretti is into the pits mario had worked his way into fourth place in the first really impressive showing of the holmen and moody hunker four he's working the gear lever which might be the problem jim hall is caught in past parnelli jones mclaren continues in first hall and exhaust fume behind a year ago at the same race hall staged a furious battle with john certis before finishing second hall doesn't like to finish second watch out bruce andretti was plagued by transmission trouble in this morning's practice session and a failing replacement unit took him only 10 laps this effort at riverside however looks promising for ford that's not california smog you're saying it's a desert sandstorm the winds have kicked up to gusts of 60 miles an hour here at riverside obliterating some parts of the course [Music] with all applying continual pressure mclaren has set a tremendous pace overtaking the slower car jones is third now he's dropped nearly a quarter of a mile back he's trying to get by mccluskey and nudges him a bit in the process [Music] a tangle at turn nine jonathan williams is into the wall peter repson under the dirt in field revson is still under power and is making his way back onto the track williams is out of the car and is okay his ferrari one of two entries in group seven racing is severely damaged however [Music] revson has made his way to the pits and is limping in on a badly twisted front wheel the left fender is also torn with holmes disqualification for body removal revson's crew will have to patch up the body work if he's to continue [Music] and that's just what they're doing the dirt all over repson in the car is as much from the windstorm as it is from his off-track excursion revson's ready to give it a try this mishap has dropped him back to sixth moving motzenbacher and donnie hewitt lozenbacher loses it at turn seven donahue trailing right behind sneaks by and into fourth place both are qualified eight that has been a consistent driver in all of the can-am races a lot of early race action at the times grand prix leader mclaren race average 113 miles an hour paul is a second two seconds behind a driver's view down the long straight away visibility on other parts of the course worse peter repson is as far as turn seven and moving very slowly hit straight and the leaders mclaren and hall pulling away the rest of the field is no match for this fearsome twosome [Music] cornelli jones obviously losing power does his best to hold on to third for the pass closing mark donahue fourth mike spence and a two-year-old mclaren is six behind lother motzenbacher it's all over for ref cinnamon the number 52 lola as the panic gets another customer let's check with chris economaki who's in the pits with redson peter the wind is blowing and the dust is all over it must be difficult out there yeah you come into some dust clouds and you're not sure whether there's a car in the middle or not you know it's pretty rough because if the wind you know it swirls the dust around a different spot every time you come in come around the racetrack what has happened to you well i was coming to turn nine to get unlocked one of the ferraris and he chopped down on me and i couldn't avoid him and hit his rear fender and been an a-frame so i'm out of the race tough break for peter rebson paul has taken the lead from mclaren both cars closely matched in speed acceleration out of turns and braking the new mclaren team cars have dominated the can-am series dennis holm won the first three races and mclaren the fourth the other mclaren cars vintage models compared to the mark threes freeze lola's and hall chaparral have been playing a catch-up game through these early races but at riverside have finally closed the margin with a victory here and at the final race in las vegas hall can at least tie home for the series championship but mclaren can win all the marvels with a good showing at riverside [Music] here's the place to pass turn nine mclaren goes in deep and out breaks hall to regain the lead this could be a repeat of last year's seesaw battle with hall again playing a part in it [Music] at this point in the race there's only one of four forwards remaining adam finally jones in third position but all eyes are on the seesaw battle for the lead between jim hall and the chaparral and bruce mclaren in the mclaren car it's perhaps the finest sports car race of the year here are the leaders mclaren and hall but this time in heavy traffic [Music] mclaren gets caught behind a slower car but hall finds rome and goes out in front for the second time barnelli jones now more than half a lap behind is still third donahue's seconds behind in fourth john certis is out of the race at the 50 lap mark [Applause] mccluskey coasts in also reporter ricconimacki is with certies let's check in a bad day john yeah it's not too good what's trouble with the machinery well it's overheating a little but uh what's stopped is a crown one opinion i think mclaren is showing great straight away speed slip streaming hall and getting by again to lead the chaparral through turn [Music] with nine a few laps remaining in the 62-lap 200-mile event all will have to pour it on [Music] olsenbacher is pushing the number 11 lola into the pits for the dead engine bother was running fifth a lap behind the leader mike spence moves up one position with mozenbacher out e2 one lap down george palmer and charlie hayes are running sixth and seventh two laps behind the leaders mark donahue has overtaken jones the big naughty lola suffered fuel evaporation problems at monterey and our guess is that same problem drain power from the indie engine today bruce mclaren has stretched his lead by seven seconds overhaul he's on the last lap and israeli turned it on mclaren has led 48 of the 62 laps each lap posting a new record for average speed a brilliant victory for the new zealander is second in a row a jubilant mclaren crew displays satisfaction in the continuing dominance of team mclaren in a moment victory lane bruce mclaren has won the times grand prix of riverside california at record speed 114.405 miles per hour holding off jim hall in a race-long see-saw duel to win by a few scant seconds let's join the crowd in victory lane congratulations bruce what a day huh thank you very much what about the battle with jim hall was it a surprise when he came by you the first time it did surprise me that he was hanging in there so tight um i didn't have very much left and i i didn't want to go absolutely all i would go the whole race so i thought i'd wait till the last 10 laps and then see what happens what about the dust and the conditions on the track how were they bruce that was very bad for a while but i was glad to see someone out there with a watering truck to keep the dust down that was a big help was there any point on the track where your car had a specific advantage over the others um right in the middle of the slow turns it's a little bit better but uh jim had me beaten on acceleration and uh almost a little bit beaten on top speed they were pretty equal a great victory and congratulations thank you bruce mclaren the victor and jim hall for the second year in a row in second position mark donahue moves into third place with pinelli jones the only four driver to finish fourth mike spence took fifth and george palmer sixth mclaren share of the purse is close to 24 000 his victory here bolts him into the lead in the can-am cup race with 30 points next stop las vegas so the times grand prix at riverside california has been brought to you by fram corporation maker of the finest in oil air and fuel filters oh