I.S.C. 1999 at Zandvoort: Race No. 2
The Gropa CMC of Mike Scott
retired after two laps in Race 2. This car runs in the same class as the Toj and the GRD,
originally it used to be entered in the 2-litre prototypes class of both the European and
the British Sportscar Championship. RitzSite visitor Philippe Demeyer from Belgium
informed me that this spyder conversion of a Chevron B8 was carried out by designers Andy
Mylius and Bob Curl, which explains the CMC model name: Chevron-Mylius-Curl.
This profile-shot of the Groupa
gives you an idea of the size of the car. The shiny chrome wheels give it some extra flair
and look a whole lot better than the mat dark ones you see on some cars.
Philippe Demeyer mentioned that later Gropa cars were complete original designs and not
modified Chevrons.
The classic Lola T70 of Nigel
Barrett didn't complete a full lap in Race 2. It went off the road in a corner on the
first lap and stalled. The rescue-marshals had to tow it away, as you see on the picture,
while the rest of the field streamed past. In Race 1 Nigel Barrett managed to finish his
venerable Lola in 9th place.
The Zandvoort rescue-marshals didn't seem quite up to par yet. On some occasions the
endangered themselves and others with clumsy or inattentive actions. Also the
flag-signaling left a lot to be desired.
Also not completing the first lap
was Peter Hoffman in his McLaren M8F. He encountered some traction problems on the
slippery track and found it impossible to control the power of the huge engine in his car.
Unfortunately he soon ended up in a gravel pit next to track.
Least lucky of all was Dutchman
Duncan Huisman in the McLaren M8C. In Race 1 he only managed to do 2 laps before retiring
and in Race 2 he didn't even get off the starting grid after the warm-up lap.
Huisman is not a regular in this series. He leased the car, driven by Jürgen Weiler in
the 1997 race, for the occasion. Normally he enters in Dutch touring car races. Duncan is
the brother of two-times Porsche cup winner Patrick Huisman. Driving this brute and
temperamental beast took more getting used too than he probably imagined.
Used sources in this tour:
Canadian-American Challenge Cup by Michael Stucker
McLaren History and Chassis Types by Pete Fenelon
March History and Chassis Types by Pete Fenelon
Can you hear it thunder? article by Classicar
Looking for more sportscar pictures? Try the Krejcimar pages:
Finish the tour by clicking the arrows pointing right....
