JimV8

Group 7 is unlimited and just about the only rule is the wheels must be covered with bodywork. IMHO the series was the most exciting of all the motorsports and as a spectator turn 5 at the first lap was the place to be. I found these clips that show the track and the cars back then and a young Bruce McLaren explained how best to get around the place.


and


and my fav.

crooster

Cool videos. Thanks for.posting these.

Mark Lue

jim thanks for sharing!

JimV8

The end of the front straight at turn one was also a great spot and that was the first time I saw Donahue piloting the Porsche turbo car at speed. The pushrod cars were blazing fast but the Porsche blew by them like they were going backward. It's possible he was getting wheelspin all the way on the straight. It was also the quietest car on the track just making popping sounds through one and then a whoosh and gone. Awesome.

Turbodan

Jim,
thank you for sharing.
I watched them all. The first one I had seen few times. Do you have any souvenirs or pictures that you took from the Can Am race you attended?
also when is the Chimera ready?

rideau

Dating myself somewhat. I went to all the Eastern Canadian races until the series stopped. My most memorable moment was watching the "Flying Club".
Details follow:
It got off to a big bang with a wonderful race on the 11th of September 1966. That first-ever Can-Am venue was Canada’s beautiful little Le Circuit at St. Jovite in the mountains outside Montreal, a twisty, plunging place like a mini-NŸrburgring. Plunging is the right word; infamously, two drivers executed spectacular backflips during practice when their Lolas’ noses went light over a hump. Happily, neither Hawkins nor Dibley was badly hurt, so their fellow racers were free to jest about the “Can-Am Flying Club.”

peritus

Awesome. Thanks for posting

Torontoworker

I have so many memories, gosh. I posted a photo on facebook at the Mosport memories page that I'll report here. Found it quite by accident.


Ronnie Peterson get's it wrong in corner 10 on race morning warm up and I was there.

One memory was hearing the F1 Matra's coming up the back straight at Mosport. I was standing just before station 6 up on the drivers right (infield) bank and couldn't believe the sound. OMG, it was like something that was going to blow up on them - they just SCREAMED higher and higher and every up-shift was like a gasp of air and then more screaming.

http://www.f1-fansite.com/wp-content...8/MatraV12.mp3

It had something to do with the firing order, cam shaft design and the 12 pipes coming up over the engine collecting into two sets of three pipes out the back. There was also a weird gearbox noise as it went past. 12 cly heaven.

ZR8ED

The sound of those Can Am's are unreal! Saw a few close up at Mosport back in the early 90's with some classic vintage racing that brought out a handful of Can Am's. I will NEVER forget their sound.

JimV8

I recall the Matra's screaming too. It hurt the ears.

Torontoworker

BRM made an H 16 motor that ran one year in F1 that I remember being at Mosport in the late 60's with the ISO team. What a weird sound. It also had worm gears driving everything. Sort of like an early 50's Porsche 4 cam motor design on drugs! Think about having to tune a 16 cly motor with all those carbs?!

JimV8

The Chimera is progressing nicely and with a little luck the rubber should hit the road in Spring 13'. The 80-20 rule and a bit fanaticism have slowed things but I think for the better. As for souvenirs, I wish I had kept momentos of the CanAm instead of the other junk in my basement.

BTW did you know that it was Jim Hall of Chapparal cars who first innovated a wing on the back of a car? He added a huge movable wing to his CanAm cars in 66' and that brought about one of the few rules that outlawed movable wings. The wing was driver controlled and levelled to reduce drag on the staights but lowered for cornering. It was a huge success. That innovation sprouted high fixed wings fastened directly to lower control arms on F1 and CanAm the following year. Those wings had a tendency to break off which resulted in a new rule change that dictated height and mounting of wings.

rideau

More on Jim Hall and his cars:

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/9...Chevrolet.html