Saturday, July 04, 2009

Time Warp For Gary

Wow! Far Out! Bitchin!

That and a few other expletives is exactly what I said when I found this gem. The reason being is simple... I was there!!!

It took place back in 1973 when I used to attend all of the Laguna Seca races. It was special for so many reasons. I had a full head of hair, I was relatively new to the California racing scene, and even the smell of the racing fuel these cars used was worth the trip all by it's self.

Unlike today, back then getting into the pits was not easy but I had a special connection and for me it was like going to Heaven. Anyone that has been to Laguna Seca in the last 30 years will notice the absence of any safety fences in this video and not only are there only a small guard rail and a few bails of hay but people could stand right next to the track. As a matter of fact, with my pit pass all I had to do was wait until the track had no cars racing and ten run right across the track.

In this grand old classic video you will see a Can Am Race at Laguna Seca and Mark Donohue is driving a Porsche 917/30.

Race Results:

6 Mark Donohue / USA Porsche 917/30
101 Jackie Oliver / GB Shadow DN-2
59 Hurley Haywood / USA Porsche 917/10
97 Bobby Brown / USA McLaren M8F
33 Milt Minter / USA Alfa Romeo T33/3

You can see Donohue pass Follmer at Turn 9 and take the lead.

George Follmer lost his turbo during lap 44 and dropped out.

In the photo, Donohue examines his blown engine during qualifying. Somehow his team replaced the engine before the start of the race.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

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