Triumphs at Mid-Ohio in 2002
Last updated June 6, 2002
SVRA to Honor TRiumph
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the TRiumph Sports Car, the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association has named TRiumph the featured car of their 2002 Mid Ohio vintage racing weekend. The dates for this event are June 14-16, 2002.
This will be the second time that TRiumph has been selected for this honor by the SVRA. The first time was in 1992, to celebrate of the 40th anniversary of the creation of the TRiumph Sports Car. The event was nationally publicized, and as a result, several of the most significant TRiumph racecars ever were in attendance. These included the 2 time National Championship TR6 driven by John McComb in 1975 and Paul Newman (yes, THAT Paul Newman!) in 1976. The Group 44 TR8's were also there, driven by their original drivers Bob Tullius and John Kelly (these TR8's were so fast and so dominated their class, that the SCCA immediately changed the rules and required Group 44 to add 400# to each car to stop the other teams from whining). In addition, a large contingent of TRiumph vintage racers were on hand and the feature race of the weekend was the TRiumph only race. The event was covered by Road & Track's Peter Egan, whose 4-page article (which included 7 color photos, 1 of which was of Sharon and Bob Kamholtz in their cheddar orange TR3) appeared in the November 1992 magazine. In his article, Egan wrote "I suppose I knew there were this many TRiumphs on earth, but the non-panoramic qualities of the brain had prevented me from picturing them all in a single place". "All weekend they came pouring in from God-knows-where, like Robin Hood's men responding to a distant trumpet blast".
Many of those TRiumphs that came pouring in came pouring in from ISOA. There were close to 20 of our cars there, and we had a fabulous time. In addition to watching the vintage races, we were able to mix with the drivers and crews in the paddock. There was also a car show for the street TRiumphs, vendors selling parts and other related items, plus the sheer pleasure of being in the company of so many of us. In addition, ALL of the street TRiumphs were invited onto the track for a cruise around Mid Ohio's 2.5 mile racing circuit. It was amazing, there were so many TRiumphs on the track for the pace lap, that they were 2 wide bumper to bumper ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TRACK. Yeah, we had FUN!
Many of the people who put that event together have already been working for over a year on the 50th anniversary celebration. Their intention is to make what was a great event even better. There were approximately 37 TRiumph racecars in 1992. So far, over 50 TRiumph racers (including 4 ISOA members) plan to participate in the 2002 event. Kas Kastner, former head of the TRiumph Competition Department in the US, will be the Grand Marshall of the weekend. I have been to every North American TRiumph Challenge and VTR Convention, and none of those have come close to the number of TRiumphs and TRiumph people that were at Mid Ohio in 1992.
Mid Ohio is located near Mansfield, Ohio. It is approximately a 5 to 5-1/2 hour drive from the north suburbs. There are approximately 15-20 motels and bed and breakfasts in the vicinity of Mid Ohio. In addition, they have camping facilities at the track. We will provide you with more complete information as it becomes available. For more information on Mid Ohio, you can visit www.midohio.com. A list of motels and bed and breakfasts can be found at www.mansfieldtourism.org/pages/lodging.html.
I know that those of you who are able to attend will have a great time. If in doubt, ask one of us who was there in 1992.
IMPORTANT! If you plan on going, the current ISOA hotel is the Super 8 in Mansfield. Make your reservations now. Preliminary plans are to arrive Thursday evening and leave Sunday.
Here is the preliminary schedule for the Mid Ohio weekend. Note that at this time, the TRiumph feature race is set for Sunday at 1:30. FYI, TR3s and TR4s run in Group 3.
Friday, June 14
7:00 am - 5:00 pm Registration
7:00 am - 3:00 pm Tech inspection
8:00 am Group 1 practice
8:25 am Group 3 practice
8:50 am Group 6 practice
9:15 am Group 7 practice
9:40 am Group 4 & 5 practice
10:05 am Group 8 practice
10:30 am BOSS Series practice
10:55 am Groups 10 & SC practice
11:20 am Group 1 qualifying 1
11:45 am Group 3 qualifying 1
12:10 am - 1:10 pm Lunch Break
12:30 pm Driver Meeting
12:45 pm Enduro Driver Meeting (mandatory)
1:10 pm Group 4 & 5 qualifying 1
1:35 pm Group 8 qualifying 1
2:00 pm Group 6 qualifying 1
2:25 pm BOSS Series qualifying 1
2:50 pm Groups 10 & SC qualifying 1
3:15 pm Group 7 qualifying 1
3:40 pm Mike Stott/PaineWebber Enduro #1 (slower cars)
5:00 pm All-Triumph ~ Practice and Photo Shoot
Saturday, June 15
7:00 am - 3:00 pm Registration
8:00 am Group 1 qualifying 2
8:25 am Group 3 qualifying 2
8:50 am Groups 4 & 5 qualifying 2
9:15 am Group 6 qualifying 2
9:40 am Group 7 qualifying 2
0:05 am Group 8 qualifying 2
10:30 am BOSS Series qualifying 2
10:55 am Group 10 qualifying 2
11:20 am Stock Cars qualifying 2
11:45 am Group 1 qualifying race
12:10 pm - 1:10 pm Lunch Break
1:10 pm F5000 Reunion ~ Feature Race
1:35 pm Group 3 qualifying race
2:00 pm Group 4 qualifying race
2:25 pm Group 5 qualifying race
2:50 pm Group 6 qualifying race
3:15 pm Group 7 qualifying race
3:40 pm Group 8 qualifying race
4:05 pm BOSS Series qualifying race
4:30 pm Group 10 qualifying race
4:55 pm Stock Car qualifying race
5:20 pm Hardship Practice
6:30 pm SVRA Welcome Party at Honda Pavilion
Sunday, June 16
7:30 am - 12:00 noon Registration
7:45 am Driver meeting
8:00 am 6 warm-up
8:15 am 4 & 8 warm-up
8:30 am 5 & 7 warm-up
8:45 am 10 & SC 6 warm-up
9:00 am BOSS warm-up
9:15 am 1 & 3 warm-up
9:30 am Mike Stott/PaineWebber Enduro #2 (faster cars)
10:45 am Group 4 Edelbrock Sprint Race
11:15 am Group 5 Edelbrock Sprint Race
11:45 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch Break
1:00 pm Group 6 Edelbrock Sprint Race
1:30 pm ALL-TRIUMPH ~ Feature Race
2:00 pm HSR "BOSS" Formula Super Cup ~ Feature Race
2:30 pm Group 7 Edelbrock Sprint Race
3:00 pm Group 1 Edelbrock Sprint Race
3:30 pm HSCRA Stock Car ~ Feature Race
4:00 pm Group 3 Edelbrock Sprint Race
4:30 pm Group 10 Edelbrock Sprint Race
5:00 pm Group 8 Edelbrock Sprint Race
Copyright © 2002 Illinois Sports Owners Association