For immediate release
March 11,
2001
John Morton
Wins the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge Qualifying Race
John Morton, lead driver of
the BRE Datsun 510 team in the 1971-72 Trans-AM 2.5 Challenge, won the
qualifying race of the inaugural Maganflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge event at Willow
Springs International Raceway.
Morton attended the event as a guest of the Vintage Sedan Racers Group
(VSRG) and had not planned on participating however when the opportunity to
drive David Wall's immaculate 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV came up, Morton quickly
borrowed the needed driver gear and strapped in.
Morton started fourth on the
grid for a race that quickly evolved into a tight lead pack of four cars led by
Kevin McKee in his potent 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV. Alan Ward driving a 1972 Alfa GTV
settled into second place and was closely followed by Steve Link in his 1970
Datsun 510. On lap three Morton was
able to slip by Link and began to move up on Alan Ward whom he passed a few laps
later.
McKee
was driving a fast, tight line
and held on to an advantage of a few car lengths until the last lap when he
got loose in turn three. McKee
quickly recovered but the bobble gave Morton the opening he needed to move into
to the lead. Once there he
maintained a tight line to the checkered flag with McKee filling his
mirrors. The
irony of John Morton winning the
first qualifying race of the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge driving an Alfa
Romeo, his nemesis of the original series, was not lost on the contingent of
drivers and sedan racing enthusiasts that attended the HSR-West hosted
event.
The
Trophy race on Sunday saw 18 cars make the grid out of the original 25
entries. Once again Kevin McKee
took the lead followed by Fred Schueddekopp, Steve Link, Alan Ward and Jeff
Hecox in his 1972 BMW 2002 rounded out the lead pack. Ward was able to work his way past Link
on the third lap but otherwise the positions remained the same until the seventh
lap when Schueddekopp had to retire due to mechanical problems. Meanwhile the mid-pack was enjoying the
tightest racing of the weekend with a mix of Datsun's, BMW's, Alfa's and even an
Ford Escort, VW Bug and a Mini mixing it up. Although Alan Ward set the fast
lap of the race at 1:36.361 McKee did not repeat the miscue of Saturday and led
flag to flag for the win with Ward close behind.
The comeback drive of the day was C.J. Bonura in his 1967 Ford Cortina. Bonura started at the back of the grid
due to a Saturday incident that ended his qualifying attempt early. At the start of the Trophy race, he was
brought in for a stop and go penalty for jumping the start. Back on track he moved up quickly as he
sliced his way through the pack until the mid point of the race when he spun in
turn three. Mustering all of his
driving skills he overcame these setbacks to finish fifth.
Chris Welch driving his 1972
BMW 2002 put on another display of driving skill as his pushed his IT prepared
car to an amazing seventh place in a field dominated by Trans-AM and
Production prepared cars.
The
next race of the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge will be April 21-22 at Las
Vegas Motor Speedway with HSR-West. Two weeks
later the first event for the VSRG Eastern Region will be held on May
5-6 at Virginia International Raceway.
Information on the series can be found on the VSRG web site (www.bsedan.com) or the HSR-West web site (www.hsr-westracing.com).
Finishing
Order:
Position / Driver
Car
1. Kevin McKee
1967 Alfa Romeo GTV
2. Alan Ward
1972 Alfa Romeo GTV
3. Steve Link
1970 Datsun 510 (Original
Meskauskas car)
4. Jeff Hecox
1967 BMW 1600
5. C.J. Bonura
1967 Ford Cortina
6. Marissa Clay
1972 BMW 2002
7. Chris Welch
1972 BMW 2002
8. Jim Froula
1968 Ford Escort MK1 Twin
9. Anthony Rimicci
1968 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr.
10. Jon Peterson
1971 Datsun 510
11. Neil Hadfield
1966 Alfa Romeo GTA Jr.
12. Eric Roberts
1971 VW Super Beetle
13. Mike Kinney
1965 Alfa Romeo GTA
14. Fred Schueddekopp
1967 Alfa Romeo GTV
15. Paul Held
1965 Ford Cortina
16. Dirk Stoehr
1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT
17. Shelly Zide
1971 Alfa Romeo (Original Weston/Pepsi car)
18. Dan Haney
1966 Mini Cooper