Scott Borchetta leads Corvettes at Watkins Glen US Vintage GP marred by mishaps and weather
Scott Borchetta from Nashville extended his reign over group 6 Corvettes in his 1969 # 1 example that Kurt Wetzel originally raced in Germany. Todd Treffert was the overall winner in his 1976 # 41 Porsche RSR.
Claire Schwendeman from Dallas kept up the pressure in his 1968 # 37 SCCA BP Corvette built by Duntov Motors.
Mike Donohue and his close friend and engineer Curt Geatches marveled how well his 1963 # 30 SCCA BP behaved in testing earlier at INDY in the hands of Matt Brabham, grandson of F1 legend Jack Brabham.
A duel could be in the making at the CoTA finale in early November among the above plus Jody O’Donnell # 46 and hot-shoes Peter Klutt and Edward Sevadjian.
Cord Kisthardt from Hershey PA ran like a rocket winning Group 12A # 21 2002 ZO6 (combined with group 6). Believe it or not, he got started in the One Lap of America (OLoA) rally before moving up to SCCA T1.
Ray Zisa from Kensington CT is consistently fast in his C4 ex-Kim Baker 1990 WC Corvette.
Jim Heck # 64, Dick Payne # 77 and Colby Hillman # 73 had clean runs in the mid-pack in Group 6.
Steve Smith and his 1968 1968 Corvette from Binghamton NY were a pleasant surprise. The history of this car goes back to the mid-1990s with Boris Tirpack a regular in SCCA GT1. Due to its age and lack of refinements, the car was re-classified to Group 6 and is being sorted out.
Things turned ugly after that. David Neidell from Tulsa # 75 1968 lost an engine.
Jeff Bernatovich from Brewerton NY # 90 Group 10 GT1 1990 discovered to his chagrin a broken piston, the result of a mysterious oil leak.
With encouragement from bystanders, Rick Ortman from Kokomo IN # 26 1988 and his friend Bob Runyan repaired damage to right-front of his 1990 C4 WC Corvette to make the Group 6/12A race on Saturday.
The damage to the clamshell hood was not bad compared to that of Jeff Lyman from Central Square NY # 77 2008 Group 10 GT1. Jeff admitted he was going too hot into the bus stop chicane. Our driving instructors tell us that early apex is a risky move that can lead to disaster. He and Jeff Bernatovich had to cancel plans for VIR coming up on October 6.
Bill Treffert # 24 1960 finished second in class in Group 4.
Frank Morrelli # 3 1961 qualified but elected not to start.
Sunday was a washout. Only 5 cars took part in the Group 6 race dedicated to the late Dick Mooney by his widow Pam.
Dale Hofius re-worked Kinsler injected C3 resto-mod was by far the most interesting Corvette at Saturday’s car show. It sports a “modernized” electronic version of Jim Kinsler engineered fuel injection set ups found on Can Am and Greenwood Corvettes.
Reporting by Jan Hyde
Photos courtesy of Rich Martin
