May 2010 - PCA-SAR Home Page

Competition Roundup
an enthusiastic small town with an active
sports car club, mix in some interesting cars and a good
“Combine
measure of planning and organization, and you have all
the necessary ingredients for a successful race meet. That’s exactly
what happened at the first annual Willcox Sports Car Races, cosponsored
by the Southern Arizona Sports Car Club of Tucson and
the Willcox Chapter of the Civil Air Patrol. The first full-scale
sports car race event ever held in southern Arizona, the meet was
a decided success.
“Dick Morgensen of Phoenix, piloting his ungainly but very
efficient Buick-engined Morgensen Special, showed the way
around the three mile airport course, winning the 15 lap main
event with disturbing ease. The same car, driven by Boyd Hough,
also was first overall in the novice race. Morgensen, Porsche-VW
dealer for Phoenix, showed fine form around the eight tight corners
of the Willcox circuit. His well-known special includes a 5256
cc. Buick V-8, a Jaguar gearbox, and a home-built tubular frame.
“The production under 1500 cc. race turned out to be the big
crowd pleaser of the day as Tracy Bird, Tucson, and Jim Lee,
Phoenix, both in red Porsche Speedsters, waged a see-saw battle
for ten sizzling laps. No more than a few yards separated the two
cars until the final seconds of the race, when Bird finally edged Lee
for the checkered flag. The flawless driving of the two aroused
much excitement among the thousands of spectators. Ted Capen
of Tucson was the 1250 cc. MG class winner in a TF.
“In the over 1500 cc. Production race, three Jaguars dueled it
out for class C honors, Charles Royal handling his XK-120M beautifully
to win. Hot on Royal’s heels was B. Costa, also in an XK-
120M, and Ken Hardy, XK-140MC. All three are from El Paso. Jack
Rowe of Tucson, perhaps the fastest man through the corners all
day, won the Austin-Healy class handily, followed by Avery Dixon
of Davis Monthan AFB. W. Heard, El Paso, snapped up class E in
his potent TR-2.
“A well prepared Thunderbird started in pole position in this
race and was expertly driven by Tucson’s Alex Budurin. Although
very fast on the long one-mine straight, Budurin’s skill could not
make up for the car’s bad manners in the corners, and the T-Bird
was beaten by all Jaguar entries. The eagerly awaited Corvette-
Thunderbird duel failed to materialize. Joe Williams’ Corvette,
very successful in speed trials on the same course earlier in the
year, placed a disappointing fourth in class in the novice race and
failed to qualify for the production event. Budurin, with the Thunderbird,
was ineligible to drive in the novice race and thus the two
cars failed to clash.
“In the all-class main event, W. G. “Bumpy” Bell of Tucson,
had little trouble collecting the under 1500 cc. Modified class win
in an OSCA, placing a strong third overall. Budurin, this time
driving his veteran Mercury-Kurtis, took second overall and first
in class behind Morgensen, with Costa’s Jaguar placing fourth
overall and first among the production cars. Rowe, A-H, and
Heard, TR-2, duplicated their previous wins in the production D
and E classes. Lee’s potent Porsche went Jag-hunting and finished
a surprising fifth overall besides taking class laurels.
“Crowd control and organization were outstanding at Willcox.
Control teams, spotted at crucial points, were equipped with
walkie-talkies for instant communication. The only mishap of the
day, in fact, was provided by nature in the form of high winds and
occasional blowing dust. The weather had little effect on the day’s
racing, however, and Harold Shoppach of El Paso, counted one of
the windy gusts as a distinct blessing. He whipped his Singer into
the 135-degree number three turn a bit too enthusiastically on one
lap and began what looked like a sure roll. Movies of the incident
show the car’s underside almost perpendicular to the ground.
Fortunately there was a 40 mph gust coming from just the right
direction at just the right second, pushing the Singer back on its
feet and leaving a couple of much relieved flagmen plus a wiser Mr.
Shoppach.
“The outstanding participation of the Southwest SCC of El
Paso should be noted, their enthusiasm and spirit being an important
factor in making the meet a success. The Willcox event looks
like a sure bet next year, and it is hoped that an even larger array
of entries will be on hand to vie for the silver.”
Ed. Note: My first sports car was a 1957 MG TF‐1500. Our MG Club,
limited to T‐types, skunked the Honolulu Porsche Club in a slalom one
fine Sunday afternoon ...but that’s another story you don’t want to hear.
According to Kurt, “This poster has hung in my garage for 40
years. So it’s not in very good shape.” Note that all visiting
aircraft were required to land by 9:30 am!
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