The 1979 Can-Am season was the twelfth running of the Sports Car Club of America's prototype-based series and the third running of the revived series. Formula One legend Jacky Ickx was declared champion, [1] winning five of the ten rounds and finishing second at Road Atlanta. [2] Chevrolet again dominated the season. The top chassis builders were Lola, Prophet, and Spyder, with Vern Schuppan finishing third at Watkins Glen in an Elfin [3] and Al Holbert finishing third at Road America in a Hogan. [3]
1979 would also mark the introduction of a second class for prototypes with engines under 2000cc. That class was won by Tim Evans in his Lola T290.
Points are awarded to the top six finishers in the order of 9-6-4-3-2-1.
Round | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Team | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Road Atlanta | May 6 | Keke Rosberg | Newman-Freeman Racing | Spyder-Chevrolet |
2 | Charlotte | May 20 | Jacky Ickx | Carl A. Haas Racing Team | Lola-Chevrolet |
3 | Mosport | June 3 | Jacky Ickx | Carl A. Haas Racing Team | Lola-Chevrolet |
4 | Mid-Ohio | June 10 | Alan Jones | Carl A. Haas Racing Team | Lola-Chevrolet |
5 | Watkins Glen | July 8 | Keke Rosberg | Newman-Freeman Racing | Spyder-Chevrolet |
6 | Road America | July 22 | Jacky Ickx | Carl A. Haas Racing Team | Lola-Chevrolet |
7 | Brainerd | August 19 | Jacky Ickx | Carl A. Haas Racing Team | Lola-Chevrolet |
8 | Trois-Rivières | September 2 | Elliot Forbes-Robinson | Newman-Freeman Racing | Spyder-Chevrolet |
9 | Laguna Seca | October 14 | Bobby Rahal | U.S. Racing | Prophet-Chevrolet |
10 | Riverside | October 28 | Jacky Ickx | Carl A. Haas Racing Team | Lola-Chevrolet |
Lola Cars International Ltd. was a British race car engineering company in operation from 1958 to 2012. The company was founded by Eric Broadley in Bromley, England, before moving to new premises in Slough, Buckinghamshire and finally Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and endured for more than fifty years to become one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of racing cars in the world. Lola Cars started by building small front-engined sports cars, and branched out into Formula Junior cars before diversifying into a wider range of sporting vehicles.
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987.
Krohn Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Houston, Texas. The team competes in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Prototype class, and has competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Intercontinental Le Mans Cup GTE-Amateur class; the American Le Mans Series GT2 class; and the Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class.
Guy James Mutlow Smith is a British professional racing driver and IB English teacher and coordinator in Brazil, who has competed in various levels of motorsport, most notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he won in 2003, and the American Le Mans Series, which he won in 2011.
Didier Maurice Theys is a Belgian sports car driver. He is a two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona ; a winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring (1998); the Sports Racing Prototype driver champion of the Grand-American Road Racing Association (2002) and the winner of the 24 Hours of Spa. He was also the polesitter (1996) and a podium finisher at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The podium finish in 1999 was a third overall in the factory Audi R8R with co-drivers Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela. Theys' first appearance at Le Mans was in 1982, while his last start in the world's most famous endurance sports car race came 20 years later in 2002.
The MG-Lola EX257 is a Le Mans Prototype built by Lola for the MG car company for their attempt to compete again at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001. The car has had many years of mixed success since its introduction, even in privateer hands.
Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston Martin to sports car racing with the DBR9, a heavily modified variant of the Aston Martin DB9. Since the DBR9's racing debut in 2005, Aston Martin Racing has expanded to build a variety of cars available to customers, as well as development of Aston Martin's V12 engine for Le Mans Prototype use. Aston Martin Racing's program has earned several successes over the years.
Risi Competizione is an Italo-American auto racing Ferrari factory-backed team formed by Giuseppe Risi in 1997. Initially, the team had a partnership with Doyle Racing using the name Doyle-Risi Racing, but soon Giuseppe Risi took full control of the project and it was rebranded with its current name in 2000. Risi Competizione has won races and championships in the IMSA GT championship, American Le Mans Series, and Rolex Sports Car Series, as well as earning three class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998, 2008 and 2009. Much of Risi Competizione's success has come through the use of Ferrari machines.
John Fitzpatrick is a British former racing driver, winning many titles throughout his career. He works within motorsport as a consultant doing corporate events and driver management. He published a book "Fitz-My Life at the Wheel" in 2016.
The 1977 Can Am season was the tenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's prototype-based series. Despite the revived name, however, the new series was entirely unrelated to the previous series which had folded in 1974. Most of the competitive cars were based on Formula 5000 chassis. Also, the first time under 2-litre cars were allowed to race, but with no separate class. Patrick Tambay was declared champion, winning six of the nine races that year for Carl Haas. While Lola chassis dominated the series, a Chevrolet powered Schkee DB1 driven by Tom Klausler won the first race at Mont Tremblant. Other competitive cars included the 1974 champions Shadow, who now used Dodge engines and Wolf with a Dallara-built chassis. While Chevrolet was not the only engine supplier, they swept the entire season. This season also marked a resurgence of interest in SCCA events, with Can Am accompanying F5000 and the Trans Am Series seeing a mild resurgence in the eighties.
The 1980 Can Am Series season was the thirteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's prototype based series and the fourth running of the revived series. Patrick Tambay was declared champion, winning six of the ten rounds and finishing third at Riverside. Chevrolet again swept the season. Lola, Holbert, and Prophet were the dominant chassis suppliers, with Intrepid finishing second at Watkins Glen and Frisbee finishing first at Laguna Seca.
The 1981 Can Am series season was the fourteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's prototype-based series, and the fifth running of the revived series. Geoff Brabham was declared champion, despite only winning two races. Chevrolet again dominated the season. The dominant chassis manufacturers were March, Lola, Holbert, Frissbee, and VDS. IndyCar drivers Al Unser and Bobby Rahal also podiumed at Road America and Mosport, respectively.
The 1982 Can Am Series season was the fifteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's prototype series, and the sixth running of the revived series. 1982 brought new competition for Chevrolet in the form of Hart and Cosworth. Hart would podium in three races while Cosworth would podium in two. The most dominant chassis were Frissbee, Marguey, March, VDS-001, and Ensign. Al Unser Jr. would win at Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca, and Mosport twice, with a podium at Mid Ohio, at Riverside, and at Caesar's Palacae. Unser would be declared champion.
The 1983 Can Am season was the sixteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's prototype series and the seventh of the revived series. 1983 marked the second year of Chevrolet having major competition, with Cosworth taking second at Mosport, first at Lime Rock, second at Trois-Rivières, first at the second race at Mosport, and second at Sears Point. Hart would take third at Lime Rock and third at Trois-Rivières. Porsche would get its first podiums this season, with a win at Road America and third at the second race at Mosport. The dominant chassis were Frissbee, Ensign, Lola, VDS, Scandia, and Ralt. Jacques Villeneuve, Sr. was declared champion, with podiums in almost every race. He would, however, become the final major racecar driver to win a Can Am championship.
The 1984 Can Am season was the seventeenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's prototype series, and the eighth running of the revived series. 1984 would mark a major downturn in the series, as Juan Manuel Fangio II would become the last major driver to podium in a Can Am Series race, finishing third at Dallas. The dominant manufacturers were Chevrolet, Hart, BMW for the first time with a third-place finish at Brainerd, Cosworth, Lola, Ralt, and March. Dominant chassis were VDS, March, Frissbee-Lola, Ralt, and Williams with their first podium with a third-place finish at Lime Rock. Michael Roe was declared champion, with seven wins. The final race at Green Valley would feature the final truly notable driver in series history, John Andretti.
Intersport Racing is a former American auto racing team founded by Jon Field. The team was based in Dublin, Ohio. They previously operated two Oreca FLM09 sports cars in the American Le Mans Series. At current, the company has transitioned into diet supplements.
The Spyder NF-10 was an American sports prototype racing car built for the Can-Am series in 1978. It was based on a Lola T333CS, and was developed into the Spyder NF-11 in 1979. Two NF-10s were built in 1978, whilst four NF-11s were built in 1979, two of which were originally NF-10s. Both the NF-10 and NF-11 featured a 5-litre Chevrolet V8 engine.
The Frissbee KR3 was an American sports prototype racing car, built by Frissbee in 1984 for the Can-Am series. Originally built by Lola Cars as a Lola T330, it featured a 5-litre Chevrolet V8 engine, and was used by Horst Kroll Racing between 1984 and 1987. Horst Kroll used the car to win both the Can-Am and Canadian American Thundercars Championship in 1986.
Ken Duclos is a Americas former racing driver. Duclos competed in the Trans-Am Series, Atlantic Championship among other series.
Gerald Jon 'Jerry' Hansen is a former racing driver. Hansen has won a record of 27 SCCA National Championships. Hansen has also competed in Can-Am, the Atlantic Championship, USAC ChampCar among other series.