1980 Watkins Glen - World Championship of Makes and Trans Am

The 1980 World Championship for Makes at Watkins Glen was the 8th round of the 11-race series. The championship had turned into a battle between Porsche and Lancia. Heading into the Glen, Lancia held the lead with 140-points to Porsche's 135. Porsche was represented by the 935 Turbos, which tipped the scales at 2,400-pounds and had an engine producing approximately 700 - 750-hp. Many of the top IMSA and Makes teams used 935s - Dick Barbour, J.L.P. Racing, Interscope and the Whittingtons. In contrast, the factory Lancia Beta Monte Carlo turbos weighted just over 1700-pounds and was equipped with a 500-hp engine.

Run in conjunction with the Makes race was a round of the Trans Am series. This was a transition year for Trans Am as the two category system was eliminated. The biggest change in the new rules was the removal of Category II - turbocharged Porsches and highly modified Camaros and Corvettes. The object of these changes was to create a competitive series with the costs of racing being within the reach of those competing. As the Watkins Glen race was much longer than the average Trans Am event bonus points were awarded to encourage and reward entrants.

Finishing first overall and in Group 5 was the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo driven by Hans Heyer and Ricardo Patrese. They were a lap ahead of their teammates Michele Alboreto and Eddie Cheever. This win increased Lancia's lead in the championship but by the last race of the season Porsche had tied Lancia with 160-points. The title was decided in Lancia's favour as they had more wins than Porsche.

The No. 6 Dick Barbour entered Porsche 935 K3 was shared by John Fitzpatrick and Brian Redman. They finished third overall and in the Group 5 class. At the next round which took place at Mosport, they scored the class and overall victory. Fitzpatrick's primary focus was the 1980 IMSA title which he would win as well as the Porsche Cup Championship.

Finishing behind the Dick Barbour entry was the Interscope Porsche 935 K3 of Danny Ongais and team owner Ted Field. Like Fitzpatrick and Redman they were IMSA regulars. Field finished third in the final IMSA standings while Ongais was seventh. During the event at Watkins Glen Ongais turned the fastest race lap at a 1:53.471.

The beautiful Red Lobster sponsored BMW M1 finished tenth overall - quite a feat for a car that had far less horsepower (480-HP versus 700-HP) than the Porsches. It was driven by Knepper Miller and Dave Cowart. In 1981, IMSA moved the M1 to the GTO class where Miller and Cowart would capture the championship.

The Porsche 935 of Randy Townsend and Harold Grohs waits for a new engine. The 935 proved to be a popular and successful race car for privateers throughout the world. Weighing approximately 2,100-lbs. and producing over 700-hp made it competitive in several series. Townsend and Grohs finished eighth at Watkins Glen.

Another IMSA regular - John Paul entered a Porsche 935 JLP-2. Sharing the car with his son and Preston Henn they finished fourteenth overall. In the IMSA series they had more success - Senior finished second in the 1980 championship while his son was fourth.

The No. 36 Electrodyne Porsche 934 was the only car entered in the GT class. Drivers Chet Vincentz, Bruce Jenner and Bob Garretson finished eighteenth overall - 37-laps behind the Patrese/Heyer Lancia.

It was very common for it to rain at some point during the 6-Hour race and 1980 was no exception. The class of the field during the rain period was Harold Grohs in the No. 13 Porsche 935. Here he leads the Trans Am entry of Robert Overby and Frank Harmstad through the 'Toe of the Boot'.

The third Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo competing at the 6-Hour race was entered by Jolly Club. This Italian team was created in 1957 by Mario Angiolini. Over the years, the team had competed in everything from the World Rally Championship to Formula 1 - mainly in Lancias and Alfa Romeos. This car was driven by Piercarlo Ghinzani and Martino Finotto to a sixth place finish.

Skeeter McKitterick and Charles Mendez finished just behind the class winning Trans Am Porsche 911 SC of John Bauer and Larry Green. They were thirteenth overall and twelfth in the Group 5 class.

1977 Trans Am Champion Ludwig Heimrath shared his Porsche 935 with 3-time Indy 500 winner Johnny Rutherford. The pair finished eleventh overall and in Group 5.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Gr.5	Heyer / Patrese	Lancia Beta	Lancia Corse	139	-
2	Gr.5	Alboreto / Cheever	Lancia Beta	Lancia Corse	138	-
3	Gr.5	Fitzpatrick / Redman	Porsche 935 K3	Dick Barbour Racing	134	-
4	Gr.5	Field / Ongais	Porsche 935 K3	Interscope Racing	133	-
5	Gr.5	Barth / Merl	Porsche 935 K3	Dick Barbour Racing	133	-
6	Gr.5	Ghinzani / Finotto	Lancia Beta	Jolly Club	133	-
7	Gr.5	Woods / Akin / Mendez	Porsche 935 K3	Racing Associates	132	-
8	Gr.5	Townsend / Grohs	Porsche 935	Andial Racing	130	-
9	Gr.5	Whittington/Haywood/Whittington	Porsche 935 K3	Whittington Brothers	130	-
10	Gr.5	Miller / Cowart	BMW M1	Red Lobster Racing	127	-
11	Gr.5	Heimrath / Rutherford	Porsche 935	Heimrath Racing	122	-
12	TA	Bauer / Green	Porsche 911 SC	Green Racing	121	-
13	Gr.5	McKitterick / Mendez	Porsche 935 K3	Racing Associates	117	-
14	Gr.5	Paul, Jr. / Paul / Henn	Porsche 935	JLP Racing	116	-
15	TA	Wolpert / Aquilante / White	Chevrolet Corvette	Aquilante/Wolpert	114	-
16	TA	Shelton / Leven	Porsche 911 SC	Porsche-Audi NW	114	-
17	TA	Keirn / Errington	Chevrolet Corvette	Philip Keirn	107	-
18	GT	Jenner / Vincentz / Garretson	Porsche 934	Electrodyne Racing	102	-
19	TA	Raub / Woods	Chevrolet Camaro	Rocky Mountain Perf.	101	-
20	TA	Forrest / Leifheit	Chevrolet Corvette	Forrest/Leifheit	98	Engine
21	TA	Oleyar / Craine	Chevrolet Corvette	Little Foreign Car Shop	93	-
22	TA	Kicak / Eastham	Chevrolet Corvette	Tom Rynone	93	-
23	Gr.5	Cord / Adams	Chevrolet Monza	Chris Cord	91	Transmission
24	TA	Schuler / Schuler	Datsun 280ZX	Fred Schuler	84	-
25	TA	Baechle / Laughlin	Chevrolet Corvette	Auto Barn	84	-
26	TA	Zulkowski / Pullyblank	Porsche 914-6	Metal Craft Racing	74	Electrical
27	TA	Overby / Harmstad	Porsche 911 SC	Robert Overby	72	Engine
28	Gr.5	Carter / DeLorenzo	Chevrolet Camaro	Maurice Carter	67	Engine
29	Gr.5	J�st / Moretti	Porsche 935	Electrodyne Racing	45	Engine
30	TA	Young / Lazier	Chevrolet Camaro	Rocky Mountain Perf.	42	Drive Shaft
31	TA	Kizer / Broomall	Chevrolet Corvette	Buist/Syfert	40	Engine
32	Gr.5	Heinz / Nagel / Valentine	Chevrolet Corvette	USA Racing	40	Spin
33	TA	Roberts / Schulte	Chevrolet Camaro	Tom's Mechanical	34	Ignition
34	Gr.5	Hinze / Whittington	Porsche 935	Marty Hinze	18	Transmission
35	TA	Brandt	Chevrolet Corvette	Atlas Van Lines	14	Engine
36	Gr.5	Stuck / Hobbs	BMW M1	BMW North America	10	Accident
37	TA	Fryer / Yenko	AMC Javelin	University of Pittsburgh	10	Brakes
38	Gr.5	Rahal / Garretson	Porsche 935 K3	Dick Barbour Racing	6	Engine
DNS	Gr.5	Field / Ongais	Porsche 935	Interscope Racing	0	-
DNS	Gr.5	Busby / Mears / Gregg	Porsche 935	Jim Busby	0	-
DNS	GT	Schramm / Bartling	Porsche Carrera RSR	Framm Promotions	0	-

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