2000 Trans-Am - Qvale Mangusta

American interests established the Qvale Modena SpA in Italy in 1997. Production of the new Qvale Mangusta began in 1999. The two-door sports car is powered by a 4.6-liter Ford V8 and equipped with a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic.

At the 2000 Los Angeles Motor Show, Bruce Qvale, Qvale founder, announced that the Mangusta would be competing in the BF Goodrich Tires Trans-Am Series. Two cars would be entered in the 2000 championship for Qvale and Brian Simo.

The race cars were prepared and maintained by a new partnership between Huffaker Motorsports and Qvale called Huffaker / Qvale Motorsports. The motorsports relationship between the Huffaker and Qvale surnames goes back more than 30 years. Joe Huffaker, Sr. and Kjell Qvale partnered on several racing projects. In 1964, they built three cars for the Indianapolis 500. Two of them qualified for the race and finished thirteenth and nineteenth.

Joe Huffaker, Jr. would manage the team's entry into the 2000 Trans-Am series.

The Qvale Mangusta was manufactured from 1999 to 2002, with a total of 284 cars being produced. Before the Mangusta could enter the first Trans-Am race, it had to be built in sufficient numbers to satisfy the homologation regulations set by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Trans-Am veteran Brian Simo was chosen as the team's primary driver. Simo made his first series start in 1993. Entering the 2000 season, he had finished second in the final standings the last three years. Qvale would compete on a limited basis. He was a successful amateur racer who won the 1995 SCCA E-Production National Championship.

All Trans-Am cars must utilize a tube-frame chassis, front-mounted V8 engine, rear-wheel drive, and front-wheel steering. The Qvale Mangusta uses a Huffaker Engineering tube-frame chassis. The bodywork is a carbon fiber / Kevlar honeycomb composite. The front suspension is an independent double wishbone while the rear is a live axle, three-link adjustable with a Watts link. All four corners use Penske adjustable shock absorbers. Stopping the car are Alcon brakes. As per the series rule, the Mangusta uses BF Goodrich g-Force T/A radials, which are mounted on BBS modular alloy wheels: Front 12 X 16 inches and Rear 13 X 16 inches. The car is 194 inches long and 80 inches wide.

The engine displacement and induction system determine the car's weight. Engine size ranges from 275 cubic inches to 358 cubic inches. Series vehicles may be equipped with a carburetor or fuel injection. The Qvale Mangusta is powered by a 311 cu. in. V8 Ford engine with an 840 cfm Holley four-barrel carburetor. This single-camshaft pushrod motor with two valves per cylinder produces 660 horsepower at 8,200 rpm and 465 ft-lbs of torque at 5,300 rpm. By comparison, the road-going version uses a 4.6 liter Ford V8 with an output of 320 horsepower. The racing version weighs 2,675 pounds.

The 2000 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series opening round was held at Sebring International Raceway. Brian Simo drove the No. 88 Tommy Bahama Qvale Mangusta and was third fastest during the qualifying session. However, he dropped to the rear of the grid and started twenty-seventh after pitting to fix a spark plug wire. Simo charged through the field and was in fifth place on the final lap. Passes on Michael Lewis and Chris Neville, followed by contact between Johnny Miller and Leighton Reese allowed Simo to grab the win. On to Charlotte, where Simo earned his second victory of the season with a pass on Stu Hayner for the lead on lap 27.

Next on the calendar was Long Beach. Simo qualified on the pole and ran in second place until lap 27 when he had to pit for a flat tire. Last-lap contact between Johnny Miller and Chris Neville elevated him from ninth to seventh-place result. Round four was the series only stop north of the border. Simo qualified second fastest at Mosport International Raceway. For the first twenty-nine laps, he followed Paul Gentilozzi. At Moss Corner on lap 30, Gentilozzi spun, giving the lead to Simo. He would go unchallenged and win by a margin of 6.041 seconds. This was his eleventh series victory and his second consecutive at Mosport.

Race five was held in Detroit, the most important race on the schedule as it is the headquarters for many of the Automotive companies participating in the series. Simo would be joined by Bruce Qvale at this event, driving the No. 44 Huffaker / Qvale Motorsports Qvale Mangusta. Simo was gridded second for this round and would lead for two laps before finishing behind the winner, Paul Gentilozzi. Qvale started seventeenth but retired with a mechanical issue on lap 15. The next event took place in Cleveland. Simo started last in the thirty-nine-car field but sliced his way to the front and finished third. Qvale qualified ninth and finished sixth.

Road America was round seven and marked the second half of the season. Qvale was entered in the second Qvale Mangusta and finished seventh after qualifying twentieth. Simo was gridded third for the eighteen-lap contest. However, he spun early in the race and finished a distant twentieth. Paul Gentilozzi claimed the victory and moved into the points lead, fifteen markers ahead of Simo. Next up was the first of two races in Texas. Simo captured his second pole position of the year at Texas Motor Speedway. He retired after fifteen laps when a flat tire damaged the suspension on the No. 88 Tommy Bahama Qvale Mangusta.

Simo earned another pole position at the Grand Prix of Houston. While battling for the lead, he and Gentilozzi made contact. Gentilozzi had to pit with a flat tire. Simo continued with a wounded car and salvaged a fourth-place result after Gentilozzi and Jack Willes were penalized for pit violations. Next, the series traveled to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Simo qualified behind the pole-sitter, Kenny Wilden. Gentilozzi and Simo made contact for the second consecutive race. At the checkered flag, Simo was twenty-ninth and Gentilozzi third, which extended his championship lead.

The penultimate round of the 2000 season was conducted at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Simo started third and was in contention for the win until midway through the contest when he spun. It went from bad to worse when Simo lost the left front tire and finished fourteenth. However, his main rival for the title, Gentilozzi, crashed and didn't score any points. San Diego hosted the finale. Simo was joined by Qvale, who qualified in the fifteenth but failed to start the race. Simo collected another pole and finished third. Gentilozzi had an oil pump failure and only scored one point, which gave Simo his first BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series championship.

During the off-season, responsibility for the Qvale Mangusta Trans-Am program moved to Tom Gloy Racing. Gloy has a wealth of motorsports experience, including participation in the CART series and winning the 1979 Formula Atlantic and 1984 Trans-Am championships. The team's primary driver was the 2000 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series title holder, Brian Simo. Simo was joined by Jim Matthews for an entire season and Tony Ave for two races.

In 2001, Simo finished on the podium four times, one of which was a victory at Sears Point. At the end of the season, he was second in the standings—thirty-two points behind the champion, Paul Gentilozzi. Matthews's top result was a ninth-place finish in the season opener at Sebring International Raceway. Ave's best outing was a twenty-fourth-place result at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

In 2002, Tom Gloy Racing replaced the Qvale Mangusta with a Chevrolet Corvette driven by Butch Leitzinger. Leitzinger finished second in the championship and earned the Rookie of the Year award.

Count	Date	Venue	Driver	Car	Start	Finish
1	March 17	Sebring International Raceway	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	3	1
2	April 1	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	2	1
3	April 16	Grand Prix of Long Beach	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	1	7
4	May 21	Mosport International Raceway	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	2	1
5	June 17	Detroit Grand Prix	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	2	2
5	June 17	Detroit Grand Prix	Bruce Qvale	Qvale Mangusta	17	33
6	July 1	Grand Prix of Cleveland	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	39	3
6	July 1	Grand Prix of Cleveland	Bruce Qvale	Qvale Mangusta	9	6
7	August 19	Road America	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	3	20
7	August 19	Road America	Bruce Qvale	Qvale Mangusta	20	7
8	September 3	Texas Motor Speedway	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	1	21
9	September 30	Grand Prix of Houston	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	1	4
10	October 15	Laguna Seca	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	2	29
11	October 29	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	3	14
12	November 5	San Diego	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	1	3
12	November 5	San Diego	Bruce Qvale	Qvale Mangusta	15	DNS

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