Photos and words by Dennis Gray
A week after running WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway, the SVRA drivers, crews, and cars set up camp 150 miles North at Sonoma Raceway, known to Old Timers as Sears Point. Sonoma Raceway’s 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course features more than 16 stories of elevation changes, sweeping turns, and a challenging carousel. Primarily known as a NASCAR track, Sonoma is a popular track with vintage drivers.
SVRA brought thirteen vintage groups of over two hundred cars to Sonoma, including the crowd favorite Historic Trans-Am. Below is a list of SVRA groups with a couple of images from each group.
Group 1 Consists of small-bore sports cars like Triumph Spitfires and Mini Cooper S cars.
Group 2 Consists of smaller formula cars like Lola T-342 or Brabham BT21B cars.
Group 3 comprises Porsche 356s, 914/4, and MGB/GT cars.
Group 4 A Jaguar XK120, Porsche Abarth GTL, Ferrari TR61, and a 1958 Corvette.
Group 5 comprised Ramleth Geir’s Lotus 23B and other small-bore sports racers.
Group 6 is populated by Chevrolet Corvettes, Ford Mustangs, and an E Type Jaguar.
Group 7 three cars. McLaren M1C, Mk-1 and an M12. Only the McLaren M12 of Ian Wood’s actually ran. Note this car is for sale.
Group 8 found BMW 2002s, Datsun 510s, and Porsche 911s, among others in this group.
Group 9 is larger Formula cars. Swift 014 Atlantic, Mazda Pro Formula, and others.
Group 10 Chevrolet Lumina, Porsche 911, Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet Corvette, etc.
Group 11 one car. Travis Engen’s quick, fast, beautiful Audi LMP GTP2.
Group 12 Ford Mustang, BMW E30 M3 EVO 3 and nine Porsche 911s.
HTA Historic Trans-Am Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Boss 302 Mustang, Dodge Challenger, and a rare Tunnel Port 302 Mustang.
Each group produced exciting close racing. Maybe not Group 11 with “only” the Audi LMP GTP2. The Audi was combined with another group with similar speed. Stand out for excitement was Group 10, populated with the 935 Porsche, Chevrolet Camaros, a Dodge Viper, and the like. These guys, led by Scott Borchetta’s 2020 Ford Mustang, were loud, fast, and almost violent in attacking the course. Good fun.
HTA or Historic Trans-Am, while not relatively as fast or loud as Group 10, still produced good racing. The sounds, smells, and ground shaking produced by these cars took me back to my earlier days of watching Trans-Am. All in all, good fun.
Enjoy the gallery of images from the SVRA 2022 Mission Foods Sonoma Speedtour. Please leave any questions or comments in the comment box if you have any questions or comments.
