Rick Parsons and Mark Harmer secured their respective Formula 5000 class championships for 2016 during the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association’s U.S. Vintage Grand Prix presented by Jaguar last weekend. Harmer (above) clinched his title by driving his ex-David Hobbs Surtees TS5-Chevrolet to victory in the Class A race for pre-1972 cars, while Parsons claimed the Class B (1972-1976) crown with a 3rd–place class finish in his ex-Brian Redman Lola T332C-Chevrolet behind overall winner Dudley Cunningham (ex-Warwick Brown Lola T332-Chevy) and class runner-up Jim Stengel (ex-Graham McRae McRae GM1-Chevy).
With former Indycar star Roberto Guerrero acting as the event’s Grand Marshal after being inducted into the local Walk of Fame, and 1996 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Davy Jones waving the flag as official starter for several races, the event did not lack for star power.
The Glen was also the venue for this year’s Collier Cup race for MG devotees, which was won in fine style by MGA driver Kent Prather, a six-time winner of the G Production class at the SCCA’s annual National Championship Runoffs. The Collier Cup, however, is not determined by on-track performance, but by the votes of participants, who selected Steve Konsin’s 1953 MG TD for the honor. Konsin drove his car to a 13th-place finish, also taking home the Jack Archibald T-Cup as the first T-series MG to receive the checkered flag. For his efforts, Prather earned both the Denver Cornett Jr. Trophy for the overall win, and the Bob Bucher/Sherm Decker Memorial Cup as the top-finishing MGA.
The SVRA’s Watkins Glen race winners were:
Saturday September 10
Group 2 – Bobby Brown – 1971 Brabham BT35
Group 3 – John Parker – 1967 Volvo 1800
Group 4 – Joey Bojalad – 1960 Elva Mk VI Prototype
Group 5 – Bill Thumel – 1967 Lola T70
Group 6 – Jody O’Donnell – 1969 Corvette
Group 7 – Justin Frick – 1976 Osella PA6/8
Group 8 – Jim Hamblin – 1968 Porsche 911
Historic Enduro (one-hour) – David Porter – 2007 Pescarolo 01 Judd
Sunday September 11
Group 1 – Harry Gentry – 1962 MG Midget
Group 2 – Dave Handy – 1968 Brabham BT29
Group 3 – Bob Bramlage – 1964 Ginetta
Group 4 – Randy Williams – 1966 Jaguar ERA SKE-R
Group 5 – Tom Shelton – 1965 Lola T70
Group 6 – Peter Klutt – 1969 Corvette
Group 7 – Justin Frick – 1976 Osella PA6/8
Sports 2000 Feature – Ben Sinnott – 1991 Lola T9190
Group 8 – Jim Hamblin – 1968 Porsche 911
Group 9 – Mark Brannon – 1997 Lola T9720
Group 10 – Jeffrey Bernatovich – 1990 Corvette
Group 11 – Randy Johnson – 2007 Pescarolo
Group 12 – Jonathan Pfeffer – 1990 Corvette
Formula 5000 Revival Race – Dudley Cunningham – 1974 Lola T332-Chevy
Collier Cup Race – Kent Prather – 1962 MGA
International GT – Steven Hill/Mike Skeen – 2007 Ferrari F430
Governor’s Cup All-Corvette Race – Jeffery Bernatovich – 1990 Corvette
Historic Trans Am – Jim Hague – 1970 Boss 302 Mustang
Pre-War – Peter Giddings – 1954 Lancia-Ferrari D50A
