I have been road racing since the early 1980s and vintage/historic racing since the late ’80s; always in 105 series Alfa Romeos. But I remember, back in the early ’90s, racing with this little blue sports racer called a “LaBoa”. When I say “racing with” I mean I saw it briefly at the green flag, then again when it came around to lap me.
The majority of the LaBoa Sports Racers (the name translates to “The Snake”) were built in the early to mid-’60s utilizing a variety of engines including Coventry Climax, Corvair, Lotus twin-cams and the Alfa Romeo 1300 and 1600 powerplants. They were hand-built by a talented man named Al Baurle whose company was called Competition Engineering in nearby (to me) Wheaton, Illinois. The LaBoas were built to compete against the Lotus 23s and the Elva Mk VIIs of the time. The fiberglass bodywork of the LaBoa Mk II used a combination of a slightly modified Lotus 23 front end, while the gorgeous shape of the tail section came from the Detomaso Vallelunga. The chassis is fabricated using steel tubing and aluminum panels. The engines were mounted amidships with the transaxle behind. This made for a very light, very fast combination.
Al Baurle had several children including three boys who grew up to be gifted craftsmen. Through the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s, Al built and rebuilt a variety of other vintage street and racecars including small and big block aluminum Cobras, several types of open-wheel formula cars, and closed-wheel sports racers. He kept working well in to his 80s with his passion for these cars as the driving force. Sadly, Al passed away in 2014 and is sorely missed to this day.
In 2015 and with his father’s original chassis blueprints in-hand, one son, Bert, decided to build a LaBoa as a tribute to his father. Bert would perform 90 percent of the chassis fabrication and finance the entire project. His brother Ken, a well-known race prep mechanic in his own right, would take care of the suspension design and setup. A third brother, Mike, also armed with his father’s natural mechanical knowledge, would help with all electrical and final assembly. Bert originally toyed with installing a motorcycle engine for the sake of ease and weight savings, but was eventually convinced to go the more traditional route of using a period-correct Alfa motor. This made much more sense when it came to being allowed entry into vintage motorsports racing. So, I was called upon to brainstorm on what would make the most sense.
Together, Bert and I landed on a ’64 Alfa 1600-cc twin-cam from a Giulia Super in my personal stash that I was saving for a special occasion. I built the engine using the best components I could get my hands on as my contribution to the project. We decided to go with dry sump oiling. I used to think that dry sump oiling was just overkill, but I’ve since learned, among other things, it’s a great way to position the engine as low as possible in the chassis because there’s no oil pan to speak of. We also found it to be good for 7-10 extra horsepower on the engine dyno! Hmmmm. The engine output ended up being 177 horsepower at the flywheel with excellent torque; not bad for a little 1600. Another perk is the unique wail of the motor at 8,000 rpm, whether on the dyno, or behind you on the track.
All during the construction of this latest LaBoa, I stopped by Bert’s shop at least weekly to check on progress and admire what was already completed. As I mentioned before, I’d been hustling around production-based Alfas for years, but this was a real purpose-built race car, and driving one was on my lifetime bucket list. Bert would regularly see me acting like the proverbial “kid in a candy store” and mentioned he’d like to see me drive it to get the bugs out of it. He didn’t have to ask twice.
The LaBoa was completed and ready to do battle in the spring of 2017. Bert and I agreed that it needed a good track shakedown. And because it was so new to me, we decided to shoot for the Spring Driver’s school at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, Michigan. Even though I’ve road raced for 37 years and have been a driving instructor for 10 of those, I felt I needed to attend a driver’s school to learn the car. You’re probably thinking, “What’s the big deal?” Well, this is a REAL racecar that weighs roughly half of what my Duetto, an already light car, weighs. Plus, REAL racecars don’t have transmission synchros slowing down the shifts. It presented a semi-steep learning curve for this old dog. In the LaBoa, you only use the clutch to engage first gear to leave the pits, usually never on the track, and then only when you return to the pits. “What am I supposed to do with my left foot out there?” I thought.
The driver’s school, for the most part, went well. I can only describe the car as a 177 horsepower go-kart. I was able to master the upshifting quickly, but braking and downshifting eluded me. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I can’t heel-toe brake to save my life.
The next day we practiced and qualified for the Sunday feature races. Our race group comprised other sports racers and small displacement production cars. Even hacking my way through the braking and downshifting, we qualified for pole position, four seconds a lap faster than the next car in the group. “Hmmm, this little car is crazy fast!” I thought. Our first win was not to be though; a small piece of debris was sucked in to the engine through one of the carbs and bent a valve. We were done for the weekend, but the writing was on the wall. The LaBoa was a force to be reckoned with. Bert was excited with the results and suggested that I drive it the rest of the year at the remaining Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association races. Again, no arm-twisting required.
Back at the shop, we repaired the engine damage and prepped the car for the next race weekend at Blackhawk Farms in South Beloit, Illinois. This time we were grouped with other sports racers and the open-wheeled Formula cars. In the first practice, although still struggling with braking and downshifts, I managed a lap time two seconds faster than I ever went in my Duetto. Between sessions and chatting up my various difficulties with other drivers, one guy suggested I try left-foot braking. “Now wait a minute,” I thought, “I bet I can do this because that’s how I’ve driven an automatic transmission car on the street since I was 15.” In the next session, the car and I literally clicked together and I managed to improve my lap times by another two seconds. We qualified second overall with a local hero in a sports 2000 several seconds ahead, a Formula Continental hot on my tail, and a whole slew of hungry Formula Fords behind him.
Come race day on Sunday and with the sports 2000 nowhere in sight, all of a sudden, we’ were on pole! In a quiet moment on the grid, the crew chief of the Formula Continental came over to us and inquired as to how we got 300 horsepower in this little car. We told him no, just 177 horsepower, 1600cc Alfa Romeo four-cylinder. He grumbled something and walked back to his driver and proceeded to give him a rather animated pep talk. Sure enough, midway through the race the Formula driver worked up the nerve and out-braked me into Corner 1 with his fat slicked tires and big downforce wings. I dogged him for the rest of the race but couldn’t get around him. The LaBoa and I finished first in class and second overall!
Our inaugural first overall came at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin in the fall. We were grouped with all of the big displacement (up to 289 ci.) production cars and other sports racers. I qualified behind two well-driven Porsche 911s. A few laps in to the feature race, the lead 911 spun at Corner 1 and fell out of the running. I proceeded to give the remaining 911 fits until the last lap coming out of The Kink when we drag raced in to Corner 12 with me on the inside. I found the right gear and squirted past! Big fun!
The most memorable race for the LaBoa would have to be at the Weathertech International Challenge back at Road America in July 2018. This premier vintage race weekend attracts cars and drivers from all over the world. We were in a “rather interesting” race group with multi-million dollar REAL Ford GT 40s, you know, the ones that gave Enzo fits at Le Mans. Also in the group were “small” V-8 Can-Am cars and all sports racers up to 3.0 liters with a few V-8 Devins and Scarabs mixed in.
The LaBoa and I qualified first in the 1600 cc class and ninth overall. Ahead were the GT40s, the Can-Am cars and other bigger-engined sports racers. The feature race on Sunday brought rather ominous weather about the time we lined up on the grid. I have to admit, I hadn’t yet driven this little wild one in the wet and needless to say, I was a bit nervous. Typically, a 1,100-lb. 177-hp car with fat tires is going to be a handful in the wet. We were on the grid on time but had to wait for the rest of the class. Apparently, the rain made a lot of the other drivers nervous as only seven or eight arrived. None of the cars that gridded in front of us showed up! “Hmmm, this could be interesting”, I thought.
During the warm-up lap, I figured out what I could and couldn’t get away with. And get this: I had a ’66 Mustang GT350 next to me and a ’59 Corvette behind me. Apparently, they were “over prepared” for the class they were supposed to be in and were placed with the sports racers. It’s always unnerving to be able to look up at the underside of their door handles.
Anticipating a noisy drag race in to Turn 1 at the green flag, I pushed the LaBoa to the limit and was rewarded with a comfortable lead through the corner. Apparently 500+ horsepower didn’t help those cars in the wet. With proper driver inputs, the LaBoa wasn’t nervous and twitchy at all. Seven laps later came the checkered flag. Let me tell you, there was a bit of fist pumping going on in the cockpit! The little blue 1600cc Alfa-powered Maccina Corsa put me in the winner’s circle and on the top center of the podium wearing the wreath of leaves while spraying Champagne on the other drivers and photographers.
Bellisimo!!
