Pinnacle Of Racing

@pinnacleofracing

20.9K

followers

591

following

Showcasing the beauty and thrill of the past within the world of motorsports!

POSTS STORIES REELS

$The Ferrari 348 GTC/LM (97553) on the grid of Le Mans in 1994. These 348’s were a GT2 racer built by Michelotto for the 1994 GT season. They featured a Tipo F119 V8 that was naturally aspirated and actually contained parts from the F40 for reliability and more power. By Le Mans these cars also had a bit of an aero change with flush headlights and a rear wing that was adjustable which was very similar to the F40LM. ————————————————————————————— 🏁: Le Mans 24 Hours, 1994 Drivers: Saldaña/de Orleans/Vilarino Result: 11th 📸: Unknown by @pinnacleofracing$

$The true story of the very controversial Ferrari F40 Barchetta. Jean Blaton had made a name for himself owning quite the Ferrari collection but he wanted something special and one off. A unique heavily modified Ferrari F40LM. At this point he already owned F40LM #88520 but he wanted something more radical. In 1993 he paired with car builder Tony Gillet to do just that. This, however, is where the story becomes convoluted and incorrect by most media such as Drivetribe and Monochrome etc. The first falsity is that this car was done by Michelotto. While Michelotto may have had some involvement in finding parts most of it was done by Tony Gillet at Garage Franchorchamps. The second falsity is that this car first appeared as the topless “Barchetta” we know today. This is incorrect as I am showing you photos of the car as a regular looking F40 with heavy modifications such as the side pipes, headlight-less clamshell and other modifications. Most of the body was probably copied from Blaton’s real LM. We can then see the transitional period of the car in the workshop when it was being modified to have the roof chopped. The third, and biggest, falsity is that this car was built upon the actual F40LM chassis #79890. This is the most egregious claim made by these articles. This car is built upon its own chassis, a chassis similar to an open wheeler or LMP. We can see the F1 style suspension and the monocoque which is nothing close to what the actual F40 monocoque looks like. In the deconstructed photo of the engine we can further see how this chassis is built on an open wheel/ LMP frame as it is much more complex than anything the F40LM had. Now in regard to the debadge of any Ferrari logos is easy. The car isn’t a real Ferrari. Evidence of this is at the same time there was a topless Ferrari 348 that got to keep its badges because it was a real Ferrari. This car is simply nothing but an F40 body on an open wheel / LMP style monocoque. Hopefully this provided some useful insight on how lack of research can lead people down a rabbit hole of falsity’s. ————————————————————————————— 📸: Ecurie Franchorchamps by @pinnacleofracing$

$The Roush All Sport Body Quenchers Ford Mustang Cobra Trans Am after a turn 1 incident in Cleveland. Driver Tommy Kendall would easily manage a pole position at Cleveland which was an old airfield turned race track. The Roush Mustangs at the time were very quick utilizing Roush built 310 cu.-in Ford small block V8’s paired to a 5 speed Hewland or Weismann transmission. The cars were also very light being a tube frame chassis making for a very balanced racer. While Kendall scored pole it would be the race that would see Robbie Buhl, also driving a sister Roush car, collide with Kendall on Turn 1 ripping his front end to shreds. The car rushed back to the pits and with no spare front end in sight they had to borrow one from the Mountain Dew Mustang Cobra of Jon Goodings. The photos show the feverish work to get the new splitter attached and the last photo shows the car post race with the mismatched bodywork. A very interesting story that showcases the trials and tribulations of professional racing. Regardless of this, Roush would win not only the 1995 championship but also 1996 and 1997. I’m sure @tommykendall11 remembers this one well! ————————————————————————————— 🏁: Cleveland Trans Am, 1995 Drivers: Tommy Kendall Results: 16th 📸: Bill Farrell by @pinnacleofracing$

$The Cunningham Racing Nissan 300ZX (001) going through the old pits at Mosport! These 300ZX’s were easily the most extreme and technologically advanced cars on the grid. Of course as most IMSA cars they were tube frame chassis with carbon fiber bodywork. These cars utilized a heavily modified version of the 300ZX’s 3.0 liter VG30 twin turbo V6 which now made around 800hp in race trim. These cars also utilized a lot of technology from the Nissan NPT racers in GTP as well as the GTP-ZX Turbo. Note the use of the short wheelbase on these cars which would only last a few years before Cunningham would upgrade the cars making them wider for GTS1. ————————————————————————————— 🏁: Mosport 300km, 1990 Drivers: Steve Millen Results: 1st 📸: Ken Oikawa by @pinnacleofracing$

$Here are some of the cars that you would have seen at the 1985 Spa 1000km! Pictured is the Rothmans Porsche 962C (004), Lancia LC2/85 (0002), Newman Joest Racing 956B (117), Jaguar XJR-6 (TWR-J12C-185), Cheetah Automobiles Switzerland Cheetah G604 (1), Victor Racing Team Porsche 935 (930 890 0017), and finally the Sportswagen Center Dieter Oster BMW M1. While this is a spectacular grid of cars I should also point out that this would be the unfortunate race that would take the life of Stefan Bellof in his 956B. A driver who would have had a long and successful career ahead of him so may he rest in peace. ————————————————————————————— 🏁: Spa 1000km, 1985 📸: Ulli Andree by @pinnacleofracing$

$Ferrari F40LM (88522) at the UK FOC National Meeting in July of 1995. At the time of this photo being taken the car was under ownership of David Morrison but the story of this chassis goes back some time. The car was completed by Michelotto on January 8th, 1991 and was the 6th build by them utilizing IMSA specs. The car was given to Albert Urdezo via Pozzi and was tracked by him at the time. It was noted that the car clipped a curb causing the bonnet to crack which was repaired at Pozzi utilizing genuine Michelotto parts. It was then sold to David through Talacrest for around 500,000 dollars. The interesting thing about this car is that David would put a mock Ferrari France IMSA GTO livery on it taking some liberties with the prancing horses on the tops of the front fenders. Eventually by 1997 the car was sold having numerous owners since then and recently was restored by Michelotto in 2018. This is one of the best early examples of an LM having many owners in its life! Also shoutout to the other great Ferraris in this pic like that 288 GTO Evo peeking through. ————————————————————————————— 📍: UK FOC National Meeting, 1995 📸: Robert Miller by @pinnacleofracing$

$The Brix Racing Oldsmobile Aurora GTS-1 in the pits of Daytona! These Oldsmobile’s were based off of the first gen Aurora. Pratt and Miller were responsible for the cars design making a beautifully crafted tube frame racer from this body. The engine was really the bread and butter of this car. It utilized a heavily modified version of the 4.0L Northstar V8 that was making 650hp at 10,700rpm. These were the same engines that would later be used in the Cadillac GT and LMP projects. One of the most impressive V8’s made for racing. In the race unfortunately the number one car caught on fire however the sister number five car placed 7th overall but first in GTS-1! Now with the info out of the way, Merry Christmas! My gift to you guys is more Pinnacle of Racing content! Now this is not a forever thing so let me explain. I am posting my saved photos on Facebook. One of the rarest stuff on my page is there. Once I am done with those saves I will be done with this page. Enjoy the content as I’ve got some awesome stuff to post that I’ve held onto for almost 4 years! ————————————————————————————— 🏁: Daytona 24 Hours, 1996 Drivers: Hoerr/Cunningham/Borkowski/Brassfield (1), Morgan/Morgan/Pezza/Gooding/Hoerr (5) Results: 50th (1), 7th (5) 📸: Bill Farrell by @pinnacleofracing$

$The Peugeot Talbot Sport 205 Turbo 16 E2 at the Olympus Rally in Washington. In the 1980s Peugeot wanted to shift their focus to small, sporty, cars and so they believed that joining the international rally championships would bring much needed publicity to the brand. The Evo 2 pictured here was the improved version of the initial model Peugeot raced. The Evo 1 used a reinforced and seam-welded version of the standard car’s pressed steel monocoque, the Evolution 2 had the rear section replaced with a custom tubular spaceframe that saved over 70kg and greatly improved mechanical access. The engine was a water cooled inline 4 which usually never had more than 500hp due to longevity reasons. The large spoiler and front splitter/canards were added due to the unpredictability of when the car would do jumps. These were added so that it would shoot towards the ground quicker. These Evo 2 cars were extremely quick and solidified Peugeot as a Motorsport monster! ———————————————————————————————— 🏁: Toyota Olympus Rally, 1986 Drivers: Kankkunen/Piironen Result: 2nd 📸: Jim Culp by @pinnacleofracing$

$The Rice Racing Pontiac Grand Prix at Sebring in 1997. This car is very interesting to say the least but unfortunately I have very little information on it. This Pontiac was tan in the GTS-1 class which was the second highest class to race in. The style of this car seems to be very NASCAR esque however if you look at 1990s Pontiac Grand Prix nascars they look nothing like the car here. The headlight and grill shape seem to be very different. Also you can see that the car has NASCAR wheels with the 5 lugs which means pit stops for this car must have been interesting. The engine was definitely some sort of Pontiac V8 but not sure what size and how much power. This car is very interesting as it also raced Daytona this year. If anyone has information on this car or the team in question, let me know! ————————————————————————————— 🏁: Sebring 12hrs, 1997 Drivers: Rice/Kong/Lewis/Stacy Result: 41st 📸: Brian Mitchell by @pinnacleofracing$

$The Penske Porsche 911 Carrera RSR (911 360 0307 R3) in the pits and on track at Daytona! This 911 was completed by Porsche in January of 1973 and sent out immediately to Penske to race in February. The car was painted in the trademark blue and yellow paint to represent their main sponsor the Sun Oil Company (Sunoco). These cars utilized an NA Flat 6 which sound absolutely mental. Unfortunately on track this car would have an engine failure and it’s sister car R4, the Brumos Racing entry, would win overall. After Daytona chassis R3 was sold to Al Holbert and would begin a whole new life. This car is so cool and definitely an iconic Porsche racing model! Not to mention that Penske this year is killing it in IMSA! ———————————————————————————————— 🏁: Daytona 24 Hours, 1973 Drivers: Donohue/Follmer Result: DNF (Engine) 📸: Tim Grimm by @pinnacleofracing$

$The Clarion Nissan Skyline R33 GTR LM during a night time pit stop. This GT1 racer was born from the ashes of Nissans Group C efforts as Le Mans was still the top race to enter and win. Luckily for Nissan the death of prototypes and the rise of production based racers meant they could take their flagship performance car and race it! They took two factory R33 chassis and extended the body work to improve cooling, downforce, and overall performance of the cars. They also removed the AWD system per the mandated rule set which vastly changed the way the GTR drove. The engine they used was an N1 spec straight six which produced around 400hp which compared to the 600+ hp of the F1 GTR or F40LM proved to be lackluster. However the car did get down to 2,535 pounds which is very good! Also something to note is the removing of the AWD and new bodywork meant they would need to create a new homologation car hence the infamous one off silver GTR LM! This car unfortunately would retire with gearbox issues after 157 laps and ultimately Nissan saw this effort as a failure despite the sister car placing 10th. With this mind they would work closely with TWR and create the beautiful R390 for 1997. Enjoy this beautiful action shot! ———————————————————————————————— 🏁: Le Mans 24hrs, 1995 Drivers: Hoshino/Suzuki/Kageyama Result: DNF (Gearbox) 📸: Cheubron by @pinnacleofracing$

$The Charles Pozzi Ferrari F40LM (79890) during testing at Monza! The way the car looks in this photo is pretty different to what we got once it was prepped for IMSA racing later in the year. The most notable feature on this car were the canards which did not last long. While they proved to generate more downforce for the front end it actually caused massive overheating problems. The reason is because air for the engine in the F40 comes mostly from the sides as it enters 4 different points to cool the engine and one entrance in the side skirt for the brakes. The air was being taken up by the canards causing very little air to reach these openings which in turn caused lots of overheating. Another major change is the heat extractors on the front/top of the cowl and the lack of a naca duct. They expanded these coolers for the later versions of the car and added a naca duct to feed air into the cabin for the driver. Also during testing they used the front headlamps which would never be utilized for IMSA races and would have black covers on them. The drivers for this test were non other than Alain Ferté, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, and Pierre Dieudonné who would take turns making sure the car was prepared. This car had many changes and quite the interesting stories and I’m sure for my longtime followers you guys know I have plenty of posts on these cars! ———————————————————————————————— 📍: Monza, 1989 📸: Pascal Papazyan by @pinnacleofracing$