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HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Photo Gallery

Jim Stengel, 72 McLaren M8F Picasa
Jim Stengel, 72 McLaren M8F

The 38th Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports Mitty was held on April 24-26, 2015 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. The event, commonly called the “Mitty”, was sanctioned by Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) and presented by Hagerty.

The HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 drew over 350 entries to race on the challenging 12-turn, 2.54 mile road course. They were divided into 10 groups, with groups 2 and 3 having the maximum number of vehicles allowed. Local weather forecasters did a good job of presenting a worst case scenario for Saturday’s weather, and this probably kept some of the entries home, as only(!) about 300 cars showed up.

The most notable addition to the Mitty in 2015 was the participation of Masters Historic Racing who organize races for Formula 1 cars from the 1970s and early ’80s. Among the participants were several March 761 and 751s; Arrows FA1; Shadow DN1; Lotus 76; Tyrrell 001 and 002; Williams FW08; Hill GH1 and a Parnelli VPJ. It was great to see these cars on the track, with their original liveries and their sweet-sounding Cosworth 3-liter engines. Gregory Thornton in his yellow and blue ex-Ronnie Peterson 1976 March 761 won both heats.

Among other notable entries at the 2015 Mitty were Don Whittington in a Porsche 935/K3, Dan Furey in a 1956 Ford Thundrbird, Adam Chodosh in a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette and Jay Stephenson’s very pretty blue 1965 Cheetah. There were six E-Type Jaguars, plus Max Heiman’s nicely presented 1958 XK150. There were also several lovely older sports cars and sports racers, such as the Merlyn, Turner, Elva, Ginetta and Bobsy.

Among the weekend’s better races for the lead, Doug Campbell in a 1964 Ginetta beat Ray Morgan in his 1964 Merlyn by 0.10 seconds in Group Two’s first heat. But perhaps the greatest feat was the 65 drivers in a wide array of automobiles that took the green flag for the Bob Woodman Tires International / American Challenge. Larry Ligas’ 1961 Jaguar E-Type and Curt Vogt’s 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 had a great duel for the lead that ended with Ligas winning by 1.3 seconds. The speed differential between the the fastest and slowest cars — based on their fastest lap times — was a whopping 37 seconds, yet the race was run without one full course caution. That’s worth bragging about.

HSR tried a couple of night races for this year’s Mitty, and they were fun to watch, but 7-lap sprints seemed a bit short for racing under the stars. The Vintage / GT Sprint was won by Oliver Bryant in a 1965 Ford Mustang GT, while the H/P race was won by the Dennis Spencer-Rich Grupp 1993 Kudzu DG2.

There were three enduro races, each sponsored by B.R.M. Chronographs. The Vintage class was won Alan and Jonathon Ziegelman in their 1973 Porsche 914/6, the GT Enduro was won by Dave Thorman in a BMW E46/M3 and the H/P event went to Travis Engen in his 2005 Audi R8 LMP.

Of note, the fastest time of the HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 weekend was set by Jacek Mucha in an 2007 Panoz DP01, lapping the track in 1:18.374 (116.67 miles per hour). Mike Levine won the “Spirit of Walter Mitty” award, given to the competitor that best exemplifies the spirit of the event.

And then there was the weather. Yes, it rained on Friday night and Saturday morning, and the qualifying sessions for that time were washed out, but the severe weather that the news warned us about never materialized. And the rest of the weekend was postcard perfect weather.

Similar to 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, photographer David Ferguson also documented the 2015 Mitty by HSR, offering the following pictures that highlight the entrants found at Road Atlanta. We split up David’s 208 pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs.

HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery

 

James Hagan, 83 Tyrrell 011
James Hagan, 83 Tyrrell 011
Cal Meeker, 83 Williams FW08
Cal Meeker, 83 Williams FW08
Gregory Thornton, 76 March 761
Gregory Thornton, 76 March 761
Andrew Beaumont, 74 Lotus 76
Andrew Beaumont, 74 Lotus 76

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Travis Engen, 05 Audi R8
Travis Engen, 05 Audi R8
Keith Frieser, 72 Lola T290
Keith Frieser, 72 Lola T290
Howard Katz, 75 Toj 205C
Howard Katz, 75 Toj 205C
Howard Turner, 88 Jaguar XJR 7/8
Howard Turner, 88 Jaguar XJR 7/8

 

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HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two

 

Don Whittington, 80 Porsche 935/K3
Don Whittington, 80 Porsche 935/K3
Dick Howe, 89 Ford Mustang
Dick Howe, 89 Ford Mustang
Frank Marcum, 66/11 SPF GT40 Mk ll
Frank Marcum, 66/11 SPF GT40 Mk ll
Jeff McKee, 66/06 Bailey GT40
Jeff McKee, 66/06 Bailey GT40

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F-1 Master's series cars ready to go out.
F-1 Master’s series cars ready to go out.
Keith Frieser, 73 Shadow DN1
Keith Frieser, 73 Shadow DN1
Andrew Beaumont's tribute to Ronnie Peterson helmet.
Andrew Beaumont’s tribute to Ronnie Peterson’s helmet.
John Delane, 71 Lola T212, heading down to the daunting turn 12.
John Delane’s 1971 Lola T212 heads down to the daunting turn 12.

 

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HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Three

 

Russell Gee, 63 Jaguar XKE
Russell Gee, 63 Jaguar XKE
Herb Wetanson, 61 Aston Martin DB4
Herb Wetanson, 61 Aston Martin DB4
Roy Sanders, 65 Porsche 911
Roy Sanders, 1965 Porsche 911
Dean DeSantis/Ken Moore, 67 Alfa Romeo GT jr and Damon DeSantis, 66 BMW 2002CS
Dean DeSantis/Ken Moore, 67 Alfa Romeo GT jr and Damon DeSantis, 66 BMW 2002CS

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Jim Gregg, 67 Austin Healey 100/6
Jim Gregg, 67 Austin Healey 100/6
Douglas Campbell, 64 Ginetta G4
Douglas Campbell, 64 Ginetta G4
Isaac Keeler, 69 Datsun 510
Isaac Keeler, 69 Datsun 510
Thumbs up from the BMW 2002 driver
Thumbs up from the BMW 2002 driver

 

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HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Four

 

An ill timed attempt to pass..
An ill-timed attempt to pass..
67 Alfa Romeo GT jr.
67 Alfa Romeo GT jr.
John Delane, 71 Tyrrell 002
John Delane, 71 Tyrrell 002
Cal Meeker, 83 Williams FW08
Cal Meeker, 83 Williams FW08

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Ron Maydon, 78 Arrows FA1
Ron Maydon, 78 Arrows FA1
Tommy Dreelan, 76 March 761
Tommy Dreelan, 76 March 761
John McKenna, 74 Parnelli VPJ-4
John McKenna, 74 Parnelli VPJ-4
Edward DePew, 93 Porsche 964 Turbo S
Edward DePew, 93 Porsche 964 Turbo S

 

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HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Five

 

Toby Bean, 91 Chevy Intrepid
Toby Bean, 91 Chevy Intrepid
Travis Engen, 05 Audi R8
Travis Engen, 05 Audi R8
Jay Stephenson, 65 Cheetah
Jay Stephenson’s 1965 Cheetah
65 Cheetah
1965 Cheetah

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Davis Jones, 72 Porsche 911 S/T flies through turn 3.
Davis Jones, 72 Porsche 911 S/T flies through turn 3.
CH DeHaan, 73 BMW CSL
CH DeHaan, 73 BMW CSL
Curt Vogt, 70 Ford Boss 302 and Chuck Harris, 73 Porsche 911 RSR/IROC
Curt Vogt, 70 Ford Boss 302 and Chuck Harris, 73 Porsche 911 RSR/IROC
Jim Stengel, 73 McRae GM-1
Jim Stengel, 73 McRae GM-1

 

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HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Six

 

65/05 Kirkham Cobra
65/05 Kirkham Cobra
Andrew Beaumont, 74 Lotus 76
Andrew Beaumont, 74 Lotus 76
Ron Maydon, 78 Arrow FA1
Ron Maydon, 78 Arrow FA1
Andrew Beaumont, 74 Lotus 76
Andrew Beaumont, 74 Lotus 76

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James Hagan, 83 Tyrrell 011
James Hagan, 83 Tyrrell 011
Jim Cullen, 68/10 Lola T70 Mklllb
Jim Cullen, 68/10 Lola T70 Mklllb
John Delane, 71 Lola T212
John Delane, 71 Lola T212
John Delane, 71 Tyrrell 002
John Delane, 71 Tyrrell 002

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Seven

 

Harry Dinwiddie, 72 Corvette
Harry Dinwiddie, 72 Corvette
Jim Stengel, 72 McLaren M8F
Jim Stengel, 72 McLaren M8F
Juan Lopea-Santini, 08 Porsche 997 Cup, entered 5 events this weekend. He won all 5.
Juan Lopea-Santini, 08 Porsche 997 Cup, entered 5 events this weekend. He won all 5.
Grahame Bryant, 67 Chevy Camaro Z/28
Grahame Bryant, 67 Chevy Camaro Z/28

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Curt Vogt displaying his hard charging driving style with his 70 Ford Boss 302.
Curt Vogt displaying his hard charging driving style with his 70 Ford Boss 302.
Phil Wicks aims his 67 Austin Mini Cooper S to the turn 12 apex,
Phil Wicks aims his 67 Austin Mini Cooper S to the turn 12 apex,
Night racing!
Night racing!
Vintage Formula 1 cars going through the "Esses".
Vintage Formula 1 cars going through the “Esses”.

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

HSR Mitty Speedfest 2015 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)

 

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The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

[Source: David Ferguson]