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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Report and Photos

Craig Bennett, 74 Shadow DN4 Picasa
Craig Bennett, 74 Shadow DN4

The Hawk at Road America with Brian Redman was held July 16-19, 2015 at the famed Road America road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The 4-mile, 14-turn track welcomed over 400 race cars ranging from the modern day cars that race in some vintage classes to a couple of 84-year-old machines.

The Hawk International Challenge with Brian Redman included 14 feature races to cover the range of entrants. Group Two for Pre-1972 vintage production sedans and selected sports racers had a whopping 63 entries; there were three other groups with over 50 cars.

All the races have unique qualities, from cars in close battle throughout the field in Groups Two and Five, to the delightful charm of the pre-war cars to the thunderous noise of the Can-Am machines in Group One. There are many vintage racing fans that take exception to having the modern cars in these events, but the speed some of these cars generate is thrilling.

Performances that stand out include those by August Grasis, who went out in a rather severe storm in his 1933 Studebaker Indy Special, and Curtis Liposcak, drifting through the turns in his 1933 MG J2. Brian and James French showed up in their 1997 Jordan and Benetton Formula 1 cars that shriek through the track with a sound that makes the hairs on your arms stand up and pay attention. Although the Can-Am field seemed a bit smaller than in previous years, they still put on a thunderous display as they took the green flag to start the race.

An annual tradition for the Hawk is the race car parade from the track to the the town of Elkhart Lake some three miles away. Spectators line Highway 67 to see the cars go by, and then go to town where the cars are displayed for a few hours. Road America also has a go-kart track for spectators to use, and this year they opened a zip-line that seemed to be quite popular.

Turbulent weather visited the track Friday night and Saturday morning. A gust of wind destroyed the awning on Douglas Schumacher’s trailer, and lifted the golf cart parked under the awning onto his Argo formula car. Fortunately, the car’s damage was minor and Douglas was able to race his events. He also discovered the quality of the vintage racing community, as he was flooded with help from fellow competitors. This storm was sandwiched between two sweltering hot days. Fortunately, the heat wave broke for Sunday’s feature races.

Similar to our 2012, 2013 and 2014 race coverage, photographer David Ferguson also documented the Hawk at Road America Brian Redman 2015. We split up David’s 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 and race winners can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs.

The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery

 

Michael Malone, 65 Lotus 26R
Michael Malone, 1965 Lotus 26R
Harry Dinwiddie, 72 Corvette
Harry Dinwiddie, 1972 Chevrolet Corvette
David MacNeil, 81 Porsche 935
David MacNeil, 1981 Porsche 935
Juan Gonzalez entering turn 7 in his 07 Porsche 997.
Juan Gonzalez entering turn 7 in his 2007 Porsche 997.
Tom Welgarz, 81 Camaro
Tom Welgarz, 1981 Chevrolet Camaro
Theo Bean, 88 Nissan 300 ZXT Turbo, leads his brother out of turn 6.
Theo Bean’s 1988 Nissan 300 ZX Turbo leads his brother out of turn 6.
Patrick Bean, 76 Chevy Dekon Monza
Patrick Bean’s 1976 Chevy Dekon Monza
David MacNeil, 76 Porsche 934/5
David MacNeil, 1976 Porsche 934/5

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two

 

C H DeHaan, 73 BMW CSL 3500
C H DeHaan, 1973 BMW CSL 3.5
Sam Viviano, 69 Camaro Z/28
Sam Viviano, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Lorrie-Ann Fisher, 54 Lincoln Capri
Lorrie-Ann Fisher, 1954 Lincoln Capri
Peter Stolz, 73 Porche 911 RSR
Peter Stolz, 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
Jim Stengel, 72 McLaren M8F
Jim Stengel, 1972 McLaren M8F
Lilo Zicron, 66 Lola T70
Lilo Zicron, 1966 Lola T70
Dan Cowdrey, 66 Lola T70 Mkll
Dan Cowdrey, 1966 Lola T70 MkII
George Frey, 68 McLaren M6B
George Frey, 1968 McLaren M6B

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Three

 

Richard Carlino, 77 Chevron B36
Richard Carlino, 1977 Chevron B36
Jonathan Burke, 73 Brabham BT40
Jonathan Burke, 1973 Brabham BT-40
Duncan Dayton, 72 Chevron B23
Duncan Dayton, 1972 Chevron B-23
John Goodman, 72 Ferrari 312-Sparling
John Goodman, 1972 Ferrari 312 Sparling Special
Chris Farrell, 79 RaltRT2
Chris Farrell, 1979 Ralt RT-2
Steve Simpson, 81 Frisbee Can-Am
Steve Simpson, 1981 Frisbee Can-Am
John Foodman, 72 Ferrari 312-Sparling
John Goodman, 1972 Ferrari 312 Sparling Special
Michael Malone, 68 Porsche 908
Michael Malone, 1968 Porsche 908

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Four

 

Claude Malette, 71 Lola T222
Claude Malette, 1971 Lola T222
Toby Bean, 69 Lola T70 Mk lllb
Toby Bean, 1969 Lola T70 Mk IIIB
Rick Knoop, 72 McLaren M8F
Rick Knoop, 1972 McLaren M8F
Craig Bennett, 74 Shadow DN4
Craig Bennett, 1974 Shadow DN4
Can-Am action. You can almost hear the sound.
Can-Am action – you can almost hear the sound.
Dan Cowdrey, 66 Lola T70 Mkll
Dan Cowdrey, 1966 Lola T70 MkII
A.C. D'Augustine, 65 Genie Mk 10b
A.C. D’Augustine, 1965 Genie Mk 10B
Jim Ferro, 70 Lola T165
Jim Ferro, 1970 Lola T165

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Five

 

Chris Locke, 76 Lotus 77
Chris Locke, 1976 Lotus 77
Andrew Beaumont, 74 Lotus 76
Andrew Beaumont, 1974 Lotus 76
Doc Bundy, 79 Lotus 79
Doc Bundy, 1979 Lotus 79
Doc Bundy, 79 Lotus 79
Doc Bundy, 1979 Lotus 79
James Hagan, 83 Tyrrell 011
James Hagan, 1983 Tyrrell 011
John Machul, 87 Porsche 911 Carrera
John Machul, 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera
Kenneth Girard, 72 Alfa Romeo GTV
Kenneth Girard, 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV
Side by side through 6.
Side-by-side through 6.

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Six

 

Ed Swart, 66 Lola T70
Ed Swart, 1966 Lola T70
Norm Cowdrey, 67 McKee Mk7/10
Norm Cowdrey, 1967 McKee Mk 7/10
Craig Bennett, 74 Shadow DN4
Craig Bennett, 1974 Shadow DN4
Jim Gregg, 67 Austin Healey 100/6
Jim Gregg, 1967 Austin-Healey 100/6
Jeff Lumbard, 61 Austin Healey 3000
Jeff Lumbard, 1961 Austin Healey 3000
Todd Buehrer, 72 Datsun 510
Todd Buehrer, 1972 Datsun 510
George F. Balbach, 60 Porsche 356B
George F. Balbach, 1960 Porsche 356B
George C. Balbach, 61 Porsche 356
George C. Balbach, 1961 Porsche 356

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Seven

 

Ed Swart, 66 Lola T70
Ed Swart, 1966 Lola T70
Sandra McNeil, 63 Lotus 23b
Sandra McNeil, 1963 Lotus 23b
Douglas Mockett, 61 Cooper T56
Douglas Mockett, 1961 Cooper T56
David MacNeil, 07 Porsche RS Spyder
David MacNeil, 2007 Porsche RS Spyder
Russell Kempnich, 84 Porsche 956
Russell Kempnich, 1984 Porsche 956
Keith Frieser, 73 Shadow DN1
Keith Frieser, 1973 Shadow DN1
Gregory Thorton, 76 March 761
Gregory Thorton, 1976 March 761
Robert Blain, 75 March 751
Robert Blain, 1975 March 751

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Eight

 

Rick Davis, 65 Alpha Romeo Giulia Spider
Rick Davis, 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider
Paul Swanson, 58 Porsche 356 Speedster
Paul Swanson, 1958 Porsche 356 Speedster
Dawn Myers, 61 MGA
Dawn Myers, 1961 MG A
Robert Heib, 64 Porsche 356C
Robert Heib, 1964 Porsche 356C
Dan Powell, 61 Austin Healey 3000
Dan Powell, 1961 Austin-Healey 3000
Three Lotus F-1 cars waiting for action.
Three Lotus F-1 cars waiting for action.
The Masters USA cars included a Tyrrell, March, Penske, Wolf, McLaren and March.
The Masters Historic Formula One cars included a Tyrrell, March, Penske, Wolf, McLaren and March.
Louis Casazza, 67 McKee Mk 7
Louis Casazza, 1967 McKee Mk 7

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Nine

 

George Calfo, 65 Porsche 911
George Calfo, 1965 Porsche 911
Frank Beck, 72 Porsche 914/6
Frank Beck, 1972 Porsche 914/6
Alex Rorke, 65 Lotus Elan
Alex Rorke, 1965 Lotus Elan
Andrew Willms, 72 Datsun 240Z
Andrew Willms, 1972 Datsun 240Z
Just watching Curtis Liposcak drifting through turn 6 in his 1931 MG J2 C-type is worth the price of admission.
Just watching Curtis Liposcak drifting through turn 6 in his 1931 MG J2 C-type was worth the price of admission.
Russell Lane, 53 MGTD
Russell Lane, 1953 MG-TD
Marvin Primack's 1949 Lester-MG Special did not come around next lap. I wonder why.
Marvin Primack’s 1949 Lester-MG Special did not come around next lap. I wonder why.
Robert Ritholtz, 53 Morgan plus 4
Robert Ritholtz, 1953 Morgan Plus 4

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Ten

 

Curtis Liposcak driving his 31 MG J2 is worth another look.
Curtis Liposcak driving his 1931 MG J2 is worth another look.
1933 MG J2
Dan Lanier, 1933 MG J2
Lou Natenshon, 31 Invicta
Lou Natenshon, 1931 Invicta
Michael Kaske in his lovely 64 Causey P6 Special
Michael Kaske in his lovely 1964 Causey P6 Special
Fred Fischer, 66 Ginetta G4
Fred Fischer, 1966 Ginetta G4
James Cullen, 68/10 Lola T70 Mk lllb
James Cullen, 1968/2010 Lola T70 Mk IIIb
Russell Gee, 63 Jaguar XKE Lightweight Coupe
Russell Gee, 1963 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Coupe
Jay Stephenson, 65 Cheetah
Jay Stephenson, 1965 Cheetah

 

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The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)

 

[nggallery id=816 images=15]

 

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[Source: David Ferguson]