November 2017
• New Zealander John Nicholson, who made but a single Grand Prix start as a driver in 1975, but who claimed two Formula One World Championships as an engine builder, has passed away at the age of 75. Nicholson was perhaps best known for founding Nicholson-McLaren Engines, which became one of the foremost providers of Cosworth DFVs, supplying the engines for Emerson Fittipaldi’s successful title quest in 1974, and then for James Hunt’s similar achievement two years later. Hampered by lack of funding, Nicholson never enjoyed a career as a driver in F1, but did overcome quality opposition to pick up British Formula Atlantic championships in 1973 and 1974, powered by his own Cosworth BDA engines.
• Northern California’s Classic Sports Racing Group has announced its schedule of events for 2018. The season will commence with the fifth annual David Love Memorial Races at Sonoma Raceway on the weekend of April 6-8, then shift to the three-mile course at Thunderhill Park near Willows, California, for the Spring Races weekend on May 4-8. Following the customary summer break the season resumes at Sonoma Raceway with the 15th Annual Charity Challenge weekend, October 5-7, before finishing off with the club’s 51st Season Finale weekend at Thunderhill on November 2-4. This latter event will serve as host for the club’s annual Saturday Night Awards Dinner. For complete information please visit www.csrgracing.com
• As it did this year, Elkhart Lake’s Road America will again host a trio of different vintage racing weekends next year. The classic four-mile circuit’s first 2018 vintage racecar weekend will be the SVRA’s Spring Vintage Festival on May 18-20, while July’s summer heat will bring the WeatherTech International Challenge with Brian Redman presented by HAWK back to the track on the weekend of July 19-22, and in the fall Road America will present the VSCDA’s Elkhart Lake Vintage Festival on the weekend of September 14-16. The WeatherTech weekend will feature legendary cars from both the Can-Am and Trans-Am championships, so full grids and close racing are to be expected. For complete information please visit www.roadamerica.com
• The Vintage Indy Registry™ has announced that Gateway Motorsports Park, in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, will host an outing for the organization’s vintage Indycars as part of next year’s Verizon IndyCar Series weekend at the track on August 24-25, 2018. This year’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 race all but filled the grandstands on IndyCar’s return to the oval, and having the vintage Indycars there next year should help fill them again. For further information please visit www.vintageindyregistry.com
