November 2016

• Legendary racecar mechanic Bob Skinner has passed away at the age of 74. Together with his partner Tom Jobe, Skinner provided Hogan-Starr Racing with a McLaren M10B-Chevrolet that John Cannon drove to the Formula 5000 championship in 1970. Prior to that, Bob and Tom had earned near-mythical status as the mechanics for “The Surfers” top fuel drag racing team, and the duo was also famous as Can-Am mechanics for drivers such as John Cannon and François Cevert. Vintage Racecar extends its sincerest sympathies to Skinner’s family and his many friends throughout the sport.

• Ann Bothwell, widow of the late motorsports pioneer Lindley Bothwell and long-time supporter of all things Fabulous in the ’50s, has passed away a few weeks short of her 98th birthday. A very modest and private person, Ann was much beloved by those who knew her, and her contributions to motorsport in Southern California were considerable. Her internment and memorial service were held at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills. To her family and all of her many friends, Vintage Racecar offers its deepest condolences.

• Fred Opert, who gave up law school to become a racing team owner and subsequently earned a reputation as discoverer of talent, passed away in early August at the age of 77. Through his Fred Opert Racing operation he fielded teams that competed on four continents during the 1960s and ’70s, and gave many drivers crucial opportunities to build their careers. Among the “graduates” of his program were drivers such as Alain Prost, Alan Jones and Keke Rosberg, all of whom later became World Champion, and in 1975 Bill Brack claimed the championship of the Player’s Challenge for Formula Atlantic in an Opert-run Chevron. Opert left the sport after a freak 1983 incident that claimed the life of his friend, Olivier Chandon, in an accident at Palm Beach Raceway in Florida. To his family and friends throughout the sport Vintage Racecar extends its deepest sympathies.