Vintage Motorsport: US vs F1 - the Questor GP
05-02-12, 07:37 AM
#1
Out of Warranty
Thread Starter
Vintage Motorsport: US vs F1 - the Questor GP
Today the Questor GP is only a footnote in American racing history, but the 1971 event at Ontario Motor Speedway brought Formula 1 and "Indy" cars together for a match race that just missed becoming an annual event pitting the US against the world. "Questor" was a corporation consisting of companies ranging in products from sports equipment to baby bottles and piston rings, and it would front the considerable cost of bringing a world-class racing event to the US.
Last summer, Vintage Motorsport Magazine published an article by automotive historian and author Tom Stahler, and is well worth the read, particularly if you're a F1 fan. Pictures reveal the cars and the drivers that came together for the classic contest. Now this was a period in which both USAC and F1 were trying a number of "formulas" to determine the best way to field an affordable racing event. Corporate "sponsorships" were pretty minimal in that day, so it was the manufacturers that bore most of the financial load for the series.
The purse of $300,000 was enormous for the day, and that alone, if for no other reason, attracted a large international crowd. The cars were pretty evenly matched, with the "European" team driving their "F-1" cars, while the "American" team drove "F-A" cars, and Ferrari, Lotus, Tyrrell, McLaren and Matra faced off against with Lola, Eagle and Surtees, powered by small-block Chevy, Ford and Plymouth engines. Drivers represented the best of Indy and F1, with a few crossovers that had Mario Andretti driving for Team Ferrari. The contest wasn't as one-sided as you might think . . . and although had the event run more than this single race, development of the "formulas" would have brought them even closer together.
Copy and save the pdf. for reading at your leisure. http://www.totalrecallmedia.com/Home...114_vms__1.pdf
Whatever became of the proposed annual event? Although attendance for the race of 60,000 people in the stands was acceptable, the venue at OMS was built for a grandstand holding nearly three times that number. While attendance was decent for an inaugural race, the stands being so large simply swallowed up the crowd, making it appear that the place was nearly empty. That was strike one.
To be honest, in 1971, F1 had a limited audience in the US, and while USAC, the organization behind Indy, was well known in the Midwest, it was all rather new to Southern California, leaving the event with limited appeal to the local race fans who were more involved in drag racing than dirt track, oval, or road racing. In those days, neither California or the US in general, was a particularly rich market for road racing. Strike two.
The development required to bring all of the competing formulas under a single blanket was not limited to Questor's venture. Both USAC and F1 were casting about for a single formula that would provide high speeds, close racing, and relative economy to the sport. Asking both sides of the Atlantic to agree on a single formula for a single race was a bit too much. Strike three.
Even the opulent Ontario Motor Speedway succumbed to the realities of market and competition from other nearby venues, being torn down within ten years to be replaced by commercial and manufacturing facilities - there is little if any trace of it today. The Questor consortium disintegrated within months of the inaugural race, and the proposed series died with it. Now relegated to a footnote in racing history, the Questor GP was a noble undertaking, one that might have changed motorsport as we know it.
Last summer, Vintage Motorsport Magazine published an article by automotive historian and author Tom Stahler, and is well worth the read, particularly if you're a F1 fan. Pictures reveal the cars and the drivers that came together for the classic contest. Now this was a period in which both USAC and F1 were trying a number of "formulas" to determine the best way to field an affordable racing event. Corporate "sponsorships" were pretty minimal in that day, so it was the manufacturers that bore most of the financial load for the series.
The purse of $300,000 was enormous for the day, and that alone, if for no other reason, attracted a large international crowd. The cars were pretty evenly matched, with the "European" team driving their "F-1" cars, while the "American" team drove "F-A" cars, and Ferrari, Lotus, Tyrrell, McLaren and Matra faced off against with Lola, Eagle and Surtees, powered by small-block Chevy, Ford and Plymouth engines. Drivers represented the best of Indy and F1, with a few crossovers that had Mario Andretti driving for Team Ferrari. The contest wasn't as one-sided as you might think . . . and although had the event run more than this single race, development of the "formulas" would have brought them even closer together.
Copy and save the pdf. for reading at your leisure. http://www.totalrecallmedia.com/Home...114_vms__1.pdf
Whatever became of the proposed annual event? Although attendance for the race of 60,000 people in the stands was acceptable, the venue at OMS was built for a grandstand holding nearly three times that number. While attendance was decent for an inaugural race, the stands being so large simply swallowed up the crowd, making it appear that the place was nearly empty. That was strike one.
To be honest, in 1971, F1 had a limited audience in the US, and while USAC, the organization behind Indy, was well known in the Midwest, it was all rather new to Southern California, leaving the event with limited appeal to the local race fans who were more involved in drag racing than dirt track, oval, or road racing. In those days, neither California or the US in general, was a particularly rich market for road racing. Strike two.
The development required to bring all of the competing formulas under a single blanket was not limited to Questor's venture. Both USAC and F1 were casting about for a single formula that would provide high speeds, close racing, and relative economy to the sport. Asking both sides of the Atlantic to agree on a single formula for a single race was a bit too much. Strike three.
Even the opulent Ontario Motor Speedway succumbed to the realities of market and competition from other nearby venues, being torn down within ten years to be replaced by commercial and manufacturing facilities - there is little if any trace of it today. The Questor consortium disintegrated within months of the inaugural race, and the proposed series died with it. Now relegated to a footnote in racing history, the Questor GP was a noble undertaking, one that might have changed motorsport as we know it.
Last edited by Lil4X; 05-02-12 at 09:53 AM.
05-02-12, 02:55 PM
#2
Out of Warranty
Thread Starter
Although the cars differed considerably, the F1 cars were high-strung high-revving 3 liter machines, while the FA cars had a somewhat similar chassis, but with heavier 5 liter engines, they may have been down on horsepower, but with bags of torque on tap could pull 5 to 7 lengths on the F1 cars on the straights. The comparisons were interesting.
In the end, the F1 cars finished 1-6, with the first FA car finishing 7th. Had the series continued, and development of the FA (F-5000) cars continued, the races would have been much more evenly matched.
In the end, the F1 cars finished 1-6, with the first FA car finishing 7th. Had the series continued, and development of the FA (F-5000) cars continued, the races would have been much more evenly matched.
