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    On The Grid

    Featured Photo:

    2002 Lola EX257-MG AER #20

    View Details

    2002 Lola EX257-MG AER #20

    On Display Now

    • Four class victories; including the 12 Hours of Sebring
    • Advanced Engine Research designed and built 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder, 500HP engine
    • Driven by Chris Dyson, James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger

    When sanctioning bodies dropped Group C at the end of the 1993 season, the age of prototype racing appeared to end as attention turned to production based GT cars that had more spectator appeal.

    Ferrari’s introduction of the 333 SP led to the development of a new generation of cars labeled “Le Mans Prototypes” that competed in North America and at Le Mans. This led to Lola’s 1998 launch of their first sports car since 1992, supplied at first to private racing teams. Then MG commissioned a new chassis for the LMP675 class, which Lola designated as the B01/60, though MG labeled it the MG EX257.

    Compared to the LMP900 class, the cars were lighter, with smaller engines, but were expected to be competitive overall with their lighter weight. Carbon fiber panels covered a monocoque chassis with double wishbone suspension in the front and rear. Power was provided by an MG badged AER 2-liter turbo engine rated at 500 bhp.

    While the cars set sixth and twelfth fastest times in qualifying for the 2002 Le Mans race, it turned out that while the lighter, more nimble cars were competitive with their heavier counterparts, but they were also fragile and dropped out of the race. At the end of the season, MG retired from racing and sold the cars to private teams.

    Teams like Dyson, Intersport, and RML showed the car’s true potential in following seasons, with the Dyson team being particularly successful in the American Le Mans Series from 2003 to 2005. Their two-car team showed the Lola’s capabilities on the shorter, twisty North American tracks, where the races were much shorter, and durability was less of an issue.

    Rule changes eventually made the cars obsolete, but by then their winning reputation, and the Dyson team’s as well, was solidly in the record books.

    On loan from The Rob Dyson Collection, Millbrook, New York.

    Past Display Cars

    When the founders of the International Motor Racing Research Center were working on the details for the new archival and research facility they knew they wanted the look and feel of a library. Some exhibit space was important, and, foremost, they envisioned space for a race car. Wide double doors have accommodated the rolling in and out of dozens of different cars since the IMRRC opened in June 1999. The cars are displayed for a few months, often complementing a Center Conversations talk or another event.

    If you have an interesting race car you’d be willing to display at the IMRRC in Watkins Glen, NY, please email Kip Zeiter, the Coordinator of Visitor Services and Outreach.

    Among the cars the IMRRC has hosted:

    Walt Hansgen's Jaguar Special

    Vic Franzese's Can-Am Champagne Car

    Rusty Wallace's Dodge

    Porsche 917

    Phil Hill's Ferrari

    McLaren M19

    Mark Donohue Sunoco Eagle

    Lotus 49C

    Jaguar XKE

    Gary Balough's Batmobile DIRT Modified

    Ford GT 40

    David Loring's Denali

    1975 McLaren M23

    2003 Dallara Chassis side

    Pre-WWII flat tail midget with Ford flathead V8-60 engine owned by Al Isselhard

    1957 Indy roadster

    1956 Corvette

    This stunning 1956 Corvette is owned by Gary Fickeisen of Moravia, N.Y.

    The 1968 Shelby Mustang

    1966 GT40 Mk II

    1956 Jaguar XK140

    1956 Jaguar XK140 at Racing Research Center

    Fitch Phoenix

    Bojangles' No. 98

    Chinook F5000

    Ford Boss 302R

    The original Boss 302R built in 2009 for JBS Racing, Montour Falls, NY.

    Poison Lil

    Maserati V8RI Built in 1936 "Poison Lil" led the very first competition lap at Watkins Glen in the 1948 "Junior Prix".

    1960 MGA Twin Cam Roadster

    Sprint Midgets

    1967 Alpine-Renault A110 Berlinette

    Chevrolet SS

    Triumph 2

    1977 Monza GT

    1977 Monza GT Driven by Upstate New York driver Warren Agor and on display through January. Agor was the SCCA Rookie of the Year in 1969 and A-Sedan Champion in 1972. He competed in 71 professional races between 1970-1977: 36 Trans-Am, 24 IMSA GT, and 11 Can-Am. He won the 1973 Trans Am race at Sanair Internationale. Agor was a member of the Road Racing Drivers Club and posthumously inducted into the Watkins Glen Drivers Walk of Fame in 2015. Throughout his career, Agor Racing never had the budgets of the bigger teams, and usually came to the races with a volunteer crew, but he was always competitive. It is said that his team accomplished more with less than any of his era. The Monza on display was designed and built totally in-house utilizing the latest design trends for the All-American GT cars. Tube frame chassis, aerodynamically slick bodywork, a super wide track with 14” and 18” tires, rear wing specially designed and built at Penske, and powered by a stout 350 c.i. Chevy producing 450+ horsepower, it’s a great example of an exciting era of IMSA racing.

    Peter Argetsinger’s 1955 MG-TF sports car

    In honor of Peter Argetsinger, race driver, racing coach and IMRRC Governing Council member, the Research Center is displaying Peter’s 1955 MG-TF sports car. He purchased the car as a teenager in 1967 for $200. It was his principal mode of transport throughout his college and early married years, remaining a treasured friend and favorite ride throughout his life. Pete and his wife Sjoukje had many adventures in the stylish but (of course) temperamental British racing-green roadster, including a harrowing trip through the eye of Hurricane Agnes and Christmas-time trips to upstate New York with only side curtains to fend off the ice and cold. Peter sadly died in February 2020 at his home in Watkins Glen and the Center is thrilled to host his beloved MG as a memorial to his extraordinary personality and remarkable talent.

    Entropy Racing’s Electric Vehicle Sports Racer

    Arnie Carbaugh's Formula Vees

    Arnie Carbaugh's Formula Vees Formula Vees are an inexpensive way to get into the racing world. They originated from the pre-1963 Volkswagon Beetle and utilize a collection of stock parts to form a competitive race car. The VW engine, transmission, front suspension, brakes, and wheels are stock or modified stock parts. The chassis is a tube frame design and the body is fiberglass or carbon fiber. The intention of this class is for the average person to build and maintain the car. Speeds of a Vee will go to about 120 miles per hour. The minimum weight of the car to run for SCCA is 1,025 pounds. Each year, Formula Vee is one of the classes at the SCCA Runoffs, which awards a national championship. With the support of his family and friends, Arnie has been very fortunate to win many awards over the last 40 years: His first win was in 1989 at Limerock Park, CT NYS Road Race Championship First place in 1991, 1994, 2003, 2011, and 2012 Second place in 1989 and 2004 Third place in 1988, 1992, and 1994 Glen Region SCCA Driver of the Year in 1991 and 2014 Eddy Whitmore Award for Sportsmanship in 1994 Challenge Cup Series Winner in 2013

    1967 Lotus Formula Ford

    2008 Mini Cooper B-Spec Race Car

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