VIR - 1971 April  IMSA - Qualifying Report

Virginia International Raceway April 17-18, 1971

Danville Register - Sunday April 18, 1971

Dave Hines Top Qualifier For Danville '300' At VIR

DANVILLE, Va. (AP)- Dave Hines of Tampa, Fla., drove his Corvette to the No. 1 position over a string of four Porsches in Saturday's qualifying for Sunday's Danville 300 endurance race at Virginia International Raceway.

Hines turned in a fastest lap of 2:18 for an average speed of 84 miles per hour for the first spot in Sunday's first such event for sports cars and sedan by the International Motor Sports Association.

Peter Gregg of Jacksonville, Fla., qualified second in a Porsche 914-6, followed by three Porsche 911 drivers - Jim Locke of Vermont, Pete Harrison of Atlanta, Ga., and Bob Beasly of Richmond, Va.

The Sunday race will follow the second heat of the 50-mile VIR sprint series for formula cars, the first of which was won Saturday by David Loring of Concord, Mass.

Loring, 20, averaged 82.054 m.p.h. in a Caldwell for an easy victory after Bill Scott of McLean, Va., blew his engine after establishing what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. Finishing behind Loring were Nils Sanborn of Newtown, Pa., in a Lola and Bert Hawthorne, a New Zealand native now living in Upper Saddle River, N.J. Hawthorne was driving a Titan.

• LEFT - Favorite Blows engine - Bill Scott, McLean, Va., who was rated among the top favorites at VIR Sprints carded yesterday and today, blew an engine in his Schmidts Royale Saturday after building up a big lead in the 50-lap qualifying test. he hopes to have his racer repaired in time to compete again today.
• MIDDLE - WINNER SATURDAY- David Loring, Concord, Mass., piloted his Caldwell D9 to victory at VIR Saturday in the International 100 sprint race. He took over after Bill Scott blew an engine, and was trailed across the finish line by Nils Sanborn and Bert Hawthorne respectively.
• RIGHT - ADDED ATTRACTION- The above beauty, while not listed on the official program, was definitely in the competition of thousands of young people attending the VIR races Saturday for top attraction honors.