Tony was lucky to escape alive - after getting taken out by the Porsche 935 |
When I flushed my eyes out at the medical station, they said I looked like a Black Face vaudeville character. This was a terrible blow to the team, as we were the first to make a 512BB work at Daytona. In prior years, the factory crashed 2 out of 3 cars and withdrew from the race. I was supposed to drive the car at Le Mans however I was passed over by supposedly French driver requirements to enter the car. As it turned out, Carson Baird drove the team's sister car, SN 38179 with Pierre Dieudonné and Jean-Paul Libert to sixth place behind five twin turbo Porsches. Some were the same cars we'd bettered at Daytona. So it was a real disappointment not to run this car at Le Mans. |
I'm sure we would have won easily in 24 hours, as the car was running flawlessly. Just as I put the car into 2nd place, Moretti in his 935 burst a Pirelli tire entering turn 3 of the banking. I took the high side thinking I would avoid him as he spun towards the bottom of the banking apron. He continued to spin towards turn 4 in the banking where he collected my car. I was tapped into turn 4 wall in a spin, and the last thing I could see was a shower of sparks jetting away from the wall as I read the word DAYTONA on the wall. |
I was concerned that I was going to crash into the concrete barrier backwards, however as soon as the car hit the grassy area, it dug into the ground, plowing to a stop before I hit the concrete. The dirt poured into the cockpit completely filling the inside of my full face helmet. When I took my helmet off, dirt was embedded into my sweaty face and eye area. |
Porsche 935 tire marks on Tony's left front fender |
Car owners Ron & Patti Spangler: simply jubilant over Moretti's tire failure and how it ruined their car and a chance to win |
The Culprit: Moretti's 750 h.p. Momo Porsche 935 |
Porsche had created a "silhouette" car based loosely on their 911, called the 935. It was basically a "funny car" for road racing, nicknamed Moby Dick for it's fantastic bodywork. Twin turbo's gave it 750 horsepower and a 227 mph top speed at Daytona, but that was partly offset by high fuel consumption requiring many pit stops. |
The highly stressed engine wasn't as reliable as the big normally aspirated Ferrari flat 12, so the Ferrari had a fighting chance. Unfortunately, the Porsche's Pirelli tires were overloaded on Daytona's high banking, which led to disaster... |
Daytona 24 Hours Feb 1, 1981 cont. |
Here's a sight NASCAR drivers never encounter! It's easy to see how 24 hours leaves most cars battered and bruised. Mario Andretti once said of the high banks at night: "Sometimes you get away with it and sometime you don't." |
You never know what will happen on Daytona's high bank - especially at 227 mph at night! |
Tony Adamowicz, Gary Wheeler, Tony a2z, Tony Adamowics, a2zRacer, Gary Wheeler, Tony Adamowicz |
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