Ross' Byrnes Wins Jaguar Wine Country Classic in Sonoma

 
AGATE AT BOTTOM OF FILE
 
Ross' Byrnes Takes Second Consecutive
Win at Jaguar Wine Country Classic
 
SONOMA, Calif.  - Ross' Tom Byrnes continued his
winning ways on Sunday at Infineon Raceway with a wire-to-wire victory
at the 20th annual Jaguar Wine Country Classic Vintage Car Races.
 
Byrnes, who qualified on the pole, took the lead at the drop of the
green flag in his 1962 Cooper and was never challenged in the 10-lap
feature for Group 5 (1956-1963 Formula Cars). This marked the second
consecutive victory for Byrnes, who has competed in all but one Wine
Country Classic since the event's inception in 1986.
 
 San Rafael's Art Hebert (1963 Lola) placed second in the 10-lap
feature, with Fremont's Tom Claridge third (1962 Lotus).
 
"Winning this race two years in a row is great," said Byrnes, who served
as the Mayor of Ross in 2005 and is now on the town council. "I know Art
was going to be all over me; the first lap was the most intense. It was
like a chess game."
 
 "I really battled with Tom," Hebert said. "He was able to get away on
the straights but I reeled him in on the corners. In the end I just
didn't have enough."
 
Scotts Valley's Bruce Canepa (1970 Javelin) took the victory in the
premier class of the weekend, 1966-1972 Historic Trans-Am Cars.
Saratoga's Scott Rubin (1971 Javelin) finished second with Saratoga's
Ken Epsman (1970 Challenger) third.   
 
More than 250 competitors competed in nine different racing groups on
Sunday, with Petaluma's Randall Smith taking the victory in Group 7
(1965-1980 Historic IMSA and Sports Cars). Other Northern California
winners included Portola Valley's Rodney Smith (Group 1, 1934 ERA); Palo
Alto's John Buddenbaum (Group 2, 1949 Jaguar); Monterey's Don Orosco
(Group 3, 1960 Lola); and Santa Cruz's Greg Solow (Group 6, 1963
Morgan). 
 
AGATE
 
Jaguar Wine Country Classic
 
SONOMA, Calif. - Final results Sunday from the Jaguar Wine Country
Classic Vintage Car Races at Infineon Raceway. All qualifying races were
contested on Infineon Raceway's 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course. Car and
hometown in parentheses:
 
GROUP 1 (10 laps)
Pre-War Racing & Sports Cars to 1952
Rodney Smith (1934 ERA, Portola Valley); Charles McCabe (1934 Bugatti,
San Francisco); Tom Price (1932 Alfa-Romeo, Larkspur); John Kerr (1932
Ford-Miller, San Luis Obispo); David Swig (1932 Rigante Chrysler,
Sausalito); Bill Lyon (1927 Bugatti, Newport Beach); Brian Barrington
(1949 Porsche, Aptos); Scott Renner (1952 Jowett, Venice); Marty Stein
(1952 Siata, Jackson); John Kerridge (1926 Frazer Nash, Del Mar).
 
GROUP 2 (10 laps)
1948-1955 Sports Racing & Production Cars
John Buddenbaum (1949 Jaguar, Palo Alto); Terry Larson (1952 Jaguar,
Mesa, Ariz.); Bernard Juchli (1955 Jaguar, Palo Alto); Noel Park (1955
Corvette, San Pedro); Robert Manson (1951 Schaghtocoke, Redwood City);
Leland Osborn (1955 Crosley, San Miguel); Don Racine (1952 Aardvark,
Nevada City); Bill Perrone (1955 Porsche, Huntington Beach); Myron
Reichert (1953 Jaguar, Rancho Santa Fe); John Shirley (1954
Austin-Healey, Sonoma).  
 
GROUP 3 (10 laps)
1955-1960 Sports Racing Cars
Patrick Orosco (1960 Lola, Monterey); Don Orosco (1958 Lotus, Monterey);
Bert Skidmore (1958 Ferrari, New York); Herb Wetanson (1959 Lola, New
York); Jim Lawrence (1958 Lotus, Lafayette); Bill Janowski (1957
Monsterati, Reno); Ron Federspiel (1964 Crusader, Bend); Jon Shirley
(1957 Maserati, Medina, Wash.); Richard Emerson (1960 Lola, San
Francisco); Rory Rinebold (1957 Proctor, Gardena).
 
GROUP 4 (10 laps)
1959-1964 Sports Racing Cars
Terry Miller (1964 Webster, Simi Valley); Peter Stoneberg (1963 Lotus,
Belvedere); Steve Schmidt (1963 Lotus, Newport Beach); Mike Blackie
(1964 Genie, Prescott, Ariz.); Chris Locke (1965 Lotus, San Anselmo);
Richard Griot (1964 Webster, Puyallup, Wash.); Robert Manson (1964
Merlyn, Carmel); Steven Read (1963 Lotus, Berkeley); Greg Meyer (1962
Dailu, Los Altos); Don Anderson (1965 Bobsy-Porsche, San Diego). 
 
GROUP 5 (10 laps)
1956-1963 Formula Cars
Tom Byrnes (1962 Cooper, Ross), Art Hebert (1963 Lola, San Rafael), Tom
Claridge (1962 Lotus, Fremont), Nicholas Colyvas (1963 Lotus, San
Francisco), Patrick Moran (1962 Lotus, Palo Alto), Jimmy Domingos (1962
Cooper, Carmel), Reg Howell (1963 Brabham, Hayward), Andrew Mockett
(1961 Cooper, U.S. Virgin Islands); Marc Nichols (1960 Kieft, Grass
Valley); Phillip Ribbs (1962 Lotus, Santa Cruz)
 
GROUP 6 (10 laps)
1955-1962 Production Sports Cars
Greg Solow (1963 Morgan, Santa Cruz); Leonard Turnbeaugh (1958 Porsche,
Markleeville); Doug Sallen (1964 Morgan, Monterey); Al Leake, Jr. (1957
Alfa-Romeo, Boulder Creek); Ed Lamanita (1962 MGA, Redwood City); Dean
Watts (1960 Porsche, Carson City); Alan Frick (1961 Alfa-Romeo,
Pasadena); Les Alexander (1957 Corvette, Woodside); Ranson Webster (1960
Porsche, Reno); Olga Reindlova (1960 Porsche, New York).
 
GROUP 7 (10 laps)
1965-1980 IMSA GT and FIA Cars
Randall Smith (1971 Chevron, Petaluma); Jeff Lewis (1971 Chevron,
Newport Beach); Jules Moritz II (1967 Lola, Gilroy); David Pozzi (1965
Lola, Salinas); Keith Frieser (1972 Lola, St. Albert, Alberta); Scott
Emerson (1971 Lola, W. Vancouver, British Columbia); Robert Ryan (1968
McLaren, Avila Beach); Michael Malone (1967 Porsche, Seattle); Francois
Castaing (1968 Chevron, Bloomfield Hills, Mich); Steve Walker (1976
Dekon, San Juan Capistrano).
 
GROUP 8 (12 laps)
1963-1966 Production Sports Cars
Don Lee (1964 Cobra, Portola Valley); Lawrence Bowman (1964 Cobra,
Redwood City); James Lustman (1963 Cobra, Denver); Bruce Leven (1964
Corvette, Mercer Island, Wash.); John Morton (1964 Sunbeam, Manhattan
Beach); John Mahall (1962 Lotus, Cotati); Garrett Waddell (1963
Corvette, Reno); Ed Matsuishi (1967 Porsche, San Rafael); Tom Sakai
(1965 Sunbeam, Big Bear City); Christi Edelbroc (1966 Shelby, Torrance).

 
GROUP 9 (10 laps)
1966-1972 Historic Trans-Am Cars
Bruce Canepa (1970 Javelin, Scotts Valley); Scott Rubin (1971 Javelin,
Saratoga); Ken Epsman (1970 Challenger, Saratoga John McClintock (1969
Mustang, Olympia, Wash.); Forrest Straight (1970 Mustang, Mountain
View); Jamey Mazzotta (1970 Mustang, Newport Coast); Gary Goeringer
(1968 Mustang, Los Osos); J. Bittle (1968 Mustang, San Diego); Craig
Conley (1970 Boss Mustang, Rancho Santa Fe); Terry Bookheimer (1967
Cougar, Boyertown, Penn.).