This story started last spring when an FOT member posted a note about a
project Spitfire racecar being for sale in OK. I purchased the car because
it had a good 1970s and 1980s race history when it was raced. It made
appearances at ARRCs in the 1970s and 1980s driven by Dr. French Hickman,
Kurt Getches, and Don Reynolds. Both Getches and Reynolds worked for a while
for Kas at Nissan.
Some of you may recall that I asked last spring about who won the first
national in a Triumph Spitfire. I raised the question because Kurt Getches
told me that the basket case of the racecar was also the first Spitfire that
won the first SCCA National. Mike Cook and Kas Kastner were able to point me
in the direction of Erwin Lorincz. And as it turns out, it was Erwin
Lorincz's racecar.
After months of searching, I have finally found Erwin Lorincz. In the
process, I gained a lot of respect for the man as a racer. He was not only a
very competitive driver, but he built his own roll cage, engines, etc., for
the Spitfire. (The same roll cage [Nascar style) is in the car today, very
sophisticated for it time.) Whenever one holds fast lap records, you know
someone is doing things right on both fronts. He held them in G production at
a number of race tracks in the Northeast, including Watkins Glen as late as
1971. I am not sure what the configuration of the track was at that time, but
his lap record then was 1 minute 37.3 second (about 90 mph average) That was
the last year he raced in the Spitfire.
Remember that he was up against the factory sponsored team. I have a race
report from about 1969 at Marlboro. Group 44's Krokus broke the GP lap
records during the initial stages of the race and won. Lorincz, in a Spitfire
that he personally maintained and drove, broke the Group 44 lap record set
earlier in the race while finishing second. Pretty good for a grassroots
effort.
Lorincz was one of the first Divisional champions in the Spitfire. He was
the NE Divisional Champion in 1963, the year that he won the first National
in a Spitfire. Lorincz and his Spitfire were at the first ARRC, he finished
fourth. The information that I have collected shows that Lorincz was usually
in the heat of NE Division Championship race, despite having to compete
against factory sponsored efforts of Group 44.
Lorincz never won a national championship despite competing in many
ARRCs. He probably would be more prominent Triumph racing figure had that
happen. But during the 63-71 vintage period for Spitfires, he was clearly one
of the better grassroots racers. And a true amateur in a racing scene that
was getting more and more professional.
My sincere thanks to all of you that have helped in this research effort.
I am greatly enjoying working with Erwin to put together the complete history
of the car. Frankly, the Spitfire competed in a lot of races, so that is
going to take some time.
Regards Cary
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