Circuit - The Movie - Last 4 Races of the 1981 Can Am Season

[Mark_Silverberg]

I had been trying to view this movie for about 20 years or so. It was shot at the last 4 races of the 1981 Can Am season but was not released until 1984. It was never in theaters and was released to VHS only.

While some of the comentary is very basic and the music is oh so 80's - the shot angles both in and out of the car were quite ground breaking for the day. It is quite amazing what was accomplished with the cameras they had to work with at that time.

In addition, it is great to see the competitive but friendly interaction between Garvin Brown and Paul Newman.

The full length film can be found burried on you-tube here

https://youtu.be/kidFHfSJhd4

Some of the video has suffered in quality but the sound remains great - particularly if you are wearing head phones.

enjoy.

[Peter Olivola]

That version certainly would never have been suitable for theatrical release.

[marc sproule]

heard about it when it came out.

i was at those races.

i covered a number of canam races.....words and pics...for autoweek so i knew most of the people in the series,

i was stunned when i realized how many of the folk are not longer with us.

bittersweet memories.

some pics from that year in here,

https://www.flickr.com/photos/466819...57623311345506

[Paddy O'Brien]

There was a book released with the movie, that was actually very good as it was written by Leon and Dutch Mandel and it mostly focused the first half of the 1981 season for Garvin Brown Racing and driver Danny Sullivan. The Smith brothers designed a one-off Lance CanAm car that did not work so Garvin fires everyone and buys a Lola, some comical stuff. One of the grunts on the team was the actor who played Whitey on the old TV series "Leave it to Beaver". CanAM 2 was highly underrated, probably had better drivers than CanAm 1.

[R. Pare]

Love the fat tires!

[Peter Olivola]

Better than John Surtees, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, Dennis Hulme, Bruce McLaren, Mark Donohue...? I don't think so.

The chassis were much more highly developed and there was considerably less horsepower.

CanAM 2 was highly underrated, probably had better drivers than CanAm 1.

[Paddy O'Brien]

CanAm 1 had the cooler cars but CanAM 2 had more world champions racing in it such as Alan Jones, Keke Rossberg, Mario Andretti plus lots of Indy 500 winners, Rahal, Al Unser senior and junior and sportscar greats Al Holbert,Brian Redman, Ickx, Gilles Villeneuve, Tambay, Geoff Brahbam. How many races in CanAm 1 did Team McLaren finish 1+2 and third place was 3 laps down and 4th was 5 laps down, but the cars were the coolest ever.

[Peter Olivola]

The age old debate comparing drivers from different eras. Always a useless exercise.

CanAm 1 had the cooler cars but CanAM 2 had more world champions racing in it such as Alan Jones, Keke Rossberg, Mario Andretti plus lots of Indy 500 winners, Rahal, Al Unser senior and junior and sportscar greats Al Holbert,Brian Redman, Ickx, Gilles Villeneuve, Tambay, Geoff Brahbam. How many races in CanAm 1 did Team McLaren finish 1+2 and third place was 3 laps down and 4th was 5 laps down, but the cars were the coolest ever.

[David Locke]

The troll returns.

[TimH]

In addition, it is great to see the competitive but friendly interaction between Garvin Brown and Paul Newman..

I don't think you'll see opposing pro team owners hugging each other in congratulations these days. True sportsmen even if they were keen competitors.

[Peter Olivola]

To whom are you referring?

The troll returns.

[Steve Demeter]

I see 4 world champions listed in Can Am 1. Left out Jackie Stewart. IIRC Mario never raced in Can Am 2.

Everyone who was anyone at the time raced in Can Am 1. IIRC so did Jack Brabham and Parnelli Jones.

[Tifosi]

Mario drove the Carl Haas T-530 at Road America in 1980 as a substitute for Patrick Tambay who was ill.

[Paddy O'Brien]

Mario drove the Carl Haas factory Lola T530 at Road America, subbing for Tambay. I was there in T5 drinking too much beer. I don't recall the year though, 81 or 82? The same year Brahbam cartwheeled his VDS off in the cariousel. I had friends who were Haas CanAM mechanics and they helped on my old beat Lola T202. they were the first pro racers I ever knew and I learned alot watching them work. Can Am 2 gets scoffed at but besides the cars being goofy patch jobs, for the most part,the drivers were first class from 1979-1981. Many of the CanAM teams of 1981 turned into the backbone of CART just a few years later.

[Peter Olivola]

Not suggesting otherwise about the drivers, but rating one group over another is especially pointless in this case as those goofy patch jobs were much more capable as a result of the continued chassis development from CanAm 1 thru F5000. Then there's the ground effects. The power levels in CanAm 2 we significantly less than CanAm 1. That combination of better chassis/aero/lower power produced more evenly match racing, but that's about the cars, not the drivers.

Can Am 2 gets scoffed at but besides the cars being goofy patch jobs, the drivers were first class from 1979-1981.

[marc sproule]

Mario drove the Carl Haas factory Lola T530 at Road America, subbing for Tambay. I was there in T5 drinking too much beer. I don't recall the year though, 81 or 82? The same year Brahbam cartwheeled his VDS off in the cariousel. I had friends who were Haas CanAM mechanics and they helped on my old beat Lola T202. they were the first pro racers I ever knew and I learned alot watching them work. Can Am 2 gets scoffed at but besides the cars being goofy patch jobs, for the most part,the drivers were first class from 1979-1981. Many of the CanAM teams of 1981 turned into the backbone of CART just a few years later.

'twas 1980.........i was in t5 too''

https://www.flickr.com/photos/466819...7632616442219/

[mikey]

[dalz]

There was a book released with the movie, that was actually very good as it was written by Leon and Dutch Mandel and it mostly focused the first half of the 1981 season for Garvin Brown Racing and driver Danny Sullivan. The Smith brothers designed a one-off Lance CanAm car that did not work so Garvin fires everyone and buys a Lola, some comical stuff. One of the grunts on the team was the actor who played Whitey on the old TV series "Leave it to Beaver". CanAM 2 was highly underrated, probably had better drivers than CanAm 1.

Fast Lane Summer. That book was in my middle school library, and I pretty much memorized it. It was about the 1980 season. I tell people if you have to read one racing book in your life, and want to find out what it's really like in the paddock when things aren't all sunshine and roses, read this one. I've kinda lived the miserable spot Sullivan was in. Were the Smith brothers ever seen again in racing?

[marc sproule]

i have a copy somewhere in storage, signed by leon mandel himself.

iirc there's a pic of me in there somewhere, being a nosy journalist.