1981 Frissbee GB-2 Sports Racer

The Canadian-American Challenge Cup ran from 1966 through 1974. It was an SCCA-sanctioned set of races that was virtually wide-open in regards to rules, with high horsepower vehicles and futuristic-looking aerodynamics. Years later, the series was revived and ran from 1977 through 1987. It was not as open or expensive as the first series, but it did attract plenty of Formula One stars, such as Unser, Rahal, Sullivan, Holbert, Villeneuve, Ickx, Tambay, Jones, and Brabham. The garages were filled with names such as Haas, Lola, VDS, March, Dykstra, and Frissbee.

This particular vehicle is a Frissbee GB-2 Can-Am car with chassis number 2. It was given an entirely new chassis designed by Trevor Harris, whose resume included working on the AVS-Shadow Can-Am car. The chassis was built by fabricator Jack Smith using 2024 aluminum and 4130 steel. Much of the work centered on improving torsional rigidity and the car's aerodynamics. Harris's design also included a unique reverse front underwing that increased downforce and helped stabilize the handling.

Mounted mid-ship was a 5-liter Chevy engine built by Ryan Falconer Racing Engines. The completed car was sold to Rocky Moran's American Spirit Racing in June 1981. Its first outing was at the Valvoline Can-Am Ohio on June 28, 1981, marking the first time a full Frissbee made the grid. Moran qualified fourth and was able to finish the race with a very impressive third place. In early July, he earned another third-place finish at the Glen Six Hours of Endurance. He DNF'ed at Road America on July 26, and, in his final race with the car that season, on August 16th, he took third at Edmonton's Can-Am round.

The car was sold to Gavin Brown Racing in September and given to Danny Sullivan to drive. Sullivan's first outing with #2 was at Riverside on October 4, 1981, and he qualified in 6th, but DNF'ed due to an electrical problem. He then raced the car at Laguna Seca in November and started 2nd on the grid.

The next round of the Can-Am was in Las Vegas, less than a week away. Mechanics Dave White and Paul Zigowski worked diligently to fit a new Chaparral engine into the car before qualifying. With the new engine, Sullivan qualified on the top spot of the grid and led all 38 laps of the race. Sullivan's impressive

At the end of the season, Chassis #2 was sold back to Moran, who entered it once during the 1982 season, at Road Atlanta in May. It started fourth on the grid and unfortunately was crashed by Moran on the rain-soaked first lap of the race. #2's career with American Spirit Racing was over.

The car was sold to Paul Newman's racing team in June, as a backup car for Sullivan, who had moved to the Newman/Budweiser team for the season. It is believed that the car never raced for Newman.

The car's next owner was Rob Woltring, who raced it in a few Can-Am rounds in the 1982-83 seasons. Ownership then passed to former race driver Brian Goellnicht, who had been storing the unassembled tub, bodywork, engine, and boxes of parts at Toby Bean's shop in Norcross, Georgia. The car's next owner was Steve Simpson. A restoration of the car was completed in August 1998.

Currently, the car is fitted with a Ted Wenz-built 5-liter unit of Savannah Race Engineering and has competed in six race events with the motor. The 5-liter Chevy engine has Lucas-McKay fuel injection and produces 540 horsepower. There is a Hewland DG-300 five-speed transmission and AP-Lockheed ventilated disc brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2016