“I got to Turn Five – which is at the top of the hill, the left-hander that’s right at the edge of the cliff there, just past the bridge. I came through there and I nailed them all, I was flat through Two and I was going, ‘Holy sh*t, this is amazing! In those days if you really had it right you could do all that whole sequence, you can get them flat. You needed big balls to get through there. “Qualifying at Laguna, and that was, of course, back in mid ’87 on the old track it wasn’t any of this Mickey Mouse infield bullsh*t. “And at Laguna Seca I qualified the car, was up to P2 when I pitted, and then had one of the most embarrassing moments in my entire career I suppose at the end of the day I’d probably regret but I don’t because it’s actually a funny story,” Kneifel said. But not before Chris made an indelible mark on his co-driver. Unbeknownst to the team, an end to its funding, which came through a business handled by Kneifel’s stepfather, would bring a rapid conclusion to the “going forward” portion of the story. And that was giving us a lot of hope going forward.” “Our best showing in that thing was when Brian, myself, and EFR drove at Sebring. “We rebounded, we had a couple decent showings and ended up really qualifying well for a few of the races,” Kneifel added. “Brian was driving the car and I was getting ready to get in myself, it was around two o’clock in the morning and he came by and is on a straightaway and the thing was on fire and I’m like, ‘Oops, that’s no good…'”īy Sebring, the third race of the year, Jeannette’s anonymous squad was starting to shine. “We went to Daytona, caught on fire and blew up, but we were in third when it happened,” Kneifel said. The team’s first race at Daytona hinted at the potential contained within Primus, but the Porsche’ turbocharged engine wasn’t ready to spoil them with longevity. It was the ultimate privateer team just guys that were doing it for the love of the game.”
#TWISTIT MOTORSPORTS PROFESSIONAL#
“Kevin and Brian ( right) were very good friends, and the guys that worked on the team, it was John Baytos, Buddy Lindblom and there were some other really good guys that went on to do really good things in their professional careers.
#TWISTIT MOTORSPORTS MAC#
And Doug Fehan – the Corvette Racing program manager – he was in charge of Mac Tools sponsorship back then, and he was a part of the team on the sponsor side.
“Brian Redman and I were co-drivers for the normal races and EFR came in for the endurance races, and Kevin Jeannette was really the guy behind the team. “That was really one of the greatest experiences for me…but it was an abbreviated year,” the Chicago native recalled.
#TWISTIT MOTORSPORTS DRIVER#
Led by Porsche guru Kevin Jeannette (whose son Gunnar races in IMSA today) and run on the smallest of budgets, the fly-by-night team authored an unholy Sebring upset as defending winners Bob Akin Racing, Joest Racing, Dyson Racing, Busby Racing and AJ Foyt Racing were humbled by the upstarts.Īnd given the odd driver rotation – a maestro in Brian Redman, the seasoned Elliott Forbes-Robinson and a comically tall rookie prototype driver in Chris Kneifel, their eventual arrival at the podium was a result that defied prediction.Ĭoming out of Indy cars and SCCA Trans Am racing, Kneifel says he loved the crazy times and characters that made Primus a miniature powerhouse…for three months. That is, at least, until we consider Primus Motorsports’ achievement. In most circumstances, the scrap among Porsche 962 titans would make for the obvious angle to follow on the 30th anniversary of the event. 1 to the Laguna Seca round on May 3, and in between the tiny team – a goldfish among sharks – pulled off a minor miracle by placing third at the 12 Hours of Sebring.īayside Racing’s Bobby Rahal and Jochen Mass scored a memorable victory as Bruce Leven – the beloved garbage disposal magnate-turned-team owner/driver – watched his 962 beat Al Holbert’s factory Porsche program to the finish line. Its brief stint racing Porsche 962s in 1987 lasted from its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona on Feb. Primus Motorsports came and went from the IMSA GTP scene in 91 days.
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