Sarasota Café Racer Bob Goeldner proves that there is a substitute for cubic inches: A 1-Litre Lotus 18.
When people ask Bob Goeldner why he retired, they are usually taken back by his response.
“When working got in the way of racing vintage open wheel cars, above, having lunch with the Sarasota Café Racers and playing with my grandkids, I sold my company! I did what any rational guy would do,” said Goeldner.
The Goeldners spend winters in Sarasota, FL and summers in New England, but Bob is never very far from his cars. His ’62 Brabham BT-2, above, and ’59 Lotus Formula Junior racecars are based in New England, while his Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, '73 Ferrari 246 Dino, and '55 AC Ace Bristol, below, call Sarasota home.
A member of the Vintage Sports Car Club of America (VSCCA), Bob participated in the June 3-4 races at Lime Rock Park in CT, a VSCCA & Jaguar Club event. He ran his Lotus 18 Formula Junior in Group 6 competition, below, photo by Skip Persson.
“There was a total of 16 cars entered and I qualified fastest and started on the Pole for both day’s races,” said Bob. “On Friday’s race I led from start with only a slight duel at the first few corners with a 2.8-Litre, 250 horsepower Cooper Monaco. Photo, below, by Skip Persson
“On Saturday, the Cooper Monaco got the jump at the start and flat-out overpowered me. At the finish line I closed to a car length to finish second. Not bad for a 73-year-old, below, right!”
Lotus 18 racers, designed by Colin Chapman, were the first mid-engined cars built by Lotus. Powered by everything from 1-Litre Ford Anglia “Kent” to more sophisticated 1.1-Litre Ford Cosworth racing engines rated at 100 horsepower, Lotus 18s dominated Formula Junior racing in the U.S. Driven by top drivers like Jim Clark and owned by racing legends Roger Penske and Briggs Cunningham, Lotus 18s were very similar to the more sophisticated and powerful Lotus Formula One & Two racecars.
Goeldner’s Lotus is powered by a modified 1-Litre Ford 105 OHV Four with dry sump lubrication and rated at 125 horsepower at 9,000 rpm. With Renault Gordini gearbox it tips the scales at 865 pounds!
For more about the Lotus 18 and other Formula Junior racecars, please visit,
http://stevemckelvie.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/the-formula-junior-cars-1959-1963/
For more information about vintage racing with the VSCCA and photo albums, check out, http://www.vscca.org
To see more of Bob Goeldner’s cars and “The Car Guys Who Lunch," please visit, http://SarasotaCafeRacers.com