RFM Front Page News

By Kate Shaw
Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2010
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (August 27, 2010) — “It all started at Le Mans,” said David Robertson thoughtfully, “when I was about 9 years old. I saw the GT40s beat the Ferraris and I thought those were just the most beautiful cars. I never thought back then that I would get to drive one!”

Robertson Racing began in a Panoz, as David Robertson had experience in SCCA with one, but when the opportunity came to work with Doran who were homologating the GT40 for sports car racing, the Robertsons decided it would be a good idea to get into something with them.

“We wanted to deal with homologation that was dependent on what we could do ourselves,” he explained, “rather than something that depended mainly on someone else. Kevin Doran sent people to help us, and we believe we have created a most beautiful and amazing car.” In fact, Robertson Racing is so crazy about the GT40 that they have started building a second one which will debut at Road Atlanta, site of David Murry’s stunning upset of the most competitive field of GT cars in recent history when he put the Robertson Racing Ford on pole for the first time. The new car will be faster and more nimble than the current version, as it will have the newest engine which the current car will get for Sebring; it will also have distinguishing paint and markings so the spotters will know which car they are talking to.

That pole-winning run was a very emotional experience for everyone on the team, and David Murry’s eyes still light up whenever that epic run is mentioned. Murry said at the time that they were a small team with no factory backing but with a heaping helping of heart, and he is very much looking forward to repeating the experience without the torrential rainstorm and the overbearing summer heat.

But meanwhile there is a race here at Mosport, and both Davids are looking forward to stretching out on this old-time circuit and making the Ford Fly. “This is a good old fashioned track,” said David Robertson. “And it has its quirks; it’s a very fast track but not equally fast – the prototypes are much faster than we are in the 1-2-3 complex, but we are faster than they are in the 5 complex. And with the speed differential among the four classes and the unexpected cambering and elevation changes, it’s an exciting place to run.” Robertson would like to see a few changes here and there, just to make things a little easier for everyone; for example, the pits could be expanded and configured so they don’t overlap, and the paddock is crowded with narrow tracks to get around. However he was quick to add that he didn’t want the character of the track changed; “It’s a good old fashioned track and I just don’t want it to become simply a vintage track; if they are going to drive ever-faster cars on it, it just needs a little tweaking.”

This year the GTC cars will join the field for the first time, after running their own race in 2009, and David Murry is concerned that this may prove to be a challenge. “We are considerably slower than the Prototypes,” he said, “and the GTC cars are much slower than we are, and there are a lot of them.” Things could get exciting around the Five Complex even in the very best weather – which is predicted for the weekend. Still, a man who could beat BMW, Porsche, Ferrari and Corvette on a wet track is a man who can do anything he sets his mind to do. And who knows, the number of cars, the configuration of the track and the general good luck of the draw may mean another pole position in his future!

Asked to pick a favourite track, David Robertson mused that there were many good features about every track, including Mosport of course. “The scenery here is beautiful, the hotels on the water are lovely, and the fans here are great, knowledgeable and always enjoying themselves so much. But my all time favourite track is Sebring, because that was the track that after seeing it on the television so many years, I looked around from the car and said to myself ‛Its real! I am really here!’ So I will always have a special place in my heart for Sebring.”

Finally, Robertson confided that a GT40 slot car will be coming out in the fall. “I am going to buy about 15 of them,” he said, “and give them to all my friends, and the first one will be for my grandson. And then we are going to build a slot car track in the garage and race them, and no matter what happens, the GT40 will win!”

That sounds like a race that Henry Ford II would have loved.

NOTE: The Robertson Racing team also includes Andrea Robertson, and we hope to interview her at a later date.