Prior to 1980, I had raced in the United States on a few occasions—I’d done Daytona two or three times with Porsche and I’d been to Watkins Glen. I won at The Glen in ’78 with a 935, but I hadn’t done many races. Just two or three a year. Ironically, I was down at Bathurst in Australia toward the end of ’79 and Dick Barbour was there. Dick finished 2nd at Le Mans that year and had big plans…

After winning almost everything and taking the IMSA title with Dick Barbour’s outfit, Fitzpatrick had to run his own team in ’81.
Photo: Geoffrey Hewitt