Geoff Coenen
Well-known member
John Biza RIP
The following was copied from an email I received from Jan Hyde who runs the Registry of Corvette Race Cars website. Lots of other photos of his builds are on http://registryofcorvetteracecars.com/
“We pay tribute to the recently departed Corvette racer John Biza from Roseville MN.
John’s Corvette Shop and Jay Kline Chevrolet were hot spots for Corvette performance in the Minneapolis area during the 1970s. There was also Doug Rippie who developed C4 Corvettes that raced in the Corvette Challenge Series, IMSA and at Le Mans. But that’s another story.
The 1970 Corvette that John Biza built and raced is owned by Mark Ferrara from Long Island NY.
As Mark puts it, “The Biza Corvette is a pure, unfiltered American Race Car that puts a smile on my face every time the green flag drops. It is loud, fast and makes you feel a little sorry for racers driving anything else... as you go by them”.
The car was so well built that Steve Kline (of Jay Kline Chevrolet) eventually purchased and campaigned the car.
Later owners included John Aldag and Jack Beckman.
This car is a true survivor. In retracing the origins, it became clear to Mark that without a major sponsor, John had to be smarter and work harder. “As I went through the restoration, I discovered several trick modifications that John built into the car that allowed him to compete with bigger budget race teams of the period.”
The following was copied from an email I received from Jan Hyde who runs the Registry of Corvette Race Cars website. Lots of other photos of his builds are on http://registryofcorvetteracecars.com/
“We pay tribute to the recently departed Corvette racer John Biza from Roseville MN.
John’s Corvette Shop and Jay Kline Chevrolet were hot spots for Corvette performance in the Minneapolis area during the 1970s. There was also Doug Rippie who developed C4 Corvettes that raced in the Corvette Challenge Series, IMSA and at Le Mans. But that’s another story.
The 1970 Corvette that John Biza built and raced is owned by Mark Ferrara from Long Island NY.
As Mark puts it, “The Biza Corvette is a pure, unfiltered American Race Car that puts a smile on my face every time the green flag drops. It is loud, fast and makes you feel a little sorry for racers driving anything else... as you go by them”.
The car was so well built that Steve Kline (of Jay Kline Chevrolet) eventually purchased and campaigned the car.
Later owners included John Aldag and Jack Beckman.
This car is a true survivor. In retracing the origins, it became clear to Mark that without a major sponsor, John had to be smarter and work harder. “As I went through the restoration, I discovered several trick modifications that John built into the car that allowed him to compete with bigger budget race teams of the period.”
