Sebring 1966 – Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby piloted this Ford GT40 Mk II to victory. Photo courtesy of Ford Motorsports History.
Auto racing has been going on in Sebring, Florida, ever since Miles Collier and Alec Ulmann organized The Sam Collier Memorial Grand Prix of Endurance, run on December 31, 1950. Vintage events at the track aren't exactly uncommon, but this weekend Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) will debut a new classic car endurance event with the launch of the Classic 12 Hour Pistons and Props.
Like HSR's Classic 24 Hour at Daytona, six categories of cars will compete in a series of four hour-long races, held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 2-4. While not true to the original endurance-themed 12 Hours of Sebring, limiting wear and tear on vintage hardware (and in some cases, vintage drivers) isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it allows spectators to enjoy closer racing with a wide variety of cars. As if the main event races weren't enough to keep spectators entertained, the long weekend will also feature the Classic RS Cup Race, the Global GT Race and the Bob Woodman Tires International/American Challenge on Thursday, followed by a series of sprint races on Saturday and Sunday morning.
The six car categories include Group A, which covers racing and production cars from 1952 to '72; Group B, which covers cars from 1973 to '82; Group C, which covers cars from 1983 to '93; Group D, which covers cars from 1994 to 2002; Group E, which covers cars from 2003 to '12; and Group F, dedicated to HSR cars not covered by the other five categories. Look for the entries to include a 1966 McLaren M1B; a 1969 Lola Mk IIIb; a few Ford GT40s; numerous Corvettes, Porsche 911s and BMW CSLs; prototypes from 1986-2010; and a variety of other interesting endurance race cars from the past 65 years. A total of 103 cars are currently signed up to compete, along with 155 drivers.
Since Sebring was built as a bomber training facility during World War II, it's fitting that this event will include an aviation component, with a vintage plane display and judging set for Saturday and Sunday. Judging will be conducted by the racing drivers, a list that's set to include Jochen Mass, Andy Wallace, Butch Leitzinger, Chris Dyson, Frank Stippler and Randy Pobst.
For complete information on this weekend's scheduled events, visit HSRRace.com. For those unable to attend this Sebring soiree on such short notice, fear not: HSR opens its 2017 season with an exhibition race during the 65th annual 12 Hours of Sebring, scheduled for March 15-18, 2017.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/2gx20x0
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