Category: Vintage Motorsport / Historic

The coveted letters of acceptance have been delivered to the final selection of entrants into this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The cars are among the world’s best and all carry on the 50-year standard of being period-correct and with proven race provenance.

The Golden Anniversary celebration of arguably the birth of historic racing events will be held August 14-17 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The selection took place after many weeks of evaluations by members of the seven-person, all-volunteer Advisory Council, along with support of the event’s sanctioning body, Historic SportsCar Racing.

The preliminary field consists of more than 400 accepted entries for the 13 race groups. This does not include the popular pre-1920 cars affectionately known as the Ragtime Racers. The provisional list by race group will be found on the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion tab at WeatherTechRaceway.com.

“The advisory council’s number 1 goal is to select the very best significant and authentic historic race cars, including their passionate owners who bring vast amounts of race experience to provide the fans with the greatest historic racing show in North America,” says Advisory Council Co-Chair Bruce Canepa. “This advisory group is the ‘Best of the Best’ and I’m honored to be a small part of this great event.”

The list of entries includes illustrious cars such as the Williams FW07B that Alan Jones drove to win his Formula 1 World Championship, three-time winner of the Sebring 12 Hours’ 2011 BMW M3 GT, the Ecurie Ecosse team 1955 Jaguar D-Type, and the dominate 1991 AAR/Toyota Eagle Mk III GTP that Juan Manuel Fangio II drove to win 14 of 23 races.

1955 Jaguar D-Type
The spotlight will also shine on a thoughtfully curated Motul Golden Anniversary Display that will take visitors back in time to celebrate 50 years of historic racing in Monterey. Imagine historic race cars from the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Chaparral, BMW, Ford and a celebration of individuals Dan Gurney, Juan Manuel Fangio and Carroll Shelby among the features.

“Never before has such a display been assembled,” explained Barry Toepke, a 35-year veteran of the event and director of heritage events for WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. “Cars are coming from private collectors, automakers and museums for a once-in-a-lifetime tribute to this remarkable event founded by Steve Earle in 1974 and known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races.

2011 BMW M3 GT
“We are also welcoming back Marnix Dillenius, one of the drivers who raced in that inaugural event in his Alfa Romeo GTZ, and nearly every year since,” Toepke added. “Marnix has seen many changes over the years, including the lengthening of the track from its original 1.9 miles to its current 2.238-mile configuration. But one turn that hasn’t changed is the storied Corkscrew.”

With the doors scheduled to open at 9am on April 27, final preparations are underway to ensure Porsche enthusiasts and owners enjoy an unforgettable day at the second annual Air|Water show. Located throughout the sprawling Orange County Fair & Event Center, visitors will discover a number of highly significant landmark Porsche models representing both air- and water-cooled history on the road and track. In addition to the feature cars, approximately 1000 Porsche owners applied and were selected to be displayed throughout the grounds, placed in carefully curated collections.

In order to help visitors identify the assembled vehicles, owners have been encouraged to enter details and photos of their car into Bramo, which has collaborated with Air|Water as the digital home for all accepted Porsches. Not only will visitors be able to preview select cars before the event, but they can also vote for their favorite.

By logging into bramo.co owners can update their car’s profile, imagery and information. Show visitors can then scan the QR code on each vehicle’s windshield at Air|Water to check out its profile, revealing specific information, leave comments, and vote for their favorites.

The winner of the Air|Water Audience Choice award voted on Bramo will be presented with a custom-painted Conifer helmet in association with Mobil 1 to commemorate the occasion.

ATTRACTIONS

Broad Arrow will be holding a live auction during the show. Exclusively featuring Porsche models, there is expected to be approximately 60 cars crossing the block from 12PM on April 27. This includes the sale of the Le Mans class-winning 1969 Porsche 908/02 Langheck Flunder Spyder, which has been valued at an estimated $4.75-5.75 million. Chassis 908/02-005 not only competed at Le Mans, providing Porsche with a 1-2-3 podium sweep, but also appeared in Steve McQueen’s Le Mans movie.

CHARTER EXHIBITORS

Air|Water will feature curated exhibits from leading sponsors Pirelli, Hagerty, Meguiar’s, Palm Springs Porsche, Gunther Werks, Singer, Röhma and Leica.

As part of its activities at Air|Water, Pirelli will be offering two driving places at a two-day Porsche Track Experience in Birmingham, AL on May 21-22, including two hotel rooms at the Grand Bohemian from May 20-23, airfare, transportation and dining. Pirelli will also give its desirable F1 tire keychains to event visitors who sign up for the contest.

Meguiar’s will be offering comprehensive car care packages to winners of its Air|Water photo contest. It will take place in conjunction with a photo class that will be offered in the Meguiar’s booth at the show, conducted by Michael Alan Ross. Any visitor can attend the class, and anybody can participate in the photo contest, posting images to #meguiarsAW24 before 1pm. The entries will be judged and Meguiar’s car care bundles awarded the same day. Contest rules are available here.

There will also be a display from Hagerty featuring a number of cars that participated in the Hagerty California Mille Rally, traversing the state before arriving at Air|Water.

Furthermore, and for the first time, a dedicated hall will house more than 20 charter exhibitors specifically serving Porsche enthusiasts. Each company has been approved and verified as a supporter of the community, presenting cool offerings for attendees. The companies will include the following:

EXHIBITORS

• Caliper HQ
• Car Bone
• Dianna Schnetlage
• DMV Title Help
• Eibach
• EMPI
• FCP Euro
• Formawerx
• GT3 Belts
• Leen Customs
• Lyn Hiner Studios
• Mail Vintage
• Rasant Products
• Sierra Madre Collection
• SPEED by Gabrielle Benot
• Stand 21
• Standard H
• Supreme Power
• Technica RaceWire
• 944 Driver

 

SUPPORTING EVENTS

In addition to the big show, Air|Water is being supported by a number of associated events, including the Overcrest Rally. Gathering at Joshua Tree, CA on April 26, the participants will rally towards Costa Mesa, CA for an exclusive group arrival at Air|Water in the evening.

On Sunday, April 28 the 356 Club of Southern California will hold a Swap Meet from 8-11AM at EMPI in Anaheim. Parking is free although there’s a fee for admission and vendors. More information is available here.

TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased from air-water.com, allowing attendees to experience Porsche models from the past 75 years, with everything represented from air- to water-cooled, two doors and four, gas and electric, street and race.

Please note, Air|Water is a private, ticketed event. Tickets will remain available while supplies last. Brands and companies wishing to exhibit or partner with Air|Water can use the contact form here: air-water.com/pages/event.

There is no question that 2024 marks the beginning of the next chapter of the nearly 50-year history and substantial growth of Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) as one of the nation’s most successful vintage and historic motorsports organizations.

Beginning its third year under IMSA ownership, HSR enters this season with a new president and a record-setting season-opening event already in the books. At the same time, HSR’s leadership has renewed its commitment to the sanctioning body’s core values as a premier vintage and historic sports car racing organization while keeping a focused eye on the future.

Experienced motorsports executive Chris Ward was named HSR president in January, taking over the top leadership position of the sanctioning body from David Hinton, who guided HSR through its most recent period of success for more than a decade. One of Hinton’s milestone achievements was steering the sale of HSR to IMSA in early 2022 following the passing of his ownership partners George Tuma in 2018 and Jim Pace two years later.

“For starters, we have to thank David Hinton, the late George Tuma and Jim Pace and all of HSR’s ownership predecessors who worked tirelessly to create the successful and robust vintage and historic sports car racing organization we have the privilege and responsibility of operating today,” Ward said. “Their decades of vision and hard work, combined now with leadership of John Doonan, Ed Bennett and the entire team at IMSA, has us well positioned for our next phase of growth and success, which is already underway in 2024.”

A major and the most recent sign of HSR’s strength was a record entry of more than 120 cars for this month’s season opening Spring Fling at Sebring International Raceway. HSR’s opener since 2019, the previous editions of the Spring Fling rarely broke into the three-figure car-count range. The entries were a diverse group of competitors and cars spanning the last 65 years.

“The next era is well underway, and it begins with a renewed commitment to ensure HSR remains the authentic home for vintage and historic sports car racing in North America,” Ward said. “The competitors, cars, on-track action and off-track camaraderie at Sebring clearly indicated to me in my first race with HSR that our competitors and members as well fully embrace these core values that will remain at the foundation of everything we do at HSR.”

After a successful marketing career that included co-founding an experiential agency based in Detroit focusing on marketing, PR and events for luxury brands such as Audi, Bombardier, Bentley Motors and Breitling, Ward called on that expertise in a move to professional sports car racing.

In the same more than 10-year time span Tuma, Pace and Hinton were building HSR, Ward became a fixture in the IMSA paddock for over a decade. He was a key part of the management team operating the IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series from 2014 through last year, ascending to the position of Head of Motorsport for Lamborghini North America in 2017. Among his vast managerial responsibilities was the oversight of all day-to-day operations of the Super Trofeo series and the introduction of the GT3 platform to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Under Ward’s leadership, Super Trofeo reached unprecedented growth, particularly in recent years. Record fields and capacity grids have been commonplace and new car orders for pending seasons of competition have frequently been early sell outs.

Despite the obvious differences in the series, Ward sees similar growth possibilities to the Super Trofeo success that will keep HSR on its current upward trajectory.

“The opportunities for HSR are boundless,” Ward said. “We will never dismiss the stated core values on which HSR was founded but rather will continue to expand and further the mission of original founders with some creative promotions, enhanced event experiences and just some good old fashion cool, common-sense and unique ideas.”

HSR Classics Endurance Events – A Vision for the Future

One of the many milestone achievements of the Hinton-led HSR era was the introduction of the instantly popular HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour in 2014. The immediate success of the race, which is a full twice-around-the-clock tribute race to the Rolex 24, led to the introduction of the HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour a year later and the HSR Classic Watkins Glen 6 Hour just last year.

“The Classic 24 was one of the major developments that first put HSR on IMSA’s radar a decade ago,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “My predecessor Scott Atherton was a fan of the concept from the beginning, and just a couple years after that inaugural event 10 years ago, IMSA signed on as the presenting sponsor of the Classic 24. It was the beginning of a partnership that culminated with the sale to IMSA in early 2022, and now we eagerly enter into the next phase of growth highly optimistic for the future.”

Discussions are already underway about expanding the “HSR Classics” events into motoring festivals as well as the events being combined into a vintage and historic endurance championship on the annual HSR calendar. A contemporary similarity could be a vintage and historic version of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, but that isn’t the only possibility for the HSR Classics to have a modern-day connection.

“Pairing up the HSR Classics tribute races with some of the current-day editions of these established events is definitely on the table,” Ward said. “The model would be a two-weekend celebration spanning 10 days of vintage and historic on-track action to start with and then building into the contemporary running of a 12-Hour or 6-Hour race. We are even looking at the possibility of adding a 10-hour HSR Classics event that would be the perfect addition to both a vintage and historic endurance series and an ideal two-weekend celebration of all things past and present sports car racing.”

The combination HSR Classics and modern-day edition race festivals would go well beyond the on-track competition.

“There are endless possibilities for promotional extensions such as car clubs and corrals, manufacturer and vendor midways, driver and newsmaker fan forums and car show events similar to the popular ‘cars and coffee’ programs taking place all around the country. These are just some of the enhancements that could be added to these expanded festivals of sports car racing.”

Ward points to the Classic Sebring 12 Hour as another example of how the festival atmosphere of a two-weekend vintage/historic contemporary festival could also celebrate other popular and historic pastimes. In addition to HSR sports car competition, the Classic Sebring “Pistons and Props” also celebrates the rich aeronautical history of Hendricks Field, the WWII training airfield on which the annual 12 Hours of Sebring is run. A fly-in and display of vintage military and other classic aircraft is a co-feature of the Classic Sebring.

“We have discussed taking the Classic Sebring concept further by pairing up with food and wine festivals, art shows and even film festivals where the racing takes place during the day and theme-connected movies show on certain nights,” Ward said. “Even other historic government-related sectors – such as military jeeps and other specialty vehicles for example – could make for an entertaining festival when combined with HSR racing.”

Activation Opportunities Abound – On and Off Track

In addition to boosting the profile and format of the HSR Classics, HSR and IMSA are looking at adding some promotional enhancements to all of their events.

“Why not feature marques and grand marshals at every race on the tour,” Ward asks? “We are looking at these ‘pluses’ for all races to make the across-the-board experience more enjoyable from top to bottom for our competitors and fans.”

And speaking of fans, both Doonan and Ward are well aware that both the fan base and HSR’s competitor and member base is growing and evolving.

“In the past, both fans and competitors seem to have age paired with the cars,” Ward said. “There now appears to be a new generation showing interest, and it is directly related to the introduction of more modern machinery retired from competition. I even saw firsthand at Sebring how the sound of our Historic Stock Cars lights up the faces of our younger fans in attendance. We are on the cusp right now of a new generation of historic and vintage racing fans.”

And as the audience changes so does the criteria for what makes up a car suitable and eligible for HSR competition in addition to being of interest to our competitors.

“The generally regarded and arbitrary line between defining vintage and historic has been considered 1972, but we do feel that is and has to be a moving target,” Ward said. “What current generations consider vintage and historic cars is certainly different than perhaps what people from the baby boomer generation would consider vintage and historic. It is all based on when you were born and what you grew up watching, what you were a fan of, and that is obviously going to change from generation to generation.”

The changing and aging fan and competitor base in some ways has been responsible for some of HSR’s biggest and fastest growing run groups and series. The Group 8 Historic Stock Cars features recognizable Fords, Chevrolets and Toyotas just past their competition prime.

Other popular categories are home to contemporary GT machines recently retired from competition. The steady pipeline of GT3, GT4, TCR and various “Cup” and single make series has seen HSR even introduce a dedicated championship for these cars with the HSR Global GT series.

“There is definitely a place for contemporary racing machines in HSR, but we will continue to adhere to the ‘five-year rule’ which means that no car can be eligible for competition until it is five years passed its year of introduction,” Ward said.

The five-year rule opens the door open for a variety of fast and familiar cars that appeal to fans and competitors alike.

“Just this week I heard a longtime HSR member and competitor who raced a BMW 2002 in the Spring Fling a few weeks ago is purchasing a 2017 Audi RS 3 TCR car,” Ward said. “The reasoning could likely be that we already have a growing group of competitors racing retired TCRs and he can now join the fun with a car that can be readily serviced with an adequate supply of available parts for at least the next decade.”

HSR Prototype Challenge – The New Home for LMP3 Endurance Racing in America

The next modern-day frontier for HSR is addressing the similar supply of contemporary prototypes retired from competition hitting the market each year. Such cars have been race-winning fixtures in HSR for several years, but the stage grew at the recent Spring Fling where a new series for LMP3 cars – the HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA – debuted with a thrilling two-hour race.

“The inaugural HSR Prototype Challenge race, with close racing throughout and a pass for the win coming down to the white flag, was a success but much more work will be done,” Ward said. “Pulling no punches, we didn’t reach the car count we had hoped for but some unique circumstances, such as several LMP3 teams competing at St. Petersburg the same weekend, very likely cost us some entries that would have otherwise been at Sebring. But with a successful first race in the books, we are confident and have all indications that the field will grow exponentially for the next round at the HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta next month.”

The Mitty, HSR’s original blockbuster event that runs for the 46th time late in April, launches the balance of the HSR racing season and perhaps best typifies the past and present strengths of HSR.

“The HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta exemplifies exactly what HSR is all about with its outstanding on-track competition and great off-track camaraderie,” Doonan said. “Along with the growing HSR Classics, the Mitty – even as HSR’s oldest event – and the spirit of its competitors is a prime example of what HSR is and will continue to be. We will continue to provide HSR racing teams and families with the best vintage and historic racing experience possible. We are committed to vintage and historic racing and to delivering this unparalleled experience to our amazing families and teams we are honored to have race with us.”

Next up on-track for HSR is indeed the 46th Mity at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, April 25 – 28. More information on the event, which showcases the Cars of Japan as this year’s featured marque, is available at the official event page at www.hsrrace.com.

Often it’s only in retrospect that we recognize a certain event as being one that ushered in a new era. The April/May issue of Vintage Motorsport takes advantage of hindsight to tell stories of prompt breakthroughs and also ones that seemingly took forever.

Fans with foresight perhaps guessed that Renault’s win at Dijon in 1979 would lead to all Formula 1 teams switching to turbocharged engines. Within two years, Renault was a title contender. And in 1982, Ferrari won the first constructors’ championship for a turbo car with its 126C2, despite a torrid season that cost Gilles Villeneuve his life and Didier Pironi his career. A year later, Brabham-BMW driver Nelson Piquet became the first turbocharged F1 World Champion.

But how many people watched Geoff Bodine capture a first NASCAR Cup win for All-Star Racing in 1984 and reckoned its owner Rick Hendrick would one day run probably the greatest team in NASCAR history? Not many. The reluctance to make such a suggestion had something to do with the gestation period: it took 11 years before Hendrick Motorsports earned its first title.

The gap between Chip Ganassi Racing’s first Indy car race win and first championship was just three seasons. But Ganassi had paid his dues, too, mixing the ingredients of his team from 1990 through ’93 until he found a winning combo. And even after the ’94 season in which Michael Andretti scored the team’s first two victories – the subject of our cover story – the team went winless in ’95; Chip needed to swap Fords for Hondas and Goodyears for Firestones before Jimmy Vasser nailed the team’s first of 15-and-counting Indy car titles.

There’s no question that Scuderia Ferrari’s first win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1954, was a breakthrough moment – far more significant than when the marque first conquered the event in ’49 thanks to a privateer entering a 166 and employing future Ferrari USA legend Luigi Chinetti as driver. The rain-soaked Le Mans triumph by José Froilán González and Maurice Trintignant five years later would eventually lead to a period where the team could hardly lose there. But could we have predicted that, especially when Jaguar D-types won Le Mans for the next three years?

The idea that Brabham would become a major force in F1 following Dan Gurney’s first victories for the team in 1964 looked much more of a sure thing. Jack Brabham and designer Ron Tauranac engineered common sense into their cars almost by default, so that they were among the strongest as well as fastest. It bugs certain fans – this writer included – that Gurney was no longer still there to take advantage of Brabham’s first period of excellence, 1966-’67, but had instead followed his friend Jack down the team owner/constructor/driver path. Yet that restless quest for new worlds to conquer was Dan. And it paid off – in F1 briefly, in Indy car racing for well over a decade, and in IMSA domination, too.

And how about the Grand Prix of Long Beach managing to thrive despite a switch from exotic F1 to domestic Indy cars in 1984? This year is the 40th anniversary of that changeover and will also be the 49th edition of an event that, in its initial iteration in September 1975, was for Formula 5000 cars.

Mario Andretti, predictably the only driver to win the GPLB as both an F1 round (1977) and an Indy car race (’84, ’85 and ’87) was certain it would work as a temporary course with a permanent place on the Indy car racing schedule. Current president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, Jim Michaelian, has played a significant role in the event since its inception, and he points out that the change to Indy car racing brought a different type of breakthrough: without an eye-watering, account-draining, F1-level sanctioning fee, the event’s vital investors finally made some money.

Contrasting these tales of success, this issue of Vintage Motorsport also includes the poignant tale of Chris Amon, who never did achieve a breakthrough grand prix win, despite a talent that caused 1970 F1 World Champion Jochen Rindt to rank Amon with Jackie Stewart as his fiercest rival.

With a “My Favorite Race” from Indy car team owner Dale Coyne, a feature on Alex Job Restoration, and reports from Targa 66, The Amelia and Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, this is the time to ensure you land a copy of the latest Vintage Motorsport.

The April/May 2024 issue of Vintage Motorsport is now mailing to subscribers and is already available to read in digital format. We hope you enjoy it. And if you’re not a subscriber, you can go to VintageMotorsport.com/Subscribe or call (877) 425-4103. Single copies can be purchased at our online store HERE. Vintage Motorsport magazine is also available at Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide.

This Labor Day weekend, Lime Rock Park will roar to life as the Connecticut track is set to celebrate Ford as the honored marque for Historic Festival 42.

The five-day celebration will not only commemorate the 60th anniversary of one of the most iconic and enduring muscle cars in automotive history, the Ford Mustang, but also pay homage to the significant contribution Ford has made to automotive innovation.

The Historic Festival Committee also named the Honored Collector this year as Ross Myers. Myers, a regular competitor in Historic Trans-Am and a long-time competitor at Lime Rock Park, is the benefactor of Boyertown, Pennsylvania-based 3 Dog Garage Museum and will bring a large variety of rare Ford-powered cars that will be on display throughout the weekend and during Sunday in The Park.

Adding to the excitement of the weekend, Historic Festival will debut the new Turn of the Century World Challenge group. This group will showcase production-based street stock race cars from the 1995-2005 era, prepared for SCCA World Challenge, Motorola Cup and various national and international categories.

“Ford has played such a central role in racing through so many eras, you could argue that you can’t really tell the story of racing without them,” said Historic Festival Chair Skip Barber.

“It is a thrill to have Ford as the featured marque this year. It is hard to believe that this is already the 42nd edition and we anticipate building on what was a fantastic event last year. Having Ross Myers bring some very special examples from his collection and the addition of the new World Challenge class will make this a really memorable event. Ross has been a competitor in the Festival for years and we are happy to announce that he’s willing to add to his role this year as the Featured Collector. I have had some good outings with Ford-powered cars in my day, so I am personally very much looking forward to everything that is going into this very special HF42.”

Ford Motorsports and the Mustang also have a rich history at Lime Rock Park. Mustangs have claimed the checkered 17 times over the last 60 years in championships like Trans-Am and Grand-Am, with the earliest victory coming from Sam Posey in 1969, driving the No.1 Carroll Shelby Ford Mustang in the Trans-Am Series. In total, Fords have claimed 34 victories during major events from NASCAR Busch North East Series to the Trans Am Series, IMSA and more at Lime Rock Park with Ford powerplants adding another 20 wins to the tally. Legendary drivers like Parnelli Jones, Dorsey Schroeder, Ron Fellows, Tommy Kendall, Peter Revson, Butch Leitzinger, and more recently drivers like Chris Dyson and Thomas Merrill have all won at Lime Rock Park piloting Ford-powered cars.

Lime Rock Historic Festival 42 launches into action over Labor Day weekend with a 17-mile tour through the area on Thurs., Aug. 29 with the Historic Festival Parade presented by NBT Bank. Friday, Saturday and Monday feature non-stop, on-track competition across a diverse set of historic racing classes. On Sunday (Sept. 1), the Lime Rock Concours and Gathering of the Marques will display nearly 1,000 enthusiast cars and motorcycles arranged around the Lime Rock circuit for Sunday in The Park.

The full list of cars from the Myers’ collection and more details on new classes will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Historic Festival 42 is now accepting competition applications. Registration information can be found here.