By Ed Higginbotham
Nov 29, 2016
Racing champions of the past and present, and an amazing lineup of legendary race cars from the last 50 years, will descend upon Sebring International Raceway this week for the inaugural Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic 12 Hour at Sebring on December 1 - 4.
Officially entitled the Classic 12 Hour at Sebring, Pistons and Props, presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network and Classic Motorsports, this weekend’s event pays homage to the iconic Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring that celebrates its 65th running this March.
Among the international racing legends participating include 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jochen Mass, Andy Wallace, Butch Leitzinger, Frank Stippler, Ollie Bryant, Chris Dyson, Randy Pobst and recently crowned IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Prototype Co-Champion Eric Curran.
Mass will be driving a classic 1969 Ferrari 365 Daytona while Wallace returns to the same Rogers Motorsports 2005 Audi R8 LMS he co-drove to victory in the inaugural Classic 24 Hour in 2014 with Doug Smith.
Leitzinger co-drove with Smith to a Classic 24 Hour repeat in the Audi last year at Daytona but will co-drive an Oreca FLM09 “PC” car with Juan Gonzalez at Sebring.
Curran, who clinched the IMSA Prototype crown with co-driver Dane Cameron just last month, will coach several Hudson Historics Corvette Daytona Prototype competitors, including co-driving one of the Vettes with teammate William Hubbell.
Dyson will compete in a Dyson Racing 2000 Lola/MG B01/60 while German GT driver Stippler will co-drive a 2006 Ford GT Mk7 with Georg Nolte.
Bryant, who co-drove a GTE-Am-class Corvette in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with Johnny O’Connell and Mark Patterson, returns to HSR competition for the Classic 12 Hour. Bryant and his father, Grahame Bryant, will share their big-bore 1967 Camaro Z/28. The equally impressive racing machines these drivers and other to Classic 12 Hour competitors will race at Sebring is a rolling collection of top sports cars and prototypes from the past 50 years.
Classic 12 Hour competition will be divided between six distinct and period-correct Run Groups, each showcasing different eras of race cars, many of which were raced in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in their prime.
Group A - 1952 - 1972: The oldest and perhaps most memory-stirring division, Group A features such legendary race cars as the Ford GT40, Lola T70, Chevron B16, McLaren M1B, Lotus 23B and a full lineup of production-based GT machines that includes a Ferrari 365 Daytona, Alfa Romeo GT Jr., several 1960s-era Corvettes and Mustangs and a strong field of early Porsche 911s. Two entries of note from the United Kingdom are the 1965 Ginetta of Ron Maydon and the extremely rare 1963 Aston Martin DP214 of Robert Rawe.
Group B - 1973 - 1982: Evoking the same emotion and memories of Group A with a little more turbo-power and wide-body aerodynamics, Group B is another showcase of memorable prototypes and GT machines. Notables include a March 75S, Chevron B23/36 and a 1970s era Greenwood Corvette and De Tomaso Ford Pantera. Among the European competitors making the trip to Sebring to race in Group B are Gilles Boyer and his 1973 Porsche RSR from France and a 1976 Porsche 935 driven by Belgian Nico Verdonck and Germany’s Altfrid Heger.
Group C - 1983 - 1993: The prime of the IMSA GTP and Group C era is at the heart of Group C. The group includes everything from a Porsche 962 to a Nissan GTP-ZX-T to several early-generation Porsche 964 Cup cars. One entry that will likely be making the first appearance at Sebring for a car of its type is the 1992 Toyota 94CV of Gerard Lopez. The Lopez entry is one of several race cars competing in the Classic 12 Hour from Art & Revs of Luxembourg.
Group D - 1994 - 2002: Historic but familiar, the highlight machines in Group D include a Riley & Scott Mk III and a Lola B2K/40S. Period-correct GT race cars also have a place in Group D, and such production-based machines include an Oldsmobile Aurora GTS, BMW M3 and several Porsche 993 and 996 RSR, GT3R and Evo models.
Group E - 2003 - 2012: Featuring everything from Audi R8 LMPs that were winning races and championships over 10 years ago, to a full lineup of recently retired Daytona Prototypes, Group E is a showcase of modern prototype and GT sports cars. Two Audi R8s and a Pescarolo 01 LMP highlight the group, which also includes the Dyson Lola/MG B01/60, several Oreca FLM09 “PC” race cars and ample modern GT machines such as the Audi R8 LMS and various Porsche GT3 Cup cars. A rare entry is the 2001 Chrysler Dallara LMP900, another race car from Art & Revs that will appear at Sebring for the first time in the hands of Florent Moulin.
Group F - HSR Cars: Home to HSR classes that are not represented in the other five groups, Group F also lets competitors with race cars that were never eligible to compete at Sebring a chance to build a little history of their own on the legendary track in the Classic 12 Hour. The wide array of machinery has race cars from the last six decades, including everything from big-bore 1960s pony cars like Mustangs and Camaros to the usual mix of Porsches from all generations.
The entry list for the 2016 Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic 12 Hour at Sebring is available by clicking here.
Classic 12 Hour event updates, race format information, the official event schedule, event class breakdown, run groups and more information is all available on the Classic 12 Hour at Sebring web site by clicking here. Tickeys will be available at the event.
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