IMSA not letting TR show their video........their loss.

 

IMSA Prototype icons recall past memories at Rolex Reunion

share
tweet
email
By: IMSA Wire Service | August 18, 2019 4:43 PM


As this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion came to a close Sunday, the highlight for IMSA fans was a panel discussion on the Prototype class with former drivers and engine builders.

A large crowd gathered in front of the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Paddock Stage to spend 45 minutes with these gentlemen as they entertain the fans with stories from past eras.

Here are some of the thoughts from the panel about their time around this class.:

Tom Milner worked for Ford when the Prototype class first started and got the job because he lived in the United States at the time. What does he remember about their cars is simple.

“The cars had the most spectacular huge flames shoot out of the side and migrated around the car,” he said. The fans really loved that!”

Milner has been around IMSA since the beginning as he ran in the first race at Pocono in 1969.

“It’s amazing that IMSA has been around for 50 years and it is hard to imagine the first race was in 1969,” he said. “I was there. Mrs. (Peggy) Bishop gave me a check for $300 because we came in third and back then, that was a lot of money!”

Milner enjoyed a successful career and left the crowd with this thought. “As a sports car racer you want to win the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring and then you can retire,” he said. “I’m happy to say, I’m retired!”

Porsche’s Alwin Springer explained how they had to change the 962 Prototype before it could race.

“The 962s were different so we had to change the front axle,” he said. “The driver had their feet in front of the axel so we had to change the chassis so the 962 could race in IMSA and put their feet behind the front axle.”

Jerry Woods was an engine builder for Chevrolet and remembered how competitive the racing was in the class.

“There was a lot of innovation that could be done to the cars and the engines,” he said. “Learning about the Chevrolet motor was another animal. You had to respect the workers who built these engines.”

John Morton remembered his time in a Nissan.

“The Nissan era where the car wasn’t very unsuccessful, I wasn’t involved in that!” he said. “I only joined them after that, and it was a winner. “It was really cool to be driving the fastest car on the track and with the fastest driver Geoff Brabham.

“I ended up on the GTS team and won Sebring in 1994 and our class at Le Mans that year,” he added. “I had a good run with Nissan and Datsun as they were known then.”

Former driver Davy Jones recalled his win in 1986 with John Andretti in a BMW at Watkins Glen.

“The car, in the end, took a little bit to sort out,” he said. “There were a lot of little wrenches to figure out. When you ask a driver what their favorite race was, they usually answer with ‘the one I won.’ That is true with this one as I will always remember winning at The Glen.”

Parker Johnstone, who won three championships in an Acura in the 1990s, spoke about what he loved about the Porsche 962.

“The 962 is the easiest race car as I have ever driven,” he said. “The car has all this leeway that makes it a great endurance car.”

Jorg Bergmeister first started driving in Prototypes with Riley and Ford.

“Prototype racing was intense and wheel-to-wheel,” he said. “What I liked about the car is that I fit in it as being 6-4 and that was sometimes difficult. It was good fun and even better racing.”

Didier Theys is no stranger to winning the most iconic races. He is a two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona and has also won at the Twelve Hours of Sebring. He is known for driving the Ferrari 333 SP.

“The horsepower the car had was a lot to put on the ground,” he said. “I enjoyed driving the Ferrari. The car was great to compete in and try to win a race. But when you see the engineers there, you feel the passion about it. Then you win, go to the factory and have the red carpet treatment — that was special.”

More Vintage Motorsport / Historic!

RACER: Reunion Rocky Moran Jr AAR Eagle Mk III Visor Cam

Jordan Taylor Greenwood Corvette visor cam

Jordan Taylor's '76 IMSA Greenwood Corvette tour

Legends of IMSA entertain fans at Rolex Reunion

Atherton on IMSA's Monterey celebrations

Monterey Motorsports Reunion, IMSA, Vintage Motorsport / Historic

 

Porsche unveils Akin tribute livery for Petit Le Mans

152 shares
share
tweet
email
By: Marshall Pruett | September 17, 2019 9:49 AM


Porsche will pay tribute to one of the more iconic brands and liveries to adorn its customer cars in the 1980s as the factory Nos. 911 and 912 Porsche 911 RSRs slip into the retro colors of Coca-Cola for IMSA’s season finale in Georgia.

With Atlanta serving as the home to the legendary soft drink brand, the reconnection for October 12’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans WeatherTech SportsCar championship race fits nicely as IMSA winds down its 50th anniversary celebrations.

More IMSA!

The Week In Sports Cars, Sept. 17, with Graham Goodwin

Acura rolls to Laguna 1-2

Action Express Cadillacs 1-2 in foggy warm-up

Drawing its inspiration from Bob Akin’s 1986 Porsche 962 which carried the colors of Coke into Victory Lane, the association between the Coca Cola Company and Bob Akin Racing began in 1980 as the esteemed businessman and driver introduced the brand to IMSA’s GT category on his flame-spitting Porsche 935. A series of customized Coke-sponsored Bob Akin Racing Porsche 935s would follow, including near-prototype versions of the car produced by Fabcar in Georgia, before Akin moved to the GTP category with Porsche’s customer 962s.

Akin’s 962 carried Coke colors in 1986. Image by Murenbeeld/LAT


For next month’s Petit Le Mans event, the No. 911 entry driven by Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy, and Frédéric Makowiecki will sport a white windshield banner while the No. 912 of Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor, and Mathieu Jaminet will use a black banner to differentiate between the two identical liveries.

Both cars, in a nod to the white BBS wheel fans found on Akin’s 1986 962, will use white wheels for the event.



“Last fall, we kicked off the IMSA 50th Anniversary celebration with the fan-favorite Mobil 1 livery at Petit Le Mans,” said Pedro Mota, VP of Marketing for Porsche Cars North America.

“We began the 2019 season by highlighting still another longstanding and successful relationship with the famous red, white and blue ‘sweeps’ of Brumos Racing and Hurley Haywood. Now, as one last tribute to honor IMSA on their Golden Anniversary, we are bringing back yet another memorable livery… a local favorite: Coca-Cola. As an added benefit, we get to fondly recall Bob Akin, the gentleman who first brought Coca-Cola and Porsche together with the customer 935 and 962 race cars he successfully campaigned.”


Porsche, IMSA

 

#IMSA #Rolex24

IMSA: A Brief History and 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona Preview

11,930 views
•Jan 24, 2019

160 2 Share
Save

1.11M subscribers
A look back at some of the biggest moments in IMSA's histroy and preview of 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona. #IMSA #Rolex24