Story by Jim Casey and photos/captions by Louis Galanos
The weather was nearly perfect for the 2009 running of the HSR Daytona Continental Historic Races, with lots of sun and a nice breeze the first two days. Clouds rolled in Sunday, but the weather stayed dry, and the rain tires were left in the garages.
The first major race of the weekend was the Vintage Enduro, dominated by a flock of Porsches, and won by Roger Johnson and Brady Refenning in their 1972 911ST, and featured a number of cars, including a 1959 Corvette, that came to Daytona from England for the weekend’s races.
The next major event was the International GT challenge, pitting cars from the US and the UK. This race was won by Farrell Preston in the lone E-type Jaguar in the event, a 1963 6 cylinder roadster. This race featured a number of Camaros and Mustangs brought over by the contingent of English racers.
Sunday’s races began with the GT Enduro, won by Eric Bretzel in his 3 liter 1972 Porsche 911, after a good battle with Alec Hammond and Chris Brighton in their 1967 Camaro, done in Sunoco livery. In this race the field was fleshed out by the addition of the Porsche Cayman Interseries cars, and the highest finisher among that group was Neil Gehani, who finished 6th overall.
Next was the Group 6 Enduro, won by George Robinson and Jack Baldwin in their Riley and Scott Mk. IIIC over Bill Adam and Andy Wallace in the Champion Audi R8.
The final feature race of the weekend was the Rolex Historic Enduro, won by Markku Biedermann in his ’03 Porsche RSR, closely followed by the ’89 Trans-Am Mustang of Richard Howe, which is a great example of how cars from different eras can race each other competitively, one of the great attractions of vintage racing.
2009 Daytona Continental Historics Photo Gallery (Photo credit: Louis Galanos)
Eric Lux of Williamsville, NY in his first place 1973 Porsche 911 RSR. Eric won the Classic GT race.
Roy Berry of Spain driving a 1981 Renault R5. The car was part of the El Equipo del Cerado Volador Racing Team. Their mascot is a pig with wings.
Christian Zugel from Holmdel, NJ drove this 1986 Porsche 962-123 in the GTP/WSC feature race, finishing 6th.
The Ronnie Randall/Jack Refenning 1967 Porsche 911S leads the colorful 1969 Porsche 911S of Juan Lopez-Santini in the Rolex Vintage Enduro. #226 finished third and the #22 Porsche finished seventh.
Robert Summerour in his 1972 BMW CSL during the Classic GT feature race. He finished 25th.
1974 Porsche 911 of Richard Spaeth of Lakeland, FL blowing his engine in a big way on the infield road course.
Ralph Thomas' 1989 Kudzu DG1 in the pits for the required stop during the GTP/WSC feature race.
Byron DeFoor of Ooltewah, TN giving all who watched a lesson on how to do a 360 degree spin in a 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL.
Picture Two: 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL - Byron DeFoor
Picture Three: 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL - Byron DeFoor
Picture Four: 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL - Byron DeFoor
Picture Five: 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL - Byron DeFoor
Picture Six: 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL - Byron DeFoor
Gulp...and away we go...1973 BMW 3.0 CSL - Byron DeFoor
1970 Boss 302 Mustang is being driven by Leo Voyazides in the International American GT Challenge.
Start of the International American GT Challenge shows the eventual winner Farrell Preston in his 1963 Jaguar E-Type leading the eventual second place finisher Alec Hammond in his 1967 Sunoco Camaro. Coming up on the outside is Bernie Chodosh in his 1959 Vette. He finished fourth.
1973 Martini Porsche RSR was driven by Brad Hook.
The #29 1972 Porsche 911ST of Roger Johnson on his way to winning the Klub Sport Porsche Challenge feature race.
Jeff McKain of Virginia Beach, VA in his 1965 Shelby GT350 and J.P. Griffin from Secalia, CO in his 1964 Corvette during qualifying for the Classic GT race.
Lilo Zicron from Chatsworth, CA in his 1966 Lola T70 Spider MK1 during the Championshio of Makes feature race.
Some off-road action on the infield course at Daytona.
Robert Boller in his 1963 Lotus 23B approaching turn one.
[Source: Jim Casey; photo credit, Louis Galanos]
Great photos. Looks like a great event and good weather too. Liked the spinning BMW sequence.
Your description of the races and wealth of photos is great!!!!
I like the pictures with the 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL – Byron DeFoor.
I love blurry wheels
Great photos and informative article
It appears that you were at the right place at the right time with your camera pointed at the right place !
Great photos and excellent descriptive article.
kep it up !
Those are some trully awesome photos and with a good article too.
Great photos and comments, wish I had been there. Brings back some great memories. (SCCA & IMSA driver 1962-1982).
Impressive photos. Looks like a fun race to watch.
Great article and photos. It was a great weekend with many battles.
I won my categories on the Klub Sport, the Vintage Enduro and the Sprint races. My team mates Roger Johnson, Ronnie Randall, Eric Lux and Jack and Brady Refenning also finished ahead on their respective classes.
901 Shop did their usual impeccable preparation, setup, data analysis and maintenance job on our race cars (not to mention, took great care of us drivers) which ensured the great results achieved.
Thanks for being there and for the article.
Juan Lopez-Santini
Driver/Owner – #226 1969 911S Porsche
http://www.alteregoracing.com
http://www.901shop.com
Great summation of the weekend; enjoyed the photos, too.
Awesome pictures and a very nice article!
Awesome photos brings back great memories!!! great shots Lou
Great race report and photos. The photos really make you feel like you were there, I only wish I was. The variation of the historic cars are so different from today’s IRL and NASCAR spec racer cars.
I like the images in this report. They have a vintage/retro feel about them which lend themselves to the writing.
Andy Fitzpatrick
England.
Well done as usual, Lou.
Lou, always good to view your work. You capture some great moments. Bill C.
Nice pictures! I’m going to try to make this next year. Missed out seeing the Rothmans Porsche 962 at Sebring…that car makes an awesome sound.
Great shots and beutiful GT and Sports cars. Amazing for me to see a Renault 5 Turbo on Daytona track, I recall it more for its successes at Monte-Carlo Rally and Tour de Corse.
The photos are all magnificently captured.
The close-ups and side views are nicely imaged and presented. The images to complete the story.
Well Done!!