Sports Car Digest - The Sports, Racing and Vintage Car Journal
Sports Car Digest focuses on Classic Car Auctions, Concours d’Elegance, Vintage Car Racing, Road Rallies and other historic automotive events.
Sebring Celebrates 40th Anniversary of IMSA at Sebring By Louis Galanos | Photos as credited On March 16, 2013 the Sebring Raceway and Mobil 1 held the 61st running of the 12-Hours of Sebring but also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the very first IMSA-sanctioned Sebring 12 Hour enduro. The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) came into being in 1969 under the leadership … [Read more...]
The 2013 running of the 12 Hours of Sebring was held Saturday, March 16th at the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida. After 12 hours of intense racing, the winners of the 61st Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring were greeted by fireworks as they crossed the finish line at Sebring International Raceway. America’s oldest circuit is also one of the world’s most … [Read more...]
By Charles Dressing / ALMS Americans love underdogs but hate losers. And we really love upsets because they turn reality inside out and generally make the mighty look weak. So when anyone demands a prediction, I try to hide because I always remember some races that didn’t quite go the way the experts reckoned: the 1954 Sebring 12 Hours, 1955 Monaco Grand Prix, the start of the 1958 … [Read more...]
1963 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance - The Second Battle in the Ford-Ferrari War By Louis Galanos | Photos as credited In mid-March of 1963 the small community of Sebring, Florida was getting ready for the annual onslaught of cars and racing fans for the 12th running of the Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance. Much to the chagrin of race founder and promoter, Alec Ulmann, … [Read more...]
By Rick Carey | Photos by Mark Coughlin This is by necessity a very personal account, since I arrived late (about 9AM Sunday) and left early (about 3PM to catch a 6:20 plane from Orlando.) Serendipity – the word is as pleasing as the concept – brought the opportunity this year to visit Daytona on Sunday, the last day of the Mecum Kissimmee auction. The last day of a multi-day auction [and … [Read more...]
The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona 2013 was held January 26-27 on the 12-turn, 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway, a combined track made up of portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield road course. The 51st running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona put on a tremendous finale, maintaining tension right up to the last. Pre-race favorites in the Daytona Prototype class, Chip Ganassi … [Read more...]
1956 Sebring 12 Hour Grand Prix of Endurance - Sebring Comes of Age, With Difficulty By Louis Galanos | Photos as credited The 1956 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance was a sign to many in the automotive community that this race had definitely become North America’s premier sports car race and from an international standpoint second only to the 24-Hours of Le Mans. However, … [Read more...]
The Brickyard Grand Prix GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race was held Friday, July 27, 2012 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The ninth event in the 13-race series was a true workout for the 34 cars running on the 2.5-mile, 13-turn course. One hour into the three-hour race, the last in a line of storms passed through the area and delivered a deluge that severely hindered visibility for … [Read more...]
By John Kerruish | Photographs by Mike Hayward Collection Just after 6:00pm on Sunday the 30th July 1967, as Phil Hill brought his bewinged Chaparral 2F over the line in first place on the 211th and last lap of the BOAC 500 Sportscar Race, he allowed himself a brief smile. He was indeed a man satisfied with a job well done. Hill and his co-driver Mike Spence, who was sadly to lose his life at … [Read more...]
More than 100 cars from the Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge participated in a test July 6-7 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The GRAND-AM Road Racing drivers and teams demonstrated more familiarity with the 13-turn, 2.534-mile Grand Prix course, in preparation for the inaugural GRAND-AM event at IMS on Friday, July 27. While air temperatures soared past 100 … [Read more...]
Sports Car Digest has been running a series of photo retrospectives drawn from the film archive of Bob Harmeyer. The first installment looked at the 1977 Indianapolis 500, while the latest remembers the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans. 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans By Bob Harmeyer Separated by three decades of time, a pair of German manufacturers swept the top finishing positions at the 24 Hours … [Read more...]
American racing history was made at the 1967 24 Hour of Le Mans, and thus far has never been matched again. With the 24 Hours of Le Mans this past weekend, the Henry Ford Museum reflected on the 45th anniversary of the Ford Mark IV claiming the second of four consecutive victories for Ford Motor Company cars at Le Mans, arguably the greatest American racing victory on foreign soil. That day in … [Read more...]
The Aston Martin DBR1 that won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe in France on 18-20 June, 2012 as part of a tribute to its drivers Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori, and its chief engineer Ted Cutting, who all sadly passed away in recent weeks. Aston Martin’s Head of Motorsport, David King, commented, "We were deeply saddened by the loss of Carroll, Roy and Ted. … [Read more...]
The 24 Hours of Le Mans 2012 was held 16-17 June at the 38-turn, 8.469 mile Circuit de la Sarthe in France. This landmark edition of the famous 24 Heures du Mans was an enormous tribute to long endurance racing in which Audi came out on top. In addition to achieving the complete podium finish, it was the first victory for a hybrid car. After their main competitors were among the 21 cars that … [Read more...]
The 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans was staged June 14-15 at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. The race signaled the return of Mercedes-Benz to international motor racing, as the German team scored a one-two finish with the W194 300 SL racing car that was developed for the 1952 racing season. By then, Mercedes-Benz had won almost all the world-famed races; only the 24-hour race in Le Mans, … [Read more...]
