Bobby Rahal’s Legends of Motorsports Comes to Sebring

December 4, 2010 Updated: December 8, 2010

Porsche parade&#8212an unidentified driver leads Juan Lopez-Santini's 1969 Porsche 911S and Allen Noveck's 1992 Porsche 964 Cup.

SEBRING, Fla.—A new historic racing series has come to town, and it’s a good one.

Legends of Motorsports, co-owned by IndyCar legend Bobby Rahal, brought its brand of high-energy, high-access historic racing to Sebring International Raceway Friday for a weekend celebrating the series’ first year of operation, and so far the show has been fantastic.

The high point of historic racing is the cars, and Rahal and company have attracted a field of more than 100 legendary automobiles spanning half a century of racing history.

With Shelby Cobras and GT 350s racing Jaguar XKEs and Porsche 911s in one event and Porsche 962s racing Lola T332s and Kudzu DLM-008s in another class, followed by Formula cars and Indy Lights cars, there was plenty for car lovers to drool over. Most were more recent—Group C, GTP, and IMSA-era cars were plentiful. But there was also a large contingent of USRRC and Trans Am iron. And all of it was moving very, very fast.

Bobby Rahal at the wheel of his 1963 Lotus 23B

Bobby Rahal, besides being a Sebring 12-Hour winner, a three-time CART champions, and an Indy 500 winner, and co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing, is himself an avid historic racer, as is one of LoM’s other co-owners, Zak Brown. Both took to the track on Friday.

Zak Brown drives his rare ultra-light 1969 Lola T163. Only two were made for Roger Penske's Sunoco-sponsored 1969 Can Am team, driven by Mark Donahue.

Friday was the first day of the tree-day LoM season finale. Saturday brings qualifying races for all classes, as well as entertainment by local classic rock group Slick Willy, and a fan forum with Bobby Rahal and event Grand Marshall Brian Redman.

GTPs in action&#8212Peter Angelos in his 1997 Kudzu DLM-008 is chased by an unidentified driver in a Porsche 962, while Lloyd Hawkins in the ex-Brun Motorsports 1990 962C plots to overtake both.

Redman is a legend among race fans, having won the Sebring 12 Hours twice and the 24 Hours of Daytona three times, plus four International Championship of makes titles, three consecutive F5000 championships, and the 1981 IMSA GTO crown, racing in about every professional series on the planet through a span of thirty years.

Sunday features the season’s final races for all classes, followed by an awards banquet.

They can keep the banquet—the feast of fast, beautiful racing cars lapping the famous Sebring track at top speed is more than satisfying.

Tickets for Saturday’s and Sunday’s events are still available at LegendsofMotorsports.com. Check it out—the value far exceeds the price.

[All photos: James Fish/Epoch Times Staff. I sincerely apologize for any misidentified cars or drivers—please feel free to contact me at jamesfish@epochtimescom with any corrections or comments.]