DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The list of past and current race-winning and champion drivers already entered for the Historic Sportscar Racing Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA, Nov. 8-12, will bring some true star power to the third running of North America’s premier historic and vintage 24-hour race.
Joao Barbosa, Patrick Long, Gunnar Jeannette, John Fergus and Aaron Scott are all entered in the HSR Classic 24 Hour, while an even longer list of current and past racing champions will soon be announced.
The HSR Classic 24 Hour at Daytona debuted in 2014 as a tribute race to the internationally famous Rolex 24 At Daytona, which has been run on the 3.56-mile road course at the World Center of Racing for more than half-a-century.
David Porter has confirmed that two-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Prototype champion Barbosa will co-drive his GMT Racing-prepared 2007 Pescarolo Judd LMP in the HSR Classic 24 Hour at Daytona. The pairing will reunite Barbosa with the Pescarolo 10 years after he co-drove the car to a fourth-place overall finish with Rollcentre Racing in the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“I got in contact with David a couple of years ago and said ‘man, if there is an opportunity I would love to drive this car again,’” Barbosa said. “It’s great memories and now will be again. It will be fun to drive that car at Daytona, I am looking forward to it, and this will be my first Classic 24 Hour at Daytona. We are going to be there to win again.”
Porter most recently took Run Group E honors in the Pescarolo last December in the inaugural HSR Classic 12 Hour at Sebring, co-driving with 2015 Le Mans 24 Hour LMP2 winning co-driver Richard Bradley, but the addition of Barbosa will be key for Daytona. Barbosa co-drove to the overall Rolex 24 At Daytona victory in 2010 and was on the pole for this year’s Rolex 24 last January.
Factory Porsche driver Long, a Rolex 24 At Daytona class winner, returns to the HSR Classic 24 Hour at Daytona this year after missing the most recent running of the race in 2015. He will team with Alan Benjamin in a Boulder Classics-prepared 1968 Porsche 911 T/R. Long has plenty of laps in Benjamin’s T/R and other classic 911s of that golden era.
“Right away you know you are in an old car,” Long said. “You’re shifting an H pattern. It’s loud, it’s raw and the sensation of speed is higher. No traction control, no power steering. It’s more of a pure driving experience.”
Source : speedsport.com
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