The debut Classic 24 Hour at Daytona marked the beginning of a new motorsport tradition in North America, as more than 150 vintage and historic sports cars from 21 countries raced for 24 hours on the famous banking and infield road course of Daytona International Speedway on November 15-16, 2014.
Six classes of racing sports cars from the 1960’s Ford GT40s through Porsche’s landmark 962 of the 1980s, the Daytona Prototypes of the 21st Century plus wonderful Florida weather made the inaugural Classic 24 Hour a memorable event for the competitors and spectators.
David Hinton, President of Historic Sportscar Racing, Ltd. said, “Entries and attendance at the inaugural Classic 24 Hour exceeded all our expectations. The fences were lined with spectators and campers from the Horseshoe to the west banking! The whole weekend really captured the essence and the spirit of six decades of championship endurance racing at Daytona.”
Driven by the success of the inaugural Classic 24 Hour at Daytona, HSR will return the Classic 24 Hour to Daytona International Speedway on November 14-15, 2015.
“In 2015 spectators will again see cars from all six decades of the 24 Hours of Daytona in the second edition Classic 24 Hour,” continued Hinton. “The Classic 24 Hour at Daytona will then become a biennial event with its third running in November, 2017.
“From 1971 through 1986, the American championship sports car season had its traditional finale at Daytona,” said Hinton. “Our ticket sales told us the passionate fans of the great sports cars from Daytona’s past still exist and have been waiting a long time for an event like the Classic 24 Hour.”
[Source: HSR; photo: Peter Falkner]
