Showing posts with label Sebring 12 Hours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sebring 12 Hours. Show all posts

Thursday, 24 October 2024

Janis Taylor


Janis and Del Russo Taylor in 1983

Janis Taylor raced sportscars in the 1980s, in the USA.

She was from Denver, but settled in Florida. Her father had been an automotive enthusiast and she had grown up around fast cars, dabbling in the drag racing scene in her youth. In a 1983 interview with the Poughkeepsie Journal, she described buying her own first car at "15 or 16". It was a Triumph Spitfire and she worked on it herself.

Her first year of major competition was 1980, when she drove an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV in the Sebring 12 Hours. She and her two team-mates, including her husband, Del Russo Taylor, did not finish. Del Russo married Janis in 1974 and was an experienced racer.

Her second attempt, in 1981, was as part of an all-female team in the Alfetta, with local drivers Carol Cone and Pat Godard. The team only had one male member, a chief mechanic who was allergic to oil. Two of the crew were air stewardesses. They had serious problems in the qualifying race, but managed to get onto the grid for the 12 Hours. Sadly, the car expired on the first lap, with Janis at the wheel.

For the next two seasons, she mostly drove a Buick-engined Chevron GTP prototype in IMSA events, often sharing with Del Russo. She was named as the car owner in 1981. Their best result together was a 29th place in the Mid-Ohio 500km, from a 15th-place start.

Her activities included the Sebring 12 Hours, which she entered twice more in 1982 and 1983, once in the Chevron and once in a Ford Pinto, driving for different team owners and finishing once in 1982, in the Pinto.

As well as some outings with Del Russo, she drove different cars in the IMSA-supporting Kelly American Challenge, including a Chevrolet Camaro in 1983.

In 1984, she switched to a Pontiac Firebird owned by Walter Johnston as her main car. Her best result was 21st, in the 1984 Riverside 6 Hours. A 1985 Daytona entry in the Firebird went ahead without her in the driving line-up, which consisted of Del Russo, Bob Lee and John Hayes-Harlow. After this, she disappears from the entry lists.

(Image copyright Poughkeepsie Journal)

Saturday, 24 August 2024

Vicki Smith


Vicki Smith raced sportscars up to international level in the early 1980s. 

She credited her interest in motorsport to her stepfather's Porsche, which she described herself as "crazy about" as a child. Her parents refused to support her racing endeavours until she had finished her education, probably hoping that she would forget about the whole thing. After dropping out of a journalism degree, she got herself a racing license in 1979 and set about finding a car. During her short career, she did not own any of the cars she raced in major events, depending on team owners to offer her drives. Fortunately, she was a Florida native and the Daytona and Sebring circuits were within easy reach.

Her first big race was the 1980 Sebring 12 Hours. She shared a Porsche 911 with car owner Klaus Bitterauf and James Moxley, and they finished 24th, seventh in the GTU class.

In a completely different car, an all-American AMC AMX, she tried the Sebring classic again in 1981. Again, she was sharing the car with its owner, Bob Lee, plus Tom Alan Marx. They just about got to the finish in 42nd place. This was the second time she had competed alongside Lee, having shared a Ford Maverick with him at the Daytona 6 Hours the previous year.

Her partnership with Bitterauf and his "Klaus Haus" team continued, on and off. In 1982, she was 25th at Daytona, driving a Porsche 911 and 22nd at Sebring. The Klaus Haus team, consisting of Vicki, Bitterauf and Scott Flanders, contested four more IMSA events that year, with a best finish of 17th, at Charlotte.

Driving an Audi 80 for a different team in the Mosport 6 Hours, Vicki was 16th with Edgar Doren and Peter Aschenbrenner. 

During the 1983 season, she switched between the Klaus Haus Porsche and a Pontiac Firebird. Her best finish was another 16th, at Miami, in the Firebird. This was a solo drive. With the Klaus Haus team, she competed at the big Daytona and Sebring races, plus the 500km of Road Atlanta. She did not finish at Daytona or Sebring, but was just about classified at Road Atlanta, in 35th place.

She continued in 1984, driving different cars. One of these drives was her first-ever outing in a Group C prototype. She drove an Aston Martin-engined Nimrod NRA/C2 at the Daytona 24 Hours, sharing with Jack Miller (the team owner) and Carlos Ramirez. They were classified 49th, although they did not finish. The Nimrod project was not hugely successful and the NRA/C2 had a poor finishing record. Vicki never drove it again, although she did join Bitterauf in his 911 once more for that year's Sebring 12 Hours. They did not finish.

This was Vicki's last major race appearance. She was linked to a Lola T616 drive in the 1987 Sebring 12 Hours, but did not compete. From 1985, she was a member of the PPG Pace Car team which followed Champ Car.

One rather alarming footnote in her career was a short relationship with driver and later, convicted serial killer, Christopher Wilder. After he was shot by police in 1984, she claimed that she "never had a clue"about his proclivities.

She became more and more interested in motorcycles after 1985, working as a racetrack photographer and becoming a respected expert on Ducati machines.

Wednesday, 28 June 2023

Ashton Harrison



Ashton Harrison is the winner of the 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge Pro-Am title in an Acura NSX GT3. She has raced sportscars in the USA for several seasons.

Early on, she raced in the Mazda MX-5 Cup in the USA. She was twelfth in the 2017 championship. This was her second attempt at the series, after a part-season in 2016. In 2018, her third season, she was 15th, with three top-ten finishes. The best of these were two ninth places. Her Mazdas were always noticeable by their pink roll cages, something she began when she did her first club races two years earlier.


In a change of direction and increase in power, she was second in the LB class in the 2019 US Lamborghini Super Trofeo, with six second places and one third. She was sharing the car with Stephanie Cemo. 


Her second season in the Super Trofeo featured her first Pro-Am win at Sebring, plus two second places and four thirds. She was third in the championship alongside her team-mate Andrea Amici. 


Another third came her way in 2021, with wins at COTA and Road America. Additionally, she won a round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Pro-Am Cup at Indianapolis in an Acura NSX, with Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry. This was her first race in the category and the first win for a female driver.


Following her Indianapolis win, in 2022 she was named as a Honda junior factory driver after taking part in their academy programme, with Farnbacher as her coach. This earned her a seat with the Racer’s Edge team. She and Mario Farnbacher won the Pro-Am Cup, winning four times in the Acura. They also entered the Sebring 12 Hours. 


The Super Trofeo had not been forgotten either. She and Thomas Long were third in Pro-Am with one win and ten podium finishes.


Staying with the Fanatec GT World Challenge and Racer’s Edge, she entered the Pro Cup in 2023, still sharing the GTD-spec NSX with Mario Farnbacher. The pair earned two class wins and four further podiums and were second in the Pro Cup.


She only did one IMSA race in 2024, driving a Lamborghini Huracan. Instead, she concentrated on the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. Her final championship position was eighth in the Am class, partnered by Graham Doyle. Their season highlight was a second place at Watkins Glen. The pair were tenth in the World Final at Jerez, with an eighth and a tenth-place finish.


(Image from dailysportscar.com)


Wednesday, 2 November 2022

Judy Ganley (Kondratieff)

 


Judy Kondratieff, also known as Judy Ganley, raced sportscars and saloons in the USA, between 1965 and 1972. 

She was born Judith Ann Wood in 1939. Her racing career began after her marriage to her first husband, Serguey Kondratieff, whom she had met at Stanford University. By 1965, they had separated. 

That year, Judy ran a Brabham BT8 with another racer called Bart Martin. Both of them drove it on occasion, although it was Judy who had bought it from Robs Lamplough. The car came without its original engine, so she had it fitted with a Ford V8. Only a year before, she had attended her first motor race. She would later claim that the smell of Castrol R drew her back.

Sadly, Bart died in June that year, following a serious accident at Candlestick Park.

Later in 1965, she returned to the circuits and drove an Austin-Healey Sprite in the Cotati 4 Hours. The car belonged to Judy and she shared it with Al Auger. Their finishing result has been lost.

For most of her career, she raced a Sprite, or after 1968, a Mini Cooper. In a 1970 newspaper interview, she admitted that “the big cars are too fast for me”. This was a touch disingenuous, as she was capable of going very fast in a small car. She was a regular at race meetings held by the San Francisco SCCA, and considered Laguna Seca her favourite circuit. 

In 1968, she took part in the American Road Race of Champions, driving the Mini. 

In 1970, she raced at the Sebring 12 Hours for the Ring Free Oil "Motor Maids" team, with Janet Guthrie and Rosemary Smith. She was back in a Sprite, this time in Sebring trim. The car was familiar, but this was her first experience of racing at night. She was also a lot shorter than Janet and Rosemary and found the car awkward to start with. Its right-hand drive did not help. The “Motor Maids” were 19th overall and first in class. Judy was part of the team again the following year, but car troubles intervened before it was time for her stint. The Chevron B16’s engine blew up on the second lap of the race.

At the same time as her Sebring adventures, Judy continued to race her Mini. She also married Formula One driver and former engineer, Howden Ganley, in 1971.

After her marriage to Howden Ganley and retirement in 1972, she worked in motorsport management and administration extensively. Since her early racing days, she had got involved in running her local SCCA chapter, so this was a logical extension of her skills. She worked for the McLaren Formula One team and earned a reputation as one of the best timekeepers in the business. Stories exist of her managing to time twenty cars with a single stopwatch. 

She was soon branching out into other management tasks, although these could sometimes be unorthodox. When working for the McLaren Can Am team, she instituted a routine for their drivers called “The Reading”. She would read out the letters page of Penthouse magazine in the team caravan for their benefit, as a way of helping them relax before a race.

Her achievements were not just in the areas of timing and morale-boosting, although she was adept at that. The “Doghouse Club” for Grand Prix ladies was often entertained by Judy’s singing and dancing at their fundraising events. Much later, she shared her piri-piri chicken recipe for “Racey Recipes”, a charity cookbook.

On the serious side, she provided administrative and management support to at least two Formula One teams and two major teams at Le Mans, including Matra. She even worked as an aerodynamicist in sportscar racing. When Howden Ganley and Tim Schenken founded the Tiga racing car company in 1976, Judy was there alongside them.

She died in 2007, after a long battle with cancer.

(Image copyright Judy Ganley/Erin Kondratieff)

Wednesday, 23 September 2020

Greta Oakes



Greta Oakes was an Danish-born Bahamian driver who raced in her adopted home country and in the USA in the 1950s.

A noted socialite from a wealthy family of Danish extraction who spent a lot of time in London, she married Sydney Oakes, who was instrumental in bringing motorsport to the Bahamas. In marrying Sydney in 1948, she became Lady Oakes of Nassau and became an integral part of the emerging Bahamas motor racing scene.


She entered a number of American sportscar races between 1950 and 1959, including the Sebring 12 Hours in 1955 and 1959. She usually drove with her husband and their car was normally a 3000cc Austin-Healey 100. They did not finish the 1955 race and the Bahamas Motor Club entry was only a reserve in 1959. The pair were listed as drivers in an Alfa Romeo in 1957, but did not take the start.


Greta also competed in the Nassau Speed Weeks, driving solo. She and Sydney were the chief supporters of the event alongside Sherman “Red” Crise, its American creator. It always ran very late in the season during the Bahamas summer, functioning as an end-of-year party for a mix of East Coast sportscar racers and increasingly, international stars such as Stirling Moss and Phil Hill.


She only started racing at the advent of Speed Week in 1954. Her chief sporting interest before that had been horses. In 1954, she was fourth in the Production race, driving an Austin Healey 100M. Driving the same car, she was tenth in a 402m speed trial held as part of Speed Week. 


The following year, she used the Austin-Healey for the Locals race, unsuccessfully. A Miami Herald article claimed that she called the car “The Great Dane III”.


After that, she entered the 1956 Ladies’ and Local Residents’ races, in a Porsche 356. She took part in both heats for both events but does not seem to have made the final. Her best finish was fourth in a Locals heat. This was the first time that a Ladies’ race had been held in the Bahamas and the field was quite impressive, with Denise McCluggage, Evelyn Mull, Suzy Dietrich and Marion Lowe all making the trip from the States. 


Greta missed the 1957 event but came back in 1958. This year, she drove a motorcycle-engined Berkeley SE328 in the Ladies’ race and in a Berkeley one-make encounter. She was sixth out of eight Berkeleys and seventh in the women’s race, which included four Berkeleys. The best of these was driven by Gladys Cam, who also beat Greta in the one-make event. For the Locals race, she went back to the Healey but did not finish. 


Her preferred mount for the 1959 Ladies’ event was an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider. She was fourth out of six finishers. First and second placed Prudence Baxter and Marion Lowe both used lightweight Lotus Eleven sportscars and Greta got her hands on one for the following year. She was third, behind Smokey Drolet and Heather Bethell. Heather was another Bahamas resident who raced alongside her husband Peter, who in turn had been part of the Bahamas Motor Club team for the 1959 Sebring 12 Hours.


In 1961 she did not race, but she did drive the pace car for the Governor’s Trophy. She was accompanied in her Jaguar XK-E by the Governor himself, Sir Robert Stapledon. The Jaguar was a specially-modified show car with fins, aircraft lights, a TV and a bar for passengers, plus an early radar speed trap detector and a gold-plated tool kit. 


Her racing career ended at the start of the 1960s. The Oakeses divorced suddenly in 1961 and then Sydney was killed in a road traffic accident in 1966. Greta continued to be styled “Lady Oakes” and was a regular fixture on the upper-class US social scene. She also served as an honorary consul to Denmark for the Bahamas and stood for election to the Bahamian legislative assembly in 1963. Among her other exploits was writing and directing a calypso-themed musical in 1961. 


She died in 1977.


(Image copyright Miami Herald)


Saturday, 25 November 2017

Ashley Freiberg



Ashley (centre) on the Sebring podium


Ashley Freiberg has competed in the prestigious Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hour races. She is a racewinner in the IMSA GT Challenge series and the Continental Sportscar Challenge.

Ashley began her senior racing career in 2008, after several successful seasons in karting.
Initially, she progressed through the Skip Barber racing school ranks, and in 2009, she was the first female winner of a Skip Barber National Series event, in New Jersey.

Initially she specialised in single-seaters. She did her first Formula Star Mazda races in 2009, before winning another National Series race in a Formula Mazda, and then winning the 2010 Skip Barber Summer Series outright. She added to her win tally with another Summer Series race victory in 2011.

In 2012, she competed in Formula Star Mazda full-time, and was eleventh in the championship. Her best finish was sixth, at Baltimore.

After this, she switched to sportscar racing, and contested the 2013 IMSA GT Challenge, in a Porsche 997. In her first season, she won once at Watkins Glen, a first for a female driver, and was second twice, at the Glen and Monterey. She was ninth in the championship, after missing the last round.

In 2014, she made history again by winning the Continental Sportscar Challenge race at Daytona, supporting the 24 Hours, in a BMW M3 Coupe. Funding was an issue, but she did secure enough sponsorship to race again and took part in another four Challenge races. Her best finish was seventh, at Laguna Seca.

In 2015, she was a BMW North America Scholarship driver, and raced an M3 in the Continental Sportscar Challenge again. She won one race at Road Atlanta. This was one of three podium finishes: the others were a second at Watkins Glen and a third at Road America. Her co-driver was Trent Hindman.

In 2016, she competed in the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours for Turner Motorsport, in a BMW M6. She was second in class at Sebring, and 23rd overall. Later in the season, she drove for the team again at Road Atlanta, and was ninth in the GTD class. In between, she tried out a prototype for Starworks Motorsport and contested another three rounds of the Weathertech Sportscar Championship. The car was an LMP2 and she secured two class finishes, at Long Beach and Laguna Seca. She was a temporary team-mate to class winners, Alexander Popow and Renger van der Zande.

She stuck with sportscars for 2017 and entered the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, contesting the Pro class with DAC Motorsport. This resulted in five podium finishes from eight races, the best of these being second at Watkins Glen, her lucky track. She was third overall, just behind her earlier team-mate, Trent Hindman. She had taken a chance with her entry and was not sure how her season would go. Early on, she described her plans as “going race by race”.

In 2018, she only made one major race appearance: the Daytona 24 Hours. She raced in the IMSA Continental Tires Sportscar Challenge with Gosia Rdest, driving an Audi R8. They were 18th in their race.

After a long break, she raced in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, in the Grand Sport class. She and her M1 Racing team-mate Ryan Nash entered the second round at Road Atlanta in a McLaren 570S GT4, but they did not finish. They came out at the same track again in October but a testing crash by Ryan Nash destroyed the car. Fortunately, Volt Racing was in the process of replacing their Porsche 718 Cayman and M1 was able to use it. The unhurt Nash and Ashley were fourteenth overall. They raced the Porsche again at Sebring, finishing twelfth.

She continued to race Porsches in 2023 and was hugely successful in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. She won the 991 class from 17 other drivers and won seven races during the season.

She is also making a name for herself in cyclocross.


(Image from www.ashleyfreibergracing.com)

Saturday, 27 May 2017

Bonnie Henn


Bonnie, centre, with Janet Guthrie and Lyn St James

Bonnie Henn raced Ferraris and Porsches in IMSA between 1979 and 1985, usually as part of her father, Preston Henn's, team. She and Preston were IMSA’s first father-daughter racing team. Her other team-mates included Kathy Rude, Janet Guthrie and Desiré Wilson.

Bonnie’s career developed in tandem with her father’s. He only began racing two years before she did, having made his money buying disused drive-in cinemas, which he turned into flea markets.

Her first major finish was a seventeenth place at the 1979 Sebring 12 Hours, driving a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 with Lyn St James and Janet Guthrie. They were sponsored by Thunderbird Swap Shop, the Henn family business. Bonnie also entered the IMSA Daytona Finale, driving the Ferrari with Hal Sahlman. They were 28th overall, fifteenth in the GTO class. In between, Preston Henn ran an AMC Pacer for Bonnie in the Daytona 6 Hours. She did not finish. The underpowered Pacer must have been a stark contrast to the Ferrari she was more used to.

In contrast to her first season, 1980 was very quiet, as Bonnie concentrated on developing her driving skills. She was linked to a drive in an Alfa Romeo Alfetta in the Daytona 6 Hours, but did not start. The car belonged to Janis Taylor, who drove instead, with Del Russo Taylor.

1981 could have been her first attempt at the Daytona 24 Hours. Preston put together a Swap Shop team of himself, Bonnie, Desiré Wilson and Marty Hinze. Although she had practised in the team’s Porsche 935, she decided that she did not have enough experience to tackle the race itself, and stepped down. She did race the 935 at the Daytona Finale in November. Preston was her team-mate. They did not finish.

Desiré Wilson became something of a mentor to Bonnie at this time. She gave her advanced driving tuition and supported her through a part-season in IMSA in 1982. Desiré’s race seat with the Swap Shop team was largely down to her work with Bonnie.

Bonnie and Desiré aimed to start 1982 by teaming up again for the Daytona 24 Hours, but Bonnie, along with Janet Guthrie, dropped out. The three worked together again at the Sebring 12 Hours, where they drove a Ferrari 512BB/LM in “Miss Budweiser” colours for North American Racing. For her next race, the Charlotte IMSA round, she shared a Swap Shop Porsche 935 with Preston, and was rewarded with an eleventh place. Her best result of the year was a fourth place in the Daytona 250 Miles. She had jumped into the 935 of Preston and Randy Lanier after her own Swap Shop 935 expired after eight laps.

She raced with Desiré again at Mosport and Road America. At Mosport, she was 24th. Later in the season, she and Preston travelled to Japan to race in the Fuji 6 Hours, in the Ferrari. They crashed out on the tenth lap. At the end of the year, she decided that she no longer wanted to race. Sadly, this meant that Desiré Wilson’s place in the team became redundant.

Having announced her retirement once, Bonnie was persuaded back into action in 1983 with an all-female team, led by Deborah Gregg and carrying her Brumos colours. The third driver in the team was Kathy Rude. They drove a Porsche 924 Carrera in the Daytona 24 Hours and gave Bonnie her best finish of her career: thirteenth. They were sixth in class. Bonnie’s last event with the team was the Sebring 12 Hours. Driving the same car, she was 35th with her two team-mates. After Sebring, she retired for good, aged just 27.

She died suddenly in 2006. She was 49.

(Image from www.lynstjames.com)

Sunday, 30 April 2017

Deborah Gregg


Deborah Gregg raced sportscars in the States in the 1980s, and ran Brumos Motorsport after the premature death of her husband, Peter Gregg, in 1980.

The Greggs first met at a party, and initially bonded over a late-night road race they held with friends. Deborah had never actually raced. Peter competed internationally, as well as owning four car dealerships.

Their relationship progressed quickly, and they married within a few months. However, just five months after they met, Peter drove out into the desert and shot himself. He had changed his will in favour of Deborah, and left her a note telling her not to blame herself for what he had done.

She was now a widow, and went through the normal grieving processes, but she was also, now, a very wealthy woman, with the resources at hand to go racing, an ambition she had always harboured. According to her mother, she had been interested in cars since the age of five.

Her first IMSA event, in 1982, was the Daytona Finale. She drove a Porsche 924 with Elliot Forbes-Robinson. They were 22nd overall, and eleventh in the GTO class.

In 1983, she started racing for the Brumos team, which now technically belonged to her, as it had been owned by Peter since 1965. Hurley Haywood, a former team-mate of Peter’s, was on hand to help. Deborah ran a Porsche 924 for an all-female team of herself, Bonnie Henn and Kathy Rude. Their first event together was the Daytona 24 Hours, and they were thirteenth overall. The trio reunited for the Sebring 12 Hours, in which they were 35th. Deborah and Kathy then did the next three rounds of the IMSA series together, with a best finish of 17th, at Charlotte.

Mid-season, Deborah travelled to Germany for the Nürburgring Grand Prix. She shared a car with Lili Reisenbichler and Jürgen Hamelmann, but they did not finish. Back at home, she did the last two rounds of IMSA in two different Porsches 924s, driving alongside Elliot Forbes-Robinson and George Drolsom.

1984 was a much quieter season. She raced with the El Salvador team, in another 924. Her team-mates were Jim Trueman and Alfredo Mena. They were meant to do the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours together, but Deborah never got to race at Sebring. The team did not finish either race anyway.

1985 saw her back in a Brumos car for the Road America Trans Am round. This time, it was a Buick Regal. She was 23rd. She also drove an Alba AR4 for Malibu in the Watkins Glen 500km, and was fifteenth.

She returned to IMSA in 1986, driving a Tiga GT286. For Daytona, she was part of a four-driver Rinzler Motoracing team with Mike Brockman, Steve Durst and Jim Trueman. They qualified in 28th place, but the car’s engine failed. Sharing with Jeff Kline, Deborah was eleventh at Laguna Seca, then ninth at Charlotte, with Jim Trueman. This was her best finish of the year. Later in the season, the car was taken over by Brumos. This particular team’s best result was a twelfth place at Palm Beach, before another Tiga was brought in, which did not run as well.

Her fourth Daytona 24 Hours was the best of her career. She got a ride in a Roush Racing Ford Mustang, with Scott Pruett, Scott Goodyear and Bobby Akin. They were ninth overall, third in class. This was more remarkable considering that they were unable to set a qualifying time, and started from the back of the grid.

Deborah remained a Roush driver for the rest of the season, and tackled the Trans-Am series in a Mercury Capri. This car seemed to suit her. She was eighth in her first race at Long Beach. By the third round at Portland, she was into the top five. Her first podium happened at Road America, and was quickly followed by another third place at Memphis. She was fifth in the championship, and won the Rookie of the Year award.

In 1988, she joined up with another Roush driver, Lyn St. James. They drove a Mercury Capri at Daytona with Mark Martin and Pete Halsmer, but crashed out quite late on. Deborah and Lynn had more success as a duo, finishing eighth at the Sebring 12 Hours in a Mercury Merkur XR4Ti. They were second in the GTO class.

Deborah had not always had such good relationships with other female drivers. Shortly before her 1988 Daytona run, she had appeared on a speaking panel with Janet Guthrie, who said, in front of her, “as for Deborah Gregg, I don't know how much money Peter Gregg left her, but it was evidently enough for her to buy herself a ride.'' It is unclear what her grudge was, or what the context of her remarks was. Others were more complementary. Including former team-mate Elliot Forbes-Robinson, who praised her progress that year.

Deborah’s Trans-Am season was not quite as strong as her 1987 run, although she remained a solid competitor. Her best result was at Detroit, where she was fifth in the Merkur. This was one of four top-tens she earned that year.

During her time at Roush, Deborah also did some truck racing in a Mitsubishi and a Jeep Comanche, although results are proving hard to track down. Lyn St. James used a Ford Ranger.

After the 1988 season, Deborah took a break from racing, although she came back to Trans-Am in a Chevrolet Camaro, in 1991. She was 18th in the 1991 championship, and tenth in 1992. A part-season in 1993 gave her a 21st place.

Her last IMSA race also occurred in 1993. She was twelfth at Miami, in her self-entered Camaro.

Shortly afterwards, she sold her interest in Brumos, and concentrated on other things, including family.

(Image copyright Mark Windecker)

Sunday, 4 September 2016

Suzy Dietrich


Suzy with her MG TC

Suzy Dietrich raced sportscars in and around the USA in the 1950s and 1960s. In the later part of her career, she took part in major races such as the Daytona 24 Hours.

Suzy began racing in 1953, after her marriage to Charles (Chuck) Dietrich, another racer. Away from the track, she worked as a school librarian, and the Dietrichs ran their own car dealership together.

Her first car was a supercharged MG TC, built in 1948. Her first race was at the Chanute Air Force base circuit. It was a ladies’ race, and she was fourth, winning her class. A month later, she entered another ladies’ race at Cumberland, and was second, behind the more experienced Margaret Wyllie in a Jaguar, who had started racing at the same time as Suzy.

In 1954, she scored two more second places in ladies’ races, at Cumberland and Akron. Both times, she was beaten by Margaret Wyllie again. This year, she branched out into mixed competition, entering some SCCA races at Chanute and a hillclimb at Brynfan Tyddyn. The results are not forthcoming.

Still in the MG, she achieved her first win in 1955, seeing off Margaret Wyllie in her Jaguar C-Type in a Cumberland ladies’ race. At the same meeting, she started a mixed Novices race, but did not finish. This was down to a mechanical failure. Later in the year, she ventured to Elkhart Lake for an SCCA National race at Road America, and was eleventh.

Her racing repertoire expanded further in 1956, with a new car and a first international outing. She drove a Porsche 550 in competition for the first time at the Nassau Speed Week in the Bahamas. In the Ladies’ event, she scored a third and a fourth place. The 550 was probably not hers, although she seems to have picked up its workings quite well. She would later claim that this was her favourite of all of her racing cars.

Among the other women she encountered on the Ladies’ racing scene was Denise McCluggage, who later described her as “an enormously cute librarian”. The two became lifelong friends.

She had some more races in at least two different Porsche 550s in 1957, earning three second places in Ladies’ races, and a twelfth in mixed competition at Watkins Glen, during the SCCA Nationals. This year, she had another new car, in the shape of an Elva MkII which belonged to Chuck. Suzy won a Ladies’ race at Watkins Glen in this car, as well as contesting some SCCA races. At the end of the season, when Nassau Speed Week rolled round again, Chuck and Suzy were supported by the Elva factory. Suzy was fifth in one of the Ladies’ races, but crashed out of another, damaging the car but escaping serious injury herself. She attempted to race again the next day, despite Chuck having to help her out of bed.

The Elva served her well again in 1958, helping her to Ladies’ wins at Dunkirk and Watkins Glen. This was the car she used in the Road America 500 Miles, sharing it with Charles Kurtz. They were eleventh overall, and second in class. At various times, she also raced Bernard Vihl’s 550; her best result in this car was a third in a Ladies’ race at Cumberland.

The next two seasons were much quieter for Suzy. The Dietrichs took delivery of at least two new Elva models, a IV and a V, which she used to good effect in a select few Ladies’ races.

It was back to a fuller competition schedule for 1961, and with a new car. The Dietrichs had acquired a Porsche 356, in which Suzy attacked the SCCA National championship. This time, it was mostly in the main races, rather than against the other women. Her best finish was fifth, at her lucky circuit, Watkins Glen. Mid-season, she dusted off the Elva and won the Ladies’ race at Dunkirk in it.

In 1962, she switched to single-seaters and campaigned a Cooper in Formula Junior in the States, among other cars. She used an Elva FJ much of the time, and was eleventh in the Governor’s Cup at Marlboro in this car.

The Cooper proved to be another good car for Suzy; she won a Formula Junior race outright at Dunkirk in it, in June 1963.

For the next couple of seasons, things were quieter on the racing front for Suzy. She was absent from the major entry lists until 1966, when she made quite a dramatic comeback, entering her first Daytona 24 Hours. She was part of an all-female team with Janet Guthrie and Donna Mae Mims, driving a Sunbeam Alpine for the Autosport team. Suzy enjoyed driving European cars, like the Porsches and the Cooper, so the Alpine probably suited her. The car was not a highly-tuned race machine, being barely more than showroom trim. Suzy and her team-mates finished the race in 32nd place, and were the only team in their class to finish at all.

In 1967, the all-woman team had become the “Ring Free Motor Maids”, sponsored by the Ring Free oil company. Suzy narrowly missed out on a spot in the main “Motor Maids” car for Daytona, a Ford Mustang, but raced a satellite Jim Baker ASA 411, which was another production car, albeit provided by the factory. Her team-mate was Donna Mae Mims. They were not classified. They raced the same car together in the Sebring 12 Hours, and were 25th, not far behind Liane Engeman and Anita Taylor in a Matra Djet, the other Ring Free ladies’ car.

Ring Free also supported Suzy in some single-seater races, driving a Lotus 20. She raced in Formula A and Formula Continental. She had been competing in the Lotus since at least 1965.

At about this time, Suzy and Chuck went their separate ways and eventually divorced. This was one of the reasons why Suzy’s racing career really wound down after 1967. According to friends, she regretted the end of her relationship. She went back to working as a librarian, although she did make a comeback as a team owner in 1970, running a Brabham BT21 in Formula Continental under the “Team Suzy” banner.

She died in 2015 after a stroke, at the age of 88. For the last few years of her life, she lived in a care home, and in 2011, she auctioned off her memorabilia collection to pay for this.

(Image from http://www.rokemneedlearts.com/)

Thursday, 28 January 2016

Christina Nielsen


Christina and team-mates on the Sebring podium, 2015

Christina is a Danish driver who had her debut single-seater season in 2010. She now competes in sportscar racing, with considerable success.

Although she comes from a motorsport background, she did not get her first taste of racing until she was fourteen, when she tried karting for the first time. A competitive international karting career followed, for the next four year.

During her first year in cars, she competed in Danish Formula Ford, Formula Masters in Germany, and Benelux Formula Ford. Her best result was in the Danish series, where she was ninth overall. Her best race results were two fifths, at Zandvoort and Jyllandsringen. She managed top ten places during her part-seasons in the other European Formula Ford championships: tenth places at Assen (Benelux Formula Ford) and Oschersleben (Formula Masters). Formula Masters gave her a 17th place, and the Benelux series, fourteenth.

After six races in 2010, she settled for ADAC Formel Masters in Germany, for 2011. Her best finish was eighth, at Assen, and she was 24th overall. Although her finishing record was good, she was not really able to make her way into the top ten.

In 2012, she made her first move towards sportscar racing, and competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup in Germany. She managed one top-ten, a ninth at the Nürburgring. In November, she began racing in the Middle East edition of the Porsche Carrera Cup, the first female driver to do so. She was eighth in the championship, with two fifth places, at Losail and Dubai. Mostly, she finished in the lower reaches of the top ten.

For the main part of the 2013 season, she competed in the ADAC GT Masters, in a Farnbacher Racing Porsche 911 GT3. She managed to inch into the top ten, in ninth, on two occasions, at Lausitz and Hockenheim. The last race of her season was a guest spot in the Petit Le Mans race, in another Porsche. She and her team-mates, Nicolas Armindo and Angel Benitez, were seventh in class, and 28th overall. She also drove a Farnbacher Porsche 997 in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, but did not finish. Her team-mates were Tomas Pivoda and Leh Keen.

At the end of 2013, she did another winter season in the Middle East Porsche Cup. She was eleventh this time, repeating her fifth place at Dubai Autodrome.

2014 was an extremely busy year for her. Driving a Porsche 911 in North America, she took part in the United Sports Car Championship and the GT3 Cup Challenge, in both the USA and Canada. She raced in the entire US GT3 Cup, and scored three podium positions, a second at Lime Rock and two thirds. She was sixth in the championship. Towards the end of the season, she made a couple of guest appearances in the Pirelli World Challenge, in the GT class, driving an Aston Martin GT3. She was 16th and eleventh at Sonoma. Back in Europe, and back with the Porsche, she drove for the French IMSA Performance Matmut team for three rounds. Her best finish was eighth, at Paul Ricard.

This season, she made her first attempts at the big classic sportscar races. Driving for the NGT team in the Tudor United Sports Car Championship, she was 28th in the Daytona 24 Hours, in the 911. She and her usual team-mates, plus fellow Dane, Nicki Thiim, were 28th, and ninth in class. The second round of the championship was the Sebring 12 Hours, and NGT entered a three-driver team, including Christina. She did not finish, due to an accident 61 laps in.

In 2015, she raced an Aston Martin V12 Vantage, mainly in the USA. She entered both the Tudor United Sportscar Championship and the Pirelli World Challenge. She did exceptionally well in the Tudor series, driving for the TRG-AMR team, and went in to the final round, Petit Le Mans, able to win the class championship. In the end, she was second, by two points, lacking the race win that the two victors had. That year, she finished her second Sebring 12 Hours, and recorded the best overall finish of her year: 16th. She was second in class, driving with James Davison and Brandon Davis. They started from 32nd on the grid. This was one of four seconds Christina achieved this year, the others coming at Belle Isle, Road Atlanta and Virginia.  
She did most of the Pirelli series, and did manage a class win in the eleventh round, although she was not able to challenge for class honours.

At the end of 2015, it was announced that Christina would be part of the squad for Formula Racing’s Le Mans and ELMS programme, driving a Ferrari. She was down as a reserve driver for the team before the 2015 race, but did not make the start.

She finished Le Mans in 35th place, with her Danish team-mates, Johnny Laursen and Mikkel Mac.

The Le Mans finish was an achievement, but it almost paled in comparison to the rest of her year. In the summer, she won the GTD class in the 12 Hours of Sebring, finishing 22nd overall with her team-mates, Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Segal, from the Scuderia Corsa team. Her Sebring win was followed up with another class win at Watkins Glen, plus two second and three third places, on her way to a GTD class win in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship. This was a first for a female driver.

A part-season in the ELMS with Formula Racing was not as spectacular, but was still solid. Driving their Ferrari F458, her best finish was fifth, at Silverstone.

Her services at Scuderia Corsa were retained in 2017. Christina ended the year as a double GTD champion in the IMSA Weathertech championship, with one class win and seven podiums. Her regular co-driver was Alessandro Balzan.

Christina and Alessandro teamed up with American Bret Curtis for Le Mans. They got to the end of the race in 44th, 14th in the GTE Am class.

For 2018, Christina moved on to Wright Motorsports and their Porsche 911. She contested the IMSA Weathertech series with Patrick Long and they were seventh in GTD, with one win at Road America.

Away from IMSA, she kinked up with the Italian Ebimotors team for Le Mans. She drove a 911 with Erik Maris and Fabio Babini, finishing 31st overall and sixth in class.

2019 began with a run at the Daytona 24 Hours, driving for an all-female Acura team. The Meyer Shank squad was led by Jackie Heinricher, who was unable to race herself, and sponsored by Caterpillar. Christina was joined by Bia Figuereido, Simona de Silvestro and Katherine Legge. They limped to the finish with a crash-damaged car following a race that was shortened due to bad weather, but had led the class for part of it. Christina continued to be part of the team for most of the year, picking up a best finish of fourth in class at Watkins Glen.

Ever on the move, she spent most of the season racing in Asia. She drove for Craft Bamboo Racing with Darryl O'Young in the Blancpain GT World Challenge, in a Mercedes AMG GT3. They were seventh in the GT3 Silver class, with second places at Sepang and Fuji and another third at Sepang.

A mid-season stint with Strakka Racing in the Intercontinental GT Challenge was less successful. Despite being in a similar car, Christina only earned one tenth place at Laguna Seca.

On a sojourn to Australia, she raced another Mercedes in the Bathurst 12 Hours with Mark Griffith and Yelmer Buurman. They were fifth in class.

At the end of the year, she was invited to India for the inaugural X1 Racing League series. She was drafted in as AD Racing Delhi's compulsory female pro but left before the racing started as her car was not running. She was replaced by Mira Erda.

Her 2020 plans involved another crack at IMSA in an all-female team, this time run by Grasser Racing. Their car was a Lamborghini Huracan and was set to run as "GEAR Racing", standing for "Girl Empowerment Around Racing. The team was run by Jackie Heinricher. Sadly, the team's sponsorship fell through. Christina and her team-mates raced a Grasser-run car at Daytona, but did not finish. This was their only race of the year as GEAR could not find another sponsor.

Christina sat most of the season out and worked on her women's motoring initiative in the States, although she did visit Sweden in August for a guest spot in the Scandinavian Porsche Carrera Cup. She was tenth and eighth.

Most of her 2021 season was also spent racing in Europe. She drove for two different teams in the NLS (VLN), beginning with Team AVIA Sorg Rennsport for two races. Her time in their BMW 330i was not a huge success and by Race 4, she had moved to Yeeti Racing, in a BMW M4 alongside Celia Martin. Their three races together yielded two class seconds and a non-finish. Away from the NLS proper, she also teamed up with Celia again in the Giti Tyres team for the Nurburgring 24 Hours. The all-female team of Christina, Celia, Pippa Mann and leader Carrie Schreiner steered their Audi R8 LMS to a class win, 45th overall.

Christina also drove Yeeti's BMW M2 Cup5 car in the last round of the championship, but did not finish.

The USA had not been forgotten, either. She did the first three rounds of the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship in a Porsche 911, driving for Earl Bamber's team. She was thirteenth in class in the Daytona 24 Hours, driving with Earl Bamber, Katherine Legge and Rob Ferriol. They were 32nd overall. She and her team-mates were then tenth at Daytona and fifth at Sebring. A little later, she paired up with Aurora Straus to become the first all-female team for the Pirelli GT4 America SprintX series. They drove a Porsche Cayman for Murillo Racing and finished fourth at Sonoma.  

It was a very quiet year in 2022, but Christina was called into action for the Iron Dames team at Spa, driving their LMGTE Ferrari in the WEC race. She and Doriane Pin were 15th in LMGTE and tenth in the Pro-Am class. In October, she joined the Racers Edge team for the Indianapolis round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge, driving their Acura NSX. She was second in the Pro-Am class, then ninth in the Intercontinental GT Challenge race the next day.

Her father is Lars Erik Nielsen, who raced at Le Mans. Both father and daughter now joke that Christina used to be known as Lars Erik’s daughter, now Lars Erik is known for being Christina’s father.

(Image from http://racemag.dk/)

Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Donna Mae Mims


"Think Pink"

Donna Mae Mims made history when she won the US National H-Production Championship in 1963, driving an Austin-Healey Sprite.

Her racing career began in 1960, with a few outings in SCCA Regional races, in a Chevrolet Corvette. That year, she was third in a Ladies’ race at Dunkirk. The car belonged to her husband, Helledger, who was involved in motorsport, although not a driver himself. She worked for the Yenko Chevrolet company, first as a secretary, then in the racing department, giving her considerable access to the automotive world. Later, she would race Yenko-modified cars.

The following season, Donna took to the tracks again in her own Corvette. She won her first race, a Ladies’ event at Cumberland, and also took part in her first SCCA National races. She was sixth in the Glen Trophy, at Watkins Glen.

She drove BMC cars for the next couple of seasons. 1962 was her first season in the Sprite, although it was rather an unremarkable year, with several DNFs. However, by 1963, she had got the car running to her liking, and was very competitive, with one win at Meadowdale, and three second places in SCCA National races. This was enough to earn her the H-Production Championship, the first time a full SCCA championship had been won by a woman. Her image on-track had always been very feminine: pink car, pink racing overalls and helmet, “Think Pink” emblazoned on her car, wig in her kit bag in case she needed to accept any trophies with “helmet hair”. After her win, she was seen less as a novelty act and taken more seriously.

With her championship win under her belt, she did her first major sportscar race, at the start of the 1964 season. Sharing a works Sprite with Al Pease, she entered the Sebring 12 Hours, but did not finish, due to a rear axle failure. The rest of the year was spent racing an MGB, which seems to have been a somewhat troublesome car. Donna managed one second place in an SCCA Regional race at Mid-America.

Donna preferred British cars during the early part of her career. True to form, she spent most of 1965 racing a Triumph TR3. In this car, she won another SCCA Regional race, at Nelson Ledges.

In 1966, she moved away from small British sportscars, and her racing career took a big step forward. She started the year with her first Daytona 24 Hours, driving a Sunbeam Alpine for an all-female Autosport team, comprising Donna, Janet Guthrie and Suzy Dietrich. They got the end, in 32nd place. For the Sebring 12 Hours, she drove a Yenko Stinger for the Ring-Free Oil team, with John Luke. They did not finish. Later in the year, driving solo, Donna raced an unmodified Chevrolet Corvair. She did not qualify for the Mid-America Trans-Am race, but finished the Marlboro 12 Hours in 26th, with Spurgeon May.

Donna and Suzy Dietrich teamed up again for the big early-season sportscar races in 1967. They drove an ASA 411, initially for the Baker Racing team, finishing the Daytona 24 Hours, but missing classification.  For Sebring, they were running under the banner of the “Ring-Free Motor Maids”, driving the 411 to 25th place, just behind their team-mates, Janet Guthrie and Liane Engeman. For the rest of the season, Donna raced a Yenko Stinger in SCCA competition, at National level.

1968 was a quieter year. She was not part of the “Motor Maids” roster this time, and raced a familiar Stinger at Daytona, with Michael Summers. They were not classified.
For the 1969 Sebring race, she was back in the Ring-Free team. Sharing a Sprite with Janet Guthrie and Liane Engeman, she was 23rd, sixth in class.

The Ring-Free women’s team was shelved in 1970. Donna joined up with Flem-Cor Enterprises, alongside Jim Corwin. They drove a Chevrolet Camaro at Daytona, assisted by Fred Pipen, but did not finish. Racing as a duo, Donna and Jim were 21st at Sebring.

After that, she raced only occasionally, in the bigger sportscar races, and always in a Chevrolet. Her last attempt at the Daytona 24 Hours came in 1971, driving a Chevrolet Vega for the Yenko team. She and her team-mates did not qualify. In 1973 and 1974, she shared a Camaro with Jim Corwin in some IMSA GT races, before retiring from the track.

Away from circuit racing, she also participated in the 1972 Cannonball Run, driving a Cadillac with timekeeping ace, Judy Stropus, and Peggy Niemcek. They were sponsored by “The Right Bra”, and promoted their sponsor’s product by wearing tight outfits, in an attempt to charm any irate traffic cops. They did not finish, after the car was destroyed while stationary.

The “Pink Lady” remained involved in motorsport as an official, and was regularly sighted at meetings, in her familiar pink outfits. She died in 2009, after suffering from a stroke, at the age of 82.

(Image from https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/classic-life/turbo-lady-pink-donna-mae-mims)

Sunday, 27 March 2011

Female Drivers in the 12 Hours of Sebring: Part II, 1980-present


Deborah Gregg

In 1999, the stewardship of the 12 Hours of Sebring passed from IMSA to the American Le Mans Series, which currently runs the race. It has also been part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup since 2010.

Women drivers have continued to enter the race most years, with some success, although there was another serious lull in their numbers in the early 1990s. Liz Halliday is the race's most successful female driver, after her second place in 2007 with Clint and Jon Field. However, Lyn St. James has recorded several class wins and top ten finishes, as well as seven separate entries, which is a female record.

Below is a list of the more recent women's results. As always, the female driver is always mentioned first in the case of a mixed team, for clarity.

1980
Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/James Moxley (Porsche 911) - 24th
Lyn St. James/Ralph Kent-Cooke (Porsche 935) - DNF
Janis Taylor/Del Russo Taylor/Dave Cavenaugh (Alfa Romeo Alfetta) - DNF

1981
Kathy Rude/Divina Galica (Mazda RX-7) - 31st/DNF
Vicki Smith/Tom Alan Marx/Bob Lee (AMC AMX) - 42nd
Elizabeth Kleinschmidt/Charles Kleinschmidt/Alan Levenson (Chevrolet Corvette) - 70th (withdrawn)
Janis Taylor/Pat Godard/Carol Cone (Alfa Romeo Alfetta) - DNF

1982
Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Scott Flanders (Porsche 911) - 22nd
Desiré Wilson/Janet Guthrie/Bonnie Henn (Ferrari 512 BB/LM) - 26th/DNF

1983
Lyn St. James/Reggie Smith/Drake Olsen (Nimrod NRA-C2) - 5th
Deborah Gregg/Kathy Rude/Bonnie Henn (Porsche 924 Carrera) - 35th
Carmen Lista/David Marks/Roy Newsome/Bobby Diehl (Chevrolet Camaro) - 47th
Janis Taylor/Alan Crouch/Cameron Worth (Ford Pinto) - 55th
Patty Moise/Tom Nehl/Nelson Silcox (Chevrolet Camaro) - 60th/DNF
Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Scott Flanders (Porsche 911) - 68th/DNF

1984
Deborah Gregg/Jim Trueman/Alfredo Mena (Porsche 924 Carrera) - 63rd/DNF
Vicki Smith/Klaus Bitterauf/Arvid Albanese (Porsche 911) - 65th/DNF

1985
Patty Moise/Les Delano/Andy Petery (Pontiac Firebird) - 9th

1986
Patty Moise/Les Delano/Jeremy Nightingale (Chevrolet Camaro) - 12th

1987
Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Lance Jones (Tiga GT285) - 15th
Lyn St. James/Tom Gloy (Ford Mustang) - 31st

1988
Lyn St. James/Deborah Gregg (Mercury Merkur XR4Ti) - 8th
Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Jim Miller (Spice SE88P) - 51st/DNF

1989
Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot/Tom Blackaller (Spice SE88P) - 25th

1990
Lyn St. James/Calvin Fish/Robby Gordon (Mercury Cougar XR-7) - 6th, class win
Linda Ludemann/Scott Schubot (Spice SE88P) - did not start, fire in qualifying

1993
Bernadette Hubbard/Ludwig Heimrath, Jr./Ken McKinnon/Tom Rathbun (Porsche 944) - 42nd/DNF

1994
Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Renato Mastropietro (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR) - 9th
Linda Pobst/Kat Teasdale/Leigh O'Brien (Chevrolet Camaro) - 42nd

1996
Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Ulli Richter (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR) - 47th

1997
Claudia Hürtgen/Michel Ligonnet/Zak Brown/Dirk Layer (Porsche 911 GT2) - 10th
Lilian Bryner/Enzo Calderari/Ulli Richter (Porsche 964) - 14th

1998
Lyn St. James/Jeret Schroeder/Tom Volk (Kudzu DL-4) - 17th
Giovanna Amati/Craig Carter/Andy Petery (BMW M3) - 32nd

1999
Melanie Snow/Martin Snow/Patrick Huisman (Porsche 911 GT2 Evo) - 9th, class win
Claudia Hürtgen/Hubert Haupt/Zak Brown (Porsche 911 GT2) - 39th

2000
Claudia Hürtgen/Hubert Haupt/Vic Rice (Porsche 911 GT2) - 31st

2001
Claudia Hürtgen/Mel Hawkins/Steve Knight (Lola B2K/40) - 30th, class win

2002
Milka Duno/Scott Maxwell/John Graham (Panoz LMP07) - 45th

2003
Melanie Paterson/Jason Workman/Ben Devlin (Lola B2K/40) - 47th

2004
Milka Duno/Justin Wilson/Phil Andrews (Lola B2K/10) - 22nd
Amanda Stretton/Christopher Stockton/Gareth Evans (TVR Tuscan)  -24th

2005
Liz Halliday/Clint Field/Gareth Ridpath (Lola B2K/40) - 33rd

2006
Liz Halliday/Clint Field/Jon Field (Lola B05/40) - 2nd, class win

2007
Liz Halliday/Darren Turner/Antonio Garcia (Aston Martin DBR9) - 11th
Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/Arie Luyendyk, Jr. (Panoz Esperante GTLM) - 34th

2008
Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/David Murry (Ford GT-R) - 24th

2009
Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/David Murry (Ford GT-R Mk.7) - 14th

2010
Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/David Murry (Ford GT-R Mk.7) - 22nd

2011
Andrea Robertson/David Robertson/Boris Said (Doran Ford GT) - 26th


2012
Keiko Ihara/Jean-Denis Deletraz/Frederic Fatien (Lola B12/80 Coupe) - DNF

2014
Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick/Gabby Chaves (DeltaWing DWC13) - DNF
Christina Nielsen/Henrique Cisneros/Kuba Giermaziak (Porsche 911 GT America) - DNF

2015
Christina Nielsen/James Davison/Brandon Davis (Aston-Martin V12 Vantage) - 16th
Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick/Memo Rojas (DeltaWing DWC13) - DNF

2016
Keiko Ihara/Ben Devlin/Joel Miller/Tom Long (Mazda Prototype) - 8th
Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick/Sean Rayhall (DeltaWing DWC13) - 21st
Christina Nielsen/Alessandro Balzan/Jeff Segal (Ferrari 458 Italia) - 22nd
Ashley Freiberg/Jens Klingmann/Bret Curtis (BMW M6 GT3) - 23rd

2017
Christina Nielsen/Alessandro Balzan/Matteo Cressoni (Ferrari 488) - 17th
Katherine Legge/Andy Lally/Mark Wilkins (Acura NSX) - 30th

2018
Christina Nielsen/Patrick Long/Robert Renauer/Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R) - 22nd
Katherine Legge/Alvaro Parente/Trent Hindman (Acura NSX GT3) - 24th

2019
Katherine Legge/Bia Figueiredo/Christina Nielsen (Acura NSX GT3) - 26th

2021
Katherine Legge/Bia Figueiredo/Christina Nielsen (Porsche 911GT3R) - 22nd

2022
Ashton Harrison/Kyle Marcelli/Tom Long (Acura NSX) 27th
Katherine Legge/Rob Ferriol/Stefan Wilson (Porsche 911) - 33rd

2023
Rahel Frey/Michelle Gatting/Sarah Bovy (Lamborghini Huracan) - 35th
Katherine Legge/Sheena Monk/Marc Miller (Acura NSX) 36th
Ashton Harrison/Danny Formal/Kyle Marcelli (Acura NSX) - DNF

2024
Katherine Legge/Sheena Monk/Tatiana Calderon (Acura NSX) - DNF
Rahel Frey/Michelle Gatting/Sarah Bovy (Lamborghini Huracan) - DNF
Lilou Wadoux/Nicklas Nielsen/Luis Perez Companc (Oreca-Gibson LMP2) - DNF

(Image from www.f1rejects.com)