Daytona Beach, FL — The fourth running of the Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic Daytona presented by IMSA wrapped up Sunday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway after 24 hours of close and competitive racing produced six different Run Group Champions.
John Harrold, Ryan Harrold and Kevin Wheeler claimed a fourth-straight HSR Classics victory in their 1979 Chevron B23/36. Photo: HSR
Repeat winners ruled the daylong Daytona race this year with only the Group A 1968 Lola T70 of Jim Cullen and Frank Beck victorious for the first time in the Classic 24 Hour race.
Consecutive Classic Daytona repeat wins were earned by John Harrold, Ryan Harrold and Kevin Wheeler in Group B in a 1979 Chevron B23/36, and Tommy Dreelan and Aaron Scott in a 1987 Celtic Speed Porsche 962 in Group C.
The Chevron victory is an unmatched fourth-straight HSR Classics triumph for the Harrolds and Wheeler. The red Chevron has been driven to victory in its group in each of the first two editions of the HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour in 2016 and 2017 in addition to now sweeping the two most recent runnings of the Classic Daytona.
Dreelan and Scott scored a repeat of their 2017 Classic Daytona win and their third overall Group C victory in the race after first wheeling the ex-Kremer Racing/Leyton House 962 to victory in the inaugural Classic 24 Hour race in 2014.
Yet another repeat winner was the 1974 Porsche 911 with 1988 Porsche 993 updates that Mike Gaulke and Thomas Merrill co-drove to victory for the second-straight year in Group F.
The 2005 Audi R8 LMP of co-drivers Andy Wallace and Doug Smith also scored a third Classic Daytona victory in Group E, the team’s first since sweeping the opening editions of the race in 2014 and 2015.
Group D saw a repeat win with a twist as Steve Cohen and Ray Snowdon topped several Prototype competitors in scoring the overall victory in their 1992 Oldsmobile Aurora GTS-class machine.
Among the top GT finishers earning B.R.M. Chronographes watches was the father-and-son team of Grahame Bryan and Oliver Bryant that was a solid second overall in Group A in their 1967 Camaro Z/28.
The B.R.M. Chronographes watch in Group B went to Walo Bertschinger and Italian sports car racing legend Arturo Merzario who co-drove their 1968 Corvette Roadster to first in GT and third overall.
The iron-man effort dubbed the Senior Endurance League saw its major commitment to this year’s Classic Daytona pay off with a hard-earned GT win in Group C for team drivers David Roberts, Martin Lauber and George Calfo. Fielding a car in all six Groups, the team’s highest finisher was its 1975 Porsche 911 RSR that crossed the finish line fourth overall in Group C, trailing only the top-three trio of Porsche 962s.
The second B.R.M. Chronographes watch in Group D was earned by top Prototype class finisher Neil Primrose in his 1999 Lola B2K/40.
HSR will close out the 2018 season with the Nov. 28-Dec. 2 Classic Sebring 12 Hour, including the Sebring Historics races.
