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Porsche History to Come to Life at Watkins Glen Celebration

19 August 1998

Porsche History to Come to Life at Watkins Glen Celebration

    WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., Aug. 19 -- In the midst of its
50th anniversary celebration, Porsche will be the featured marquee at the
Watkins Glen Double Fifty Celebration, scheduled for August 27-30, it was
announced here today.
    While Porsche is celebrating its 50th birthday, Watkins Glen International
Raceway is also marking the 50th anniversary of the rebirth of American road
racing.
   To help provide a look at the German company's storied past, Porsche will
bring to Watkins Glen a group of highly significant cars from its Stuttgart
museum as well as four of its most famous drivers.
    Leading the group of museum cars traveling to upstate New York is the
1951 Aluminum Coupe, Type 356.  Built in Gmund, Austria, the hand-built
Aluminum Coupe had certain advantages in racing -- a hand-bent box section
chassis which was stiffer than the stamped steel frame of the Stuttgart cars;
and a lighter, more aerodynamic body.  It was the first Porsche entered at
Le Mans.
    Some other Porsche museum cars slated to make the trip across the Atlantic
include the Porsche Type 718/RS 60, which captured the overall victory at
Sebring in 1960; the 917K "Short Tail," which claimed the first overall win
for Porsche at Le Mans; the 908/3 Spyder; the Type 935/78 known as "Moby
Dick," and the 962C, which swiped top honors at Le Mans in 1987.  The 962 is
the most successful sports prototype in racing history.
    The four race car drivers Porsche will assemble for the Double Fifty are
truly some of the living legends in auto racing.
    England's Vic Elford was a professional factory driver for 13 years,
including a five-year stint with Porsche when he won four rallys (including
the famed Monte Carlo Rally), the Daytona 24-Hours and the 12 Hours of
Sebring.
    George Follmer is regarded as one of the most versatile drivers in the
world, having competed in virtually every form of auto racing.  Among his many
achievements was winning the 1972 SCCA Can Am Championship, in a Porsche
917/10, and the 1976 SCCA Trans Am Championship, in a Porsche 934 Turbo.
    Hurley Haywood, from Ponte Vedra, FL, is a renowned endurance champion
having won the Daytona 24-Hours five times, Le Mans three times, and the
12 Hours of Sebring twice, all in Porsches.
    Brian Redman's career encompasses 16 FIA Sportscar World Championship race
wins.  He was the 1981 IMSA GTP champ and is a three-time Daytona 24-Hours
winner, twice winning in Porsches.  His Intercontinental Events, Inc., is
staging the Double Fifty.
    Other Porsche drivers scheduled to participate in the event include Bill
Adam, Elliott Forbes Robinson, Milt Minter, Richard Attwood, Bobby Aikin, Walt
Bohren and David Murry.
    The Double Fifty is expected to host the largest gathering of Porsche race
cars in history -- some 300.  Many of them will participate in an historic
parade on August 27, from the track to the downtown Watkins Glen library.  The
parade will cover part of the original circuit.