Pilots Treffert, Gruber and Keen Score Overall HSR Feature Race Wins Friday in Opening Day of 2024 Competition at the Sebring Spring Fling
Porsche Pilots Todd Treffert, Thomas Gruber and Leh Keen Score Overall HSR Feature Race Wins Friday in Opening Day of 2024 Competition at the Spring Fling at Sebring International Raceway
Todd Treffert Takes Overall and Porsche-Class Sasco Sports International/American Challenge Victories in the Speedconcepts 1974 No. 14 Porsche 911 IROC prepared by the 901 Shop
Thomas Gruber and Leh Keen Co-Drive TAG 2016 No. 991 Porsche 991 GT3 to B.R.M. Endurance Challenge GT Modern (GTM) and Overall Race Wins
Porsche pilots Todd Treffert, Thomas Gruber and Leh Keen combined to secure the overall and class victories in a pair of Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) feature races Friday at Sebring International Raceway that officially opened the 2024 HSR racing season.
Perennial HSR Sebring race winner Treffert secured a flag-to-flag victory in the first HSR Sasco Sports International/American Challenge sprint of the season in his Speedconcepts 1974 No. 14 Porsche 911 IROC prepared by the 901 Shop. Treffert took both the overall and Porsche class victories to continue dominance on the legendary 3.74-mile Sebring airport circuit.
Friday's other overall winner was the TAG 2016 No. 991 Porsche 991 GT3 that team owner/driver Gruber shared with 2011 Rolex GT Champion Keen to take the overall and GT Modern (GTM) wins in the weekend's first of two B.R.M. Endurance Challenge races.
Treffert shared the overall Sasco Sports podium with International-class winner Larry Ligas, who finished second overall in the Predator Performance 1961 No. 61 Jaguar XKE. Third overall went to Porsche-class runner-up David Agretelis 1978 No. 192 Porsche 911 SC to give the 901 Shop a top-two sweep in the Porsche division.
The Sasco American-class win went to Carlus Gann who crossed the finish line fourth overall in the Vintage Race Car Restorations 1970 No. 9 Ford Mustang Boss 302.
Gann topped an all-Ford podium in the American Sasco class that included runner-up Steve Cullman in his 1970 No. 74 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and Jeff McKee in third in his 1964 No. 51 Ford Falcon. Both Cullman's and McKee's Fords, which finished fifth and sixth overall, respectively, are prepared by Olthoff Racing.
Damon DeSantis raced to seventh overall in the Heritage Motorsports 1974 No. 82 Porsche 911 RSR to claim the third and final Sasco Porsche podium spot while the International class top three was completed by longtime Ferrari competitor Tom Shelton in his 1975 No. 84 Ferrari 308/GTB in second and Rob Albino in third in his Hudson Historics 1999 No. 99 BMW Z3.
Friday's final class winner was B.R.M. Historic-class victor Jim Cope in his1986 No. 50 Swift DB2. Cope led a top-three sweep in the class for Wolf Motorsports-prepared Sports 2000s. Joel Quadracci finished third in his 1985 No. 17 Swift DB2 while Benjamin Myers claimed third in his 2001 No. 29 Carbir CS2.
Gruber and Keen were joined in the B.R.M. overall and GTM top three by a pair of father-and-son teams. John Reisman and his father Paul Reisman finished second in their 2018 No. 78 Porsche 991.2 Cup car from Hudson Historics and third was claimed by Ryan Harrold and his father John Harrold in their KMW Motorsports-prepared Team Mean 2007 No. 101 Porsche 997.2 Cup car.
Spring Fling action continues through Sunday at Sebring with Saturday's featured race going off in the early evening with the inaugural two-hour race for the debuting HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA.
The weekend's second B.R.M. Endurance race rolls off first thing Sunday morning at 8 a.m. EDT - remember the overnight "spring-ahead" time change - and features older cars in the Vintage and GT Classic (GTC) categories. The classic cars competing in this B.R.M. race include a pair of early 1960s Lotus 23b models, a Morgan 4/4 from the same era and full contingent of 1970s Porsche RSR, IROC and 914 entries that will battle with a 1969 Camaro and more contemporary BMWs that are still over two decades old.
Photo: HSR/Jessica Johnk
