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Round The Clock: During the week of the 24-hour race at Daytona, the Heritage Exhibition in the fan zone where vintage race cars are on display is one of the more charming touches to the sports car event. Previous winners and some compellingly unique cars are on display from over the course of four decades.

Perhaps I’d missed it before, but one I found evocative was a Lotus Cortina, built by Colin Chapman for the British Saloon Car series in the 1960’s. A tiny car with a relatively broad, stocky body that sat on skinny little tires, the four-cylinder Ford Cortina was all window glass and civility in appearance. But it went like proverbial stink with a Chapman-devised suspension underneath it in the hands of drivers who understood how to cock it sideways in the corners such as Jimmy Clark. To me the Lotus Cortina at speed in the corners was a little like a short fat lady with dainty feet who suddenly looks sexy when she starts dancing. And I’ve only seen the photos and heard the stories!

If I had a wish list, it would be a chance to see up close again NISMO’s Nissan R91 CP, a prototype driven by four Japanese drivers to the all-time distance mark at the Rolex 24 in 1992. It was a technical marvel that appeared at the end of the GTP and Group C era. It set the mark for distance using the fuel rules established by the FIA, which meant the fastest car ever in the Rolex 24 set the mark while restricted on fuel quantity.

This occurs to me on the heels of Chip Ganassi’s contention that innovations such as his new Delta Wing Indy car are mandatory equipment in motorracing, a sport that needs to be relevant.

All of this is quite ironic in the sense that the Daytona Prototype class that annually puts on an excellent 24-hour race is relatively static when it comes to technology – and when it comes to the sport’s own heritage.

It was a welcome break this past weekend to see a privately developed Porsche V-8 win a major sports car race for the first time in a project launched by Brumos Porsche – which had several of its Porsches in the Heritage Exhibition. The V-8, of course, was derived from the Porsche Cayenne SUV, itself a technical pace setter.

But one wonders if the Daytona Prototypes, which may be powered only by V-8 engines in the near future, will ever evolve beyond engine brand swaps and if so in what direction?

See ya! …At the races.

Jonathan Ingram has been writing full-time about the world’s major motor racing series and events since 1983 for newspapers, magazines and web sites.


John can be reached at jingram@racintoday.com