Vic Elford is one of the top, all time greatest Porsche drivers ever to hit street and track circuits. Born in 1935 in the UK, Elford is famous for his 1968 win at the Rally of Monte Carlo in a Porsche 911. He is also known for notching multiple wins at the 1,00okm Nurburgring, for Porsche’s first overall win at the Daytona 24 Hours and several Le Mans class wins. Elford is also the master of the Porsche 917 having driven five versions of the famous Porsche beast.

It is Elford’s career, the Le Mans racing efforts and the Porsche 917 that the Simeone Museum in Philadelphia, PA has decided to Celebrate this coming weekend with Porsche Legends Day. This upcoming event marks the 40th Anniversary Of Porsche’s First Le Mans Win. The Museum is bringing in the “Hippie” 917 and Elford to wow friends and those interested in Elford’s stellar motorsports career and those interested in laying eyes on the famous “Hippie” 917. We give a huge hat tip to the Simeone Museum for bringing in one of the world’s greatest drivers and one of the greatest Porsche race-cars of all time.

PORSCHE LEGENDS DAY AT SIMEONE MUSEUM
THE GREAT VIC ELFORD WILL BE THERE!

Philadelphia, Pa. – The fortieth anniversary of Porsche’s first win at the Le Mans 24-hour race will be honored with a “Legends of Motorsport” weekend at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, located here, on November 5th and 6th. The guest of honor for the event is famed Porsche racer Vic Elford, and will feature the second-place car in that 1970 race: the “Hippie” Porsche 917 LH. The event is sponsored by the Philadelphia Metropolitan Porsche Dealers Association.

The Legends weekend begins with an “Evening with Vic Elford” dinner on Friday, November 5th beginning with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Dinner is followed by remarks from Elford about his distinguished career driving for Porsche, Chaparral and others. Tickets to this event are $75 each and include admission to the next day’s presentation.

The Legends of Motorsport Demonstration Day on November 6th begins at Noon with a presentation in the main museum area by Dr. Simeone, concentrating on the origins and legacy of (arguably) Porsche’s most famous race car: the 917. The Museum’s “Hippie” Porsche 917 will be the centerpiece, flanked by two other racing Porsche’s, the Havoline 962 that won Sebring twice and a 911 Monte Carlo Rally car, similar to the car in which Elford started his Porsche career. After the presentation, Dr. Simeone will introduce Elford, who will entertain the crowd with stories of his years racing at Sebring, Le Mans and the Targa Florio.

The final portion of the event is the Demonstration run. The cars will be moved onto the 3-acre parking lot in back of the Museum where each, in turn, will be fired up and driven by Elford. The Simeone Museum is one of the few places in the world where visitors can see, hear and smell vintage race cars being run on a regular basis.

Admission to the November 6th Legends Demonstration day is included with regular museum admission: $12 adults; $10 senior; $8 students; children 8 and under, free. More information on the Legends weekend is available on the Museum’s Web site: http://www.simeonefoundation.org/

The 28th Annual Historic Festival took place at Lime Rock Park on September 3-6, 2010 bringing the raw excitement of vintage racing to the scenic Litchfield, Connecticut hills.  The entry field included over 300 classic pre-war and sports competition cars in 10 groups. Groups were as follows:

1. Pre-war Sports and Racing Cars: Motorsport Trophy
2. 50s Competition Cars: Lime Rock Challenge
3. Porsche 911 and 914: Klubsport Kup
4. Best of British Production Sports: Chairmans Chalice
5. F. Ford & F. Junior: Starter’s Delight; Group 5a, F. Ford: The Stimola Memorial
6. Abarths & Alfas Galore: The Turin Tankard
7. Wild, Wild Horses – Big Bore Production: Detroit Dilemma
8. Speedy, Eclectic Mix: Sports Racing Cars: The Bennett Bowl
9. Minis Against the Rest: Giant’s Despair
10. Memories of Gilles, F2/Formula Atlantic: Fabulous Formulas

Participants in the Historic Festival actually begin their weekend on the previous Tuesday, August 31st with “test and tune” sessions. By Friday, September 3rd practices and qualifying have begun and the first race events are run.

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The American Le Mans Series came to Lime Rock for the July 12, Northeast Grand Prix in Lakeville Connecticut. The race was action packed with drivers jockeying for position from start to finish on a revamped course. Spectator turnout to the Grand Prix was larger than ever filling both the infield and the outfield with colorful umbrellas and American Flags, still the cozy intimacy of Lime Rock’s paddock area was not lost. It was bound to be a special race; Dyson Racing was celebrating 25 years in motorsports by doing a lap in the Dyson Porsche 962 (Driven by Rob Dyson), flanked by the Porsche RS Spyder (Driven by Chris Dyson).

Following are some pictures of the day just prior to checkered flag dropping and some video of the race itself. (more…)