1981 Daytona 24 hour race

Sketch of the Daytona International Speedway, the race was held on the combined oval and street course

The 19th 24 Hours of Daytona , also the 19th Annual 24 Hour Pepsi Challenge, Daytona International Speedway , took place on February 1 and 2, 1981 at Daytona International Speedway and was the first race of the World Sports Car Championship of that year. At the same time, the race was the first round of the IMSA GTO and GTU championship in 1981.

The race

The organizers received 98 entries for the first sports car world championship run of the season. Finally, on the afternoon of February 1st, 69 racing cars of the GTO, GTX and GTU classes started the race. From the pole position went Rolf Stommelen into the race. The German achieved a time of 1: 43.104 minutes on his fastest lap in practice on his Porsche 935 and was thus more than a second faster than his brand colleague Bob Wollek in the Kremer 935 .

After 24 hours of racing time, the two Americans Bob Garretson and Bobby Rahal , as well as the Briton Brian Redman, were waved off as winners.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	GTX	9	Garretson Racing Style Car	Bob Garretson Bobby Rahal Brian Redman	Porsche 935K3	708
2	GTX	5	Bob Akin Motor Racing	Bob Akin Craig Siebert Derek Bell	Porsche 935K3	695
3	GTU	62	Kegel Enterprises	Bill Knoll Jeff Kline Rob McFarlin	Porsche 911SC	644
4th	GTU	23	The New Raytown Datsun	Dick Davenport Frank Garney Rameau Johnson	Datsun 280ZX	626
5	GTX	24	Jolly Club Italia	Martino Finotto Emanuele Pirro Carlo Facetti	Lancia Beta Montecarlo	609
6th	GTO	14th	Bavarian Motors International	Hans-Joachim Stuck Alf Gebhardt Walter Brun	BMW M1	608
7th	GTU	98	Kent Racing	Lee Mueller Kathy Rude Philippe Martin	Mazda RX-7	606
8th	GTX	84	Scorpio Racing	Enrique Molins Eduardo Barrientos Carlos Gonzales	Porsche 935M16	595
9	GTU	55	Mandeville Racing	Roger Mandeville Amos Johnson Diego Febles	Mazda RX-7	595
10	GTU	7th	Kent Racing	Walt Drilling Jim Mullen Kurt Roehrig	Mazda RX-7	589
11	GTU	50	Downing Maffucci Racing	Scott Hoerr Irv Hoerr Jim Downing	Mazda RX-7	585
12	GTO	58	Chuck Kendall	Pete Smith Chuck Kendall Steve Earle	Porsche Carrera RSR	585
13	GTU	45	Autosport Technology	Marion Speer Dwight Mitchell Ray Ratcliff	Porsche 914/6	581
14th	GTX	07	Heimrath Racing	Ludwig Heimrath senior Ludwig Heimrath junior	Porsche 935	575
15th	GTO	34	Drolsom Racing	George Drolsom Rob Hoskins Bill Johnson	Porsche 911 Carrera	563
16	GTX	16	BMW Motorsport	David Hobbs Marc Surer Dieter Quester	BMW M1	555
17th	GTO	27	Southard Motor Racing	Steve Southard Jan Kjoller Jean Kjoller	Porsche Carrera	548
18th	GTX	3	Martini Lancia Racing	Riccardo Patrese Hans Heyer Henri Pescarolo	Lancia Beta Montecarlo	545
19th	GTO	42	Mac's Bar Spec. Kend Co.	Nort Northam Ed Kuhel Dick Neland	Chevrolet Camaro	532
20th	GTX	02	Firestone Tire & Rubber	John Morton Tom Klausler	Ford Mustang	517
21st	GTX	36	Herman & Miller	Paul Miller Pat Bedard Skeeter McKitterick	Porsche 924 Carrera GTR	515
22nd	GTU	16	Corp Racing Ltd.	Jim Burt Douglas Grunnet Steve Paquette	Mazda RX-7	471
23	GTU	52	Beach Ball Racing	Tom Cripe Dick Gauthier Jack Swanson	Porsche 911	450
24	GTO	43	Bob Gregg Racing	Bob Young Len Jones Bob Gregg	Porsche Carrera	446
25th	GTU	81	Trinity Racing	Tom Winters Steve Dietrich Carter Alsop	Mazda RX-7	429
26th	GTU	70	Chris Doyle	Chris Doyle Hubert Phipps Hubert Overby	Mazda RX-7	429
27	GTO	46	Pedro De Narvaez	Honorato Espinosa Pedro De Narvaez Jorge Cortes	Porsche Carrera RSR	385
Failed
28	GTO	04	T&R Racing	Tico Almeida Rene Rodríguez Miguel Morejan	Porsche Carrera RSR	526
29	GTU	82	Trinity Racing	Bob Bergstrom John Casey Jim Cook	Mazda RX-7	513
30th	GTX	51	Andial Racing Masters Homes	Rolf Stommelen Howard Master Harald Grohs	Porsche 935M16	500
31	GTX	65	Prancing Horse Farm Racing	Tony Adamowicz Rick Knoop	Ferrar 512BB	373
32	GTO	01	Kirby Hitchcock Racing	Siegfried Brunn Robert Kirby John Hotchkis	Porsche Carrera RSR	361
33	GTO	25th	Red Lobster Racing	Kenper Miller Dave Cowart Ricardo Londoño	BMW M1	346
34	GTX	30th	Momo penthouse	Giampiero Moretti Charles Mendez Mauricio de Narváez	Porsche 935J	339
35	GTU	57	Personalized car dealership	Jeff Scott David Goodell Volker Bruckmann	Porsche 914/6	339
36	GTO	71	Philip Keirin	Philip Keirin Gail Engle Bar Boand	Chevrolet Corvette	328
37	GTO	67	Levi's team highball	Dennis Shaw Steve Whitman Les Blackburn	AMC Spirit AMX	303
38	GTO	03	Angelo Pallavicini	Angelo Pallavicini John Sheldon Neil Crang	Porsche 934	290
39	GTX	0	Interscope Racing	Ted Field Milt Minter Danny Ongais	Porsche 935K3 / 80	287
40	GTO	11	Holbert Racing	Al Holbert Rick Mears Doc Bundy	Porsche 924 Carrera GTR	263
41	GTX	4th	Martini Lancia Racing	Michele Alboreto Piercarlo Ghinzani Beppe Gabbiani	Lancia Beta Montecarlo	235
42	GTX	86	Bayside Disposal Racing	Hurley Haywood Jürgen Barth Bruce Leven	Porsche 935/80	232
43	GTO	78	Howey Farms	Clark Howey Tracy Wolf Dale Cook	Chevrolet Camaro	208
44	GTO	19th	Van Every Racing	Lance Van Every Ash Tisdelle Risty Bond	Porsche Carrera RSR	194
45	GTX	20th	Chris Cord Racing	Chris Cord Jim Adams	Chevrolet Monza	191
46	GTX	80	Maurice Carter Racing	Maurice Carter Eppie Wietzes Richard Valentine	Chevrolet Camaro	188
47	GTU	38	Case Racing	Ron Case Dave Panaccione Ren Tilton	Porsche 911	169
48	GTX	1	Kremer Racing	John Fitzpatrick Jim Busby Bob Wollek	Porsche 935K3 / 80	167
49	GTU	22nd	Personalized car dealership	Wayne Baker Dan Gilliland Frank Harmstad	Porsche 914/4	143
50	GTU	33	Zotz garage	Harro Zitza Doug Zitza Ara Dube	Porsche 914/6	128
51	GTO	17th	Bavarian Motors International	Bruno Belicke Kurt König Rudi Walch	BMW 3.5CSL	126
52	GTX	37	Pepe Romero	Pepe Romero Mandy Gonzales Luís Mendez	Porsche 935M16	121
53	GTO	40	David Deacon Racing	Rudy Bartling Mike Freberg David Deacon	BMW M1	118
54	GTO	54	Montura Racing	Tony Garcia Albert Naon Luís Sereix	Porsche Carrera RSR	112
55	GTO	99	Gassaway Oftedahl	Dave Heinz Chris Gleason John Cogbill	Chevrolet Camaro	108
56	GTO	60	Bob's Speed ​​Products	Vicki Smith Sam Miller Bob Lee	AMC AMX	87
57	GTX	94	Whittington Brothers Racing	Don Whittington Bill Whittington Dale Whittington	Porsche 935K3	84
58	GTX	75	Z&W Enterprises	Dirk Vermeersch Jean-Paul Libert Eddy Joosen	Mazda RX-7	83
59	GTX	6th	Joest Racing	Volkert Merl Jochen Mass	Porsche 935J	59
60	GTX	18th	JLP Racing	John Paul senior John Paul junior Gordon Smiley	Porsche 935JLP-2	53
61	GTX	44	Stratagraph	Terry Labonte David Pearson Billy Hagan	Chevrolet Camaro	50
62	GTO	87	George Beasley	George Stone Bob Beasley Werner Frank	Porsche Carrera RSR	48
63	GTO	15th	DL performance engineering	Doug Lutz Robin Boone Dave White	Porsche Carrera RSR	47
64	GTX	09	Thunderbird Swap Shops	Preston Henn Bob Bondurant Dale Whittington	Porsche 935K3	30th
65	GTO	28	NTS Racing	Sam Posey Fred Stiff	Datsun 280ZX	29
66	GTX	66	Richard Dunham	Richard Dunham John Maffucci Stanton Barrett	Mazda RX-7	20th
67	GTU	49	Alfred Cosentino	Bob Speakman Alfred Cosentino	Mazda RX-7	12
68	GTO	06	Crevier imports	Pete Halsmer Joe Crevier Al Unser junior	Ferrari 365GTB / 4	9
69	GTX	10	Jolly Club	Carlo Facetti Martino Finotto	Ferrari 308GTB	4th
Not started
70	GTX	00	Interscope Racing	Ted Field Danny Ongais Milt Minter	Porsche 935K3 / 80	1
71	GTO	05	T&R Racing	Tico Almeida Rene Rodríguez Fred Flaquer	Porsche Carrera RSR	2
72	GTO	69	Southwind Ent.	Ralston Long Kal Showkat Rob McGraw	Plymouth Volare	3
73	GTO	88	Herb Adams VSE	Herb Adams Jerry Thompson Don Sherman	Chevrolet Camaro	4th
74	GTU	89	Klaus Bitterauf	Klaus Bitter to James Moxley Jim Leo	Porsche 911S	5
Not qualified
75	GTX	13	Kemp Motor Racing	Charlie Kemp Art Pasmas Carson Baird	Ford Cobra II	6th
76	GTX	73	Z & W Enterprises	Jean-Paul Libert Hervé Regout Jean Xhenceval	Mazda RX-7-GTP	7th
77	GTX	74	Z & W Enterprises	Pierre Honegger Pierre Dieudonné Ernesto Soto	Mazda RX-7-GTP	8th
78	GTO	97	The Cummings Marque	Don Cummings Bill McDill Guido Levetto	Shelby GT350	9

¹ Training car ² not started ³ not started ⁴ Accident during training ⁵ not started ⁶ not qualified ⁷ not qualified ⁸ not qualified ⁹ not qualified

Only in the entry list

Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis
79	GTU	21st	Race Masters	Bill Shaw Bud Cashen	Lotus Esprit S1
80	GTX	8th	JLP Racing	John Paul junior Gordon Smiley	Porsche 935JLP-3
81	GTO	12	Holbert Racing		Porsche 924
82	GTO	26th	Famous Amos restaurants	Tom Nehl Milton Moise Patty Moise	Chevrolet Camaro
83	GTU	31	Anatoly Arutunoff	Anatoly Arutunoff José Marina	Lancia Stratos HF
84	GTX	32	Vincent Collins	Vincent Collins Paul Nacol Lojza Vosta	AVO-Mazda13
85	GTX	39	Motion Plus Racing	Glenn Worthington Rick Kump Vinnie Hollar	Chevrolet Camaro
86	GTO	53	Don Nooe	Don Nooe Jim Stricklin John Eckelberry	Chevrolet Camaro
87	GTO	56	Rick Barlose	Rick Barlose Michael Hammond Don Kravig	Porsche Carrera
88	GTO	61	Sharkshin Racing	CC Canada Earle Moffitt	Chevrolet Corvette
89	GTO	63	Bill Nelson	Dale Kreidler Bill Nelson	Pontiac Firebird
90	GTU	76	Ralph Sanchez	Armando Rodríguez Chiqui Soldevilla Ralph Sanchez	Mazda RX-7
91	GTX	77	Vince Thompson	Del Russo Taylor Rex Ramsey Ernie Smith	Chevron GTP
92	GTX	79	Don Devendorf	Michael Keyder Don Devendorf	Ferrari 365GTB4 / BB
93	GTX	85	Bayside Disposal Racing	Bruce Leven Hurley Haywood Jürgen Barth	Porsche 935 / 77A
94	GTX	90	Woods-Cooke Racing Style Car	Roy Woods Ralph Kent-Cooke Brian Redman	Porsche 935K3
95	GTO	91	Framm Promotions	Roger Framm Werner Frank	Porsche Carrera RSR
96	GTO	93	Whittington Brothers	Don Whittington Bill Whittington Dale Whittington	Porsche 935/79
97	GTX	95	The Cummings Marque	Don Cummings Tom Juckette Emory Donaldson	Chevrolet Monza
98	GTU	96	Scott Smith	Scott Smith Mike Gassaway Jim Miller	Datsun 240Z

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
GTX	Bob Garretson	Bobby Rahal	Brian Redman	Porsche 935K3	Overall victory
GTO	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Alf Gebhardt	Walter Brun	BMW M1	Rank 6
GTU	Bill Knoll	Jeff Kline	Rob McFarlin	Porsche 911SC	Rank 3

Racing data

• Registered: 98
• Started: 69
• Valued: 27
• Race classes: 3
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 6.180 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 01: 36.871 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 708
• Total distance of the winning team: 4375.355 km
• Winner's average: 182.102 km / h
• Pole position: Rolf Stommelen - Porsche 935M16 (# 51) - 1: 43.104 = 215.778 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Carlo Facetti - Ferrari 308GTB (# 10) 1: 48.140 = 205.729 km / h
• Racing series: 1st round of the sports car world championship in 1981
• Racing series: 1st round of the IMSA GTP series in 1981

literature

• Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. A complete Reference from Formula 1 to Touring Car. Guinness Publishing Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0-85112-642-1 .

Web links

• Race results at wspr

Previous race 1000 km Dijon race in 1980

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 12-hour race at Sebring in 1981