Al Holbert
Alvah Robert "Al" Holbert (born November 11, 1946 in Abington , Pennsylvania , † September 30, 1988 in Columbus , Ohio ) was an American entrepreneur and racing driver .
Career
Al Holbert came into contact with automobiles and motorsport at a young age. His father Bob drove sports car races and ran a Porsche dealership in Warrington , a local town near Philadelphia . During his engineering studies he worked for Roger Penske , for whom he also drove his first car races. In 1974 Holbert became a professional racing driver and won his first major title with overall victories in the IMSA sports car championship. His emergency vehicle was a Chevrolet Monza .
Through his business connections to Volkswagen and Porsche , Holbert became a works driver at Porsche in the early 1980s and rose to become one of the best sports car drivers of the time.
He was the overall winner of the Le Mans 24-hour race three times . In 1983 he won together with Vern Schuppan and Hurley Haywood in the works Porsche 956 . In 1986 and 1987 he sat in the victorious Porsche 962 and shared the success with Hans-Joachim Stuck and Derek Bell . Holbert was also able to enter the list of winners at the two major US endurance races. In 1986 and 1987 he won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1976 and 1981 and the 12-hour race at Sebring . He won the IMSA-GTP championship two more times for Porsche and built his own racing team with Holbert Racing. He won an IMSA title on a March 83G .
Between 1976 and 1979 he competed in 19 NASCAR races and finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 mile race in 1984 .
In September 1988, Holbert, who was President of Porsche Motorsport North America and Managing Director of Holbert Porsche for many years, had a fatal accident in the crash of a Piper he had flown near Columbus , Ohio .
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Inaltera | Inaltera LM77 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | Rank 13 | ||
1980 | Porsche system | Porsche 924 Carrera GT | Derek Bell | Rank 13 | ||
1982 | Rothmans Porsche System | Porsche 956 | Hurley Haywood | Jürgen Barth | Rank 3 | |
1983 | Rothmans Porsche | Porsche 956 | Hurley Haywood | Vern Schuppan | Overall victory | |
1985 | Rothmans Porsche | Porsche 962C | John Watson | Vern Schuppan | failure | Engine failure |
1986 | Rothmans Porsche | Porsche 962C | Derek Bell | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Overall victory | |
1987 | Rothmans Porsche | Porsche 962C | Derek Bell | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Overall victory |
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Holbert's Porsche-Audi Inc. | Porsche 911T | Dieter Oest | Mike Tillson | Rank 16 | |
1975 | Holbert's Porsche-Audi | Porsche Carrera RSR | Elliot Forbes-Robinson | Rank 12 | ||
1976 | Dickinson Holbert Porsche-Audi | Porsche Carrera RSR | Michael Keyser | Overall victory | ||
1979 | JLP Racing | Porsche 935 JLP-1 | John Paul Sr. | failure | Power transmission | |
1980 | Thunderbird Swap Shop | Porsche 935K3 | John Paul Sr. | Preston Henn | Rank 4 | |
1981 | Bayside Disposal Racing | Porsche 935/80 | Hurley Haywood | Bruce Leven | Overall victory | |
1982 | Bayside Disposal Racing | Porsche 935/80 | Hurley Haywood | Bruce Leven | Rank 5 | |
1983 | Bayside Disposal Racing | Porsche 935/80 | Hurley Haywood | Rank 3 | ||
1984 | Bayside - Lion Brew | Porsche 935/80 | Hurley Haywood | Claude Ballot-Léna | failure | Engine failure |
1985 | Holbert Racing | Porsche 962 | Derek Bell | Al our junior | Rank 2 | |
1986 | Holbert Racing | Porsche 962 | Derek Bell | Al our junior | Rank 3 | |
1987 | Holbert Racing | Porsche 962 | Chip Robinson | Rank 2 | ||
1988 | Holbert Racing | Porsche 962 | Chip Robinson | failure | Engine failure |
literature
- Ken Breslauer: Sebring. The official History of America's Great Sports Car Race. David Bull, Cambridge MA 1995, ISBN 0-9649722-0-4 .
- 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
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Holbert, Al |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Holbert, Alvah Robert (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing car driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1946 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Abington |
DATE OF DEATH | September 30, 1988 |
Place of death | Columbus |