Bob Holbert
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Robert McCormick "Bob" Holbert (born November 25, 1922 in Warrington ; † November 12, 2007 ibid) was an American entrepreneur, racing team owner and racing car driver and the father of Al Holbert .
Origin and youth
Bob Holbert grew up in a small town in Bucks County in the US state of Pennsylvania . When he was born, Warrington had a population of less than 1,000 (compared with 24,227 in 2016). His parents ran a hardware store and general store on the town's main square . In his youth, he repaired bicycles in the courtyard of his parents' business and trained as a mechanic after finishing school . During World War II he served in the United States Navy in the Pacific War . His job was the maintenance of the V12 engine of the PT Schnellboot .
Porsche dealer
In the late 1940s, Bob Holbert opened his first motorcycle and automobile repair shop next to Holbert's Hardware , his parents' shop . In 1951 he opened a workshop for sports cars across from the old location, Holbert's Garage . In 1954 Holbert became the second Porsche dealer in the United States. The Volkswagen and Audi brands were added later. Holbert Porsche became one of the most famous Porsche dealers in North America. Many racing drivers bought their first Porsche there. Roger Penske began his long motorsport career in a Holbert Porsche .
His older son Al Holbert, a three-time Le Mans and two-time Sebring winner , ran the company in the 1970s and 1980s. After his death in a plane crash in 1988, his brother Larry was managing director of the company for 25 years. In 2016, Porsche Warrington was sold to the Sloane family.
Racing career
Bob Holbert's driving career began in 1953 on an MG TD in the SCCA National Sports Car Championship . His third race start ended with a win. In the 1950s it won five national sports car championships and made its debut in 1958 at the Sebring 12-hour race. Holbert had a small racing team and only registered Porsche racing cars in the respective races. However, he also started for other teams and drove cars like the Maserati 300S , the Saab 93 and in 1963 a Shelby Cobra for the team of Carroll Shelby .
His best international results were overall victory in the 1962 Bridgehampton 400 km race , a championship race of that year 's World Sports Car Championship , and second place in the 1960 Sebring 12 hour race . His only participation in Le Mans ended in 1961 with fifth place and class victory in the works - Porsche 718/4 RS Spyder , together with Masten Gregory . After the fatal accident of his longtime friend and teammate Dave McDonald in the Indianapolis 500 mile race in 1964 , he ended his driving career.
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
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1961 |
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Porsche 718/4 RS Spyder |
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5th place and class win |
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
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1958 |
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Porsche 550 RS |
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Rank 25 | |
1959 |
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Porsche 718 RSK |
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Rank 4 | ||
1960 |
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Porsche 718 RS 60 |
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Rank 2 | |
1961 |
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Porsche 718 RS / 61 |
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5th place and class win | ||
1962 |
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Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL |
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Rank 7 and class win | ||
1963 |
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Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL |
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Rank 9 | ||
1964 |
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Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe |
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Rank 4 |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
season | team | race car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd |
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1958 | Marshall Motors | Porsche 550 |
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25th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1959 | Cyrus Fulton | Porsche 718 |
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4th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1960 | Brumo's Porsche | Porsche 718 |
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2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1961 | Brumos Porsche Porsche |
Porsche 718 |
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5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1962 | Bob Holbert Porsche Chuck Cassel |
Porsche 718 Porsche 356 |
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7th | 7th | 1 | DNF | |||||||||||||||||||||
1963 |
Porsche Carroll Shelby International |
Porsche 356 Shelby Cobra |
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7th | 9 | DNF | ||||||||||||||||||||||
1964 | Carroll Shelby International | Shelby Daytona |
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DNF | 4th |
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
Individual evidence
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Holbert, Bob |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Holbert, Robert McCormick |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American entrepreneur and racing car driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 25, 1922 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Warrington |
DATE OF DEATH | November 12, 2007 |
Place of death | Warrington |