DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The opening day of the HSR Classic Daytona presented by IMSA and the HSR Daytona Historics moved off to a competitive start Thursday at Daytona Int’l Speedway where a packed four-day schedule of races produced its first six race winners.
In addition to practice and qualifying for both the Classic 24 Hour HSR race and the Daytona Historics, Thursday featured the HSR Sasco Sports International/American Challenge, HSR Stoner Car Care Global GT and HSR Classic RS Cup sprint races and the opening round of the HSR Street Stock Road Racing Reunion.
Thursday’s big winner was Todd Treffert who swept both HSR feature races he started in his Speedconcepts 1974 No. 14 Porsche 911 IROC prepared by the 901 Shop.
Treffert began with an overall and Porsche class victory in the day’s opening HSR Sasco Sports International/American Challenge race and backed it up later on Thursday with a flag-to-flag win the HSR Classic RS Cup race.
Yves Scemama finished the Sasco Sports race second both overall and in the Porsche class in his Heritage Motorsports 1974 No. 52 Porsche 911 IROC.
Ernie Wilding secured the Sasco Sports International-class victory and broke up an all-Porsche overall podium with a solid third-place finish in his FAS Autosports 1995 No. 82 BMW M3. His son and teammate John Wilding later drove the same BMW to the Street Stock Road Racing class win in the day’s final race.
Russell Gee completed the Sasco Sports Porsche podium in third and took the checkered flag fourth overall in the 1973 No. 00 Porsche 911 RSR prepared by Heritage Motorsports.
The overall Sasco Sports top five was completed by American class winner David Roberts in his CRP Racing 1971 No. 12 Corvette.
Wilding shared the International podium with class runner-up Bob Summerour in the Heritage Motorsports 1972 No. 201 BMW CSL. Summerour crossed the finish line 10th overall, one spot ahead of third place International division finisher Greg Dietz in his 1979 No. 38 Datsun 280ZX.
Treffert was joined on the RS Cup podium by runner-up Angus Rogers in his KMW Motorsports 1973 No. 15 Porsche 911 RSR and third-place finisher Fred Schulte in the 1973 No. 131 Porsche 911 IROC prepared by Heritage Motorsports.
The HSR Stoner Car Care Global GT race was run in mixed wet-and-dry conditions. The victory went to Phil Gilsdorf who led every lap in his 2005 No. 902 Porsche 996 GT3 Cup prepared by Ultra Performance.
Paul Mortimer turned the fastest lap in the Stoner Car Care race but settled for a second-place finish in his Orbit Racing 2016 No. 84 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup. Charlie Craig crossed the line in third in Global GT in his Bodymotion Racing 2016 No. 76 Porsche Cayman GT4.
Thursday’s other podium players included James Reeve Jr., who was second in the Sasco Sports American division in his always quick 1966 No. 5 Yenko Stinger Corvair, and a pair of quick Porsche 944 entries in the Street Stock reunion sprint.
Ray Shaffer finished second in Street Stock in the Team Lauber 1985 No. 80 Porsche 944 Turbo with third going to Terry Miller in his 1986 Rothmans Porsche Turbo Cup 944 from TGP Racing.
Friday’s on-track highlight at the HSR Classic Daytona and Daytona Historics is the B.R.M. Chronographes Endurance Challenge Historic/Prototype/GT Modern Enduro (GTM) one-hour race at 10:40. p.m. EDT. The day’s schedule also includes final HSR Classic Daytona qualifying and the opening rounds of the Daytona Historics HSR WeatherTech Sprint Series doubleheader.