Winning Cayman Racers Mark Sandridge and Tom Bloom Join Entry for Round 2 of the Stuttgart Cup Winter Series at the HSR Daytona Historics
The Stuttgart Cup Winter Series will take to the high banks and twists and turns of the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course this weekend as one of the featured series at the Historic SportsCar Racing (HSR) Daytona Historics, November 14 - 17.
Round 2 of the 2013/2014 Stuttgart Cup Winter Series, the Daytona Historics follows the first race of the championship last month at the Savannah Speed Classic. A December round at Sebring International Raceway will close out this year’s portion of the five-race series that picks up again in February of 2014 with the Palm Beach Grand Prix at Palm Beach International Raceway and concludes with The 26th Annual Mitty at Road Atlanta in April.
Bill Riddell swept both sprints and the enduro race in Savannah in his No. 05 Cayman S that carries a flat-black Porsche 918 Spyder paint scheme, but he will face some stiffer competition this weekend. Race-winning Cayman racers Mark Sandridge and Tom Bloom will be making their Stuttgart Cup Winter Series debuts and both know the path to Victory Lane.
Sandridge was the 2012 Pirelli Cayman Interseries Champion and closed out his title-winning year with a Sunday sprint victory in the last race of that season at Daytona. He returns to the World Center of Racing this weekend with the same white and red-and-yellow striped No. 49 Cayman S modeled after his 1994 IMSA Champion Team Salad Porsche 911 RSR.
Bloom also had some success in Florida last year when he scored a breakout overall enduro victory at Sebring in his black and red No. 116 Cayman S that pays tribute to the Yokohama/Advan Porsche 956 and 962 race cars.
The Stuttgart Cup has been elevated by HSR to compete in the always-competitive Group 7 category under the “C7” designation. That provides some great competition against a variety of race cars and drivers in addition to split class starts when possible for the C7 class.
A full weekend of competition at Daytona includes Saturday and Sunday sprint races, a 90-minute Friday night race, and Sunday’s weekend-closing Bob Snodgrass Memorial Enduro that is scheduled for two hours. A full Thursday test session has also been well supported by Stuttgart Cup competitors and provides a full four days of on-track action. All but one Stuttgart Cup competitor entered at Daytona is taking advantage of the all-day Thursday test.
Bob Schneider, another former Cayman race winner, is also entered for the Daytona Historics in his No. 40 white and red-and-blue striped “Baby” Martini Porsche 935 themed race car.
Professional driver and multiple road racing champion Jack Baldwin will be at the Daytona Historics in the No. 80 green and white striped Cayman S modeled after a David Piper Racing Porsche 917. Baldwin will compete for overall honors, not for Stuttgart Cup race wins or points, in addition to helping out series competitors with on-track driving tips.
Matt Dicken will make his Stuttgart Cup debut in his No. 207 Cayman S while Riddell’s son, Will Riddell, will also get in on the action this weekend. The younger Riddell will be driving the white Mobil 1 Le Mans Porsche GT-1 themed No. 225 Cayman S.
Stuttgart Cup regulars set for Daytona include Joe Sullivan and Darrell Fancher. Sullivan finished third in the opening Savannah sprint in his No. 14 Cayman S that carries the colors of the famous Lowenbrau/Holbert Racing Porsche 962. Fancher drives a yellow No. 139 Cayman S modeled after the popular “Psychedelic” Porsche 917.
Several Boxster competitors are also headed to Daytona, including Savannah race winner Paul Reisman, who ran uncontested throughout the Georgia race weekend. At Daytona he will have some competition as Justin and Nikki Ehrlich are each on the entry list with a Boxster.
The Stuttgart Cup Winter Series 2013/14 Inaugural Schedule:
- The Savannah Speed Classic, Hutchinson Island, October 24 – 27, 2013- The Daytona Historic Races, Daytona International Speedway, November 14 – 17, 2013- The Sebring Historics, Sebring International Raceway, December 5 – 8, 2013- The Palm Beach Grand Prix, Palm Beach International Raceway, February, 14 - 16, 2014- The Mitty, Road Atlanta, April 25 - 27, 2014
A sprint and endurance series, The Stuttgart Cup is open to all Porsche Caymans and Boxsters, with rules centered on power to weight ratio. All competing cars must compete with stock make and model engine and transmissions with approved allowances for exhaust and intake modifications. Series organizers also welcome all competitors with existing race-prepared Caymans or Boxsters to compete with body and engine modifications balanced within series power to weight ratio parameters. All such competitors will not be eligible for championship points or class-designated race wins, but the door is always open to all Cayman and Boxster competitors to get in on the action.
