Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

M

y promptforthismonth’s

HeroarosewhileI wasstand-

inga fewfeetfroma live

televisionbroadcastat the

PebbleBeachconcours in

August.Therenextto me,

waitinghisturntogoon

camera,wasindubitablythemostsuccessful

Americanlong-distancedriverofalltime,

HurleyHaywood.Occurencessuchas thisare

alwayspleasingbecauseI getthechanceto catch

up with characters I may not have seen fo r some

time, and it’s alwaysgoodto seethemhealthy.

Hurley’s competitioncareerdidn’t startuntil

1968,whenhe wasat college.Clubracingin his

Corvetteshoweda naturalaffinityforcontrolling

a carthatwasgettingoutof shape and,muchto

thechagrinof hisrivals,he wasan instantwinner.

OneeventwasattendedbyPeterGregg,an

ex-HarvardNavalofficerwhowasownerof the

BrumosPorscheagencyin Jacksonville.Hurley

beathimfairandsquare,andwaslatervisitedby

a clearlyimpressedGregg.Thetwobecame

friendsandpartneredupforthe’69Watkins

GlenSixHours,winningtheirclassin a 911S.

Vietnamcalled,andHurleywasdraftedinto

theconflagrationfor 1970 butreturnedto win

the 1971 GTchampionshipforBrumos,repeat-

ingtheresultin ’72.Hehadhisfirstrunat the

Daytona24 Hoursin ’71andwonhisclassthere

thefollowingyear. Hetookoutrightvictorywith

Greggin 1973,drivinga PorscheRSR.

Altogether, Hurley amassed a remarkable fi ve

outrightwinsat America’s mostprestigious

enduranceevent,comingoutontopagainin

1975,’77,’79and’91.Combinethatwithtwo

winsat theever-bumpySebring 12 Hours,in

1973 and’81,andyouhavetherecipethatputs

himin thepantheonof Americanracingdrivers.

But,of course,that’s justforstarters.Outright

winsat LeMansin 1977in a factoryPorsche 936

alongsideIckxandBarth,in ’83in a 956part-

neredbyVe rn SchuppanandAl Holbertand,

finally, in ’94in a 962withYa nnickDalmasand

MauroBaldi,reallymovehimupintotheall-

timegreats.Throwin someIndianapolis 500

performances,plusnobleeffortsin the935K3,

JaguarXJR-5andXJR-6at LeMansandyou

ALAINDE CADENET

274 Classic& SportsCarDecember 2015

haveas versatilea driveras youcouldaskfor.

Whatwashissecret?Hewasa naturalforthe

job:alwayscalm,unassuming andobviously brave

whenneeded.Consistencyis a largepartof his

successand,withoutdoubt,he hasa brilliantfeel

formachinery. If today’s endurancemencan

sprinttheircarsrelentlesslyforhourafterhour,

thatwasn’t thecasewhenHurleywasactive.

Okay, so Porschesdon’t break– well,notoften–

butyoustillhadto paceyourself,evenin a 956.

Haywoodexcelledin handinghismountbackto

histeam-matesin thesamestateas hetookit

out,whilehammeringaroundonthepace.

A quintessentialrequirementforwinning.

To day, Hurleyhasplentyof inputto

contributeviatheBrumosPorschedriving

experiencethathe runsin Florida.Rathera nice

thingto be doing,I wouldthink.In someways,

thewheelhasturnedfullcircleforhimbecause

hecannowimparthisknowledgeandexperi-

enceto thosewhowantandneedthatbenefit

priorto stretchingtheirownlimits.

Porsche,wisely, makesmuchfussof its racing

heroesfromthepastandpresent,andsoit

should.Whenyouracedagainstthesepeople,

therewaspreciouslittletimeto seethemor talk

to them.To day, at functionssuchas Rennsport

at LagunaSeca,theretheyare– onlytoohappy

to tellyouall aboutit. Believeme,it’s a realtreat.

Alternatively, buya PorschefromBrumos,get

downto theGainesville Raceway andhaveHH

himselfputyourightin yourowncar. I cannot

thinkof a moredelightfulandbeneficialthing

youcando to improveyourdriving.

de Cad ’s

Withfive winsat Daytona,plus threeat Le Mans,Hurley

Haywood is withoutdoubtAmerica’s finestendurance

racer, and his namewill for ever be linked with Porsche

heroes

Born4 May 1948

FromChicago,Illinois

Careerhighlightsthree-timeswinnerof

Le Mans24 Hours(1977, 1983and ’94);

five victoriesin Daytona24 Hours(1973,’75,

’77, ’79 and ’91); 1988Trans-Amchampion

HURLEYHAYWOOD

In associationwith

out,

A

contribute

winner of experience

Haywood on his way to a

win at Daytonain 1977in

the EcurieEscargotRSR