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The Formula Racing Seat Leon Racer has won the first-ever Maxi Endurance 32 Hours

Autódromo Internacional do Algarve: The Formula Racing Seat Leon Racer has won the first-ever Maxi Endurance 32 Hours, held at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in the south of Portugal. The finish came at 17:04, marking a historic milestone—the longest fully international endurance race. The winning car was started at 9:04 on Saturday morning by Portuguese star Jose Antonio Monroy. The rest of the roster featured an all-Danish lineup of Le Mans series veterans Mikkel Mac, Bo McCormick, Johnny Laursen and also Lars Steffensen.

Second overall and also second in the Maxi Sport category was the BMW M3 CSL of British team, Intersport Racing. Team leader Kevin Clarke started the car and was spelled by Adam Hayes, Simon Atkinson, Fiona James, and another Le Mans veteran, Ian Donaldson. Fiona James was the top finishing female driver among several women who featured very strongly in the race. The female contingent included rising Spanish star Zihara Esteban and also saw Spain’s Balba Camino come out of retirement to help make history.

The Cor Euser Racing BMW 120d won the Maxi Touring category and finished third overall,a spectacular result for the smallest car in the field. American Jim Briody was competing in his 75th race of 24 hours or more and his steady work along with fellow American Hal Prewitt, New Zealand’s Maurice O’Reilly, Germany’s Jörg Chmiela and Dutch team owner Cor Euser brought the experienced international crew to the line just ahead of the charging Dodge Viper of Bolido Racing. The very fast American built car had led overall at various stages but suffered engine problems as well as an off-course excursion. While they were unable to capture the last overall podium spot the crew led by Spanish driving ace Jose Manuel de los Milagros and race organizer Jesus Diez did win the Maxi Cup class. The last few hours featured a stirring chase as the Viper worked to make up lost ground.

One of the most inspired efforts came from the Veloso Motorsport Seat Leon Racer. They suffered an ECU failure as the car headed to the starting grid and spent the first 3-1/2 hours of the race in the pits. Henceforth the Mikel Azcona and Jordi Oriola led car had a near flawless run, rising to fifth overall and third in Maxi Sport at the finish.

The Team Icer Brakes Wolf-Honda GB 05 proved to be one of the fastest cars on the circuit and led for most of the night. However, a break in the suspension and a subsequent accident for driver Jose Luis Abadin put them into the garage. They were still awarded with victory in Maxi Prototype. The late afternoon finish came under clearing but cool and windy conditions. For much of the night there was a persistent light drizzle that created considerable challenge to each team’s strategy. However, the race was run clean and nearly incident free.

It was a tremendous pioneering effort to venture into the realm of extreme endurance racing for the highly professional teams and organizers. There was a general feeling of accomplishment for all in what was a very strong collaborative effort from the management of both the Portuguese and Spanish motor sport federations and several other major racing organizations. Now that the groundwork has been laid, the people at Maxi Endurance look forward to even greater success at future rounds.

Porsche 911 2.4T "Gentleman Driver"

This yellow Porsche 911 2.4 T has an interesting history: in 1972, it was bought by an American Army officer in Stuttgart, who drove it during his eight or nine years in Germany before taking it home to the US. Now, the classic has arrived back in its homeland.



The Porsche 911 2.4 T was never restored and consequently has a marvellous patina. It’s now for sale in the Classic Driver Market from Portuguese dealers Cool & Vintage. 

How Mercedes-Benz's C111 prototypes reshaped the future

During the 1960s and 1970s, Mercedes designed and built a series of futuristic prototypes under the codename C111. These cars never went into production, but much of the technology developed for them can be found in today’s daily drivers...

A rather conspicuous bright orange wedge

The first C111 Concept, a rather conspicuous bright orange wedge, stunned onlookers at the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show. With its Gullwing doors, many speculated that this could, finally, be a successor to the legendary 300 SL. But this cutting-edge creation was nothing of the sort. It was constructed to test new engine technologies: the C111 was powered by a three-cylinder Wankel unit that developed 280bhp, giving the car a top speed of around 160mph. It also had an innovative lightweight glassfibre body and an experimental suspension, the forerunner to the multi-link systems in common use nowadays.

The second series

Five months later, at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show, the C111-II appeared, boasting a more powerful 370bhp four-rotor engine and improved aerodynamic bodywork. Despite the fact that these concepts were actually quite refined – coming with a leather interior and air-conditioning – they never made it into showrooms. Much of the new technology was still very much in the development stage and the Wankel engine, although smooth and powerful, was too thirsty and its emissions were too high.

From Wankel to diesel

Undeterred by this failure, Mercedes turned its attention to developing diesel powerplants instead. Taking the humble 3-litre unit from the 300 D, Mercedes’ engineers added a Garrett turbocharger and intercooler to increase power output to 190bhp. In 1976 at the Nardo test track, the IID set an incredible 16 records over 60 hours, in which four drivers took turns at the wheel.

These successes spurred Mercedes on and, in 1978, the C111-III appeared. This new car was a massive departure from the original; it was a pure-bred record car, meant for the track only. The revised chassis was clothed in sleeker, more streamlined silver bodywork, which gave it an extremely low drag coefficient, while an additional intercooler pushed up power to 230bhp. Mercedes returned to Nardo and, after one car was badly damaged by a puncture, they used the reserve car to capture a further nine records. A fourth and final version of the C111, powered by a turbocharged 4.8-litre petrol engine, set a new World Circuit Record of 250mph in 1978.

Photos: Daimler