Tomorrow is the last lap at PBIR

Sad to see this, really. PBIR was a fun little track. Just technical and challenging enough that you could really learn about yourself and your car without going too far over the edge.

I still remember years ago being out in the Touring group in my 328 when Helio Castroneves absolutely blew past me in Preston Henn’s FXX on the short straight before the esses. Two corners ago, there was nobody at all in my mirrors, and then all of a sudden… pow. I felt it as much as I heard and saw it. Needless to say, run group rules were not always strictly enforced.

Lots of fun times there.

 

So many great memories from there. Cavallino to Maranello Madness, I’m thankful to have seen the glory days.

Sad to see it come to an end.

 

Sniff . . . PBIR was the first track I ever drove- over 43 years ago, with countless laps since.

 

Palm Beach International Raceway Won't Be Demolished Just Yet (thedrive.com)

 

What a shame…I did hundreds of laps there, scared myself plenty of times, saw many exciting SVRA races, even a TransAm! Oh, and I’ll never forget the laps Derek Bell chauffeured me around in my Carrera 3.2.

 

Sad to see this as I had great memories of my time there during the '93 FCA Annual Meet. I made some notes from that event and just dug them up. Being a poor college student at the time, I couldn't afford a Ferrari but a nice gentleman there with an F40 (s/n 87932) he had just bought from The Auto Toy Store rode me around the paddock in it. Also, Allie Ash was brave enough to run his F40 (s/n 91434) at the dragstrip portion and clocked a 13.12 at 120.22 mph.
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A few of the stickers on the door leading from my garage into the house . . .
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I was around when PBIR was developed. The idea…at least the publicity….was that it would replace Sebring as the venue for the 12 Hours which at that time was still a world championship race. That was just never going to happen.

 

That is correct.

Alec Ulmann was attempting to put the 12 Hours closer to his "Cafe Society" friends in Palm Beach. But, imagine,
trying to squeeze that many spectators, etc. into that tiny space surrounded by swamp on three sides.

Road Atlanta was likewise built as a a replacement for Sebring from back in the days when every 12 Hours was
going to be the last, the span after Ullmann ultimately left and the event lost it's FIA sanction, to when John Greenwood
took over promotion and it was finally on a more solid footing under Charles Mendez who invested in new safety
and fixed the place up returning Sebring to it's proper place in sports car racing history.

BHW

 

Sebring is so iconic to me I can't ever imagine it being anywhere different.

 

PBIR/Moroso was almost my home on friday nights dragging my mustang gt back in the late 90's/early 00's.

Fun times. Will miss that place.