Iconic Coca-Cola Porsche 962 was Akin’s dream car

After enjoying success racing a Porsche 935 in IMSA Camel GT competition, Bob Akin upgraded to the new 962 early in the 1984 season. Akin – joined by many sports car enthusiasts – quickly fell in love with his new ride.

With its bright red paint scheme, proudly carrying Coca-Cola sponsorship, Akin’s No. 5 Porsche 962 was one of the most recognizable and popular cars in the heyday of the IMSA GTP era.

“My father loved the 962,” said Bobby Akin, vice president of business development for the FOX Sports Media Group. “He enjoyed the 935, but it was the 962 that he really loved to drive. It gave him the most fun he ever had in a race car. And the car with the all-red Coca-Cola livery was the one he loved best.”Winning the 1979 Twelve Hours of Sebring in a blue Budweiser Porsche 935, and winning the Trans-Am class while placing third overall in the 1979 Six Hours of Watkins Glen in a yellow 935 helped Akin land Coca-Cola sponsorship for the 1980 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Co-driving a bright red 935 with Coca-Cola sponsorship with drivers including Derek Bell, John O’Steen, Craig Siebert and Dale Whittington, the president of New York-based Hudson Wire finished second in the Rolex 24 in both 1981 and 1982 in addition to finishing second overall and first in the GTP class in the 1983 Twelve Hours of Sebring.But when Akin first raced the Porsche 962 in May 1984 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it blew him away.Co-driving with Hans Stuck and Jo Gartner, Akin won the 1986 Sebring classic, finished fifth in the 1985 Rolex 24 (co-driving with Stuck and Paul Miller) and sixth at Daytona in 1987 (Stuck and James Weaver). The paint scheme changed to red and black for the latter race, reflecting Yokohama co-sponsorship.The success of the GTP concept brought many new cars and standout drivers to the series, making it tough on the Pro-Am driver. Akin’s last race in the 962 was at the 1987 Twelve Hours of Sebring, where he finished sixth with Weaver and Steve Shelton. The car had one additional race in IMSA GTP, finishing fifth in the 1987 Road America 500 miles, driven only by James Weaver and Vern Schuppan.“When I stop driving, I stop racing,” Bob Akin said at the time. He remained active in the sport, racing a red Porsche with his son and occasionally Rob Dyson in the Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship (today’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge), and drove in vintage competition up until his death from injuries sustained in a testing accident in 2002.“My father wanted to drive, he never wanted to be a guy who just wrote checks,” Bobby Akin said. “Back in 1987, the pressure from sponsors to have nothing but pro drivers in the car got to be more and more, and he decided, ‘This is not what I signed up for.’”Akin helped launch Weaver’s international career after Gartner’s tragic death at Le Mans only a few months after winning at Sebring. Yokohama suggested that he contact Weaver – who drove with the tire manufacturer in Japan – and Akin signed the British driver. Two years later, Weaver joined another successful New York businessman, and won many races driving for Rob Dyson.“If you look at the list of drivers who drove for my father, it’s a long list,” Bobby Akin said. “There are some you might not even remember driving for him. Hurley (Haywood) drove for my dad a bunch of times. Vern Schuppan, Hans Stuck, Weaver, Kees Nierop, Jim Mullen and even Derek Bell – who drove for him a lot after he left Ferrari.”While the younger Akin never raced the 962, he did get to turn a few laps in the famed car.“I drove the original 962 at Daytona in a test session, and again at Road Atlanta, and several times at Lime Rock, just in testing.” Akin said. “It was fabulous. The first time I drove it was at Daytona, when I was 19. I had driven other cars there before, but nothing like a prototype of that caliber. I’ll never forget the first lap at speed. Going into Turn 1, I got on the brakes, and the brakes were so good it literally came to a stop. I had to put the car back into gear to drive to Turn 1. Of course, it happened in front of pit lane, and everyone was laughing.”The prototypical “gentleman racer” – a successful businessman who carried his success and passion to motorsports – Akin is remembered by IMSA as the namesake for the award for the top Pro-Am driver in the GTLM class, continuing an award dating back to 2005 in the GRAND-AM Rolex Series. The Road Racing Drivers Club (of which Akin was a former president) also presents the Bob Akin Memorial Motorsports Award to the driver who exemplifies the “speed with style” characteristics for which Akin was known and respected. Presented annually since 2003, the RRDC award is displayed at the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, N.Y.