Thirty Years Ago at Sebring

Subtitle:Foyt Joins Wollek to Score Final Career Victory in Preston Henn Porsche 962

The IMSA prototype era was in its infancy, and the Porsche 962 made its first appearance at Sebring in 1985.

Variations of the Porsche 935 (including a 934 in 1983) won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring since 1978, with Porsche’s domination stretching back to 1976 when Carrera RSRs took back-to-back triumphs.

The 962 debuted with a pole-winning effort by Mario Andretti for the 1984 Rolex 24 At Daytona, although teams stayed with the trusty 935 that year. Mauricio DeNarvaez, Hans Heyer and Stefan Johansson won in a 935J, as Porsches took five of the top six places. Only the second-place Chevrolet-powered March of eventual Camel GTP champion Randy Lanier broke the 935 logjam.

For 1985, the 962 was already the car to beat. Five of the new models were on the grid, led by pole winner Hans Stuck in Bob Akin’s Coca-Cola entry and the second-qualifying Lowenbrau Special of Al Holbert, Derek Bell and Al Unser Jr.

Qualifying a lowly 13th was the pairing of Bob Wollek and A.J. Foyt in the Swap Shop Porsche 962. The season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona turned into a battle of father vs. son, with Al Unser prevailing in the Preston Henn-owned T-Bird Swap Shop 962 over his son, who was part of the lineup in the Holbert entry. For Sebring, though, Henn ran a two-car lineup of the IndyCar legend with the French endurance star.

Other favorites included the Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5 of Bob Tullius and Chip Robinson, and the Buick March with a lineup including 1982 Twelve Hours of Sebring winner John Paul Jr. Defending champion Randy Lanier started fourth in the No. 1 Chevrolet March co-driven by Bill Whittington, but the car failed to finish – setting its tone for a winless season.

The Paul Buick and Robinson Jaguar battled the top-qualifying Porsche entries early in the race, but the favorites all suffered various mechanical setbacks. Meanwhile, the Foyt/Wollek Porsche ran a steady and trouble-free race and ended up with a three-lap margin of victory. For Foyt, it was the last driving victory of his illustrious career.

Porsche 962s swept the podium, with the Holbert team finishing second, followed by Pete Halsmer, Rick Knoop and Dieter Quester in Jim Busby’s BFGoodrich entry.

The GTO winner was the Ford Mustang driven Wally Dallenbach Jr. and John Jones, finishing a very respectable sixth overall in the Sebring debut of Jack Roush. Jim Downing and John Maffucci won the Camel Lights class in a Mazda Argo. In GTU, Gary Auberlen (father of current TUDOR Championship star Bill Auberlen) led the winning lineup in an upset victory driving a Porsche 911.