Akin Joins Stuck And Gartner In Winning Fast 1986 Sebring Classic

Subtitle:76-Car Field Dominated By Porsche 962s

In the final 12-hour race held on the circuit configuration that included the active airport runways at Sebring International Raceway, the Bob Akin Racing Coca-Cola Porsche 962 of Bob Akin, Hans Stuck and Jo Gartner won by eight laps and set the record for the fastest 12 Hours ever with an average speed of 115.85 mph. This record would stand for 23 years until it was broken by Audi in 2009.

The 76-car field was dominated at the front of the grid by Porsche 962 entries. However, it was a Buick Hawk March 85G driven by Whitney Ganz that won the pole. Second fastest was the Lowenbrau Special Porsche 962 driven by Derek Bell, Al Unser Jr. and Al Holbert.

John Paul Jr. Paul broke the track record in the opening day of qualifying, only to see co-driver Ganz later break that mark with a lap of 133.134 mph. The Buick Hawk led five laps, but withdrew from the race due to an oil leak during the eighth hour.

Early leaders in addition to Ganz – co-driving with Paul and Ken Madren – included the Porsche 962 driven by defending Sebring winner A.J. Foyt and co-driver Drake Olson in Preston Henn’s Swap Shop entry. Also a factor for most of the race was the Busby Racing Porsche 962 of Darin Brassfield, John Morton and Jim Busby.

With both the Holbert and Busby cars encountering extended pit stops for mechanical issues, Akin’s Coke Porsche 962 cruised to the victory, with the Busby entry second. The Holbert 962 took third, another 10 laps back, in a race that saw them make four extended unscheduled stops for brake problems, an axle change and a blown turbocharger.

The race featured 16 lead changes among six cars, although the Akin Porsche led the final 153 of 287 laps, covering 1,363.25 miles.

While it was Akin’s second overall triumph in the event, it was his first driving his own car. Following the race, he called it the high point of his racing career.

Despite the big lead, there was drama for the winners at the finish. Gartner took over from Akin to drive the final stint. He lost a wheel only three minutes from the finish (the team’s second lost wheel of the race), and pitted for a new wheel for his final lap.

Back underway, Gartner lost his new wheel in the final turn, but managed to scrape his way to the finish on three wheels. Tragically, Gartner lost his life less than three months later when the popular 32-year-old Austrian crashed during the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Scott Pruett and Bruce Jenner won the GTO class in a Roush Racing Ford Mustang, edging out teammates and NASCAR stars Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott in the Folgers Mustang.

“That race came down to the last turn of the last lap to beat our Ford Racing teammates Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd,” Pruett recalled. “I was driving for those last laps, basically taking qualifying laps for the last two hours trying to catch our team car. It was a no give up situation and it paid off. That was my first win for Roush, and we did it in a Mustang.”

Actor Bobby Carradine took third in GTO, teaming with John Heinricy and Ron Grable in a Corvette.

Danny Smith and Roger Mandeville won the GTU class in a Mazda RX-7 and the GTP Camel Lights category went to Jeff Kline, Mike Meyer and Jim Rothbarth in a Mazda-powered Royale.

Following the 1986 race, Sebring Raceway was drastically altered to remove most of the active runway portions of the circuit. The changes, however, allowed the circuit to become a truly year-round facility with various testing configurations.