SVRA preview: Amelia Island Gran Prix

The program will be something entirely new but also a revival at this weekend's SportsCar Vintage Racing Association inaugural Amelia Island Gran Prix. Just days after last weekend's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, one of the most prestigious car collector events in the world, the SVRA will bring sportscar racing back to Fernandina Municipal Airport for the first time since 1974. The event was announced last year after Bill Warner, founder and chairman of The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and Foundation welcomed the SVRA to the Floridian island the same week as his world-famous automobile spectacular.

"We are so thrilled and honored to have the blessing of such an accomplished man as Bill Warner," says SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella. "I hope people notice how we are evolving our events. This is truly a revival of a wonderful motorsports era and I have asked all SVRA officials to dress in apparel with styling cues from earlier days of sportscar racing."

Parella says one of his goals is to carry an historic theme with a setting that fuels the imagination of participants and spectators alike. To this end he has constructed an event similar in characteristics to other revivals by presenting a varied program that not only features great auto racing but also vintage air shows and vintage motorcycle competition.

One of the most charming visuals of the retro theme will be the use of haybales at strategic points on the 2.1-mile course. The haybales will provide a nostalgic decoration to the setting but current safety barrier technology will be in place. Parella contracted with Impact Safety Systems ProLink (ISS) to provide an interlocking barrier solution. There are 2,500 linear feet of the portable barriers lining the entire circuit.

The idea of racing on an active airport is also a throwback to the post-World War II era when U.S. Air Force General Curtis LeMay headed up the Strategic Air Command. LeMay was the owner of an Allard sportscar and a motorsports enthusiast who opened the doors to SCCA racing on military airports. This policy set the stage for Sebring to be utilized as a racing venue when it was decommissioned in the 1950s. With the addition of Fernandina, the SVRA, with Sebring and San Diego's Coronado North Island Naval Airbase, boasts three airport circuits on its 16-race event schedule this year.

Warner's welcome to Amelia Island runs deeper than simply endorsing the arrival of the SVRA. He is one of them. An SVRA member since its founding in 1981, the concours and foundation chief executive has entered this weekend's competition at the wheel of his green and white Bob Tullius Group 44 1971 Triumph TR6 in Group 8 competition.

Other notables among the anticipated 150 invitational entries for racing this weekend include Simon Gregg of the current Trans Am series who is driving a 2008 Corvette C7 and Dave Nicholas, who helped BMW win an IMSA Camel GT touring class championship in 1973. Nicholas has reeled off eight vintage Group 1 race wins in his "Honeybee" MGA (LEFT, Dave Roberts photo) since returning to competitive driving in 2013 after a 21-year absence.

Richard Valentine – the man credited with inventing the ISS barriers lining the course – is in the mix, running a 2005 Pontiac GTO in a competition that combines SVRA groups 5, 7 and 10. Wil Painter, last year's Group 3 series champion, is on hand as well in his 1966 Alfa that won the Brickyard Invitational "Best of Show" trophy in 2014.

Also entered is Dave Roberts, executive chairman of the Carlisle Company that has Hawk Performance products and Crager Wheels within its portfolio of businesses. Hawk is an associate sponsor of the Penske Indy car team as well as the SVRA. Roberts is also a major racer at heart both as an owner and a guy who gets up on the wheel. Among his long list of credentials is being a part of the driving team that won the Baja 1000 Sportsman UTV class in 2010.

Roberts is also a sponsor and investor in the CRP racing team competing in the Pirelli World Challenge series. He has raced in the SVRA's Brickyard Invitational "Indy Legends" Charity Pro-Am twice with Indianapolis 500 veteran Alex Lloyd as his co-driver on both occasions. He owns several vintage cars including Pancho Carter's 1987 Indy 500 Budweiser Lightning racer. He has among his numerous experiences a drive up the renowned hill climb at the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed. This weekend he will be at the wheel of his bright yellow Group 6 1969 Z/28 Camaro (ABOVE) and a white 1956 Corvette for Group 4.

The addition of motorcycle racing to the program will be the SVRA's foray into the realm of vintage bike competition. Names as diverse as Triumph, Ducati, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki will be at speed. Among the most interesting should be Keith Campbell's 1938 Indian hand-shift, Harley Davidson XR-750 Road Racer.

One runway of the airport will be open for use by aircraft that will participate in the vintage airshow. Several award-winning airplanes will be on display and in action. Among the most rare is a Yellow 1930s N3n, one of just six in the world. Others include a 1941 N2n Stearman bi-plane, a 1959 Grumman Mohawk OV-1 used in Desert Storm and a 1945 L4J that flew over Germany in World War II.

The SVRA will also present another edition of its "Shine & Show" car shows that will be staged on the golf course bordering the airport. These events showcasing collector, classic and performance vehicles are becoming a staple of the burgeoning motorsports-themed festivals that make up the content of an SVRA weekend.