Takes Stuttgart Cup Class Honors in Race Won Overall by Son John Reisman
PALM BEACH, Florida (February 14, 2014) – Paul Reisman came to this weekend’s Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Palm Beach Grand Prix expecting to compete in his Porsche Boxster in The Stuttgart Cup™ Winter Series but instead found his way to an unexpected victory in Friday’s Valentine’s Day night race at the wheel of a rented Porsche Cayman S.
Reisman slipped his prototype white No. 225 Cayman S past early race leader Keith Faver with just under 30 minutes remaining in the timed 45-minute race under the lights at Palm Beach International Raceway and never looked back for an unlikely victory in a car he had never driven before today. Faver finished second in his No. 25 Gulf/Wyer Porsche 917-themed Cayman S while Joe Sullivan was third in his No. 14 Cayman S that carries the livery of the famous Al Holbert Racing/Lowenbrau Porsche 962.
“I just want to say that these cars are great,” Reisman said. “I came here planning to run the Boxster but we lost the timing belt and some valves testing yesterday and Bill Riddell and Racelink rented us one of his Caymans, and it turned out to be great. Now I am going to have to buy the damn thing! I am looking forward to running it the whole weekend.”
Reisman steadily built his lead after passing Faver.
“The car got loose,” Faver said. “We were running nose to tail for 15 to 20 minutes and that is what it is all about, running at night with headlights all in your rear-view mirror. It was great but once he got by me I didn’t think I could catch him again, but it is a long weekend with a lot more racing ahead.”
Reisman’s victory capped a great day for his family as his son John Reisman took the overall victory Friday night driving a 2002 Lola B2K/40 SRP II machine. The elder Reisman also became the first Stuttgart Cup competitor to win races in both the Boxster and Cayman divisions of the series, having scored multiple class victories in his Boxster last year.
The Palm Beach Grand Prix is the first race for The Stuttgart Cup™ since last December’s Sebring Historics which served as the third and final round of the split-year Winter Series championship. Races at Savannah and Daytona preceded the Sebring race with the finale scheduled for The Mitty at Road Atlanta in April.
Next up for The Stuttgart Cup™ is a final practice/qualifying run Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. before that afternoon’s back-to-back feature races. A sprint race goes green at 2:15 p.m. with The Hawk Performance 90-minute GT Enduro scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m.
Saturday will also see Stuttgart Cup competitors will race in support of Place of Hope. The series will be among those hosting several children, house parents and VIPS affiliated with the unique welfare organization that provides, in part, family-style foster care – emergency and long-term – family outreach and intervention, transitional housing and support services, adoption and foster care recruitment and much, much more.
Follow The Stuttgart Cup™ on Facebook at The Stuttgart Cup and on Twitter @StuttgartCup. For additional information on The Stuttgart Cup™, a copy of the rules, or additional questions, please contact StuttgartCup@Racerlk.com or visit www.StuttgartCup.com. The Stuttgart Cup™ is sanctioned by Historic SportsCar Racing (HSR), with more information available at www.HSRrace.com.
About The Stuttgart Cup™ – A sprint and endurance series, The Stuttgart Cup™ is open to all Porsche Caymans and Boxsters, with rules centered on power to weight ratio. All competing cars must compete with stock make and model engine and transmissions with approved allowances for exhaust and intake modifications. Stuttgart Cup organizers also welcome all competitors with existing race-prepared Caymans or Boxsters to compete with body and engine modifications balanced within series power to weight ratio parameters. All such competitors will not be eligible for championship points or class-designated race wins, but the door is always open to all Cayman and Boxster competitors to get in on the action.
Contact: SaalGood – Adam Saal (321) 890-2848 – SaalGoodPR@gmail.com
Photos: Blake Blakely