Mark Sandridge Takes Pro Division Honors and a Fifth-Place Overall Finish

SEBRING, Florida (December 6, 2013) – Bob Schneider swapped the lead with Bill Riddell twice in one lap before moving to the front for good to take his first victory at both Sebring International Raceway and in The Stuttgart Cup™ in an actioned-packed night race Friday at the HSR Sebring Historic Races.

Schneider stayed with Riddell from the drop of the green flag and made his move for the lead not once but twice in the same lap after a late restart 15 minutes from the end of the timed 45-minute race.

Coming up to lap the No. 23 “Pink Pig” Cayman S that Randy Cassling was driving for his wife Lori Cassling, Schneider and Riddell split the bright Pink Porsche as the three cars crossed the start/finish line practically side-by-side.

“Randy just showed up at the right time at the right place, and Bill and I just sort of split the difference and drove all the way into Turn 1,” said Schneider, who drives his white No. 40 Cayman S with the red and blue Martini stripes of the famous “Baby” Porsche 935. “It was just whoever gave up first was going to lose the corner, but then he put a great pass back on me going into the hairpin.”

Riddell momentarily retook the lead only to get caught out by some lapped traffic just a few corners later.

“I followed a 911 into the hairpin turn, a little car came over on him as I was going around, and the 911 moved over and had to push me into the grass,” Riddell said. “Bob caught me and passed me in Turn 7 and he was gone, I couldn’t catch him, but it was a great race though.”

The hard-earned win was by far Schneider’s best career moment at Sebring after a run of bad luck the last few years.

“I battled back, it was a great race, Bill is a great competitor, and what an amazing evening,” Schneider said. “Before we have had brake issues, motor issues, we have had every type of issue here that you can possibly imagine, but thanks to Chris Hall and his team, I think we got the car sorted out.”

While Schneider and Riddell were putting on a show for the Sportsman class victory, Mark Sandridge and Jack Baldwin had a similarly exciting battle in the Pro Division.

With the power of a 3.8-liter engine in his red No. 49 Grandma’s Potato Salad Cayman S, Sandridge made a late pass on Baldwin who had been in command from the drop of the green flag. Baldwin’s Sportsman-specification green No. 80 Cayman S, themed after a David Piper Racing Porsche 917K, ultimately didn’t have the horsepower to hold off the No. 49 but he chased Sandridge to the finish. The duo crossed the finish line an impressive fifth and sixth overall in the multi-class race that saw Prototype race cars sweep the top three.

Matt Dicken finished second in Sportsman behind Sandridge in his black and silver No. 207 Cayman S while Cassling and the “Pink Pig” placed third. Riddell retired from the race 10 minutes from the finish when the handling on his No. 05 Cayman S, that sports a flat-black Porsche 918 Spyder paint scheme, went away.

Next up for The Stuttgart Cup at the Sebring Historic Races is a pair of championship points events, starting with a Saturday afternoon sprint. The weekend’s featured four-hour enduro will bring the curtain down on the Sebring Historic races Sunday afternoon.

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.

For 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.

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Photos: Blake Blakely