August 4, 2010 – Sir Stirling Moss, OBE is traveling to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion to race in his recently acquired 1961 Porsche RS 61 Sports Racing Spyder for the first time – a sister car to the one he raced in the Targa Florio. Sir Stirling’s return to racing after his serious fall down an elevator shaft in March is testament to his remarkable conditioning regimen. His return will be in race group 1A against an impressive list of Porsches, Listers, Lotus’ and Maseratis on August 13-15.
“To have Sir Stirling make his return to racing at Mazda Raceway is an honor,” said Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “It will be a wonderful treat for our fans to see him in his first drive in his newly acquired race car, and equally so for his competitors who are in the same group.”
The Porsche race car is similar to the RS 60 Sir Stirling raced during the 1960s, in which he nearly won the 1961 Targa Florio.
This Porsche Spyder is one of 14 RS 61 racers Porsche developed for the 1961 season. It was an evolution of Porsche’s Spyder series of road racers that included the 550, RSK and RS 60. The lightweight, 4-Cam RS 61 was the ultimate evolution of the Spyder project that began with the legendary Porsche 550 Spyder.
The number 718-076 was built in February 1961 and delivered to Herrmann Müller of Austria. Müller was a hillclimb expert and won the 1963 European Hillclimb Championship in this RS 61 Spyder. Between 1961 and 1963, this car captured more than a dozen victories.
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is a celebration of motorsports history that reunites authentic race cars with a world-class track. This is where automotive history comes alive with such marques as the remarkable pre-war Bugattis, Alfa Romeos, and Talbot-Lagos to the more powerful Ferraris, Corvettes, Cobras and Porsches racing through the corners and down the famed corkscrew. For Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion tickets and information, please visit www.MazdaRaceway.com or call 800-327-7322.
Source: Mazda Raceway Press Release
Photos Gooding & Company, Inc /Sterlingmoss.com
