The International Motor Racing Research Center has announced the speakers who will participate at this year’s “Legends Speak.” The interactive program is part of the Grand Prix Festival being held in Watkins Glen, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 7.
The event will take place in the gazebo at Lafayette Park located on 4th Street in downtown Watkins Glen. The program will run from 3-4 p.m. and is open to the public. There is no charge to attend.
Legends Speak, sponsored by the IMRRC, brings together some of racing history’s best drivers, engineers and motorsports personalities to tell their stories and answer questions from the audience.
This 2018 program will feature three “legends” whose wide range of expertise covers Formula One, NASCAR, IMSA, IRL, CART and Can-Am, to name just a few. By sharing their own unique experiences from local ovals to the most prestigious tracks around the globe, the panel’s collective stories will be captivating to even casual fans.
The panelists include David Hobbs, a renowned race-car driver, whose versatility behind the wheel included extended time in F1, Indy and sports cars as well as a brief stint in the NASCAR Cup series. Hobbs is also a racing commentator renowned for his dry wit and extensive depth of knowledge. Adding to his accomplished resume, Hobbs has recently published his autobiography. Fans will have the opportunity to meet the author and purchase signed copies of his book, “Hobbo, Motor Racer, Motor Mouth,” and have them signed by “Hobbo” himself.
Davy Jones, another versatile and successful driver, is also a panelist. In a career that spanned the 1980s, 1990s and well into the 2000s, Jones had great success in almost every series in which he raced, his marquee win being the 1996 24 Hours at Le Mans. Of particular local interest, Jones still holds the record for the fastest lap set in Watkins Glen track history. Driving a Tom Walkinshaw Jaguar XJR14 IMSA car, Jones set the WGI short-course record in 1992, averaging 150.335 mph.
Rounding out the 2018 Legends Speak panel is Ken Parrotte. Parrotte is a racing historian whose lifelong love of the sport began in 1963 at Brewerton (N.Y.) Speedway. Since then, Parrotte’s travels have spanned thousands of venues and events throughout the United States. His experiences and recollections of racing are recounted in his extensive writings and talks given at institutions across the country. With Jaguar as the featured marque at this year’s Festival, Parrotte will be offering a retrospective of Jaguar at Watkins Glen.
The talk will be moderated by Dave Ward for the third consecutive year. A life-long motorsports fan, Ward ran the Watkins Glen Racing Museum for almost 20 years.
More information on the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival can be found at http://www.grandprixfestival.com/
