The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) has announced that sportscar racing legend Bob Tullius will serve as Grand Marshal for its March 3-5 race weekend at Sebring’s historic airport circuit. SVRA will share the venue with the Trans-Am Series as it marks its 50th anniversary in 2016. Sebring hosted the very first Trans-Am race in March 1966 when Tullius brought his Dodge Dart sedan home a class winner.
“Bob Tullius’ contributions to auto racing extend well beyond his hundreds of victories as a driver and team owner on tracks around the world,” said SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella. “Bob set the standard for presenting motorsport as a business platform for sponsors. His cars were always immaculately prepared and he helped usher in the modern era of branding through association with race teams.”
In a career spanning three decades Tullius and his team, Group 44, amassed an amazing record of more than 300 victories including three Trans-Am championships, 21 Trans-Am race wins, 14 SCCA National Championships and 11 IMSA victories, as well as a GTP class win for Jaguar at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1985. Tullius founded Group 44 in 1965 with associates Brian Fuerstenau and Dick Gilmartin, racing British Leyland cars. Eventually this led to a long association with Jaguar and sponsor Quaker State Motor Oil.
Tullius, a Sebring resident, will be highly visible over the weekend, performing various ceremonial duties. Although he retired from racing in 1990, Tullius remains active, having turned his attention to aviation as he has several vintage airplanes in his local hangar and logs many hours of flight time each month.
The SVRA’s Sebring event will also salute the SCCA’s Trans-Am championship from its classic early era to the contemporary series, the first of three similar occasions to be scheduled throughout the year, with the Historic Trans-Am Association playing a key role. For more information, please visit www.svra.com
