Riley Technologies Is the Featured Marque for the Eighth Running of the 24-Hour Race
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The official entry list for Historic Sportscar Racing’s eighth running of the HSR Classic Daytona Presented by IMSA has been released, with more than 100 historic and vintage sports cars set to converge on Daytona International Speedway for the 24-hour race during the week of Nov. 2-6.
Former race winners, debuting contenders and a strong contingent of machinery and cars representing Riley Technologies, the featured marque of this year’s race, will be on hand. Race cars designed and constructed by Riley Technologies and Riley & Scott, as well as cars run in competition by Riley Motorsports, are well represented on the entry list.
One iconic Riley-built and campaigned entry is set for its first race at Daytona in 20 years. In the 2002 Rolex 24 At Daytona, longtime Riley competitor Jim Matthews finished second overall in the debut race for his Jim Matthews Racing No. 36 Riley & Scott Mk IIIC (pictured above) powered by a six-liter Elan-Ford V-8, co-driving with Guy Smith, Scott Sharp and Robby Gordon.
Matthews reacquired the Mk IIIC this past summer, bringing the car back home to the U.S. after it had been actively raced and maintained in Europe. Matthews and his Mk IIIC are listed in Run Group D and are entered once again by the same Riley Motorsports team that campaigned the car in its Daytona debut two decades ago.
First held in 2014, the immediate success of the inaugural HSR Classic Daytona 24 called for a second running in 2015. After a year off, the 24-hour classic race on the 3.56-mile Daytona road course returned in 2017 and is now an annual fixture on the HSR calendar.
The HSR Classic Daytona features seven Run Groups competing in succession for a full 24 hours on the Daytona road course. The various period-correct classes within each Run Group combine to make just about any closed-wheel competition sports car from the last 60 years eligible for the HSR Classic Daytona.
The packed five-day schedule also features the HSR Daytona Historics, which is part of HSR’s series of season-long sprint and endurance racing championships. The Run Groups for the HSR Classic Daytona are:
Group A (1962-1972): Featuring the oldest cars in the Classic 24, Group A is home to legendary and early FIA-era prototype and GT machines that raced in various national series and world championship competition. The group has attracted race cars such as the Lola T70, Chevron B8 and a Porsche 917 recreation as well as a nice mix of 1960s and ’70s production-based GT cars such as the Porsche 911, Corvette, Jaguar E-Types and a Lotus Elan.
Group B (1973-1982): Even the newest cars in Group B are 40 years old but the ultra-quick sports prototypes and turbocharged, wide-body GT cars in this class still bring modern-day thrills when battling on track. This year’s Classic 24 will be no exception with a Chevron B26 and Lola T294 set for an all-out sports prototype battle. On the GT front, Porsches from various 911 models up to a pair of Porsche 935 tribute cars go up against a Corvette and two BMW CSLs.
Group C (1983-1993): This group features the thundering Group C and GTP era of the mid-1980s and early ’90s. This year’s treasures from the era include GTP Jaguar XJR-7 and XJR-16 entries, a March-Chevrolet 85G and a Spice SE87L. The Group C GT entries will wage an all-out race between several Porsche 944, 951 and 964 models. One Group C entry to keep an eye on is the ex-Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) 1991 No. 3 Jaguar XJR-16 that Malcolm Ross and his teammate Corey Fergus drove to the 2021 Classic 24 win.
Group D (1994-2003): Sharing the track with Group C, competing entries in Group D include historic yet familiar prototypes and European and American-made GT cars. Classic 24 featured marque Riley will be in the spotlight in Group D with a pair of Riley & Scott Mk III entries battling with a later-generation Riley Daytona Prototype. In GT, several Porsche 911, 993 and 996 models take on a Callaway Corvette, Ford Mustang and an Oldsmobile Aurora that has shocked the Group D ranks more than once.
Group E (Modern Prototype and GT): Always a well-supported group, Run Group E this year looks like a battle between later-generation Daytona Prototype “DP” cars, ORECA FLM09 Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC) “PC” cars and the more recent LMP3 “P3” machines. The GT ranks are packed in Group E with Porsche Cayman and 911-based models competing against M3 and Z4 BMWs, a Panoz Esperante and an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.
Group F (Current Prototype and GT): The battle royale of the Classic 24, Group F features at the top-tier retired LMP1 and DPi prototypes that are typically the fastest cars in any Run Group in the race. The main battle will likely come down to a pair of Pescarolo LMP1 cars against a Ligier Nissan OR05 DPi. On the GT front, there is something for everybody with a strong contingent of Porsche 991 GT3, Ferrari 458 and Audi R8 LMS entries set to mix it up with a Bentley Continental GT3, a gullwing Mercedes-Benz SLS, BMW M6 GT3 and an Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
Group G (HSR Cars): Group G is home to HSR classes not represented in the other groups. Offering a mix of primarily production cars from six decades of competition, Group G includes many of the same teams and race cars that compete in HSR’s Vintage GT and Historic GT groups and the HSR Classic RS Cup and HSR Stoner Car Care Global GT series. Porsche models from all generations make up the majority of the entries and will take on an Aston Martin, Ferrari 360 and BMW M3. The diverse mix in Group G also includes a Spec Racer Ford, Audi RS3 front-wheel drive TCR touring car and an Australian-built Python SR Mk II.
A competitor test day on Wednesday, Nov. 2, kicks off 2022 HSR Classic Daytona action and sets the stage for the following four days of official competition, culminating with the classic 24-hour race starting at 2 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 5.
The complete entry list and more information on the 2022 HSR Classic Daytona can be found by clicking here. Spectator tickets may be purchased at Daytona’s Gate 40, off of Williamson Boulevard, beginning Thursday, Nov. 3. A variety of single day, two-day and three- and four-day weekend passes are available for purchase, as well as RV and tent camping options and parking passes. Learn more at HSRTickets.com.