24h Le Mans
A little more than a month after the death of Don Panoz on 11 September, Petit Le Mans paid tribute to its creator at the start of the 21st running of the race. After a very emotional moment of prayer led by Terry Borcheller (previous winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona), the DeltaWing and GTR-1 led the pack of competitors before the warm-up lap.
Don Panoz, with his mischievous smile, loved to talk about how he fell in love with Le Mans during his very first visit back in 1997. In fact, after making his fortune in the pharmaceutical industry and deciding to retire, he invested in and dedicated himself to motorsport and racing cars.
His passion for the 24 Hours of Le Mans led him to create Petit Le Mans in 1998 at the Road Atlanta circuit that he had recently bought because it was located a few miles from his vineyard. So it was the perfect place to pay tribute to this visionary and legend. The two cars chosen to take the honorary lap around the circuit in Georgia were the GTR-1 and the DeltaWing, the first and the last of Panoz's racing creations. The DeltaWing was even granted Garage 56 reserved for innovative projects at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012.
PHOTOS ABOVE (Copyright - Cécile Bonardel/ACO): Jan Magnussen at the wheel of the Panoz GTR-1, the Panoz Esperante class winner at the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1999 Panoz roadster with the names Jan Magnussen and David Brabham.
Two drivers with special ties to Panoz, Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen, were given the honor of the lap in the iconic cars, the GTR-1 for its front engine and the DeltaWing for its orginal and innovative shape. The American was a part of the adventure from the beginning, competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998 at the wheel of one of the two GTR-1s fielded (retirement) and the Dane joined the Panoz family at the end of 1999 right before the debut of the Roadster, an open GTR-1 to comply with the new regulations. Both drivers later successfully moved on to Corvette Racing, which for Don Panoz showed he had made good choices in his drivers.
Jan Magnussen was thrilled to reunite with the GTR-1 in front of his son Kevin, a Haas F1 driver. The first time Jan ever drove the GTR-1 was at Road Atlanta during a practice session, then he took the wheel at Sebring the following year (retirement): "It was fantastic even though it was a slow speed lap. What surprised me most was the noise! The engine is still just as deafening, nothing has changed!"
After a lap in front of the field of competitors, the two cars returned to the canopy in the paddock where are on display several Panozs, both road and racing, including the Esperante class winner at the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans.
PHOTO (Copyright - Cécile Bonardel/ACO): The 1998 Panoz GTR-1.
