Alec Ulmann

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Alec Ulmann was a pioneer of sports car road racing in North America and the founder of the Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance in Florida.

After the war, aeronautical engineer Alec Ulmann, seeking sites to restore military aircraft for civilian use, saw potential in Hendricks' runways to stage a sports car endurance race, similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sebring's first race was held on New Year's Eve of 1950. The Sam Collier 6 Hour Memorial race was won by Fritz Koster and Ralph Deshon in a Crosley Hot Shot that had been driven to the track by Victor Sharpe. This first race attracted thirty race cars from across North America.

Subject ID: 10038

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Alec Ulmann was a pioneer of sports car road racing in North America and the founder of the Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance in Florida.

After the war, aeronautical engineer Alec Ulmann, seeking sites to restore military aircraft for civilian use, saw potential in Hendricks' runways to stage a sports car endurance race, similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sebring's first race was held on New Year's Eve of 1950. The Sam Collier 6 Hour Memorial race was won by Fritz Koster and Ralph Deshon in a Crosley Hot Shot that had been driven to the track by Victor Sharpe. This first race attracted thirty race cars from across North America.

Sebring started life as a United States Army Air Forces training base. From 1941 to 1946, pilots learned to fly the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. This lineage was commemorated by a special livery on Gunnar Racing's Panoz in the 2002 12 Hours of Sebring resembling a World War II-era B-17 Flying Fortress.

Subject ID: 10038

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Subject ID: 10038