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Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring (pronounced "''sea'' bring") Raceway is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States, its first race being run in 1950. Sebring is one of the classic race tracks in North American sports car racing, and plays host to the 12 Hours of Sebring. The raceway occupies a portion of Sebring Regional Airport, an active airport for private and commercial traffic that was originally built as Hendricks Army Airfield, a World War II training base for the U.S. Army Air Forces. ==History== Sebring started life as a United States Army Air Forces training base. From 1941 to 1946, pilots learned to fly the 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.〔(Gunnar Racing )〕 After the war, aeronautical engineer Alec Ulmann,〔http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/26/obituaries/alec-ulmann-is-dead-at-82-pioneer-in-sports-car-racing.html〕 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 racecars from across North America.〔http://www.ggw.org/~cac/Sebring/Sebring.html〕 The first 12 Hours of Sebring was held on March 15, 1952, and the event would grow to become a major international race. In 1959, the racetrack hosted the first Formula One Grand Prix in the United States. Due to the poor attendance and high costs, the next United States Grand Prix was held at Riverside.〔(The United States Grand Prix )〕 For much of Sebring's history, the track followed a layout. In 1967, the Webster Turn between the hairpin and the top of the track was removed and replaced with the faster Green Park Chicane, which was closer to the hairpin and allowed a flat-out run through a very fast corner to the top of the track and the runway; this made the circuit 50 yards longer. The circuit was also widened. Many of these changes were prompted by the 1966 12 Hours where 5 people were killed during the race. Another dangerous section was the Warehouse straight; after a crash where a Porsche went into one of the warehouses and into a crowd, the organizers installed a chicane to move the Warehouse straight further away from the warehouses and buildings. In 1983, the track was changed to allow simultaneous use of the track and one of the runways. In 1987, more changes allowed use of another runway. Further changes in 1991 accommodated expansion of the airport's facilities, and brought the track close to its current configuration. The entire track could now be used without interfering with normal airport operations. In 1997, the hairpin was removed due to a lack of run-off, and replaced with what became known as the "safety pin". Gendebien Bend was also re-profiled to slow the cars' entry to the Ullman straight.〔(12 Hours of Sebring )〕 The track is currently leased by the Panoz Motor Sports Group, who acquired the facility from Andy Evans in 1997.〔(The TACH Report: USRRC Announces '98 Sched, Panoz Buys Sebring From Andy Evans, GM Has New Longer Range Battery For EVs )〕 The track is currently owned by NASCAR via its purchase of the Panoz MSG in September of 2012 〔http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nascar-makes-big-purchase-plans-merger-fan-reaction-121900600--nascar.html〕 The track is often recognized for its famous, high-speed "Turn 17", a long, bumpy, fast right hander that can make or break a car's speed down the front straight. The corner can fit up to 3 cars wide. Skip Barber Racing School holds numerous programs at the facility, including a Scholarship opportunity for young racers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sebring International Raceway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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