conceptcarz.com

PETER SACHS RECEIVES RRDC'S 2013 BOB AKIN AWARD

Company press release.

PETER SACHS RECEIVES RRDC'S 2013 BOB AKIN AWARDDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2014) - Peter Sachs, a retired successful SCCA, IMSA, USRRC and vintage racer, received the 2013 Bob Akin Award from the Road Racing Drivers Club at a dinner prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2014 TUDOR SportsCar Championship.

Each recipient of this honor, considered the top award in motorsports for amateur, vintage/historic or semi-professional drivers, is selected by Akin's son Bobby, RRDC members Brian Redman and Archie Urciuoli, and approved by RRDC president Bobby Rahal.

The distinctive trophy was conceived by the RRDC in 2003 to honor the memory of longtime RRDC member and past president Bob Akin, who lost his life in a racing accident in 2002.

The trophy was designed by Steuben Glass in Corning, N.Y., and is given to a driver who best exemplifies the extraordinary qualities and characteristics that Akin represented, including a passion for motorsports and automobiles, a high level of sportsmanship and fair play, and who has contributed to the sport of motor racing.

Sachs' racing career has spanned more than four decades. Today he manages the Klemantaski Collection, one of the world's largest archives of motorsports photography.

Born in 1939 in New York City, Sachs has lived most of his life in Stamford, Conn. He graduated from Harvard College and later received an MBA from New York University. While at college he got involved in automotive competition, starting by competing against Skip Barber, another Harvard alumnus, in parking-lot gymkhanas.

He drove his first actual race at Silverstone (England) in 1960 in a Turner 950 and continued racing until 2007. In 1963 he was the SCCA national champion in F Modified, driving a Lotus 23. He won an SCCA divisional title in 1964 with a Brabham BT5, setting a lap record at Lime Rock Park (Conn.). Sachs also raced in IMSA Firehawk, Grand-Am Cup and vintage series.

For some years he was in the automobile business in the Boston area and then spent 37 years as an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co.


Trending News

Hyundai Joined the 200th Anniversary Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade and Celebration
Acura Wins Sebring!
Maserati MSG Racing stages incredible recovery drive to take points in São Paulo
New Vantage Aston Martin GT4 makes history with maiden victory at Sebring International Raceway
Double honors for Nissan in S&P Global Mobility Automotive Loyalty Awards

He has been retired, from both work and racing, for several years.

Sachs was presented the award by Urciuoli, Akin and Rahal. 'Bob Akin was regrettably lost to us a little more than 11 years ago,' said Urciuoli. 'Those who knew Bob knew that he was a hell of a guy, a hell of a businessman, a hell of a racer. His Bob Akin Motorsports was a mainstay in historic racing and he did a lot for the sport in general. He was a great raconteur and authored many articles about motorsports and the like.

'We're pleased to present this award to Peter Sachs, a longtime member of the RRDC,' added Urciuoli. 'He raced early on in gymkhanas, then got hooked up with some guy named Skip Barber while they were in school together. He competed in England in a Turner at places such as Silverstone and Brands Hatch and eventually got involved in the British Saloon Car championship in a Chevy II, winning several races against competitors like Graham Hill, Roy Salvadori, Jack Sears and Mike Parkes.'

'I am overcome by this,' said Sachs. 'About 56 years ago when I was a freshman in college before I started gymkhanas as a kid, one summer I went to see some friends in the Midwest and we drove up to this place called Elkhart Lake (Wis.) to see the SCCA June Sprints. In those days when you went to Elkhart Lake the big teams took over car dealerships or gas stations. Charlie Hughes had a brand new Ferrari Testa Rosa that Danny Collins was going to drive, and the Cunningham team was there with Alfred Momo. Walt Hansgen would drive one Lister and Ed Crawford would drive the other, and they finished one-two on Sunday.

'I got into the Cunningham garage and there was a helmet on the bench and I said to one of the kids working for Momo, 'What's that?' 'That's Mr. Hansgen's helmet, don't touch it,' he replied. I was not about to touch Walt Hansgen's helmet, but on the front of it was this symbol that a lot of us are wearing on our lapels tonight. 'What's that emblem on the front of his helmet?' I asked. And he said, 'That's the Road Racing Drivers Club and only the best drivers in the country can join that.'

'And I said to myself, Gee, I love motor racing, and if I could do some of this, I thought maybe some day, somehow, I could be part of that organization. And to receive this award tonight, in the name of my friend Bob Akin, is more important to me than you can imagine.

'I hope in the years to come I'm still doing the things which make me a worthy recipient of this award and to live up to the challenge in the future.'

Past RRDC Bob Akin Award honorees:

2003 – Sam Posey

2004 – Charlie Gibson

2005 – John Fitch

2006 – Jim Haynes

2007 – Cameron Argetsinger

2008 – Jim Downing

2009 – Steven J. Earle

2010 – Augie Pabst

2011 - Don Knowles

2012 - Miles Collier

About the RRDC:

The Road Racing Drivers Club was formed in 1952 as a way to give champion drivers a say in their sport, particularly in the areas of safety, and has evolved to serve the future of road racing by mentoring new drivers on both amateur and professional levels. The Club's membership includes leading industry professionals, race officials and motorsports journalists, in addition to prominent racing names.

In 2011, the RRDC launched a free on-line training seminar – www.SAFEisFAST.com – featuring more than 30 RRDC members and other industry experts in high-quality videos covering subjects from physical and mental preparation to driving techniques, driver safety to car setup and sponsorship. The videos are updated regularly. Each week, a professional from the world of motor racing answers readers' questions on the site in a feature called 'Ask a Pro.'

President Bobby Rahal is the 1986 Indy 500 winner and is co-owner with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan of the 2004 Indianapolis 500-winning Rahal, Letterman, Lanigan Racing team. Ten-time SCCA National champion John Fergus (who also has three Pro Sports 2000 crowns and one IMSA championship) is the Club's Vice President/Treasurer, and five-time SCCA National champion Tom Davey is the Secretary.

In addition to RRDC members lending their expertise to up-and-coming drivers, the Club presents three annual awards: the Phil Hill Award for rendering outstanding service to road racing; the Mark Donohue Award for personal spirit and performance at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs; and the Bob Akin Award – the top award presented to amateur and semi-professional racers – for speed with style, passion, sportsmanship and contribution to motorsports.

The RRDC also supports the Team USA Scholarship, which has been assisting young Americans in the early stages of their careers since 1990. Membership in the RRDC is by invitation only. Additional information on the organization may be found at www.rrdc.org.

posted on conceptcarz.com

Related Posts