FSR Mot orsport s Royalt y: Mark Leuzinger

Porsche Mot orsport Royalt y: FSR'SMark Leuzinger

As told to Bob Weber by Mark Leuzinger

Mark, a 50 year PCA member, is motorsports royalty to our FSR community. He will always downplay his racing accomplishments, but in the final analysis, Mark competed in some very serious hardware in road race series that captivated our younger imaginations. And if 4 wheeled competition vehicles were not enough, there was that foray with the 2-wheeled kind...requiring yet another set of very specialized skills. Let me allow Mark to share with you his motorsports story:

I began racing go karts in 1963 with an X (novice) on the back of my helmet and a good luck wish from the local track owner. Go kart racing was great fun and turned me into a street fighter. I eventually learned what it took to win races but ground through a lot of

helmets on the way! In 1970 I bought my first Porsche and attended several excellent Porsche Club of America (PCA) driving schools over the next few years. The schools were held at some of the best tracks in the country (Brainerd, Road America, Mid Ohio, Blackhawk, Indianapolis, Lime Rock) by some very competent drivers. I later had the opportunity to be an instructor for PCA at some of those same tracks.

I joined the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) in 1973 and landed my first full sponsored ride for the newly formed Showroom Stock series. I attended the requisite two driver schools, broke two track records, won several races, and received the Rookie Driver of the Year award for the SCCA Mid West Division. The cars (Opel and Porsche) with sponsor decals appeared in two auto shows, several mall displays, newspaper ads, and articles.I earned my SCCA National license, drove several different cars including a Porsche 914, and decided to turn professional. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving helped me fine tune my driving skills. In 1974 I also received sanctioning from the American Speed Association (ASA) and drove a Mustang on several local speedways.

In 1975 I started my career as a professional driver. I joined the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and earned my Federation of International Automobile (FIA) license. At that time there were only about 500 drivers worldwide with an FIA license. I concentrated on endurance racing (12 Hours of Sebring, Road America 500 km, etc.) in a position of team manager, car owner, and driver. I built my own engines, did the chassis set up, and worked out all of the logistics for the team. The crew varied in size from six to over a dozen depending on the length of the race. In July 1975 I attended the Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) Advanced Drivers Clinic & Seminar headed by Mark Donohue. My instructors were Mark Donohue and Bob Tullius from Group 44 fame, what an honor. I raced professionally with IMSA through 1983. The cars (Porsche and Pantera) were built to FIA Group IV

specifications and were always immaculately prepared. I did several radio, television, and newspaper interviews including two half hour television talk shows featuring car, driver, and sponsors. In addition, pictures of the car and team appeared in several newspapers and race programs. Rising costs and declining sponsorship finally reached the point that I decided I could no longer afford to race. I have consequently taught dozens of people to drive fast, safely through my association with PCA, BMW Owners of America, and various other clubs and affiliations.

Markwasinstrumental in thecollaboration between Mooneyaircraft and Porsche, petitioningPeter Schutz and RayLoPresti at Mooneyto createtheMooneyM20Laircraft powered bya 3.2L Porscheaviation engine. Mark'sis#38 or 41 built. Notethetail number!

years, I decided to give motorcycle racing a try. In May of 1987 I signed up for the Riders Advanced Training School (RATS) at Willow Springs headed by Reg Pridmore. In July 1987 I attended the Wes Cooley school at Willow Springs to get a little more track time and test myself against some of the faster riders. I prepared a bike for stock production racing and completed another RATS in October 1987. I had then run the equivalent of 33 six lap motorcycle races at Willow Springs. I attended the California Leading Advanced Safety School (CLASS) in May and October 1988, April 1989, and April 1996 to refine my riding technique.

My first motorcycle race was October 1987 sanctioned by the American Road Racing Association (ARRA). I completed the ARRA riders school and finished the season earning my expert license In 1988 I earned my expert license with the Western Eastern Racing Association (WERA) and formed the FBN Racing Team. We signed a three year contract with Yamaha to race Yamaha FZR400's, FZR750R's and FZR1000's. We competed in the WERA National Endurance Series including the 24 Hours of Willow Springs as well as selected sprint races with both ARRA and WERA. We won the WERA National Endurance Series in 1989. I retired from motorcycle racing at the conclusion of the 1990 season. In March 1991 I completed a one day refresher course at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Chandler Arizona.

In 2013 I interviewed for a race engineer position with Rick Hendrick Motorsports. After a full day of interviews with every department I went home and waited patiently. I finally got the call that I was well qualified but didn? t have enough circle track experience. I argued I could make a car turn left and right to no avail.