Following a brief hiatus, the Vero Road Rally Magnifique returned to tempt local car enthusiasts in a big way, offering them an experience on the track at Sebring International Speedway to benefit Treasure Coast Community Health.
Well before the rally on Saturday, which had drivers heading to Sebring from the TCCH facility at Kmart Plaza, racers, sponsors and TCCH staff kicked off the event with an VIP reception in November at the picturesque courtyard of the Caribbean Court Boutique Hotel. At the VIP party, an intimate meet and greet, several of the participants brought out their best cars to put on display.
Shortly after Grand Prix and Formula 5000 racing legend Brian Redman and his son James, Historic Sportscar Racing General Manager at Sebring International Raceway, offered the tantalizing event package, which included a behind the scenes tour at HSR Race Control, a Paddock Tour and a drive onto the famous Sebring race track, 17 drivers quickly signed up.
“They will travel the full course behind the Pace Car doing about 60 miles an hour on one of the longest racetracks in North America for about 20 minutes,” said Brian Redman, adding that HSR supports many charities including Racing for Kids, a nonprofit they fund. “They will have full access to the racers and all of the cars and of course are invited to watch the race with VIP seating and have lunch at Chateau Elan.”
“I like being the navigator,” said Dawn Maxwell, participating with her 15-year old son Austin who was easily the youngest driver. “He thinks I am the cool mom now that I have a BMW convertible.”
They were competing against participants with some pretty racy cars, such as Ron Rosner’s white 2013 Ferrari and Dr. Arthur Splendoria’s 2007 911 GT 3RS Porsche.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Dr. Splendoria.
Along the route to Sebring, the drivers also had to look for mystery locations for which they were given clues in a packet on the morning of the rally. Clues such as, ‘What is the Angry Bull?’ (a saloon and pizzeria in Ft. Pierce) had to be answered along the way before drivers could move on to the next location.
“Everything went according to plan. No one got lost and everyone found our destination at Gate 2 at Sebring,” said Rally Master Karl Steene. “You don’t know what to expect going onto the track but it was amazing. They let us do five laps sailing around the track. It was an exhilarating experience.”
Although previously held in partnership with The Arc of Indian River County, Steene said event organizers felt this time around it would be something of interest to TCCH.
“We receive a lot of very generous program support but we need money for operating expenses to enhance our existing programs,” said TCCH CEO Vicki Soulé. “We hope to raise approximately $30,000 from sponsors, supporters and drivers.”
