24h Le Mans
24 HOURS CENTENARY – MAKES, MARQUES and IMPRINTS ⎮ The success of American sports car manufacturer Panoz went beyond simply building cars. An industrialist, circuit owner and championship promoter, founder Don Panoz (1935-2018) is recognised as one of the most important endurance racing revivalists in motorsport history.
Among American manufacturers seen at the 24 Hours, there have been plenty of colourful personalities. Carroll Shelby was a WWII flight instructor and later a poultry farmer. Briggs Cunningham won one of the most prestigious sailing competitions, the America's Cup, as skipper. Chaparral founder Jim Hall is a Texas oil billionaire. Jim Glickenhaus is a former film director and producer. And Don Panoz is another exceptional character, to whom endurance racing pretty much owes its renaissance.
Panoz is a true American Dream story that began with the birth of Eugene Panunzio in Avezzano, Italy. Upon emigrating to the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century, Panunzio changed his last name to Panoz and cultivated a respectable career in the boxing's featherweight class.
Born on 13 February 1935, his son Don earned a fortune across a career in the pharmaceutical industry. After opening two pharmacies, he led the group of researchers who developed the nicotine patch, filing the patent and retaining ownership through his own Elan Corporation. As a billionaire, Panoz immersed himself in the automobile industry in 1989 with the creation of Panoz Auto Development, of which his son Dan took over the management.
In 1998 near his Chateau Elan Winery & Resort in Georgia, Panoz founded Petit Le Mans at the Road Atlanta circuit he eventually purchased. On 18 September 1999, at the 2nd running of the 1,000-mile race (1,600 km or 10 hours max), he experienced the thrill of seeing one his own cars, the Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S, win thanks to French driver Éric Bernard along with British driver Andy Wallace and Australian driver David Brabham, respectively previous (in 1988) and future (in 2009) winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
But Panoz didn't stop with Petit Le Mans. Also in 1999 and with the approval of the ACO, he launched the American Le Mans Series based on 24 Hours technical regulations. The championship ensured a place for endurance racing in American motorsport and served as the first step in the discipline's rebirth. The current endurance pyramid is represented by the Michelin Le Mans Cup, Asian Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in 2011 and today's FIA World Endurance Championship the following year. In 2012, Panoz became a spearhead of the DeltaWing, first occupant of Garage 56 at the 24 Hours reserved for an innovative, non-competing prototype.
On the track, Panoz also brought back front-engine prototypes with their spectacular shapes and the signature American V8 sound always so popular at Le Mans.
Twenty-two Panoz cars were fielded at the 24 Hours between 1998 and 2007. Nine finished the race, including six overall top 10s (7th in 1998 and 1999, 6th and 8th in 2000). In 2000, American driver Johnny O’Connell, Frenchman Pierre-Henri Raphanel and Japanese driver Hiroki Katoh finished fifth. It was the marque's best result at Le Mans, matched in 2003 by Moneco native Olivier Beretta and Italian drivers Gunnar Jeannette and Max Papis. But it was in GT that Panoz truly made his name at the 24 Hours. In 2006, the Esperante of Tom Kimber-Smith, Richard Dean and Lawrence Tomlinson won its class, taking 15th place overall under the chequered flag.
In 2012, Panoz underscored his interest in innovation as a partner in the creation of the DeltaWing. Entrusted to Scottish driver Marino Franchitti, German driver Michael Krumm and Japanese driver Satoshi Motoyama, the Nissan DeltaWing was forced to retire on Saturday evening unfortunately.
Panoz also worked as an advocate for women in motorsport. In tandem with founding the American Le Mans Series in 1999, he launched the all-female championship Women’s Global GT Series. Among the drivers of the coupé version of the DeltaWing seen on the track in the U.S. was the Brit Katherine Legge. His efforts won Panoz the Women in the Winner’s Circle Leadership Award presented to him in 2015 at his favourite race, Petit Le Mans and the ACO paid tribute to Don Panoz by naming a footbridge after him at the circuit in 2021.
PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO Archives): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 1998-2012 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. From top to bottom: four snapshots of Don Panoz's cars at the race, namely the 2006 GT class winner #81 Esperante GTLM, the #45 Esperante GTR-1 seventh in 1998, the #11 2002 LMP01 prototype and the #0 2012 Nissan DeltaWing.
