24h Le Mans
Bob Riley is a busy man. As well as heading Riley Technologies, the automobile construction company he runs with his son Bill, Riley has recently co-written a book on the art of designing a racing car. This weekend he will taking on the role of Grand Marshal of the 12 Hours of Sebring, the second round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Bob Riley’s motorsports career spans no less than six decades and isn’t over yet. Not by a long shot. Early in his career, the mechanical and aeronautics engineer worked on the suspension design of the Ford GT40 Mk II, the car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the late sixties. He went on to start his own company and his designs revolutionised GT and Trans Am racing in the US.
Riley’s trophy cabinet is proof that he knows a thing or two about racing car design: as a constructor, he can boast a nine-year reign over the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2005-2013).
More recently, Riley Technologies was appointed to design the LM P3 prototypes assembled by Ave Motorsports. Then Le Mans 24 Hours organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest asked Riley to work with Multimatic on a new generation of LM P2 cars that will be launched in 2017.
The last major win for a Riley chassis was in 2014, at Sebring. At the notoriously tough circuit this afternoon, Riley will be giving a press conference in the aptly named Gallery of Legends to talk about The Art of Race Car Design, the book that he co-authored with journalist Jonathan Ingram. As Grand Marshal, he will be playing a key role in the starting ceremony of the 64th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring on Saturday.
Cécile Bonardel / ACO Translated from French by Emma Paulay
PHOTO: Cover of Riley’s book, The Art of Race Car Design
