Antonio "Tony" Garcia (born September 14, 1945, in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban American former racing driver. Over the course of his career, Garcia had raced more than eighty professional races. Garcia was also the first Hispanic driver, along with Alberto Vadia, to win the 24 Hours of Daytona (GTO) in 1980.[1]
| Antonio (Tony) Garcia | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Cuban American |
| Born | September 14, 1945 Havana, Cuba |
| Retired | 1985 |
| Years active | 1971 - 1985 |
| Teams | German Motors, Inc. & Chem Air Spray, Inc.
Delta Racing Montura Ranch Estates Conrad Racing Montura Racing DeNarvaez Enterprises Florida Crystals/Montura Racing Tony Garcia Racing B de T Racing Sauber Racing Switzerland Conte Racing Hartge Motorsport Ralph Sanchez Racing E. J. Pruitt |
| Car number | 83 - 72 - 30 - 44 - 54 - 82 - 46 - 84 |
| Co-driver | Montalvo / Gomez- Mena / Alberto Naon / De Cardenas
De Narváez/Freyre / Ouellette / Vadia / Herman Cruz / Sereix / Stiff / Montoya / Ullon / Mcfarlin Fittipaldi / Morton / Spenard / Adamowicz / Lonbenberg |
| Wins | 1st: 5 times
2nd: 10 times 3rd : 4 times Top 3 finishes: 19 times |
| Poles | 19 |
| Awards | |
| Most Improved Driver 1980 IMSA GTO | |
Early life
editGarcia was born on September 14, 1945, in Havana, Cuba. His father was an attorney, mostly working in real estate cases. When Garcia was 12 years old, he got his first motorcycle with the help of his sister, despite his mother being opposed to him racing.[2] He was brought along to watch motorsport races in Cuba since he was 10 years old, by a family friend Juan Montalvo.[3] In 1960, his family left the country when the Communist regime of Fidel Castro started to take full control of Cuba, and moved to Miami, Florida, and Garcia subsequently enrolled at St. Patrick's High School.[2]
Career
editHe raced for IMSA GT Championship between 1971 and 1985. In 1975, he won his first professional race (GTU) in the 12 hour Sebring. In 1980 IMSA GT Championship[4] hi finish first in GTO at Daytona International Speedway, Riverside California Raceway and the 100 miles Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. In 1982, he raced in the 1982 World Sportscar Championship at the 6 Hours of Silverstone finishing first in GTO and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving a BMW M1. In the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans, he finished 9th[5][6] with the Sauber C7, just behind eight Porsche 956s, breaking the perfect top 10 of the Porsche team.Porsche used that result to create the poster "Nobody’s perfect".[7] He also drove in the Grand Prix of Miami[8] in 1983, finishing 7th, and in 1985, finishing in 3rd position.
Trophies
edit
References
edit- ^ "Tony Garcia ama la velocidad desde niño". El Miami Herald (in Spanish): 16. Feb 10, 1980 – via www.newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Archdeacon, Tom (March 20, 1980). "Just who is the best Cuban race car driver? Try Tony Garcia". The Miami News. pp. 6C.
- ^ Long, Gary (March 20, 1981). "Latin drivers make Sebring a tradition". The Miami Herald. p. 229.
- ^ Long, Gary (January 30, 1980). "Miamian Figures High at Daytona". The Miami Herald – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Le Mans 24h Race". The Sacramento Bee. Jun 20, 1983. pp. D6.
- ^ "Auto Racing Le Mans". Tallahassee Democrat. Jun 20, 1983. pp. 5B.
- ^ Lindhorst, Richard (November 20, 2018). "Nobody's perfect – How Porsche dominated Le Mans". elferspot.com.
- ^ "Garcia y Fittipaldi: binomio a". El Miami Herald (in Spanish). February 20, 1984 – via Newspapers.com.