<CORSA Chapters> Fwd: IMRRC Hosting Talk about John C. Fitch on May 6

Wed May 3 18:32:10 EDT 2017

Subj: IMRRC Hosting Talk  about John C. Fitch on May 6

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FOR  IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Glenda  Gephart, International Motor Racing Research  Center
Director of  Administration and Communications
607-535-9044; glenda at racingarchives.org

Judy  Stropus
203-438-0501;  cell 203-243-2438
 jstropus at earthlink.net

May 6 Center Conversations to Focus  on
Sports Car Racing Legend John  Fitch

This  photograph from the International Motor Racing  Research Center's 
John C. Fitch Collection is an  artful portrait of Fitch with his 1966  
Corvair-based Phoenix prototype. The photograph  was used to promote the Phoenix, 
but the car was  never put into production. The Phoenix will be  on display 
at the Racing Research Center for the  May 6 talk about  Fitch.

WATKINS  GLEN, N.Y. (April 19, 2017) - Sports car racing  legend, engineer 
and innovator John Cooper Fitch  will be the subject of a Center 
Conversations  talk May 6 at the International Motor Racing  Research Center.  

"The Exciting Life of John C. Fitch"  will be presented at 1 p.m. by Fitch 
historian  and archivist Lawrence W. Berman and Fitch  friend Bob Sirna.

Fitch's 1966 Corvair-based Phoenix  prototype will be on display for 
thetalk. It is  expected to arrive at the Center next week.  

The talk is sponsored in part by the  Watkins Glen Area Chamber of 
Commerce, and is  open to all. The Racing Research Center is  located at 610 S. Dec
atur St., Watkins Glen,  N.Y.

A $5 donation for admission is  requested to help defray costs.

The talk will be live-streamed at  www.youtube.com/user/IMRRC/live or via 
the  Center's website at  www.racingarchives.org/stream/. The talk also  will 
be archived on the Center's You Tube  channel to watch in the future.

The Racing Research Center, a  motorsports archival and research library,  
houses a significant collection of Fitch  materials, including his own 
archives donated  late last year by his sons, John, Christopher  and Stephen 
Fitch. Berman facilitated the  donation.

"We are delighted to have Larry  Berman, a leading expert on Fitch's 
career, and  Bob Sirna, who traveled for many years with  Fitch, provide their 
unique perspectives on his  remarkable life and contributions to racing,"  Head 
Archivist Jenny Ambrose said.

"Their beautifully illustrated  presentation will be part of a larger  
celebration of Fitch's life and will serve as  the opening event for the 
Center's new  exhibition on Fitch. Featuring selections from  the Center's 
extensive Fitch collections, the  exhibition will include his goggles and racing  
helmet, trophies from his racing victories and  portraits by noted motorsports 
photographer  Jesse Alexander. Photographs, papers and  ephemera reflecting 
Fitch's diverse interests  and accomplishments will also be displayed,"  
Ambrose said.

Fitch established his collection at  the IMRRC in 1999 with the donation of 
papers  relating to his engineering career as a safety  designer and 
consultant, with particular  emphasis on the Fitch Inertial Barrier and the  
displaceable guardrail.

Other donors have added to the Fitch  materials over the years.

Fitch died on Oct. 31, 2012, at the  age of 95.

"John Fitch lived an exciting,  storied and full life. We will attempt to 
hit  the highlights of an amazing career which  included fighter pilot, race 
car driver, race  and highway safety specialist, fuel catalyst  inventor and 
many more," Berman said. "In  reviewing his many accomplishments, one would 
 have to conclude that it was an honor and a  privilege to have been 
considered his  friend."

The Fitch Collection includes  correspondence, technical reports and 
publicity  and sales materials relating to the Fitch  Phoenix. The one-off car is 
now owned by Charles  Mallory of Connecticut, who has generously  placed it 
on display at the Center.

Fitch became the first Sports Car  Club of America (SCCA) National Champion 
in  1951, claimed a victory at the 12 Hours of  Sebring in 1953, won his 
class in the Mille  Miglia in Italy in 1955 and was awarded a Golden  Jubilee 
Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in Northern  Ireland the same year. He won five 
major  international road races, including the first  Buenos Aires Grand Prix 
in Argentina in 1951.  

He participated in almost 140 races  on three continents, from the first 
post-World  War II road race at Bridgehampton in 1949 to his  last 
professional race at Sebring in  1966.

Fitch's work as an inventor was  extensive. His most well-known innovations 
 include the inertial barriers, barrels that  protect drivers from 
dangerous hazards at exit  ramps and bridge abutments; the Driver Safety  Capsule, a 
compartment in a race car that  surrounds and protects drivers in the event 
of a  collision; and his devices and treatments for  improving fuel economy 
in cars and  ships.

For more information about the work  of the International Motor Racing 
Research  Center, visit the website www.racingarchives.org. 

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International Motor Racing  Research Center,  610 S. Decatur St., Watkins 
Glen, NY 14891
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