IRVINE, Calif. -- A group led by automotive media and marketing veteran Paul Pfanner has re-acquired the publishing rights to Haymarket Media Inc.’s motorsports titles, including SportsCar, the official publication of Sports Car Club of America, as well as RACER, the publication founded by the group 20 years ago.

The purchase returns the titles to the management team that sold majority ownership to Haymarket in 2001.

"The SCCA and SportsCar have been central to my life, my passion for motorsports and my career in the media business and I am excited to be able to re-establish our relationship at this moment of change and opportunity for both organizations,” Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. President & CEO Paul Pfanner said. “I am grateful to Jeff Dahnert and his staff for their faith in our SportsCar magazine team and for making a smooth transition possible."

“SCCA is experiencing a great deal of change, and we celebrated this at our National Convention earlier this month,” SCCA President & CEO Jeff Dahnert said. “This is another exciting development for the Club. Paul Pfanner and his team were at the helm of SportsCar through SCCA’s greatest era of growth. SportsCar has an excellent editorial staff in Irvine, and with a motorsports-based management team back at the helm, we expect great developments with our publishing and communications efforts going forward.

Pfanner published his first issue of SportsCar in January 1984, and served as president of the magazine’s publishing company through its transition to Haymarket, along with RACER and Racer Communication’s custom publishing arm, in 2001.

"Following discussions over the past several months, we are pleased to have finalized this deal," Pfanner said. "I thank Haymarket for their able stewardship of the business and I am grateful to [Haymarket Media, Inc., CEO] Lee Maniscalco and the Haymarket team for making it possible for the company to go forward under our leadership. Our goal is to continue to produce market-leading magazines, websites and other media content that will be respected for its quality and informed, authoritative voice.”

Joining Pfanner in the new venture are longtime business associates and SportsCar veterans Bill Sparks and Jeff Zwart. Laurence Foster will remain on as Editor-in-Chief of the publications, as will SportsCar Editor Philip Royle and Associate Editor Jason Isley.

About SCCA
Founded in 1944, Sports Car Club of America, Inc. is a 40,000-member motorsports organization that incorporates all facets of autocross, rally and road racing at both club and professional levels. It annually sanctions over 2,000 events through its 115 regions and professional subsidiary. Landmark events and series for the Club include the SafeRacer SCCA National Racing Series, which includes the BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Super Tour; the Club Racing National Championship Runoffs® at Road America; and The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Championships and ProSolo Championship at Lincoln, Neb. For more information, please visit www.scca.com.