Team Continental was formed in 1957. There were eight founding members, all of whom were employees of Continental Motors which was then located at 19th and Morrison in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were sports car enthusiasts and most of them owned race cars. The group joined the newly founded International Conference of Sports Car Clubs. Initially Team Continental was entered into the International Conference of Sports Car Clubs as an affiliate member.
During those early days the club members consisted solely of drivers. The club would host driver trainings that lasted three days, instructing, just as today, members of the public wishing to improve their driving skills. The club also organized driver trainings for governmental organizations such as the Portland Police Bureau who used Team Continental as a resource within the community to improve their officers’ driving abilities.
During the early 1960s the composition of Team Continental’s membership changed from a drivers-only club to an organization where any person interested in motor sports was welcomed into the fold. With the increase in membership facilitated by the decision to open membership to driving enthusiasts, Team Continental began, during the mid 1980′s, to host club road racing events. Team Continental has hosted races at a variety of tracks throughout the Northwest: Olympia, Washington; Tri-Cities, Washington; Port Orford, Oregon; Thunderhill, Willows, California and Spokane, Washington.
As of 2009 and the certification of Oregon Raceway Park in Grass Valley Oregon, Team Continental now has a “home” track and the ability to run events at our will. All three races held by Team Continental in 2010 were a resounding success cementing ORP as a world class race track. All this is possible thanks to the many TC members that were instrumental in the concept and development of ORP.
TC History