I dread to think how many glasses/bottles of Rioja I have dispensed with while watching Kevin Jeannette of Gunnar Racing and his awesome Youtube videos. It’s probably a lot, but I’m not complaining: these videos are so much fun.
Kevin is the go-to guy for my dream cars: Porsche sports racers of the 1970s. I’m currently working on a words and pics piece about the David Piper 917 – chassis number 021 – that Kevin restored for a European collector. The car was driven by our friend Gijs van Lennep at the last two Rennsports (I shot my piece at Rennsport IV), so I’ve been watching the videos all over again.
Of the many Youtube 917 resto vids KJ posted, I think this one is my favourite. There’s so much going on here, from Kevin’s love of a good hat (hats are sent in by people following the resto progress) to the obvious depth of knowledge that he totally takes for granted, to his delight in getting bombed on paint fumes and making a fart joke for wife Sharon, who does all the camerawork.
At Rennsport, I told Sharon that I was really into the Gunnar videos and I seriously was not kidding: they are superb. See the lot on the Gunnar Racing Youtube channel.
If you’re not into 917s, then check for a pulse: they are AWESOME! Enjoy this – Kevin just cracks me up.
More great Porsche Rennsport Reunion video has just gone up on Youtube. Some of it is from Friday practice, some from Saturday and Sunday racing. All of it is COOL.
Check the skids, and the height that 911 inside front wheels get to when they’re sliding down the Corkscrew! Awesome!
Porsche Rennsport Reunion Video
About Porsche Rennsport Reunion:
Laguna Seca Raceway hosted Rennsport Reunion IV, the fourth installment of the world’s largest classic Porsche motorsport gathering. Rennsport Reunion is sponsored by Porsche Club of North America, and brings together automotive enthusiasts, owners and collectors of significant Porsche race cars, past and present.
Back in the UK after ten days in California at Rennsport Reunion IV. Jet lag be damned – have got straight back to work on the new garage/studio out the back and processing some pictures from my ten-day working tour. Here’s a hole worth 40 tonnes of spoil: 140 tonnes removed from the back so far and I think we may hit 200.
Anyway, back to Porsche. The TwinSpark Racing blog carries the story of Waldegard’s 911T from the 1968 Monte which was at the event. I didn’t spend half enough time with it, but I’m sure I can get more info from Björn when next we meet. I was born the day after this car crossed the line in 10th place. Love that.
Björn is driving a Tuthill Porsche for Race4Change in next month’s Safari Rally: I am blogging for all the interested parties and have a Waldegård feature in this month’s Total 911 magazine. It’s a good piece and a good-looking piece: more details when the issue is on sale.
Friend of Jamie Lipman, J F Musial and his team did the official Porsche video post-Rennsport. Jamie describes it as ‘shrink-wrapped awesome’, and he is right. Have a look at this and put Rennsport 5 on your bucket list. Don’t let us down!
This Porsche 911 RSR at Rennsport Reunion photo is currently going slightly ballistic on my Tumblr page. I call it “Big, Bad and Dangerous to Know”.
I took this at a low point in the weekend. Yes, there were low points! It was late in the afternoon, I’d just been refused a photo pass without prior approval and then scolded by a track lady for standing on a low wall for five seconds. I was dehydrating, sunburnt, carrying a heavy photo bag and life was generally shit.
But life don’t stay shit for long when you’re surrounded by classic Porsche machinery. Standing next to the famous Jeans RSR, the crowds parted for half a second and I was ready to rock. Bam! In the Nikon. I see it as a double page opener for my Rennsport story: we’ll see how that goes.
Ten minutes later, I was in the rental car with a bottle of water, aircon on and the Zuffenhaus boys in the back. We had an early dinner at Baja Cantina, then I dropped them for their flight home and headed off to bed early.
When I woke up, everything was all better. Sleep is the best cure for what ails ya.
Arrived in Monterey last night for Rennsport Reunion 2011. First job was to catch up with the Grays and finally meet Mr East Coast Porsche himself, Tommy Johnson.
Rennsport Reunion IV 2011 Monterey
Hyatt Monterey is again the home of the R Gruppe massive. The car park was somewhat bereft when I arrived, as all were at the Baja Cantina – a great little Mexican joint/steak house on the Carmel Valley Road. We didn’t get there until after 8, so a lot of 911s had left by then, but we bumped into the Dutch contingent and were invited to gatecrash their table (sorry guys!).
Lotta fun there then more chat in the car park before calling it a night. I’m staying up in Pacific Grove so got to the hotel here at 11. Pacific Grove is a divine spot, well away from the hubbub. This peaceful location on the Pacific coast sets the scene for a weekend of work and track time: really looking forward to it.
Gonna do some writing here this morning and head to sign on about midday. Will upload some pics from the track as soon as I can get an Internet connection.
Porsche Cars North America has a Porsche film contest running on its mydailymagic website at the minute. The competition is an offshoot of the ‘Porsche Everyday’ campaign, where we drivers (and erstwhile prospective purchasers) are encouraged to consider how Porsche fits the everyday routine, while also staying romantically stitched into our subconscious.
I’ve only just heard about this film competition, so I’m sad to say that entries are already closed. Sorry if that’s a blow to your pent-up creativity. The final ten films are on the site for you to watch and vote for. The winner gets some very nice exposure for their work andA 911 FOR A YEAR! Pretty cool by any film contest standard.
My inner critic started by watching Kristina Woo’s “The Ride”, then set to watching the rest of the films: all made by boys (I think). Disappointed with the predictability of most other offerings, I was almost certain that Kristina would whack the Classic Porsche Blog gong until – *HALLELUJAH* – I watched Michael Koerbel’s film.
Michael plainly gets the Porsche thing, with big fat knobs on, and a cherry on the top. So he gets my vote! Kristina is my runner up: I don’t feel as much flow, but it’s marginal and I get where she is coming from. I have two of those myself…
We all get a kick out of different things. Our votes only count for part of the results: the rest of the marks are for Porsche’s list of “overall appeal, originality and creativity, understanding and demonstration of “Porsche Daily Magic” and adherence to the creative assignment.” edit: 16/5/2015: sadly the original entries are gone now but Michael’s is still on his Vimeo, hence it is above.
The winning film premieres at a red carpet event at the Downtown Independent Theatre in LA on October 4th, and will show at Landmark Theatres across the USA later that week. Kudos to Porsche and all the contestants – top effort.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
