![Tuthill Porsche win in Belgian Historic Rally Championship]()
by John Glynn | Apr 29, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Tuthill Porsche customer and former Belgian Historic Champion, Glenn Janssens, has taken his first win in the Rallye de Wallonie, round three of the 2014 Yokohama Belgian Historic Rally Championship.
Three Days of Hard Charging
Chased hard from the start by Raphael Borman’s Escort, Janssens could not relax when the Ford hit trouble. Right behind Borman was long-time rival Dirk Devereux in another Escort, closely followed by Patrick Mylleville in a Tuthill-fettled Porsche.
When the chequered flag fell after three days of flat-out action, it was Janssens and experienced co-driver Stefan Prevot who crossed the finish line first, and on top of the championship leader board. The Tuthill Porsche team could not contain its excitement following another strong European win.
Tuthill Thrilled to Win
“The Belgian Historic championship is a true test of rally machinery,” said Richard Tuthill. “This country may look flat, but the courses demand tough cars and precision driving. Glenn excelled with this win and rightly takes the championship lead.
“Nothing excites Tuthill Porsche more than great competition. Glenn is a great competitor and a pleasure to work with. The championship runs to November, so we’ll be working flat out to keep the car on song, ensuring Glenn and Stefan get the support and equipment required to fight for victory. A second Belgian Championship title for a Tuthill 911 would be an amazing achievement.”
“This weekend, we used three different brands of tyres,” said Glenn. “I started on Dunlop but found more grip with the new Pirelli tyres we used on Saturday afternoon. On sunday I switched to Michelin rubber, which was most effective in this excellent weather. I’m really looking forward to the next round of the season.”
Round 4 of the 2014 Belgian Historic Rally Championship is the Sezoens Rally, starting on May 16th. Here’s some video of Glenn Janssens in action last weekend:
by John Glynn | Apr 28, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
Now Ted the Jack Russell Terrier is here, I’m probably going to run a split dog guard in the Cayenne and maybe get a roof box for the odd time the whole family takes off in it. Seems the standard Cayenne roof bars are too wide for most aftermarket boxes: need to try and find a Porsche one.
Looking at Cayenne roof box pictures on Rennlist (mostly a deterrent to my idea), I found these pics of Andy Roe’s paint-to-sample 1991 964 C2 Coupe with a Thule roof box fitted. Seemed pretty handy so I dropped him a line.
“At 320 litres, this is more than enough space for what I need,” says Andy, a Briton now living in Bologna, Italy who tours with his family in the Porsche. “There’s enough space for 4 or 5 reasonably-sized bags. I keep the heavier bags in the car.”
People will no doubt ask about the change in noise and efficiency. “No real change in wind noise at 65mph,” Andy explains. “Fuel economy did suffer slightly: maybe 5-10% difference. Some change in the way the car accelerates and how hard you need to brake when fully loaded, but nothing major. I recommend this to anyone trying to make their 964/993/911 more practical.”
No doubt there will be a few haters, but I bet Andy clocks up more miles fully loaded than most of them. This to me seems a great way to use a 911 more often and avoid the dreaded 320 Touring. It’s not going to damage the car and keeps the car in regular use for more than weekend meets.
by John Glynn | Apr 28, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Had a good catch up with the EB Motorsport classic Porsche parts brothers over coffee in Banbury last week, before taking a ride in their newly-finished 1965 Porsche 911 at Tuthill Porsche. The car will debut at FIA Masters at Donington this weekend.
Driving the 1965 Porsche 911
What a car! All steel, it weighs 915 kilos without fuel and an estimated 180 bhp from the FIA-certified 2-litre motor. Light weight is great but it is likely to need ballast to comply with FIA papers. Geared to a top speed in the 120s, it’s running at 4k-ish at 70 mph, but put your foot down at 70 and the acceleration will surprise the cars around you on the motorway.
Nicely finished inside and out, the ’65 is painted in Jo Siffert/Andre Wicky ST tribute livery, and runs Tuthill Porsche’s bolt-in roll cage: something I really want to fit to one of my own projects. The ivory air box has divided opinion: good feedback on Facebook but others are not such big fans! I quite like it.
The car has just been granted entry to the 2014 Classic Spa 6 Hours. Mark ran Steve Winters’ (Jaz Porsche) 1965 car last year and managed 3:09 race laps in a car he’d only just sat in. Looks like the 2-litre 911 lap record at Spa could be up for grabs this year: will have to figure out what that is.
Enjoyed the chat with EB last week: got a week of EB updates coming on the Ferdinand Magazine blog through the end of April. Next one tomorrow!
![Tuthill Porsche win in Belgian Historic Rally Championship]()
by John Glynn | Apr 25, 2014 | Porsche News
The Financial Times reports from Stuttgart, where the regional court in the Porsche Volkswagen shares trial has just decided that Wendelin Wiedeking and Holger Härter will not face trial on charges of market manipulation in Porsche’s attempted Volkswagen takeover.
The news will be welcome at Porsche, which has seen a number of potential lawsuits stemming from the VW shares debacle evaporate in the last few weeks. While Porsche SE still holds 51% of Volkswagen shares, the car maker is now owned by Volkswagen.
Confused? You’re not alone. No one will emerge a winner in this lawsuit, which stems from hedge fund accusations of unfair conduct in Porsche’s secrecy over its takeover plans. Stock market players did not line their pockets, but instead lost an estimated €30 billion.
In 2013, former Porsche CFO Härter (left) was found guilty of credit fraud and fined as a result. With Wiedeking earning £57.6 million in 2007 and arch-trader Härter likely not far behind, maybe a fine is just fine versus prison.
About the Porsche Volkswagen Shares Trial:
In 2008, Porsche AG began buying up VW shares, publicly denying that it planned to take over Volkswagen by accumulating a 75 percent stake in the company. When the full extent of Porsche’s position in VW was revealed to the markets later that year, hedge fund and investment bank traders, who had been gambling on a fall in Volkswagen share prices given the effect of the credit crunch on the rest of the automotive industry were forced to sell their ‘short’ VW stock at the new higher share prices, which cost them an estimated $30 billion.
Porsche’s delight was shortlived, however. Financing the cash purchase of more than 30% of Volkswagen shares landed the carmaker with a mountain of debt that ultimately could not be serviced. Porsche sailed close to bankruptcy through early 2009, when banks closed off its line of credit. Despite securing extended terms from German owned banks and selling part of the business to Gulf investors, the previously independent Porsche car company was absorbed by Volkswagen in 2012.
by John Glynn | Apr 25, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Rounding off a week of posts from our visit to the Essen Techno Classica 2014 is a few shots of the Porsche Museum’s 917-30 Spyder, which was shown on the Porsche stand as part of its 40 Years of Turbo Porsche. I’ve nicked the first one off Magnus’ blog:
The most famous, most powerful turbo Porsche ever, the 917-30 was built to demolish fellow CanAm competitors. Capable of reaching 200 mph in a little over 13 seconds, the 850-kilo car could go on to almost 240 mph. This was in 1973!
I’m not sure what chassis number this machine is, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen the back off it. That seems surprising given the awesomeness that lies beneath. I have no idea why Porsche didn’t make a bigger song and dance about the technical side of the 917-30 at Essen, as that is what the heart of this show should be all about: i.e. TECHNO CLASSICA. They used to show much more 917 stuff.
Back in the Porsche museum lies a cutaway exhibit of the flat-12 917 engine: really incredible to see it. Also some great photo and film history of this car, which was run up the Goodwood hillclimb a few years ago by Brian Redman. Here’s some video:
