by John Glynn | Apr 20, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
In a choice between a weekend at the Silverstone 6 Hours or taking my first trip home to Ireland for two years, Ireland won. In a choice between watching the last hour of the Silverstone 6 Hours or watching a replay of the Chinese F1 Grand Prix, China won. In the first race between the all-new Toyota TS040 LMP1 Hybrid and the all-new Porsche 919 LMP1 Hybrid, Japan won, and won well.
Arriving back from Ireland at 4pm today in the heaviest rain I have seen so far this year did not bode well for the Silverstone 6 Hours, which was running from 12 to 6. We live just a few miles from the Northamptonshire circuit, and I could well imagine the conditions Porsche’s endurance racers would be facing on track. The organisers eventually ended the race half an hour early.
A quick look on Eurosport when we got in the door showed Toyotas numbered 8 and 7 running 1-2, so I stuck with watching the Chinese Grand Prix, and Ricciardo sticking it to Vettel. My quick glimpse was how they finished at Silverstone. Autosport reckoned that switching to intermediate tyres in a light shower after an hour of racing gave the showstopping team of Buemi, Davidson and Nick Lapierre an upper hand that was never relinquished.
Porsche’s LMP1 debut was decided when Jani lost a wheel and the car then retired after repairs. The remaining 919 of Bernhard/Webber/Hartley battled on, finishing two laps behind the winning Toyota and a lap down on the second-placed car.
Looking at the data, the number 8 Toyota ran 167 laps in 6 hours, with 6 pitstops. The car did an average speed of 202 km/h and had a best lap of 1:44.606. Toyota number 7 had a best lap of 1:44.326 with the sole 919 to finish clocking a best lap time of 1:45.245 at an average speed of 201.5 km/h. It appears Porsche is almost a second off the pace, but we’ll see how the 919 goes at the next event.
Third place is still second loser, but there’s a long way to go in this season, and a long way to go at Le Mans. The 1000-horsepower Toyota may turn out to be untouchable, but Porsche can be happy with a podium first time out.
by John Glynn | Apr 11, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Media accreditation for the 2014 FIA 6 Hours of Silverstone dropped through the virtual letterbox this morning. The 6 Hours will be our first opportunity to see Porsche’s 919 Hybrid LMP1 technology put to the test in its maiden race on Sunday, April 20.
“It’s completely different, totally new,” says Romain Dumas (below). “We have to be focused, motivated, as it’s very difficult for a driver to adjust and understand all these things. For sure it is the most intelligent driver and team who will win the race.”
“For us as drivers in the cockpit, it’s quite busy,” adds Mark Webber. “Still we have to brake as late as possible and keep the rhythm up to a very high level: that’s our job. The good guys will still find a way to be very, very quick.”
Engine Sound Porsche 919
Running a combination of 2-litre V4 turbo petrol engine and two separate energy recovery systems, the 919 has a sound all of its own. I like this video capturing the 919 Hybrid on track at Paul Ricard alongside the 991 RSR for comparison. What do you think on LMP1 noise versus 911?
by John Glynn | Apr 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Spent some time with a very sweet 1966 Porsche 912 at leading classic Porsche specialist, Tuthill Porsche today. Owned by a single family from new, this 94,000-mile Light Ivory car was being prepared to depart for the Silverstone Auctions classic car sale at the NEC this weekend.
Sitting behind the wheel in peace and quiet, the air was filled with the smell of old car. Wood dash, leather seats, simple machinery with so much presence. A fantastic way to unwind for five minutes.
Silverstone Auctions estimate the selling price somewhere between £28,000 and £32,000. I might place it slightly higher. I didn’t have a good look at the car but it does have a sense of ancient solidity: not too many RHD 912s around in this condition.
Slightly sad story, as the owner who inherited the car from his dad – the original buyer – is suffering the indignities of age and can no longer use the 912. None of us know what’s around the corner: enjoy your cars while you’ve got the chance.
See the full range of collector cars on offer at the NEC Classic Car Auction this weekend.
by John Glynn | Apr 8, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
I’m about to jump in the Cayenne and head for Earls Court and the 2014 London Book Fair with our latest project. Cayenne is running well, the first Cult of Porsche book looks great, sun is out. The perfect Tuesday!
Edit: Creative Review has just reviewed the Cult of Porsche book. Read the full review below!
Silk Pearce has designed a stunning book for Ricoh Europe celebrating the enjoyment of classic Porsche cars and demonstrating the exceptional print quality and impact that publishers can achieve using the latest advances in digital print technology, paper and finishing.
“The Cult of Porsche: In the Beginning” showcases original Porsches, as well as owner-modified classics and is the first book in a planned trilogy to be written by long-time Porsche journalist and blogger John Glynn. The text has been richly illustrated with lavish photography by James Lipman, the internationally-renowned automotive photographer.
“Silk Pearce’s in-depth experience of design for print and knowledge of paper has enabled Ricoh to produce a beautiful digitally-printed book with a quality that rivals traditional offset printing. ‘In the Beginning’ demonstrates Ricoh’s advanced digital printing technologies, combined with traditional finishing techniques and we believe the exceptional end product will impress and delight publishers looking to create unique, short-run books for niche specialist markets, as well readers interested in creative design, photography and Porsche’s unique engineering vision,” said Andy Campbell, printing innovation manager at Ricoh Europe.
For further information on ‘The Cult of Porsche’ trilogy, please contact John Glynn: mail@ferdinandmagazine.com
by John Glynn | Apr 7, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
EB Motorsport has opened its 2014 FIA Masters Historic challenge at the Espiritu de Montjuic Barcelona event. The RSR took a pair of wins in both Trofeo Javier del Arco races amongst a field of historic touring cars, and a class win in the Masters Historic Sports Car race.
Qualifying second on the grid behind a De Tomaso for the first Javier del Arco race on Saturday, EB’s Mark Bates in his Porsche 911 RSR quickly found a rhythm around the Circuit de Catalunya, snatched first place from the pole-sitting Pantera and claimed his first win of 2014 at the chequered flag, twelve seconds ahead of Manuel Hermida’s BMW M3 touring car.
Starting from pole in Sunday’s race two, Bates’ RSR swapped fastest sector times with the M3 to the flag, but while Hermida chalked up two out of three fastest sector times, the win went to Bates’ Light Yellow Porsche, just two seconds ahead of the M3 after twenty five minutes of racing. Close contest!
In Masters Historic, Mark came home first in class (Pescarolo), behind the sole GT40 running. The Formula 1 layout at Barcelona favours the historic sports cars’ higher gearing, top speeds and aerodynamic bodywork, but the 911 gave it a good run, with a fastest lap a little over a second slower than the sleek Le Mans-winning Ford.
Barcelona was EB’s bogey track last year, when a gearbox issue put paid to a defence of their back-to-back titles. Finishing three tough races in two days reliably and on the top step throughout will inspire some confidence. Roll on the next round at Donington Historic Festival from May 3-5!
Here’s some great video of Mark Bates racing the EB Motorsport Porsche 911 RSR in action versus the modern-day BMW E30 M3 Touring car of Manuel Hermida. Super close racing through the backmarkers!
