by John Glynn | Jun 29, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
America’s Connor de Phillippi was denied a decent result at the Norisring this weekend, when chaos on a wet street course stopped the Californian’s Carrera Cup championship challenge in its tracks. De Phillippi was forced out of both races due to contact.
Both Carrera Cup races held on the exciting street circuit through Hitler’s former Nuremberg parade grounds brought the same face to the top step. Lechner Racing‘s Michael Ammermüller took debut back-to-back Carrera Cup wins in grand style, with a huge lead at the chequered flag in race 2.
I say huge: it was five seconds, but five more seconds separated second through to sixth. Carrera Cup Deutschland is the closest Porsche racing anywhere, so to finish five seconds ahead in these conditions with such strong opposition is super impressive.
First loser in race 2 was Earl Bamber, but the 23 year-old Kiwi who won a €200,000 Porsche Supercup scholarship at the start of 2014 is proving his massive talent every time he takes to the circuit. Starting seventh on the grid, Bamber had a great start, stayed focused and saved his tyres to pull skillful moves on Christian Engelhart and Porsche Junior, Sven Müller towards the finish, and finish second overall.
“It was like go-karts, battling all the way,” said Bamber. The post race video below shows how true that is, as Bamber, Engelhart, Muller and Ammermüller slip and slide on a greasy track within inches of each other. It is great racing and perhaps slightly worrying for Weissach.
Carrera Cup and Supercup is the breeding ground for future works drivers. If the baby-faced Müller can finish P3 in his first wet Carrera Cup race behind an undeniable 911 expert and the prodigious talent of Bamber, where will he racing in twelve months’ time? Weissach’s works squad had better watch out for these Carrera Cup kids: they are easily good enough to challenge for works drives.
Top of the driver’s table now is Konrad Motorsport’s Christopher Zöchling, another rising star. These are all names you will hear much more about! Zöchling leads by two points from Bamber, with De Phillippi a point down in third. Watch this race video from Porsche AG.
![Porsche Drive-In Movie Festival at Le Mans Classic]()
by John Glynn | Jun 24, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Nice idea from the team at Le Mans Classic this year, as the organisers have decided to erect an inflatable movie screen and show porsche drive-in movies in the Le Mans circuit infield on Friday and Saturday nights.
The inflatable screen will be installed near the famous Dunlop Bridge. Filmgoers will be provided with an audio headset, so not to be disturbed by the roaring sound of engines coming from the circuit.
Movies being shown at Le Mans will please Porsche fans. The Friday night menu includes:
- 21:30 – A Man and a Woman (Claude Lelouch)
- 23:55 – C’était un Rendez-Vous ; “It was a date” (Claude Lelouch)
- 00:00 – Bullitt (Peter Yates)
Saturday’s schedule features:
- 21:30 – Le Mans (Lee H. Katzin)
- 00:05 – C’était un Rendez-Vous ; “It was a date” (Claude Lelouch)
- 00:15 – Weekend of a Champion (Roman Polanski)
Steve McQueen in Bullitt and Le Mans will keep the crowds happy, but the other movies are also worth seeing. Rendez-Vous is short but sweet: the contrived early morning lap of Paris, supposedly driven in a V8 Mercedes, but the director allegedly dubbed it with the soundtrack of his V12 Ferrari 275GTB!
Weekend of a Champion is Polanski’s excellent documentary following Jackie Stewart through his 1971 Monaco Grand Prix weekend. It’s a considered look at motorsport of the era and gives an engaging insight into a driver at the top of his game, doubly concerned with safety and with beating his less safety-conscious rivals.
Each movie will be shown in its original version with French subtitles for foreign films and English subtitles for French films. “Who has never dreamed about the drive-in movie theatre?” asks Classic Le Mans. “It came to us from the United States, combining the two major national industries, auto and film. Le Mans Classic will recreate this atmosphere!”
Ferdinand Magazine is not at Classic Le Mans this year: Abu Dhabi beckons instead. Enjoy your CLM weekend and share your Porsche pics using Ferdinand Magazine’s Facebook page, our Twitter feed, or send them to us via email!
by John Glynn | Jun 23, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Road Trips
Nice email thread this weekend, as my buddy Craig from San Francisco picked up his latest Porsche purchase: a 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera. Bought in Denver, Colorado, Craig and wife Lori picked it up in person, then drove it home to California in a two-day road trip.
On my last trip to northern California, inveterate Porsche chopper Craig had the most amazing early 3-litre 930, in special order Albert Blue. He’d found that one on the other side of America, bought it and attempted to register it under the state’s smog laws. However, the work required to get it CA legal put him off. Being a muppet, he sold it.
Now, I can’t say too much here. I’ve sold cars I should have kept: no doubt you have too. But a SPECIAL ORDER ALBERT BLUE 930 is not the same as a common or garden SC, so I’ve booked a nipple tweak for Craig next visit.
Our friend then attempts to soothe his troubled soul by snapping up a 930 advertised on one of the US boards, within hours of it going online. Silver with Lobster interior is a nicely period combination, but the new owner has some work ahead to find the missing 15″ Fuchs, Recaro sports seats and who knows what else is no longer present. If anyone can do it, Craig can. That’s why they call US classifieds “Craig’s List”.
“It’s official,” said Craig. “I’m now the owner of a ’76 Turbo Carrera…again. Last year (for reasons that still escape me) I sold my Albert Blue Turbo Carrera. I’ve regretted that decision ever since. These cars have really gone ballistic since: mine sold for $155k shortly after I sold it. Just as I was thinking that I would never be able to afford one again, this one popped up in CO for a not-so-crazy price. I still can’t afford it but I bought it anyway! Not pretty, but all mine.
“With the keys in hand, it’s time for an epic road trip. I took the top shot from our hotel room while waiting for the wife to get ready, best angle of a 930 in my opinion. The first mod is already complete: R Gruppe license plate frame! WerkCrew sticker coming soon.”
The drive home offered a number of options. Ironically, Craig chose to ignore the opportunity to visit Craig, CO, and instead headed north from Denver into Wyoming. Cutting through Laramie and over the Medicine Bow National Forest, husband and wife entered Utah at Salt Lake City, skirting south of the Great Salt Lake before stopping briefly at Bonneville Salt Flats.
“I have to say, as bumped and bruised as the body is with 167k miles on the clock, she drives like it’s 1976 again,” says our hero. “This Porsche 930 is a good thirty-footer, but tracks perfectly straight and feels as solid as the day it was screwed together: a testament to Porsche engineering. No funny noises or smells or anything but, yes, those wheels must go!”
From Bonneville, it was over the border into Nevada for a monumental thrash through nowhere.com. I offered $50 towards a full-bore speeding ticket, quickly supported by fellow upsetters. When Arjen then shared a copy of his $1300 fine for doing 70 in a 55 and Craig said the tyres were 12 years old, we let him continue in peace.
The car eventually reached the safety of its new home late on Sunday night. Will he find the bits and pieces? How long will he keep it? What dramas are waiting to befall the Porsche fan when he goes to register it? All this and more in future updates. As the licence plate frame Craig took off the car on purchase said: “it’s cheaper than being married.” Aha!
by John Glynn | Jun 22, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Former Belgian Historic Rally Champion, Glenn Janssens, blitzed to victory on the last weekend’s Ypres Historic Rally in a Tuthill Porsche 911.
Close to the Franco-Belgian border, the beautiful city of Ypres is storied in European rallying. First run in 1965, the Ypres Rally has attracted the biggest names in rallying, with previous winners including Walter Röhrl in the Opel Kadett, and a trio of Porsche victors: Bernard Béguin, Marc Duez and the great Henri Toivonen.
The Ypres Historic continues the great rally’s tradition of running through Ypres marketplace at the start before heading to the first special stage at Boezinge. Driving his powerful Tuthill Porsche 911, Jannsens and co-driver Stéphane Prévot dominated proceedings from the evening start on Friday, taking stage wins in all but the final sections of the two-day classic.
Tuthill Porsche wins Ypres Historic Rally
Fending off challengers including five-time British champion, Jimmy McRae, in an Opel Ascona and experienced rivals in quick Ford Escorts and very fast E21 BMWs, Janssens and Prévot married speed and experience to build a dominant lead, before managing their pace on the closing stages to come home first overall.
“Stage results don’t show the skill and concentration required to win at this level,” said Richard Tuthill. “Glenn’s got exceptional natural pace, which is encouraged by complete trust in his Tuthill Porsche platform and partnership with such an experienced co-driver.
“A long-time European classic, Ypres Historic is the Monaco Grand Prix of the Belgian Historic calendar. To take a convincing win against strong competition underlines the pace of our cars and proves Glenn’s fire to win burns brighter than ever. Well done to Glenn and Stéphane from all of the Tuthill Porsche team.”
Tuthill Porsche now moves on to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, charity support with five Porsche rally cars running at this summer’s Carfest and launching a groundbreaking Porsche rally car on this summer’s European WRC events. Top secret at the minute, but all will be revealed!
by John Glynn | Jun 20, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Just added another article to our series on Porsche people. This piece introduces Cary, an R Gruppe friend in California who runs a beautiful Porsche 911 Carrera RS replica.
In rare Silver with Mexico Blue accents, the RS recreation was purchased via eBay a few years ago. Cary bought it from a seller based in North Carolina and had it inspected by nearby Porsche specialist, Chuck Miller, before committing to the bidding process. Cary scooped the RS recreation for $30k: right at the top of his original budget, but it certainly looks like a mega bargain now.
Californian Carrera RS
The car started life as a 1969 Porsche 912. It was driven for a few years before being parked in a garage, where it sat for over 25 years until the RS project was born. The bodyshell was stripped down to the bare essentials, then media blasted and repainted silver. Silver is a quite a nice choice, as there was never an original Carrera RS in silver. I didn’t know this until Cary told me – quite a surprise.
Featuring RS bumpers front and rear, the classic RS ducktail and de rigeur Carrera rear arches, the newly painted shell was fitted with good bits including a 2,000-mile 2.7-litre flat six, with PMO carbs. Inside the cases were JE 9.5:1 pistons and GE40-profile camshafts. Electromotive electronic ignition gets it all fired up.
A short ratio 901 transmission puts the power on the road. The interior is simple classic RS ingredients and attractive OMP seats. “I wasn’t a fan of these at the start,” says Cary, “until someone told me they were rare carbon/kevlar mix seats so they were definitely staying at that stage.
Cary’s RS was great to meet and great to shoot. Shot in an evening session on a back road just outside San Francisco, we ran the RS up and down a country road and a guy came out of the stables alongside. Cary’s car is pretty quiet really and we weren’t being hooligans, but I still expected to get a mouthful from the stable master.
“Looks like a good one,” came the holler. “Is it a real one?” Turns out the horseman was a big Porsche fan. He had an original Speedster in a barn out back and drove an early 911 himself. This is how small our Porsche world is. Love the Porsche life in California!
Read about Cary’s Porsche 911 Carerra RS recreation and share your Porsche experiences over email. Send me some pics and text: I will feature the best ones in the Ferdinand Porsche blog.
