DOCSLIB.ORG

Press Release January 20, 2012 No

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Press Release January 20, 2012 No. M 01/12 24 Hours of Daytona, USA Strong Porsche showing at 50th anniversary of sports car classic Stuttgart. Happy Birthday Daytona: The sports car classic in Florida celebrates its 50th anniversary. Traditionally, the 24 hour race on the Daytona International Speed- way is the first highlight of the motorsport season and year after year attracts the best pilots from all kinds of race series worldwide to the ‘Sunshine State’ of the USA. Spearheaded by title defender Wolf Henzler (Germany), seven Porsche works dri- vers contest the strongly supported GT class. With 22 overall wins, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in the history of the race. The race The endurance classic, which kicks off the Grand-Am Series season, started out in 1962 as a three hour race. At 1,250 miles in 1964, the race grew to double the dis- tance of the classic 1,000 kilometre races of Spa, Monza and the Nürburgring. The maiden 24 hour event in Daytona took place in 1966. Due to the oil crisis in 1974 the race was not run. Taking their places on the winner’s list are Formula 1 champions like Phil Hill and Mario Andretti as well as legendary Porsche pilots like Hans Herrmann, Rolf Stommelen, Hurley Haywood and Bob Wollek. The circuit The Daytona International Speedway is one of the world’s most famous race tracks. The 24 hour race is contested on the 5.729 kilometre track combination of oval with banked corner and the infield. The circuit is also the venue for the famed NASCAR Daytona 500 race with over 250,000 spectators annually. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft 1 of 5 Public Relations and Press Porscheplatz 1 Motorsport 70435 Stuttgart Oliver Hilger Tel +49 (0) 7 11 9 11 – 2 65 09 e-mail [email protected] Press Release January 20, 2012 No. M 01/12 The Porsche drivers In the traditionally very competitive GT class, seven Porsche works drivers have vic- tory in sight with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: Title defender Wolf Henzler competes for TRG Racing, Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) line up for Flying Lizard Motorsports, their winning team from the American Le Mans Series. Alex Job Racing has Marco Holzer (Germany) onboard, with Patrick Pilet (Franc) tak- ing the wheel of the second TRG-Porsche. Magnus Racing competes with Richard Lietz (Austria), whilst his teammate in the new World Endurance Championship, Marc Lieb (Germany), lines up for Brumos Racing. One of the partners of the Porsche works driver is the US racing legend Hurley Haywood (USA). With five over- all and six class victories, Haywood is the most successful pilot ever in Daytona. On 4 May he celebrates his 64th birthday. Also taking up the race with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is Audi factory pilot Mike Rockenfeller (Switzerland). In recognition of their brilliant performances in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Porsche AG gave the two- time champion René Rast (Germany) as well as “Rookie of the Year” Kévin Estre (France) the chance to compete at Daytona. What they said before the race Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “Daytona is always a very special race for Porsche. Our Porsche teams have already yielded many great results here with the Porsche 911. And with 21 vehicles we are very well represented again this year. For teams like Brumos who compete in 2012 as title defenders of the Grand- Am Series, it is particularly exciting that the most important race of the year is also the start of the season. And it will be particularly interesting to see the new competi- tors who compete with modified and, in fact, more powerful GT3 vehicles.” Jörg Bergmeister: “After the long break over winter, this race is a great way to get ready for the new season. Porsche was always very strong in Daytona. I last won the race here in 2009 and I’m feeling quite confident that we’ll be good for a win again this year. The competition was never this strong. It’ll be a tough fight from start to fin- ish.” Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft 2 of 5 Public Relations and Press Porscheplatz 1 Motorsport 70435 Stuttgart Oliver Hilger Tel +49 (0) 7 11 9 11 – 2 65 09 e-mail [email protected] Press Release January 20, 2012 No. M 01/12 Patrick Long: “Our excursion into the prototype class last year was an interesting experience. But now I’m looking forward to racing a 911 again in Daytona. The fact that our GT-class rivals are not only much stronger in sheer numbers makes the task for us and our team even more interesting.” Marc Lieb: “Our tests ran well in Daytona and I’m sure that we’ll be competitive in the race. The 24 Hours of Daytona is always a cool event, and added to this is the unbelievably big grid for the 50th anniversary. I’m looking forward to driving for such a well established and successful team like Brumos Racing with the legendary starting number 59.” Wolf Henzler: “When we tested I was really impressed by the strength of our compe- tition. With 42 GT cars on the grid, it’ll certainly not be an easy race. I imagine things will get really tough right from the start flag. I’m driving again for TRG, the team with which I won last year. My teammates are very strong and of course I’ll do my best to repeat my victory from last year.” Marco Holzer: “It’s a fantastic challenge to start the season with a 24 hour race, and a classic like Daytona at that. I very much like this circuit. It’s demanding but real fun. We did a great deal of work on the car with my team Alex Job Racing. I’m quite opti- mistic for the race.” Richard Lietz: “Great that the season finally gets underway. The GT class booms, the competition is stronger this year than ever before. That will surely be an interest- ing race. We always had a good car in the last years and we are keen to continue the success streak of Porsche in Daytona.” Patrick Pilet: “Driving in Daytona is something very special for us all. This race is a legend and a great challenge, particularly in its anniversary year. Manufacturers send the best GT teams with very strong driver contingents to Daytona. The fight for vic- tory is open like never before.” Porsche successes With 22 overall and 72 class victories, Porsche is by far the most successful manu- facturer in the history of the Daytona 24 hour race. The first overall win for Porsche was in 1968 with Vic Elford, Jochen Neerpasch, Rolf Stommelen, Jo Siffert and Hans Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft 3 of 5 Public Relations and Press Porscheplatz 1 Motorsport 70435 Stuttgart Oliver Hilger Tel +49 (0) 7 11 9 11 – 2 65 09 e-mail [email protected] Press Release January 20, 2012 No. M 01/12 Herrmann with the Porsche 907. The latest win in 2010 went to Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel and Mike Rockenfeller with the Porsche-Riley. In 2003, Joerg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Kevin Buckler and Michael Schrom clinched a sensational overall win with the near-standard Porsche 911 GT3 RS against more powerful Daytona prototypes. In the previous year, Porsche works driver Wolf Henz- ler secured the GT class victory at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The schedule The 24 hour race in Daytona starts on Saturday, 28 January, at 15.30 hrs local time (21.30 hrs CET). Other interesting facts - Marking the longest winning streak in the history of the race, Porsche notched up a total of eleven overall victories between 1977 and 1987. Add the class victories to this and Porsche has 21 wins in succession between 1966 and 1987 (in 1974 the race was not contested due to the oil crisis). - According to statistics, Porsche veteran Hurley Haywood has turned more than 18,800 laps from his 37 Daytona starts to date and with this has completed almost 110,000 kilometres – that’s far more than two and a half times the circumference of the earth. For this, the Porsche dealer from Jacksonville/Florida has spent 476 hours behind the wheel and used around 1,100 sets of tyres. - Right behind front-runner Hurley Haywood with five overall wins (1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1991) in the all-time list of winners at Daytona are two further Porsche pilots: Rolf Stommelen (1968, 1978, 1980, 1982) and Bob Wollek (1983, 1985, 1989, 1991) each with four overall victories. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft 4 of 5 Public Relations and Press Porscheplatz 1 Motorsport 70435 Stuttgart Oliver Hilger Tel +49 (0) 7 11 9 11 – 2 65 09 e-mail [email protected] Press Release January 20, 2012 No. M 01/12 The calendar Thirteen races in the USA and Canada make up the calendar of the Grand-Am Se- ries for 2012: 28/29.01. 24 Hours Daytona/Florida 01.04. Birmingham/Alabama 29.04. Miami/Florida 13.05. Millville/New Jersey 03.06. Detroit/Michigan 10.06. Lexington/Ohio 24.06. Elkhart Lake/Wisconsin 01.07 6 Hours Watkins Glen/New York 29.07. Indianapolis/Indiana 12.08. Watkins Glen/New York 19.08. Montreal/Canada 09.09. Laguna Seca/California 28.09. Lime Rock, Connecticut GO Please note: Images of the Daytona 24 Hours and the Grand-Am Series are available for accredited journalists from the Porsche Press Database under the internet address https://presse.porsche.de.
Recommended publications
  • Redwood Region Newsletter Newsletter Date: January 10, 2008 9:18:58 AM PST To: Rob@Neideldesign.Com Reply-To: William Walters@Sbcglobal.Net

    Redwood Region Newsletter Newsletter Date: January 10, 2008 9:18:58 AM PST To: [email protected] Reply-To: William [email protected]

    From: william walters <[email protected]> Subject: Redwood Region Newsletter Newsletter Date: January 10, 2008 9:18:58 AM PST To: [email protected] Reply-To: [email protected] P O R S C H E der Reisenbaum Redwood Region Newsletter Porsche Club of America Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma January 2008 Issue II Volume I ; electronic newsletter Bill Walters, editor Kurt Fischer, assistant editor See us on the web at: http://red.pca.org//index.htm President's Message Kurt Fischer It's New Year's Eve and I'm thinking of the 2008 calendar and all the events that will be forthcoming...what an action packed year we have in store! Bob Hall's great breakfast runs, our 9 Autocrosses; more of Greg Chamber's "Artisan" wine tours, car corrals for the Wine Country Classics and Grand AM/IRL races at Infineon Raceway, our overnight tours to Eureka and Mendocino, PCA Escape #4 in Albuquerque, NM and the list goes on! Look for several "special" surprise events that are in the works as well. More details will follow in the upcoming months! Again...I want to thank the members of the Redwood Region for their participation in the events of 2007. Our members are the heart and soul of this group and we try to accommodate all of your wishes for events! If you would like to suggest a new event, please let me know! I'd like to welcome Bret Boutet as our new Membership Chairman. He spent a day with Dave and LaVonne Benson learning all the nuances of this very important job and will be a welcome addition to our Board of Directors.
  • Porsche in Le Mans

    Porsche in Le Mans

    Press Information Meet the Heroes of Le Mans Mission 2014. Our Return. Porsche at Le Mans Meet the Heroes of Le Mans • Porsche and the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1 Porsche and the 24 Hours of Le Mans Porsche in the starting line-up for 63 years The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the most famous endurance race in the world. The post-war story of the 24 Heures du Mans begins in the year 1949. And already in 1951 – the pro - duction of the first sports cars in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen commenced in March the previous year – a small delegation from Porsche KG tackles the high-speed circuit 200 kilometres west of Paris in the Sarthe department. Class victory right at the outset for the 356 SL Aluminium Coupé marks the beginning of one of the most illustrious legends in motor racing: Porsche and Le Mans. Race cars from Porsche have contested Le Mans every year since 1951. The reward for this incredible stamina (Porsche is the only marque to have competed for 63 years without a break) is a raft of records, including 16 overall wins and 102 class victories to 2013. The sporting competition and success at the top echelon of racing in one of the world’s most famous arenas is as much a part of Porsche as the number combination 911. After a number of class wins in the early fifties with the 550, the first time on the podium in the overall classification came in 1958 with the 718 RSK clinching third place.
  • Copy of TUDOR Championship ROAR Pre-Event Entry List-NS.Xlsx

    Copy of TUDOR Championship ROAR Pre-Event Entry List-NS.Xlsx

    ROAR Before the 24 Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, FL January 9 - 11, 2015 Entry List as of 1/5/15 Car No Drivers Prototype (P) Sponsor Car Type Engine Tire Fuel 0 TBA / TBA DeltaWing Racing DeltaWing DWC13 Elan Continental IMSA E10 TBA / TBA 1 Scott Sharp / West Palm Beach, FL Tequila Patron ESM Tequila Patron HPD ARX-04b Honda Continental IMSA E10 Ryan Dalziel / Orlando, FL David Heinemeier Hansson / Copenhagen, Denmark 2 Ed Brown / Boca Raton, FL Tequila Patron ESM Tequila Patron HPD ARX-04b Honda Continental IMSA E10 Johannes van Overbeek / Oakland, CA Jon Fogarty / Bend, OR 5 Joao Barbosa / Porto, Portugal Action Express Racing, LLC Action Express Racing / Whelen Engineering Corvette DP Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Christian Fittipaldi / Sao Paolo, Brazil Sébastien Bourdais / Le Mans, France 7 Brendon Hartley / Palmerston North, New Zealand Starworks Motorsport Riley MK XX Dinan BMW Continental IMSA E10 Rubens Barrichello / São Paulo , Brazil Robbie Kerr / High Wycombe, United Kingdom Tor Graves / Thailand Scott Mayer / Franklin, WI 10 Jordan Taylor / Apopka, FL No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP Konica Minolta Corvette DP Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Ricky Taylor / Apopka, FL for Wayne Taylor Racing Max Angelelli / Monte Carlo, Monaco 31 Eric Curran / Holyoke, MA Action Express Racing, LLC Whelen Engineering / Team Fox Corvette DP Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Dane Cameron / Charlotte, NC Max Papis / Como, Italy Phil Keen / England 50 Jim Pace / Ridgeland, MS Fifty Plus Racing Endures for a Cure, Inc. / 50 Plus Racing Endures for a Cure Riley DP BMW Continental IMSA E10 Bryon DeFoor / Ooltweah, TN Highway to Help Race Team David Hinton / Clearwater, FL Dorsey Schroeder / Kirkwood, Missouri 57 Tracy Krohn / Houston, TX Krohn Racing Ligier JS P2 Judd Continental IMSA E10 Olivier Pla / Toulouse, France Nic Jonsson / Buford, GA Alex Brundle / King's Lynn, United Kingdom 60 John Pew / Palm Beach, FL Michael Shank Racing w/ Curb/Agajanian Ligier JS P2 Honda Continental IMSA E10 Oswaldo Negri, Jr.
  • Press Release June 30, 2017

    Press Release June 30, 2017

    Press Release June 30, 2017 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps Team75 Bernhard and Herberth Motorsport field three Porsche 911 GT3 R Stuttgart. The KÜS Team75 Bernhard will tackle the pro-category of the 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, with a Porsche 911 GT3 R. Herberth Motor- sport fields two Porsche 911 GT3 R at the event from July 27 to 30 driven by profes- sional and amateur drivers. Inaugurated in 1924, the 24 Hours of Spa has a long tra- dition. The squad of the two-time Le Mans winner and team owner Timo Bernhard can rely on the Porsche works drivers Michael Christensen (Denmark), Kévin Estre (France) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium). Vanthoor has a wealth of racing experience at his home circuit and won the endurance classic in 2014. One of Herbert Motorsport’s contenders will be manned by Porsche works driver Sven Müller (Germany), Porsche Young Professional Mathieu Jaminet (France) and the amateur pilots Daniel Alle- mann (Switzerland) and Ralf Bohn (Germany). An all-German driver lineup of Alfred and Robert Renauer, Jürgen Häring and Marc Lieb share driving duties in the sister car. Lieb is the reigning champion of the World Endurance Championship for Drivers, outright winner of the 2016 Le Mans 24-hour race and he climbed to the top of the podium at Spa in 2003. The 7.004-kilometre circuit of Spa-Francorchamps is known for its high centrifugal forces and legendary passages such as Eau Rouge and Blanchimont. Nestled in the hilly, forested Ardennes region of Belgium, the racetrack often experiences unusual weather conditions with frequent rain.
  • Press Release May 3, 2015 No

    Press Release May 3, 2015 No

    Press Release May 3, 2015 No. M 50/15 Tudor United SportsCar Championship, round 4 in Laguna Seca/USA Victory for the 911 GT America – podium for the 911 RSR Stuttgart. A successful outcome to an eventful race weekend for Porsche’s GT teams: At Laguna Seca/USA, the Porsche works pilots Patrick Pilet (France) and Mi- chael Christensen (Denmark) scored the first podium of the year for Porsche North America, clinching third place in the GTLM class in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship after a sensational charge through the field in the 911 RSR. Ameri- cans Patrick Lindsey and Spencer Pumpelly celebrated their maiden win of the season with the 911 GT America in the GTD class. On Saturday, the Porsche Man- they team had already snatched two GTE-Pro-class podium spots in the Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps: With the 911 RSR, Frédéric Makowiecki (France) and Richard Lietz (Austria) were flagged off in second, with Kévin Estre (France) and Sven Müller (Germany) concluding their strong WEC debut in third place. At Laguna Seca, Patrick Pilet turned heads when he overtook two competitors right at the start of the race on the 3.601-kilometre dune circuit not far from Monterey. At the wheel of his 470 hp 911 RSR, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, and last year won the American long distance classics at Day- tona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans, he then set out in pursuit of the leader. However, when the Frenchman pulled in for his first pit stop shortly before the end of a safety car phase, and the field went green again whilst he was still in the pits, he suddenly found himself at the back of the strongly-represented GT field with Porsche North America’s #911 Porsche 911 RSR.
  • Download The

    Download The

    ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA - 2016 NEW MACHINES Ford joins BMW and Ferrari in debuting new GTLM machines in 2016 READY TO RUMBLE AT THE ROLEX 2016 GTLM BATTLE FIRST to FIRST Ford, Ferrari, BMW Debut New Cars 2 If the first major race of the New Year asks, “what’s “When you have a brand new car you always find some new?” The answer is, “nearly everything.” things that are not ideal and then you work to improve The Rolex 24 At Daytona is the first event for the new those things or to adjust to them,” said Luhr, whose veteran IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and opens the BMW Team RLL finished second by a mere 0.48 seconds here stunning $400 million Daytona Rising Stadium. Icing the in 2015. new season cake is the spectacular array of new cars. While the popular Risi Competizione team awaited The highly anticipated debut of the Chip Ganassi Racing delivery of its new Ferrari 488 GTE, the team joined with (CGR) Ford EcoBoost GTs adds yet another top manufacturer longtime Ferrari stalwart AF Corse at the recent Roar Before and a pair of stunning cars to the powerful GTLM class. the 24 test with GTLM newcomers Scuderia Corsa and SMP Since Ford announced its return to competition at Racing in a thorough testing regimen of the new car. Le Mans last June, the Ford CGR team has been on an While the pace, traffic, and reliability challenges in the aggressive testing and development path in preparation for frantic Rolex 24 At Daytona are daunting, an even bigger its competition debut here.
  • RSR Final Desc.Pages

    RSR Final Desc.Pages

    ! The 1973 Sebring 12 Hours Winning 1973 Porsche 911 2.8 RSR Ex. Hurley Haywood, Peter Gregg Chassis No. : 911.360.0705 • Without a doubt one of the most significant Porsche 911 of all time. • Run by the legendary Brumos Team and driven to outright victory in the 1973 Sebring 12 Hours by Peter Gregg, Hurley Haywood and David Helmick. • Retained and preserved in the long term collection of well known Porsche collector Dr. Bill Jackson. • A once in a lifetime opportunity to own the car that claimed one the three most important outright wins for the Porsche 911 of all time. Since the company was founded in 1931 by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, Porsche has been responsible for some of the most iconic cars of all time. Perhaps the most important of these is the Porsche 911, a design concept which has endured for more than half a century and is still successful both commercially on the road and in competition on the race track. Designed by Ferdinand Porsche’s son Ferry, the 911 was a replacement for Porsche’s 356 model and made it’s debut at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was originally badged as the 901 and had a 128hp, 1991cc flat 6 engine in boxer configuration, which was air cooled and rear mounted and mated to a five speed manual transmission. After a mere 82 cars had been produced, a legal challenge from Peugeot concerning the car name, led Porsche to change the name to 911. T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488 E. [email protected] www.williamianson.com ! The Porsche factory did not decide to start racing the 911 immediately choosing to focus its attention on the purpose designed 906, 908 and 910 prototypes.
  • Car No Drivers Prototype Challenge

    Car No Drivers Prototype Challenge

    TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Northeast Grand Prix Lime Rock Park Lakeville, CT July 24 - 25, 2015 At-Event Entry List 07-22-15 Car No Drivers Prototype Challenge (PC) Sponsor Car Type Engine Tire Fuel 8 Renger van der Zande / Dodewaard, Netherlands Starworks Motorsport Martini ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Mirco Schultis / Wiesbaden, Germany 11 Bruno Junqueira / Belo Horizonte, Brazil RSR Racing AutoMaxUSA ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Chris Cumming / Vancouver, Canada 16 Todd Slusher / Las Vegas, NV BAR1 Motorsports Top 1 Oil / Jet Suites / Edvisors ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Sean Rayhall / Winston, GA 38 James French / Sheboygan, WI Performance Tech Motorsports Ric-Man Construction / GO-PUCK / ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Conor Daly / Indianapolis, IN Braille Batteries 52 Mike Guasch / Pleasant Hill, CA PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Cuttwood ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Tom Kimber-Smith / Henley on Thames, England 54 Jon Bennett / Charlotte, NC CORE autosport Flex Box / Composite Resources ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 Colin Braun / Charlotte, NC 85 Mikhail Goikhberg / Vancouver, Canada JDC/Miller Motorsports ORECA FLM09 Chevrolet Continental IMSA E10 UndergroundCellar.com TBA / TBA Car No Drivers GT Daytona (GTD) Sponsor Car Type Engine Tire Fuel 22 Cooper MacNeil / Hinsdale, IL Alex Job Racing WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT America Porsche Continental IMSA E10 Leh Keen / Atlanta, GA 23 Ian James / Phoenix, AZ Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Heart of Racing
  • The Porsche Collection Phillip Island Classic PORSCHES GREATEST HITS PLAY AGAIN by Michael Browning

    The Porsche Collection Phillip Island Classic PORSCHES GREATEST HITS PLAY AGAIN by Michael Browning

    The Formula 1 Porsche displayed an interesting disc brake design and pioneering cooling fan placed horizontally above its air-cooled boxer engine. Dan Gurney won the 1962 GP of France and the Solitude Race. Thereafter the firm withdrew from Grand Prix racing. The Porsche Collection Phillip Island Classic PORSCHES GREATEST HITS PLAY AGAIN By Michael Browning Rouen, France July 8th 1962: It might have been a German car with an American driver, but the big French crowd But that was not the end of Porsche’s 1969 was on its feet applauding as the sleek race glory, for by the end of the year the silver Porsche with Dan Gurney driving 908 had brought the marque its first World took the chequered flag, giving the famous Championship of Makes, with notable wins sports car maker’s new naturally-aspirated at Brands Hatch, the Nurburgring and eight cylinder 1.5 litre F1 car its first Grand Watkins Glen. Prix win in only its fourth start. The Type 550 Spyder, first shown to the public in 1953 with a flat, tubular frame and four-cylinder, four- camshaft engine, opened the era of thoroughbred sports cars at Porsche. In the hands of enthusiastic factory and private sports car drivers and with ongoing development, the 550 Spyder continued to offer competitive advantage until 1957. With this vehicle Hans Hermann won the 1500 cc category of the 3388 km-long Race “Carrera Panamericana” in Mexico 1954. And it was hardly a hollow victory, with The following year, Porsche did it all again, the Porsche a lap clear of such luminaries this time finishing 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th in as Tony Maggs’ and Jim Clark’s Lotuses, the Targa Florio with its evolutionary 908/03 Graham Hill’s BRM.
  • Targa Florio Winner in the Porsche 908

    Targa Florio Winner in the Porsche 908

    Gerhard Mitter – Targa Florio winner in the Porsche 908 Gerhard Mitter was one of the greatest racing drivers Germany has ever produced. A Porsche works driver who took three European Hill Climb Championship titles, he suffered a fatal accident shortly before his planned move to Formula One. In the 1960s, the European Hill Climb Championship was one of the premier competitions in motor sport. The most successful driver of the era was Gerhard Mitter, who had been recruited to the Porsche works team to replace the late Edgar Barth. Mitter emulated Barth in taking three European Hill Climb Championship titles and even surpassed the achievements of his predecessor by winning them in consecutive years. In 1966, 1967 and 1968, he triumphed against rival entries from Ferrari, BMW and Abarth – and successfully fended off his ambitious teammate Rolf Stommelen in the latter two seasons. The cars that took him to these victories were primarily the Porsche 906 Carrera 6 and various versions of the Porsche 910. With his ability to focus all his energy and concentration on a period of a few short minutes, Mitter became one of the most dominant racers in the mountains. In 1969, Mitter was among the drivers who entered into Porsche legend by steering the company to its first ever title in the International Championship for Makes. He went on to record his greatest victory in the May of that year, taking first place at the Targa Florio – part of the World Sportscar Championship – with Udo Schütz in the Porsche 908. Within the large works team, Gerhard Mitter was the first point of contact for the engineering team around Peter Falk.
  • Wide Open Battle in Indy

    Wide Open Battle in Indy

    Wide open michelinalley.com battle in Indy News From the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship - Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship - Indianapolis Motor Speedway the News From Portrait of a Porsche Pro FROM PORSCHE JUNIOR TO PORSCHE VETERAN 2 3 atrick Long joined the Porsche Junior program is not as extreme now. The Juniors graduate through a well- in 2003 as a freckle faced youngster, so it seems designed program. Michael has already been to Sebring and impossible that Long, now 32, has been with Porsche Daytona, so the learning curve now is more about learning to for a dozen years and is the senior Porsche factory work with a bigger team and all the resources.” American driver in the TUDOR United SportsCar The debut in 2014 of an official Porsche North America PChampionship. factory team in the TUDOR Championship is evidence of Beginning his racing career in karts at age eight, Long became the fierce competition in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, a big winner in karting and embarked on a plan that took him where Porsche takes on the factory squads from Corvette to Europe in 1999 at the age of 18. He progressed through the Racing, BMW Team RLL, SRT Dodge Viper and the lead Risi single-seater ranks from the British Formula Ford Zetec series Competizione Ferrari team. and was one of six finalists in the Red Bull F1 driver search. “Ten years ago, Porsche was less aggressive,” said Long. “The That caught the attention of Porsche and he officially joined the Porsche GT program was mostly customer teams.
  • 50 Years of Endurance Racing: the ROLEX 24 AT

    50 Years of Endurance Racing: the ROLEX 24 AT

    50 Years of Endurance Racing: THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONAY ARL EYFERT B K S The race cars have gotten faster and the technology an order of magnitude more advanced, but after half a century of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, two things haven’t changed: Today’s drivers are just as tough and the race is as grueling as ever. Take it from us. Bobbitt Kevin Photo: ndianapolis celebrated the 100th signal from the flagman indicating that chicane in the second half of the back anniversary of the 500 last year. the three-hour race was about to end, straight further slows the cars before the This year it was time for Day- he employed gravity to allow the crip- Turn 12 banking and completes the mod- tona to mark the 50th anniver- pled car to coast across the finish line ifications to the basic tri-oval design. The sary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, for the win. Gurney’s son Alex compet- added road course curves and chicane ex- and MOTOR was lucky enough to ed this year and was the sentimental fa- tend the lap distance to 3.81 miles. attend the event. While this year’s race vorite to win the race. While the 24 Hours of LeMans is held Ifeatured just two classes, the inaugural The race was lengthened to 2000 near the summer solstice, the winter 1962 version (called the Daytona Conti- kilometers two years after the 1962 date of the Daytona endurance race nental) had 10, with Dan Gurney’s Lo- event.