It is a well-known fact that the Porsche 956 & 962 derivatives were together the most successful sports prototypes that have ever turned a wheel. So totally dominant were these cars during the Group C era (1982-1992), that a driver needed to ask himself a simple question – do I want to win or not? If the answer was ‘yes’ then he needed to get himself behind the wheel of a … [Read more...]
Book Reviews
The Complete Book of Porsche 911 – Every Model Since 1964
The name, Randy Leffingwell, will be familiar to most Porsche enthusiasts. Leffingwell worked in Kansas City, Chicago and for the LA Times as a photographer and writer for more than two decades. In ‘95 he began a career as a full-time author and has since then published more than 50 books on most car makes. I have several books by this author covering the Porsche 911 so I … [Read more...]
Kyalami – A Reflection on the History of the Original Circuit 1961-1987
On 4 November 1961, the Kyalami International Grand Prix Circuit opened its doors for the first event to be held on the brand-new Johannesburg circuit, namely the Rand Daily Mail 9-Hour Endurance Race. International motor racing in South Africa had until that time, been held at various circuits around the country, including Killarney (Cape Town), Grand Central (north of … [Read more...]
Nissan GTP & Group C Race Cars 1984-1993
Yes, I know, this is not a book about Porsches, but it does cover one of the 962’s greatest rivals in IMSA and the Group C championships. Over the next few months, we will be bringing you a series of book reviews about some of Porsche’s biggest competitors in these two international racing championships, as these other marques slowly but surely challenged the mighty 962 for … [Read more...]
John Fitzpatrick Group C Porsches – The Definitive History
There seem to be a number of books entering the market right now on Porsche’s motor racing history. This is not a bad thing, because there is so much to explore about these fantastic and iconic race cars. The challenge, though, is to find an angle that hasn’t been covered yet. Author Mark Cole, together with ex-racer and team manager John Fitzpatrick, have done just that. In … [Read more...]
White Racers from Zuffenhausen
In 2018, we reviewed one of the other books in this series, Porsche Spyders 1956-1964, and this year we will have a couple more to do. White Racers from Zuffenhausen, is another in this series, and as we said earlier these books do not provide a detailed narrative description of the subject, but they do offer a very convenient quick reference guide to the models covered. In … [Read more...]
IMSA 1969-1989
Simply titled, IMSA 1969-1989, this recently published book gives the inside story of how John Bishop built one of the world’s greatest sports car racing series. In truth, there can be little doubt that the two decades of IMSA racing covered by this book includes some of the most exciting, dynamic and varied motor racing of all time in the United States. The IMSA series also … [Read more...]
Targa Florio – 20th Century Epic
Mention the words ‘Targa Florio’ and any motorsport enthusiast’s thoughts will drift off to those tortuous roads, tight bends, sheer drops, villages crowded with eager spectators standing on pavements with race cars rushing by just feet away. It was a time when many racing drivers drove at breakneck speed in machines that today you would not undertake a trip along a smooth … [Read more...]
Porsche 911 ST 2.5
It landed on my desk one day, unannounced and unexpected. The package was large and covered in stickers and labels, suggesting that there was something important contained within. Indeed, a frantic exercise followed to open the mystery package, and to my surprise it contained the book, Porsche 911 ST 2.5: Camera Car, Le Mans Winner, Porsche Legend, by authors Thomas Imhof, … [Read more...]
Mid-Atlantic American Sports Car Races 1953-1962
This is the beginning of a series of book reviews on early American racing, written by some very committed authors and published by Dalton Watson Fine Books. Mid-Atlantic American Sports Car Races 1953-1962 is the first of these books to be reviewed, and what an impressive piece of work by author Terry O’Neil. When most folk talk about early motorsport in America, … [Read more...]
