This is the story of the International Race of Champions Porsche Carrera 911 RSRs and the drivers who raced them. It's a story that is long overdue, as these cars formed an important part of Porsche’s historic rise to the top of the international motorsport pyramid. In 1973, Porsche introduced its 911 Carrera RS 2.7 road car, but it wasn’t long before these cars were being put … [Read more...]
Goodwood SpeedWeek 2020 Weekend Action
Regular Goodwood attendees would have been starved of all the glorious action in 2020 that this venue has to offer, as the Members’ Meeting, Festival and Revival were all cancelled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Goodwood team have really done themselves proud with the newly created SpeedWeek, held over the weekend of 16-18 October. They have taken all the great … [Read more...]
1973 Daytona 24 Hour – An auspicious debut for the Porsche Carrera RSR
1973 saw a return to normality for the Daytona 24-hour race. The distance was set back at 24 hours, after running only a 6-hour length in 1972. Ferrari in 1972 had petitioned the FIA to keep races at 6-hours, as the reliability of the 3.0-litre prototype cars (312PB) was suspect over a 24-hour distance. For 1973, Bill France petitioned to have the Daytona race returned to … [Read more...]
Porsche at Teloché, Le Mans – Logistics Part I
Porsche has been represented at the Le Mans 24 Hours every year since 1951, in both an official factory capacity and by privateer entries. No other manufacturer can boast such a long unbroken record of runs at Le Mans since their first race in this classic French endurance race. For Porsche, their attendance from 1951 to 2018 amounts to 68 consecutive races at Le Mans, and this … [Read more...]
Le Mans Classic Racing Roundup
It is unique in the motor racing world, and in historic racing circles, nothing comes close to the quality and quantity of machinery on track. The brainchild of Patrick Peter (he was the “P” in the BPR series of the 1990s) and the ACO, the 2018 Le Mans Classic is the ninth in this wonderful series. This is our Le Mans Classic racing roundup from the weekend of 6-8 July … [Read more...]
Porsche at the 2018 edition of the Tour Auto Optic 2000
The Tour Auto Optic 2000 is one of the most prestigious historic racing events in the world. As early as 1899, l’Automobile Club de France organised its first edition, as a mix of road stages and circuit clocked runs, with regularity sections between the stages. Gaining a certain degree of popularity with time, the ‘old’ edition of the Tour reached its high point in the early … [Read more...]
All washed up at Long Beach
The efforts of the factory Porsches over the weekend came to naught, as the two 911 RSRs finished well down the order in the third race of the 2018 IMSA season. All washed up at Long Beach may well be the way it ended for the two works 911s, but it could have been so different. The Long Beach race looked to be a promising one for the two Porsches, and especially after … [Read more...]
Success in Florida
Porsche scored just a single win in the 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship about three-quarters into the season, but now the Porsche GTLM team have notched up their first victory this year in just the second round. Their success in Florida in the 12 Hours of Sebring came by way of a win for Patrick Pilet/Fred Makowiecki/Nick Tandy in the #911 Porsche 911 RSR. Their … [Read more...]
Porsche at Le Mans Part IV: 1972 to 1981
The 1972 season broke, ushering in with it a new era of racing. The Porsche 917 had reigned supreme for two years, but the race authorities (read FIA) had had their fill of Porsche interpreting the rules their way, and for 1972 a 3-litre engine limit had been applied. This capacity limitation was also introduced in an effort to slow the cars down but this ruling played neatly … [Read more...]
Fitz – My Life at the Wheel
John Fitzpatrick needs little by way of an introduction. He learned his trade the hard way, by racing his own private road car, a Mini, in local races. But we are getting ahead of the story a bit, because as a youngster, Fitz as he is known, was an aspiring golfer with his sights set on becoming a professional. However, life has a way of throwing a curved ball at our plans … [Read more...]
