Wind-Surfing Legend Visits Porsche

Stuttgart. Robby Naish, 24-time world champion and wind-surfing legend extraordinaire, visited Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG in Stuttgart and Weissach. In a tour through the Porsche museum, he was shown the “No. 1” Porsche 356 and heard the story of the Swabian sports car manufacturer.

In a Panamera, the new fourth series of Porsche, Naish later drove to the research and development center in Weissach. On the test grounds, he made a few swift rounds accompanied by Porsche engineers in current models from the company, including the new 911 GT3. Of course, his visit also dealt with the topic of wind surfing and aerodynamics: In the development center, Naish discussed the possibilities of improving surfboards and sails by means of trials in the wind tunnel.

Robby Naish is regarded to be a pioneer of wind and kite surfing. Already at the age of 13, the American won his first world championship in windsurfing, making him the youngest world champion of all time. The 46 year-old lives on Hawaii and still continues to compete today. He is also the owner of a company that manufactures and distributes surfing equipment.

                

These are great pictures of Tony Curtis and his ‘99 Boxster at a recent Peachstate Region Drivers Ed at Road Atlanta. These beautiful pictures were taken by Colour Tech South Motorsports Photography.

Thanks Tony for sharing.

New qualifying format for even more suspense

The fight for pole position in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup now becomes even more exciting. A new qualifying format with two sessions will be introduced for Sunday’s race on the Nürburgring. Remaining unchanged is the first 25 minute session where all competitors go out for top times. After a five-minute break, only the top ten on the time list may go back out on the track to spend the next 15 minutes fighting for the first ten grid positions. Jens Walther, Head of Porsche Makes Cups: “This new qualifying format is a stimulating element for our race series and is guaranteed to provide spectators at the track with gripping action from the first to the last minute.”

Local hero, Renè Rast, is keen to contribute to the fans getting their money’s worth in the Eifel. There was hardly a better way to motivate the German for his upcoming home race than with his first victory in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. “Now I want to win on the Nürburgring as well,” said the German VELTINS MRS Racing pilot after his success at Silverstone. Rast is not yet thinking about winning the title, “but we want to create a bit of a stir amongst the leaders.”

Three strong contenders

The signs for an interesting race on the Nürburgring look good. René Rast is not the only serious pursuer of points’ leader Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands), who is again on track for championship laurels after claiming three victories with his Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Richard Westbrook from Great Britain is back in the fight for the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup title. In Silverstone, instead of adding to his two victories so far this season (Barcelona and Monaco), the Federsand-Jetstream Motorsport pilot defended his lead in the FIA GT Championship (GT2) in Oschersleben. Another rival to breathe down Bleekemolen’s neck alongside René Rast and Richard Westbrook is his compatriot Patrick Huisman. Driving for the SPS Performance squad, the Supercup specialist is eager to increase his total number of Supercup wins to 25.

The three strongest contenders chasing front-runner Jeroen Bleekemolen are separated by just two points heading into the second half of the season. Competing for Federsand-Jetstream, Matt Halliday, the Supercup rookie from New Zealand, still has a chance to break into the top three of the championship. Another hopeful is Stefan Rosina from Slovakia (Walter Lechner Racing School), who awaits his breakthrough this season and is ready to make a renewed charge for a podium result on the Nürburgring.

After making a successful start to their season at the British round in Silverstone, two of Germany’s young racing hopes, Lance David Arnold and Christian Engelhart, are also determined to perform well in front of home crowds: Above all, the ex-Porsche junior Arnold, who contests the rest of the season in the third car of the SPS Performance squad, made an excellent start at his Supercup comeback. After his strong drive to secure sixth in Silverstone, the young German could be good for a surprise on the Nürburgring.

Television stations “Eurosport” (11.45 hrs) and “Premiere” (11.30 hrs) broadcast the race on the Nürburgring live on 12th July. In addition, “Eurosport” televises highlights of the race on Sunday evening in its “Motorsports Weekend” programme.

Statistics

Drivers’ standings after 6 of 11 races
1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED), 120 points
2. Richard Westbrook (GBR), 78
3. Patrick Huisman (NED), 77
4. René Rast (GER), 76
5. Matt Halliday (NZL), 69
6. Stefan Rosina (SVK), 64

Rookie classification after 6 of 11 races
1. Matt Halliday (NZL), 69 points

Team standings after 6 of 11 races
1. Konrad Motorsport, 165 points
2. Federsand-Jetstream Motorsport, 156
3. VELTINS MRS Racing, 119

Porsche wins Rolex GT at Daytona – Nears Class Title

KEEN, WERNER PUSH PORSCHE TO THIRD STRAIGHT GT VICTORY IN DAYTONA GRAND-AM; DP PORSCHES BOILING MAD AT DISAPPOINTING RESULTS IN HOT RACE

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – July 4 – Porsche teams were on both ends of the ecstatic-miserable spectrum following the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Acxiom GT class points leaders Leh Keen (Charleston, SC) and Dirk Werner (Germany) won for their third straight race and four of the last five to increase their points lead. The Porsche-powered Daytona Prototypes were boiling mad following disappointing finishes.

For the third straight Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 race, the spotlight was on the #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry of Keen and Werner. The trifecta victory increased their GT points lead to 29 points, 221-192, over Pontiac drivers Paul Edwards (Ft. Collins, CO) and Kelly Collins
(Newport Beach, CA), who finished seventh.

Porsches occupied two positions on the GT podium, with the #TRG Porsche 911 GT3 of Justin Marks (Chico, CA) and Andy Lally (Newport, NY) finishing third and jumping two spots in the point standings to fourth.

The top finishing Porsche-powered Daytona Prototype was the #59 Brumos Porsche Riley of JC France (Ormond Beach, FL) and Joao Barbosa (Portugal) in eighth position in the 250-mile race held in staggering heat (almost 100 degree F) and humidity (more than 80 percent) on the Fourth of July.

The #12 Verizon Wireless Penske Porsche Riley of Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) finished a season-worst 11th, the last car on the lead lap. The race was won by the #10 Sun Trust Racing Ford Dallara of Max Angelelli (Monaco) and Brian Frisselle (Aspen, CO), the fifth team to win a Grand-Am race this season.

The Rolex 24 winning #58 Brumos Porsche Riley of David Donohue (Malvern, PA) finished 32nd overall and 17th in DP after Donohue had an electrical fire that shorted out his dashboard and forced him to be towed back to the paddock for repairs after just five laps.

Werner and Keen have won four races

Winning has become routine for Keen and Werner, who posted their fourth victory in seven races this season.

“When things go bad in racing, they go really bad and I’ve been there before,” Keen said. “I don’t know if they can get any better than this, unless we can win the next race, too.

“It was a pretty straight forward race. I qualified second, stayed second most of my stint, and gave the car to Dirk in good position. He brought it home and we increased the points lead, That’s as good as it gets.”

Werner faced heavy pressure from Mazda driver Sylvain Tremblay (Miami) in the closing laps, but held on for the GT victory after the Mazda overshot a corner trying to pass Werner late in the race.

“I knew he was trying to make his attack by the end of the race and his car was pretty good,” Werner said. “When you are out there leading, you don’t have time to think about the end of the race. The good thing is the guy behind you has to push and find a way to pass you. He has to make a move and then I can react.

“The key to our success is Leh keeps the car at the front and that puts me in a good position. I don’t have to push to get to the front and abuse the tires. The crew is working well right now and we like to reward them with a trip to victory lane.”

Porsche drivers now rank in five of the top eight spots in the championship battle. Farnbacher Loles’ Eric Lux (1acksonville, FL) is tied with TRG’s Spencer Pumpelly (Suwanne, GA) for third with 185 points.

Both Daytona Prototype teams disappointed

Dreams of any Porsche DP championship scenarios probably melted in the heat at Daytona.

“We are doing a good job in the infield, and we go well when we run alone on the banking, but we hit the rev limiter when running in the draft on the NASCAR portion – just running out of gear,” Bernhard said.

“Slow … slower … slower-est,” Dumas said. “Even with more RPMs, the power was not there. You would want to go faster, catch the car in front of you and you could not. Plus, it was so hot! All you could think of keep going, keep pushing, keep trying and maybe the other driver would think of the heat. I have never before been so frustrated and so angry in the cockpit. When I get so excited, I speak more rapidly and the crew say they can not make out my words. Maybe it is better they did not understand me.”

“It was really hot in the car, and then I realized there was a fire (in the cockpit),” Donohue said. “The dashboard was dead, so I couldn’t do anything about it. They towed me back to the paddock, and the Brumos crew made the repairs and got me back out there. We had such high hopes for the race, and it was a big, fat nothing.”

Dumas and Bernhard still rank fourth in the driver’s standings with 182 points but luckily only lost four points to leads Scott Pruett (Auburn, CA) and Memo Rojas (Mexico), who finished seventh in their Lexus Riley. Winners Angelelli and Frisselle are only one point behind Pruett and Rojas heading into the next race, the Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park in Brimingham, AL, July 17-19.

Results and Points

Overall Race results

1. Angelelli/Frisselle (MC/USA), Ford Dallara (DP), 70 laps
2. Gurney/Fogarty (USA/USA), Pontiac Riley (DP), 70
3. Dalziel/Lester (USA/USA), BMW Riley (DP), 70
4. Pew/Valiante (USA/CAN), Ford Riley (DP), 70
5. Friselle/Wilkins (USA/CAN), Ford Riley (DP), 70
6. Negri/Patterson (USA/USA), Ford Riley (DP), 70
7. Pruett/Rojas (USA/MEX), Lexus Riley (DP), 70
8. Barbosa/France (P/USA), Porsche Riley (DP), 70
9. Krohn/van der Poele (USA/B) Ford Lola (DP), 70
10. Speed/Busch (USA/USA), Lexus Riley (DP), 70

Results GT class

1.Werner/Keen (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 66 laps
2. Ham/Tremblay (USA/USA), Mazda RX-8, 66
3. Lally/Marks (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 66
4. Assentato/Segal (USA/USA), Mazda RX-8, 66
5. Henzler/Lux (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 65
6. Pumpelly/Buckler (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 65

Points’ standings

Driver DP class

1. Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Lexus, 199 points
2. Brian Friselle, Max Angelelli, Ford, 198
3. Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Pontiac, 196
4. Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Porsche, 182
5. Michael Valiante, Ford, 172
6. David Donohue, Darren Law, Porsche, 162
Joao Barbosa, JC France, Porsche, 162

Manufacturers DP class

1. Ford, 224 points
2. Pontiac, 202
3. Lexus, 199
4. Porsche, 196

Driver GT class

1. Dirk Werner, Leh Keen, Porsche, 221 points
2. Paul Edwards, Kelly Collins, Pontiac, 192
3. Spencer Pumpelly, Porsche, 185
Eric Lux, Porsche, 185
4. Sylvain Tremblay, Nick Ham, Mazda, 179
5. Robin Liddell, Andrew Davis, Pontiac, 178

Manufacturers GT class

1. Porsche, 233 points
2. Pontiac, 204
3. Mazda, 199

This is another of my all time favorite Porsche’s, the 993 Turbo. We traded for this one last week and I wish it was going to my house.

This car has 35,527 miles and is Ocean Blue with Stone Grey interior. The options include 373 & 374 Racing Style Sport Seats with Z53 Porsche Crests in the head restraints. M6G Stone Grey floor mats, 692 Remote CD Changer, Y29 Aluminum/Chrome X71, X70, X54. P11 Self-Diming Mirrors & Rain Sensors. X77 Carbon/Leather Steering Wheel and Y05 Brake/Shifter in Carbon/Aluminum. The original Wheels were XD9 Painted Exterior Color and X89 Rim Caps with Porsche Crests. The wheels have been replaced with these 19’s. Any one know what brand they are?

The original order was placed on 10/24/1996 and the car arrived in the US 12/27/1996. It was shipped to Rusnak/Westlake on 1/13/1997 and the original owner took deliver 1/22/1997. MSRP was $115,557.

LOVE these 993 Turbo’s!

In October teNeues will be publishing Porsche Icons and Generation Porsche by the authors Frank Orel and Elmer Brummer.

Porsche Icons tells the Porsche story by taking a look at the Typ 64 and all of its successors. It will be a hardcover with jacket, 80 color and duotone photographs and 160 pages. The book will retail at $98.00

Generation Porsche tells the story spanning over 100 years. It will be a 400 page paperback book with 300 color and duotone photographs. The book will retail for $45.00

Looking forward to reading both!

Zuffenhausen-Based Manufacturer of Sports Cars enlarges Range of Activities for Very Young Visitors

Stuttgart. Offering an even wider range of activities for children than before, the new Museum of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is responding appropriately to the growing number of young and very young visitors: Starting immediately, motorists of tomorrow and the day after are able to join in a “paper chase” through the Porsche Museum. With a bit of luck and a quick mind, they even have the chance to win a wonderful surprise gift given away each month in a raffle. All the children starting at elementary school age have to do to qualify for the prize is take a closer look at the special features of the historical cars in the Exhibition and answer ten questions correctly on a game sheet.

The purpose of this paper chase is to guide the youngest visitors in a playful process through the entire Exhibition at Porsche Square in Zuffenhausen, offering them an exciting insight into the history of the sports car manufacturer. The “Museum Rally“, as it is called, costs two Euros a child and is on sale only at the Museum Shop. There are also special guided tours for girls and boys from 7 – 13 years of age (registration required in advance).

The Porsche Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
See the internet (http://www.porsche.com/international/aboutporsche/porschemuseum/) for further information.

        Historical Car Collection Arouses Great International Interest

Stuttgart. Ever since it was opened in late January 2009, the new Museum of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart has proved immensely popular, attracting a quarter of a million visitors from all over the world within just five months, all of them admiring the more than 80 historical sports cars on display amid the boldly designed architecture of the Museum. For comparison, the “old“ Porsche Museum accommodating only 20 cars attracted “only“ 80,000 visitors a year.

Today Achim Stejskal, Head of the Porsche Museum was delighted to welcome Shuya Tachikawa (58), a friend and aficionado of Porsche from Tokyo as the Museum’s 250,000th visitor. “Car fans all over the world have quickly realised that it is really worth your while to make the journey to Zuffenhausen“, says Stejskal, who expects an even greater flood of visitors in the upcoming holiday months.

The number of groups of visitors who have already enjoyed more than 1,000 guided tours through the 5,600 square metre (60,200 sq ft) Exhibition also remains most significant, with only a few group slots still remaining open for August.

The Porsche Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:00 to 18:00. Admission is eight Euro, the reduced fee is four Euro. Children up to the age of 14 in the presence of an adult are free.

For further information please see the internet at http://www.porsche.com/international/aboutporsche/porschemuseum/.

Renato has posted another rare and beautiful car on his site. This one is a ‘75 930 Turbo. He has 4 more pictures and a video of the car. What color is that?

Please visit : Garagem do Bellota

The Palmetto Region put on a fantastic event for their 40th Anniversary! The day began with a rally that started at Patriots Point Maritime Museum in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. It was followed by dinner on the hangar deck of the USS Yorktown that is anchored at Patriots Point. The Yorktown is across the river from historic Charleston where we watched a beautiful sunset just as the evenings festivities started.

Porsche racing legend Vic Elford was the speaker and had us on the edge of our seats. He started out with a brief history on his racing career and then opened the floor to questions.  He shared many details from his first rally car, a Mini 850 to how he courted Porsche to get his first factory ride driving a 911 at the Monte Carlo Rally. The best part for me was when questions about the 917 came up. Listening to him tell us what it was like threading through traffic on the Mulsanne straight doing 200 mph at night, in the rain. Fastinating stories!

We had cars displayed on the Yorktowns dock along with one of Autometrics Motorsports Grand Am series Cup Cars. The parking lot for the Maritime Museum looked like a mini Rennsport Reunion.

Photography by Donald Lockhart

To see more of Donalds pictures from the event on the Palmetto Regions site visit: 40th Anniversary Celebration