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    Affichage des articles dont le libellé est porsche. Afficher tous les articles

    mercredi 9 mars 2016

    There Ain’t No Party Like A 964 Party


    There Ain’t No Party Like A 964 Party
    The question of parity has long been a problematic issue for various motor racing leagues the globe over. With equivalence among machinery, the race results boil down to sheer driver talent, and usually provide a far closer race spectacle than cars with a dearth of performance struggling to compete with the few running at the pointy end of the field.
    The obvious solution to the problem is to create a one-make series.
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    During the mid 1980s, Porsche decided it’d have a crack at supporting its own one-make series, and the result, in the European summer of 1986, was the 944 Turbo Cup. A fantastic vehicle to promote the then new and exciting 944 Turbo, the series was for all intents and purposes a success, drawing in massive grids.
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    Roll forward to 1989 and the introduction of the latest iteration of Porsche’s iconic 911 sports car – the 964 chassis. With 944s on borrowed time, the decision to continue the one-make series utilising the new 911 chassis must have been a no-brainer for the Zuffenhausen boffins.
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    Porsche’s creation for the one-make series became known as the 911 Carrera 2 Cup, and each 964 was prepared to identical specification – 3.6-litre engines slung out the back producing a modest 265hp, around 15hp up on the factory rating.
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    With each car being assembled by the Porsche factory, you could be forgiven for thinking the Carrera 2 Cup arrived at the track bristling with an array of tuneable driveline components, ultra exotic brake hardware and an interior pared down to the bare essentials in the pursuit of a ‘leichtbau’ race-ready package.
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    But in addition to being clever enough to bend physics and make a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive platform a workable performance alternative, the Porsche engineers also hit the sweet spot when it came to one-make success: simplicity. While fitted with enhanced spring and shock absorber combinations, the Cup suspension remained true to the production layout; and as Porsche is well regarded for its for phenomenal road car brake arrangements, those too were left as per the production models.
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    The knock-on effect was the limited scope for suspension geometry adjustment, ensuring the level playing field ethos behind a one-make series remained intact and letting the drivers’ skill-sets do the talking on track.
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    The series centered around the 964 model from 1990 through until 1994, in which time the factory built 297 of these Carrera 2 Cup variants, destined to compete not only in Europe but across the globe. In addition to Germany and France, Japan also hosted one of the more popular Carrera Cup championships throughout the 964’s reign.
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    Of the almost 300 cars built, here in New Zealand we were lucky enough to have five of them exported to our shores for competition purposes. Today, four of them remain in the country, three of which retain their original Cup specification (the 4th is something quite far removed from original but that’s another story), and all were present for the NZ Festival of Motor Racing, competing mainly in the classic Porsche racing ranks.
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    This 1990 example campaigned by Michael Neville showcases the earliest iteration of the 964 Cup car. The ninth 964 Cup car chassis built, this 911 saw service in the German Carrera Cup before a lengthy and successful career in New Zealand motorsport circles; entering the country in 1996 and competing in scores of events nationwide throughout the latter half of the 1990s.
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    Later, the car proved a class winner in Porsche club racing in the hands of the Neville family, something backed up by race-winning performances and fastest lap times across the two NZFMR weekends; Michael showcasing the pace possible from the 26-year-old platform against classic racers running far more contemporary and tuneable setups. It’s also street registered. A street legal, factory-built race car
    A Chequered History
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    Kevin Cantwell’s example comes with something of an illustrious past, not to mention a well-earned exterior patina reserved for track cars that have seen more than their fair share of action.
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    Even at the Festival alone, Kevin and the 964 covered a serious distance of race kilometres. Entered in the Invited Sports & GT, Classic Porsche and Heritage Touring Car classes, the 911 seemed to spend an equal amount of time being hammered on track as it did sat cooling down in the pits. But given the car’s pedigree, it was more than likely just another day in the life of a significant 911 race car.
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    The fitment of the 18-inch Speedline 3-piece race wheels signify that Kevin’s car is of later stock than Michael’s red example. Emerging from the Porsche factory in 1993, the 964 joined the Roock Racing effort and was steered by a selection of drivers throughout the 1993 European Carrera Cup championship, winning the team title for that year.
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    As well as championship successes, the Roock Racing outfit also had a crack at 24-hour races at both Spa and the Nürburgring, even winning the 1993 Spa 24hr. That’s a solid dossier of history and achievement under the car’s belt before it even made it to New Zealand shores in 1994, imported by one Mr. Owen Evans.
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    To any New Zealand motor racing enthusiast, the Evans name might as well be considered household. In addition to being the father of 2012 GP3 champion and current GP2 driver Mitch Evans, the name Owen Evans is indelibly linked to Porsche racing circles, having spent a solid chunk of the 1990s through to the mid-2000s piloting the distinctive blue and green Lighting Direct Porsche 911s.
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    It was in this vibrant yet ridiculously ’90s livery that this very car caught my attention. In 1993 it won the Wellington Street Race, a now defunct 500km enduro through the streets of New Zealand’s capital city. If the daunting, technical circuit flanked by unforgiving concrete walls wasn’t enough of a challenge, the stiff 2-litre Super Tourer opposition the 911 faced presented an even tougher ask for the still very much production-based chassis.
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    Inside, the scars of years of competition are evident; there’s a rollcage scratched due to a couple of decades of clambering in and out of the car, and slightly unkempt original upholstery. Winning the national Porsche series no less than five times throughout the 1990s, followed up by 2nd overall in the North Island Endurance series from 2003-2006 tends to prioritise the ‘go’ side of the equation with a little less attention paid to cosmetics.
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    As per the cabins of the other two 964s, Kevin sits snugly between the bolsters of a period Recaro seat. Anchored securely with Sabelt harnesses, the original Carrera Cup roll protection is retained; after all, safety is paramount and even by today’s standards the factory-built cage architecture is still well up to the task.
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    In latter times, the 964 has been returned to a variation of its original Roock livery as campaigned in those early ’90s European races. It’s the air of authenticity so important to historic motor racing, with awareness, desirablity and of course value of race hardware with a notable past increasing rapidly at this time.
    Killer Bee
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    As overwhelming as the opportunity to document three historically significant factory-built racers is, it’s difficult not to play favourites when confronted with a livery this bold, this retro, and this fresh from a comprehensive restoration.
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    Owned by Mike Baker, this 1993 car has probably the most esteemed history of the Cup car trio. But that livery! Despite the relatively ‘modern’ era (for a classic race meet) the Porsche hails from, the period-correct paint and graphics scheme, as run throughout the 1993 and 1994 seasons, exhibits the kind of vivid simplicity sadly lost in the fussy liveries of today.
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    Finishing a solid second in the 1993 Carrera Cup season in the hands of saloon car racing royalty Alfred Heger, the car managed one better in 1994. Under the control of latter day Formula One safety car driver Bernd Maylander, Mike’s 964 took out the overall honours for the 1994 German Carrera Cup series, making this particular chassis one of the last 964s to win an official Carrera Cup title.
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    Does anyone else associate Reebok with the ’90s just as much as I do? It’s just one of those quintessential brands of the decade, and a perfect partner for a Carrera Cup competitor.
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    Spirited down to the Southern Hemisphere in 1995 by the Giltrap family, this 964 was also pressed into service for the Bridgestone Porsche championship, with a modicum of success from driver Richard Giltrap including the top podium step in 1996 for the ‘A’ class category.
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    Current owner Mike took custody of the 964 sometime around 2001, subsequently driving the wheels off the car for a total of 73 national-level race meetings between 2001 and 2009.
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    Mike’s achieved success with the 964 too – a string of runner-up positions in the Bridgestone Porsche championship himself, as well as runner-up in the North Island Endurance series on four occasions. The 911 also found itself as far afield as Malaysia in 2013 for the Asia Classic Car Challenger, finishing the event with a creditable class victory before the long journey home.
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    Home in time for a refresh. Race cars get tired when they’ve done the sort of competitive miles Mike’s car has, and considering the current trend toward restoration to original period livery and specification, the 964 underwent a comprehensive rebuild to the requisite factory standards.
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    This year’s NZ Festival of Motor Racing marked the debut for Mike’s rebuilt 964. Following the two-year competition hiatus, it might be a fair assumption that Mike may have taken things easy on the tarmac, but picking up where he and the 911 left off, this clearly wasn’t the case. Ripple strips became a target, sending the inside wheels off the ground across the top of Hampton Downs’ turn 3.
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    The kicker? Over 25 years after the single-make Porsche Carrera Cup was conceived with notions of close racing and performance parity, these three cars still exhibit similar on-track traits by lapping closely, and in the case of Kevin and Mike, continually battling one another across the course of the Festival.
    Proof that Porsche engineers got the one-make formula right in that Stuttgart workshop all those years ago? I think so. It’s a legacy that continues to enthral today with the GT3 Cup.
    Richard Opie
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    via www.speedhunters.com

    jeudi 6 août 2015

    Storm Force At The Silverstone Classic


    Rain beyond measure, saturating the track and soaking my gear. Drivers slithering round, desperately searching out the grip, the rasp of on-off throttles distinct over the relentless hammering sound of the falling water. Noise beyond belief, standing open mouthed in the pit-lane as 20,000 horses struggled on the leash in front of me, the 50-plus big-banger sportscars of the Masters Historic waiting to flood out onto the sun-drenched track. The refreshing ice in a chilled beaker of oh-so-British Pimms as I took in the latest bonkers-fast road-racer Morgan AR about to be launched. Flares in the gloaming sky as aerobatic planes danced around above the roaring Group C cars that raged below.
    Such a range of extremes at the 2015 Silverstone Classic.
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    I love going to car events and almost without exception enjoy any and all styles of festival whilst I’m there. But there are some that in retrospect particularly stand out. That’s usually down to specific visceral moments, usually unexpected, that stick in the memory.
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    Already this year I’ve been lucky enough to attend some incredible events, like the annual Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland, the Spirit Of Montjuic Festival in Barcelona and theGoodwood Festival Of Speed. Each had its moments of joy and wonder; all were an overload of both quantity and quality.
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    However, the Silverstone Classic was a different beast. It blasted me with so many differing emotions over the two days I was there. Sensory overload one minute, delight in new discoveries the next, the ever-changing conditions to the kick of a particularly good chicken tikka kebab. It all went to easing the aching muscles from trudging round Silverstone’s never-ending perimeter.
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    It started with the biblical levels of rain on Friday afternoon, following a brutal five hours stuck in traffic on the nightmare merry-go-round that is the M25 London Orbital Motorway. A decent lunchtime arrival ebbed away until it seemed like I’d barely arrive before the entire track closed down for the night.
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    Finally parked up, I signed on and arranged my gear as quickly as possible. Within seconds the boot of my car was already soaking as I struggled to waterproof my kit; within metres of speed-walking to the main gate everything from boots up was saturated. But I was strangely happy. I actually enjoy proper, heavy rain – although my gear never thanks me for it.
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    My only concern was whether anyone would actually risk taking to the track as the afternoon drained away and the dark evening closed in. As I moved closer, there seemed to be a lot of cars heading in the other direction…
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    I’d been thinking of concentrating on certain aspects of the Classic. After all, I’ve already given you a flavour of Group C, Formula 1 and classic sportscars at previous events such as the Spirit Of Montjuic Festival. In particular, there would be the ’90s GT Legends and a healthy dose of Super Touring cars – but then I arrived and that plan went out of the window.
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    I’m useless, basically. No ability to concentrate as soon as I’m faced with any kind of collection of cars. Even though the majority of car club members had dissipated in the face of the storm, there was still enough of a smattering for it to take an age to make my way through a scattering of steadfast Cobras and TVRs that remained.
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    Even better, there was still an ice cream van. Not just any Mr. Whippy either, but a Merc van with aero. Go-faster ice cream.
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    There still wasn’t any noise from the track though. Silverstone was eerily free of the sound of exploding air and petrol, instead I had the incessant pitter-patter of falling rain that reverberated around inside the hood of my rain jacket along with the splash of passing buses.
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    As I continued, I came across the odd cluster of the most hardy of spectators finally making their way to spots for the vintage shuttles, ready to return them to the sanctuary of modern cars with things like heaters and comfy seats.
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    Ah, the cruel promises of an English summer!
    But then what was that? A growing rumble from afar, emanating from the direction of Silverstone’s sweeping Wing pit complex? Cars. Racing cars.

    CHAPTER TWO

    Reign In The Rain
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    My concerns about track action abated. These are racing drivers we’re talking about. Whether professional or amateur, of course they’d be out, whatever the conditions, whatever the value of the cars they had under them.
    Because of the nature of historic racing, there are plenty of the latter category, and it’s those people we have to thank for bringing us such a glorious and heavyweight display of machinery from across the gamut of motor racing history. After all, there’s no real commercial benefit, no sponsorship opportunities of note. It’s about pure enjoyment, just for the sake of it. This is a very expensive hobby for a lot of these guys, that we get to share in.
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    Iconic racers turned out for the Classic literally in their hundreds, sporting original liveries and classic spartan colours that just accentuate clean lines. The specific cars slithering around in front of me were from the International Trophy for Classic GT Cars (Pre ’66) – just one of 18 packed grids of single seaters, touring cars, sports prototypes and more.
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    Two pages of the race card were filled with the entries for this grid alone: 58 of them! Madness. And even madder, most of them had taken to the track despite the conditions.
    I picked them up at the modern Arena loop – a good place to spectate, if not a favourite part of the track for the drivers, with its lazy hard left less of a challenge and more just a bit frustrating.
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    But that’s in the dry. In the wet, anything that involves turning the wheel in a vintage racecar devoid of both downforce and cutting edge wet-weather rubber is a tricky proposition.
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    Superhuman effort was required. Which this Lotus boasted it had…
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    There were Jaguars a-plenty, mostly in Lightweight form and of varying authenticity, but for the most part I really don’t care about chassis plates. In this lithe form the E-Type is stripped down to a muscular base.
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    One particularly rare machine was the low-slung Bizzarini 5300GT, this weekend driven by 1992 BTCC champion (and now BTCC commentator) Tim Harvey. Designed in 1965, it might have been the epitome of graceful Italian coach building but it had a growling Chevrolet small-block 327 V8 to power it.
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    I couldn’t help but raise a wry smile at the California plates on some the Cobras and TVR Grifs. If those were true origins of the cars, their chassis must have been weeping at the brutal change in climate… This Daytona had actually come from Poland via Sweden, so was perhaps more acclimatised.
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    Certainly this was the only Sunbeam we’d see on Friday…
    For 40 minutes they all flung themselves at the track without impressive vigour, as I edged along behind the Armco towards the pits, against the direction of travel.
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    The apex of what is now Turn 1 of the modern Silverstone layout is a super-fast right kink, where you can get impressively close to the action – not the usual situation at this place.
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    I once saw a composite image of plane take-off trajectories from an airport; I would have loved to have done a similar thing here, as no two cars took – or were able to take, more accurately – the same line!
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    The sharp end of Silverstone’s pit-lane is half submerged, running flat whilst the surrounding gentle gradient rises up around it. That provides both a tunnel-like appearance up close and elevated viewing from track-side along the long length of the pits.