PIKES PEAK IN A PORSCHE GT3 RS
Some amazing video of someone who really knows the road. Jeff Zwart, Porsche photographer and film maker, placed sixth overall and first in the Time Attack class at the famous hillclimb last month in a GT3 RS updated to 2010 specs.
Directed by: Will Roegge
http://willroegge.com
Camera operators: Will Roegge & DC Chavez
More here:
FANTASTIC SHELL COMMERCIAL
Here’s a wonderful commercial of vintage racing machinery shot in beautiful light. Included are a series of F1 Ferraris photographed in Rome, New York, China, Brazil and Monaco. There is more to life than Porsches after all. Enjoy!
PORSCHE WINS GT2 CLASS AT LE MANS
After a three year absence from the podium at Le Mans, Porsche returned with a GT3RSR winning its class at the worlds greatest 24 hour endurance race. Factory drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany) piloted their German Felbermayr-Proton Porsche to a two-lap GT2 win over the second-place Ferrari. With this victory Porsche bested some very strong opponents, including BMW, Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar and Spyker. The latest GT3RSR currently holds the championship lead for both the European and American Le Mans Series, and was the most successful GT race car of 2009.
For a look at the 911 race car that is one step below the RSR, check out this Porsche Experience TV video of the GT3 Cup Car:
MONTE CARLO GRAND PRIX
As remotely relevant to my life as this event seems, I can’t stop looking at the pomp and circumstance this F1 race generates. It is arguably the ultimate glamorous spectacle in motorsports, set under diabolical conditions. Check it out if you like this sort of thing!
PORSCHE 911 GT3 R HYBRID
The Porsche GT3 R Hybrid race car debuted at the Geneva Motor Show today. This unveiling occurs 110 years after Ferdinand Porsche developed the world’s first hybrid automobile, the Lohner-Porsche. Porsche engineers decided to expand on previous designs by creating a very modern high-tech hybrid. Instead of batteries, braking energy is stored in a flywheel generator that can spin up to 40,000 rpm. Power from the generator is available for six to eight seconds following each charge, much like last year’s Formula One race cars. When the driver wants the extra boost (as much 160 horsepower) a button is pressed on the steering wheel and the stored power is directed to electric motors on the front wheels. This comes in addition to the 480 horsepower generated at the rear wheels by the GT3 R’s 4.0-liter six-cylinder engine. Besides adding power for accelerating and passing, this efficient hybrid system can also save on fuel consumption, thereby potentially reducing fuel weight and the number of pit stops. While you won’t be able to park this car in your driveway (it’s intended for LeMans endurance racing in 2010), it is based on a production 911. A future 911-type hybrid for public consumption - like the prototype 918 Spyder - is “open for discussion,” said a Porsche spokesperson. Intelligent performance indeed.
DRAMATIC AMERICA’S CUP COVERAGE
If you are a sailing fan, or even if you are just into technical innovation and design, be sure and check out the full race coverage and live streaming at the link below. Two groundbreaking 90 ft. racing sailboats - a catamaran from Switzerland with a traditional mainsail and jib v.s. a revolutionary USA trimaran with Star Wars technology and an enormous wing sail - duke it out on the high seas near Valencia, Spain. Much like Formula 1, this level of competition is the highest in the world with innovation that staggers the imagination. Just watching them fly a hull at 25 knots of speed in 10 knot winds is simply amazing:
http://www.americascup.com/en/regate/regarder-la-course/show.html
RACING : NOT POSING
Here’s a short Porsche Ad that’s encouraging to see. I hope this is an indication of more factory involvement in racing. It would be wonderful to see a Porsche in the top tier LeMans class again. Maybe with Volkswagen’s Ferdinand Piech running the ship, we will see a return to the glory days of the 1970 season and others like it. Great clip in any event - short and sweet with a cool audio track: