FROM WINTER TO SPRING
Now that we have officially entered spring, here’s a look back at one of the great rally drivers in a 911 and a look forward to some better weather:
Category: Video / Film Blog
FASTER
George Harrison was born in Liverpool, England on this day in 1943 and passed away nearly ten years ago. His late ’70’s music video titled “Faster” was dedicated to the memory of Formula One racing driver Ronnie Peterson and includes a cameo appearance by British F1 champion Jackie Stewart.
Inspirational and reflective, George had a deep interest in travel, photography, film making, motorsports, and of course music. As The Beatles lead guitarist, his riffs and songwriting are legendary. He owned a vintage Porsche 911, Mini Cooper, Dino 246, Aston Martin DB5 and was one of the first to purchase a McLaren F1 road car. He was also an avid gardener and introduced many to Eastern thought and music. Continue reading “”
RUMORS
This month in 1977, Fleetwood Mac released Rumours. The album went on to sell more than 30 million copies and spent 31 weeks at #1 in the US, where it debuted. This collection of catchy pop tunes offered a voyeuristic view into the hedonistic lifestyle and the fractured interpersonal relationships of the group. Affairs and break-ups had affected every member of the band, and communication were severely strained during the album’s recording sessions. At the time, Fleetwood Mac’s line-up consisted of guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood, keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie, bassist John McVie, and vocalist Stevie Nicks. I saw them play their last show on the world tour supporting this record and you could cut the tension with a knife. Continue reading “”
NüRBURGRING NORDSCHLEIFE
Here’s the best instructional video I’ve seen on how to drive the Nürburgring’s north loop or Nordschleife. Watch how Porsche works driver Sascha Maassen gives a guided tour for one lap around this legendary track.
Chasing a gaggle of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Cars in his own matching race car, Sascha provides insightful commentary and shows how “The Green Hell” got its name. With 73 corners undulating over nearly 13 miles, it’s easy to see why this is considered the toughest, most dangerous and demanding circuit in the world.
Located between Cologne and Frankfurt, the Nordschleife is accessible to the public as a one-way toll road. There are no intersections and there’s no general speed limit. I drove it in an Audi rental car, and even that was an unforgettable experience.
PORSCHE SAYS THANK YOU
A special 911 GT3 R Hybrid celebrating one million Porsche Facebook fans (with 27,000 names on its exterior) was revealed today at the factory museum. You can learn more about the creation of this car and look up your own name at the following web page: Continue reading “”
THAT’S RACING
Sometimes race team owners are better off leaving the driving to the pros. That’s what happened when Chip Ganassi’s Dinan-BMW team finished 1-2 picking up its fourth victory in the prestigious Rolex 24 hour race. Scott Pruett held off teammate Scott Dixon for the win today in a final-lap shootout at Daytona International Speedway. Continue reading “”
FERRY PORSCHE
Ferdinand (“Ferry”) Anton Ernst Porsche was the only son of the founder of Porsche motorcars, Ferdinand Porsche, who passed away 50 years ago this month. Ferry’s son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (nicknamed “Butzi”), is the designer of the first Porsche 911 and celebrated his 75th birthday last month…
Ferry Porsche was philosophical when expressing his vision of the Porsche sports car. As seen in this video, he was eloquent but fiercely independent. It’s interesting to compare his views with the present day world and Porsche’s part in it. Ferry died in March of 1998. I hope you enjoy this ten minute video compilation of his ideas and legacy (deleted by owner). Continue reading “”
THE MAKING OF A PORSCHE COMMERCIAL
This commercial TV spot directed by Jeff Zwart is fascinating and inspiring to me. There are some very ingenious techniques used, including post-production where all the concrete was turned to sand with dust blowing off the backs and sides of the cars. Here’s the final result:
FLEETWOOD MAC
There have been at least three different versions of the band Fleetwood Mac over the years.
This rare video captures the short lived ’71-72 line up with rhythm guitarist Bob Welch on lead vocal, lead guitarist Danny Kirwin and keyboardist Christine McVie on back up vocals, and the band’s founders, Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass. Here they are playing a live “Moses (Lay It All Down)” from the 1971 album Future Games – one of my faves. You will want an original UK LP with yellow cover for best sound. Continue reading “”
PIKES PEAK IN A PORSCHE GT3 “RS”
Fellow Porsche photographer and film maker, Jeff Zwart, placed sixth overall and first in the Time Attack class beating the previous record at Pikes Peak, Colorado by 38 seconds in a GT3 updated to 2010 RS specs. Continue reading “”
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. Continue reading “”
PORSCHE GT3 TESTING
Want to see what it feels like to be a passenger in a track prepared GT3 driven by a professional driver? This short Porsche advertisement will do the job:
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. Continue reading “”
HELLO AND WELCOME TO MY BLOG
I’m starting the New Year in 2010 with this commentary site, which reflects my personal areas of interest and how I view the temporal quality of life. My goal is to post something at least once a week on one of my four major passions: Photography/Video, Classic Porsches, Travel, and Music.
Hopefully I’ll provide a useful perspective on how each of these pursuits can be experienced with more than one unique sensory experience. I plan to review on average one photo tip, one sports car article/video, one journey, and one music album every month.
-Randy Wells
