We’d been waiting for video footage of Mark Webber driving the Porsche 911 GT1-98 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and now here it is.
There’s two clips and the second one from Goodwood TV has some good banter from Mark comparing the 911 GT1 to the Mercedes CLR-GT1 which he originally raced in competition against the Porsche.
Jim Richards is an eight-time Targa Tasmania winner. Each of those wins has been at the wheel of a Porsche 911 of some description. This year, though, Jimmy drove a mid-engined Cayman S with PDK. So what was it like? Watch this video to find out…
Let’s start your week with a run up the famed Goodwood hillclimb course, filmed aboard the Porsche 918 Spyder at the Festival of Speed on the weekend.
The brief clip Porsche has made with titled “Sounds of Goodwood 2014” is a nice little treat as well.
Mark Webber was at Goodwood on the weekend and was tasked with the chore of driving the Porsche 911 GT1-98, with any luck Porsche will have some footage of that soon as well.
The Porsche 917, in Gulf Racing colours, is one of the coolest racing cars ever made. It was incredibly fast and that racing livery is as stunning today as it was over 40 years ago. The 917 even gave Steve McQueen a run for top billing in the movie Le Mans.
In mid-August when Gooding & Company holds its Pebble Beach auction you’ll be able to have your chance to buy this 1969 917-024. Once owned by Jo Siffert it was the first 917 to compete and it was also featured in Le Mans.
Start buying your lottery tickets!
Couldn’t sit down all day Sunday to watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Then fear not because here’s all the best bits put into a three minute video. It’s produced by Michelin so see how many times you can count their logo during the video!
There’s also a bonus clip with just under a minute of close action slow motion footage as well.
Porsche says it has already begun its journey to the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. For the less successful of us out there, Porsche also says it’s okay to be a loser. So long as you have a bloody good crack!
This image of a scale model might just have given the game away as far as the looks for the all-new Porsche 911 GT3 RS are concerned. Certainly the massive rear wing follows expectations. Those front wheel arches, though, are a new thing.
What do you think, is this going to be legit?
We still have a lot of unanswered questions for the next RS. Will it be turbocharged? Will it crack 500hp? Will Porsche offer it with a proper manual gearbox? And most importantly, when will we see it?
[Source: The Supercar Kids | Thanks to John for the tip]
Porsche’s return at Le Mans was a story of what could have been. For the #20 919 Hybrid (Bernhard/Hartley/Webber) the misfortune of others gave it hope that a fairy tale victory could be theirs.
When Mark took the wheel with around three hours to go spirits were incredibly high and race win was a real chance. At worst, P2 looked to be safe. Alas, less than 30 minutes later their race was over. We watched Mark sitting in the car helplessly while the crew worked to overcome a drivetrain fault and get him back on track. But it wasn’t to be.
The #14 car (Dumas/Jani/Lieb) had fuel flow issues in the first hour which quickly ended any hopes of a strong result. It took nine minutes to fix and the car rejoined towards the back of the field. From there, though, they had a good run for the majority of the race until a gearbox drama brought the car into the garage with a couple of hours to race.
Porsche did get the car back out to cross the finish line, but either the car only had enough steam to make it around for one lap or they made a rookie error with the timing. Due to the fact the car was in the pits for more than 90 minutes they needed to do one full lap (ie. not starting from pit lane) in order to be classified as a finisher.
So despite some very promising signs it was a bit of a bummer and no championship points for Porsche.
The dream is over.
Mark Webber has retired from the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an unidentified drivetrain problem. He slowed on track while in second place and was able to limp back into the pits. The car was wheeled into the pits and the crew worked on the car for over 15 minutes before pulling the pin.
Mark then hopped out of the car and consoled his teammates. Speaking to televsion presenters shortly after he was very upbeat, praising the work of Porsche engineers and race crews: “We never expected to be at such high altitudes through most of the race, so the fall is quite big for everyone in the team.”
It’s now looking like an Audi 1–2 for the win, but as we’ve seen so far this race, anything could happen in the remaining 75 minutes. It is remarkable though, that the three leading cars, including the #8 Toyota, have spent extended periods in the pits with problems of varying degrees.
With less than three hours to race Mark Webber’s #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid is leading the 24 Hours of Le Mans!
Mark’s car is not the fastest and has assumed the lead due to problems with its competitors. First, the #7 Toyota TS040 looked very comfortable and set for a well earned victory. The car dominated the race for 14 hours until an electrical fault with the wiring loom forced the car into retirement.
That gave the lead to the #2 Audi R18 which enjoyed a solid three lap gap to the cars behind. Drama soon befell that car when it came into the pits for a turbo replacement. The car lost over 20 minutes and resumed in P3, some two laps down on the #1 Audi.
Remarkably, then, the #1 Audi was leading the race. Remember, this was the car that was built from the ground up overnight during the week after the original chassis was crashed by Loic Duval during the first qualifying session on Wednesday. Marc Gene was drafted into the team to replace Duval who was ruled out, despite not suffering any serious injury.
Also, this meant Mark’s Porsche, with Timo Bernhard at the wheel, was now in second place. It couldn’t happen, could it?
More drama followed when the #1 Audi also had to pit for a new turbo. Suddenly, the #20 Porsche found istelf in the lead. It’s a lead the car still holds, albeit some 50 seconds ahead of the #2 Audi, which has showed outstanding speed since its turbo was replaced.
It’s not clear if it’s due to strategy or outright pace, but the Audi is clearly faster than the Porsche right now. For the leading 919, with Bernhard at the wheel, young Kiwi Brendon Hartley would usually be the next driver in the car. We expect there will be one more driver change before the end of the race. Will Mark Webber be given the responsibility to bring the car home?
One thing is clear, Porsche is so far exceeding all expectations, even if largely due to the misfortune of others. But, as the saying goes, to finish first, first you have to finish. And we could be set for an all-time classic finish, so get your arse in front of your laptop, or on the couch and cheer Mark home!
The 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans is approaching half race distance and to date the race has been dominated by the #7 Toyota TS040 Hybrid. Alex Wurz is at the wheel right now and he holds a lead of over 2 minutes from the #2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro with André Lotterer at the wheel.
Intermittent and heavy rain patches affected the race early and ended the chances of the #8 Toyota and #3 Audi after a coming together on the Mulsanne Straight. The Toyota was able to limp back into the pits and get back running again and it’s now in P6 13 laps behind the leader. Alas for the Audi its race was over.
Porsche seemed to be running a split strategy with its two 919 Hybrids. The #14 car was running hot early in the race, mixing it with the leaders, until an electrical glitch limiting the car’s speed after 30 minutes forced the car into pitlane. Meanwhile, Timo Bernhard’s more circumspect approach in the #20 919 paid dividends when for a short while he lead the race. His lack of outright pace made him vulnerable, though, and Bernhard was soon swallowed up by the #7 Toyota and the #2 and #1 Audis.
Mark Webber has finally had his first competition experience at Le Mans after two failed attempts in the late 90s with Mercedes. He put in some solid laps, driving well into the night, but said after his stint they’re having to manage some problems. The car is running relatively smoothly in fourth place but is two laps behind.
There’s a selection of video highlights for you after the break, along with the following links to help you foolow the action.
With the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans moments away from starting this XCAR film tells you why Stuttgart’s return to the Circuit de la Sarthe is such a big deal.