At risk of y'all hating me...., ...I got to drive a piece of history at Rennsport Reunion 3 Options

[horizontally-opposed]

Spent the weekend with Hurley and the (great!) crew at Brumos for an upcoming story.

Car was dicey on Friday (no brakes, or rather a soft pedal, and squirelly at 140~mph under braking on the way into the chicane. However, Saturday the car was much better after several tweaks, allowing me to drop 20-25 seconds from my time in practice. Halfway through the session, I was really looking forward to another night's sleep, a few more tweaks, and trying drop a few more seconds and move into the faster part of Group 1 (while trying to preserve a piece of history that belongs to someone else...). Unfortunately, the motor let go at 150~ mph on the front straight, putting a rod through the case and ending my weekend of 914 racing. They moved me to a 964 Turbo for parade laps and to get used to the car so I could qualify in it and race it on Sunday, but alas, no tires for Sunday.

While the 964 Turbo was AMAZING, my heart was all about that 914-6. What an incredible car, and what an incredible opportunity to drive a legendary track with legendary cars. I'll never forget several mental images, including chasing a real 904 on the banking on the way to the giant American flag with "DAYTONA" written on the wall below it.

As for the 914-6 GT (winner of the first IMSA race and 1971 IMSA championship) itself, I am now a big fan of 2.5-liter flat sixes. 230 hp was just right, in my book. Early S brakes, just barely adequate. If that. Goodyear racing tires on 15x7s and 8s: awesome. Realization that you're turning 7000 rpm in a 914...in fifth gear: crazy. (Only way my 914 will go that fast is when dropped off buildings.) Handling: much better after the tweaks, and pretty damn nice at high speed thanks to the banking. Shifter: best 901 I've sampled, hands down.

Chance to drive a 914 I snuck out of Sunday school to go read about in Excellence: priceless.

Here's two pics taken by Patti Tantillo courtesy of Brumos, one of Hurley and I talking about the high-speed wiggle in the rear end under braking, the other is Hurley telling me to "get off the brakes," with Speedy and I laughing.

Wondering if any of you have more of this car in the pits or on track?

Finally, there were some seriously fast 914s out there, including a really trick 914-4. If you were in one of them, sorry for holding you up on Friday. I was terrified!

Best regards,

pete

[horizontally-opposed]

Yep, 2.5 is pure magic.

A write-up is definitely in the offing... though it's more about Snodgrass than the car. That said, there is a really neat story on how this all came to be, and this 914-6 played a big part in that. Gonna have to figure out how to make it good without being too long.

In the meantime, here's a little about the cars:

Hurley's car was a 2.5 with a similar engine to the one in my car (carbed, high-compression, about 230 hp) but fresher and with a Hewland gearbox, windshield-delete, lower rear ride height, 944 Turbo brakes at all four corners, a far more extensive roll cage, and (I hear) quite a bit less weight.

And to think I wondered why HE didn't want to drive the "real" #59 914-6 before I got to Daytona.

Hurley was wicked fast in that car, turning consistent 2:04s -- the same time lesser drivers were turning in 750-hp 935s -- while rolling at 8000 rpm all the way around the banking. As for me, I got down to 2:22-2:23 and (later) 7200-7400 rpm on the banking, and feel certain I could have, after another night of sleep and more thought, dropped into the teens and hit 7500-7800 rpm on the banking and straights while still preserving the car (on Saturday, I was still short shifting from third and fourth on my way onto the banking so I could concentrate on steering at high speed). But I'll never know.

I felt AWFUL getting towed in and questioned everything about my driving, but they say it was a tired motor and the fact it blew where it did says I didn't break it.

After the 914, the 964 Turbo was a revelation, though. Where the 914 took everything I had to drive at 150 mph or so, 140 mph in the 964 was like driving a Cayenne on the freeway at 80 mph... and it had real brakes. Would have LOVED to race that thing, even if it did have the engine in the wrong place. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

In the end, they seemed as bummed as I was that my racing was over for the weekend. Luckily, they've invited me back to drive their cars at RR4, or maybe the 24 minutes of Daytona. Hope I'll be able to take them up on it... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

18 years later, it's funny to think about where a humble 914-4 can take you. I spent the week before Daytona driving my car every day to get the "new car" out of my system and reconnect with the 914 chassis. It's such a marvelous car. In some ways, it is my favorite Porsche unibody. Still light, with the engine in the right place.

I owe a lot to 914s, and the people who love them.

pete