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Last night I attended the Porsche Racing Legends event at JCT Leeds. It's the first time I've been to one of these events and it was a most entertaining and enjoyable evening.
The main event was a talk by 1970 LeMans winner Richard Attwood and sports car racer David Piper who bought, and brought, the first privateer 917 which he still owns and races today.
Both had some great stories about the 917, and also taking part in the filming of the Steve McQueen movie, LeMans. A really interesting and entertaining chat with a couple of guys from when racers had bollocks the size space hoppers, who raced because they loved it.
It was also interesting to see the demographic of Porsche owners. I went with my brother and his wife and I swear, not counting the people with kids, we were among the youngest there. I certainly felt like a bit of an interloper among all the suits. But hey, it was far from oppressive and everyone seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the cars. Not to mention there was a top quality selection of finger foods. Which is important to a northern fat lad who hadn't had any tea. The icing on the cake was that I won 1st prize in the draw (a very nice Porsche Design watch). It was also nice to meet Roman, who's taken over from Russell (who's sadly left). Roman seems a top, top lad and looks remarkably like Ray Stephenson who played Pullo in Rome ironically.
Good grub, great entertainment, fabulous cars, what a top night out!
The cars
I think for that night, it was probably the most expensive stock in any car showroom in the UK, Piper's 917 alone weighing in at a mighty £4M+. The other metal was brought from the Porsche museum, Porsche UK and some very lucky owners.
The only factory 8 cylinder 904
1977 935 'Baby' (1.4 litre turbo)
I now have an overwhelming urge to own a 911 GTS. The £80k price-tag is proving a bit of an obsticle however. It seems to be the perfect balance of road car for the 911, not as extreme as a GT3, but it still has the vibe. In fact it turns out it's essentially a Sport Classic without the body modifications and the every option tickedness of it. Same engine, same track, apparently pointy. I like that.
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