Perhaps we should have waited another year to complete this book and also included Porsche's 17th Le Mans victory as the crowning glory. Be that as it may. For readers interested in history, it makes no difference and even without the 2015 victory in the 24-hour race, the remaining 30,000 or so race victories on all contingents are enough for a book that chronologically traces Porsche's path to the top.
Year after year
There's no need to go on at length about Porsche - everyone knows the brand. What is more interesting is how Michael Behrndt presents the long racing history of the Zuffenhausen-based sports car manufacturer in his book, which costs just 29.95 euros.
Well, the motoring journalist and photographer, who lives near Bonn, has done just as the title of the book "Porsche Rennsportchronik" (Porsche Racing Chronicle) suggests. Year after year, Behrndt describes important events and garnished them with historical photos. And there are definitely things to see that you don't see every day, such as the demo lap with Porsche 356-001 with the Berlin-Rom Type 64 car in tow around the Hofgarten in Innsbruck. Like many others, this picture comes from the Porsche AG archive. And this alone is a guarantee of quality, even if the photographs are not always correctly attributed to the photographers.
Important cars and people are characterized in short inserts, but without going into too much detail.
From the 356 to the 919 Hybrid
You can follow the entire history of development from the first 356 to the Le Mans car, which ultimately won the race in 2015, and of course the formula cars are also included.
The early 911s, which were of course also responsible for many race victories, albeit not always in the most important racing class, are perhaps somewhat neglected. The rally entries of the Porsche brand are also left out, but the prototypes are not neglected. And the Porsche 924/944 is also not included.
But with only 224 pages, the author simply had to focus.
With statistics section
The statistics section is certainly also interesting for many fans, which of course does not summarize all successes, but the most important ones, separated by type of use. So you can find F1 successes here, as well as victories in the one-make and sports car world championships, but also race wins in special races such as Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona.
For beginners and advanced drivers
Of course, no Porsche fan will want to use this book to replace the great works available on the individual racing car types, e.g. Carrera 6 or 917. Rather, it is a supplement to these books, an introduction to around 65 years of Porsche motorsport history. In this respect, it is also valuable for novices, even without an in-depth interest in Porsche, as it provides an overview of sports and racing car development in Zuffenhausen in a very short space of time.
The price is also fully acceptable, especially as the print quality is good and the photo material is more than worth seeing.
Bibliographical information
- Title: Porsche Racing Chronicle - Motorsport since 1951
- Author: Michael Behrndt
- Language: German
- Publisher: Heel Verlag
- Edition: 1st edition 2015
- Format: Hardcover, 245 x 290 mm
- Size: 224 pages, 350 photos in color and black and white
- ISBN: 978-3-95843-045-7
- Price: EUR 29.95
- Order/buy: Online at Heel-Verlag, online at amazon.deor in relevant bookstores
