tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196236356781213761.post4865187531637592764..comments2024-01-07T10:20:20.983+02:00Comments on Dr Yellowbird: Porsche 718 RS60 : A Living Legacyyellowbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16141645275212342845noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196236356781213761.post-47154979554975163592016-05-10T23:47:14.907+03:002016-05-10T23:47:14.907+03:00“Once you get it on song, get up to 7,000-plus-rev...“Once you get it on song, get up to 7,000-plus-revs, it was absolutely amazing,” says racing driver Derek Bell, “…and the fact you could brake so perfectly, flick it into a corner, put the power on…it just wanted the hell driven out of it.”<br /><br />Former Porsche works driver Derek Bell wasn’t just driving any classic Porsche on any road—he was driving the Targa Florio-winning 718 RS 60 on the actual Targa Florio course in Italy. Noted for its 800+ corners, dozens of hairpin turns, and danger everywhere else, the Targa Florio is still a revered, respected, and cherished event in Sicily, where it was held in period.<br /><br />Bell’s career, however, happened much later and he never did get a chance to drive Porsche’s diminutive giant-killer in period competition. “I never imagined I’d ever drive this car, I never imagined I’d ever drive on the Targa Florio…”<br /><br />“Here I was having this opportunity to step back in history, if you like, before my time with Porsche. When I realize that, and think about what Porsche has meant to me during my life, and what it’s done for me, I realize how lucky I’ve been to go back before my actual period with Porsche and drive a car that created history in 1960, and even before that.”<br /><br />Even for an accomplished motorsport veteran like Bell, the former racing car and course presented a number of challenges. “It took me some time to get completely confident with what I was doing, because I’ve never gone through so many hairpin bends in my life,” he says.<br /><br />“I had a very special feeling that I can’t really put into words, but it was almost choking me when I put it into 1st gear and driving it up the road, and that feel—it’s actually the feeling of freedom,” Bell says, “…because I was on my own, on this amazing course, nobody around, and I was driving through corners that the greats had actually gone ’round those corners.”<br /><br />Bell had to keep telling himself: “You’re not on just a bit of road…you’re on the Targa Florio course.”yellowbirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16141645275212342845noreply@blogger.com