Porsche 917 Rennsport Reunion V 2015

917 – Respect Your Elders

As a reflection on the recent visit from Brian Redman, it’s interesting to look back on some of the racing technology of times past to appreciate it and be awed by it.

“There’s a huge amount of respect when modern racing drivers who drive modern racing cars are suddenly confronted with old technology…It gives the drivers a real appreciation for the heritage behind what they are driving.” – Hurley Haywood

Brian Redman, sadly, hinted that Laguna Seca isn’t very interested in hosting Rennsport Reunions in the future. But they will be missed. As Patrick Long says, “The best part of an event like Rennsport is that it brings out the best cars. And the best drivers of that era. And they get out and run those cars really hard. To think back and wonder what it was like for Vic Elford, Brian Redman, Hurley Haywood…what it was like to run these cars as hard as they did…at night…in the rain…to share the racetrack with them is…as a young guy who wasn’t even alive when these cars were in their heyday…that’s just a fly-on-the-wall experience that I’ve always savored.”

Savor that sound. Respect the machines and the people that tried to tame them.