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3 Weeks, 3 Endurance Races, 3 Different Rides

Each summer Midsummer Day announces the peak of the season with the longest day and shortest night. In Europe, Summer Solistice has been celebrated for centuries with rituals involving fire, most notably at Stonehenge. Auto enthusiasts most likely recognize the season as that special time of year for endurance racing - principally the 24 Heures du Mans, but also this year the Nürburgring 24 Hours followed by Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen. 2014 Le Mans 24 Three weekends, three classic circuits and three classic races - this calls for some special transportation! Hitting the jackpot, I scored three distinct rides to aid me in my coverage of these three special races. Three of the finest SUVs on the market, each with qualities that mark them out from their competitors. 2014 Le Mans 24

Porsche Cayenne GTS | Le Mans 24 Hours

Ten days before the Tricolor was waved in France by Ferrari Grand Prix star, Fernando Alonso, to get the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours underway, I had an early morning call from the nice man delivering car number one. Porsche were making their return to the top class at Le Mans this year, a place and a race that they used to rule with ease. So it would seem appropriate to take one of their products along to La Sarthe for the duration. Which is how and why a bright red Cayenne GTS was dropped off outside my front door. 2014 Le Mans 24 A plan was hatched to shoot the Porsche on the public road section of Le Circuit de la Sarthe the weekend before, along with the gang from DailySportsCar.com in their borrowed Porsche Panamera. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the few remaining races that is run partly on the public highway - not just public roads for street circuits as is the case with Monte Carlo or Long Beach. 2014 Le Mans 24 On the run down from Tertre Rouge along Rue Ligne Droite des Hunadières, usually known as The Mulsanne Straight, we stop for a few opportune shots. After a few shots at the top of the straight it was time to head down to the other end and Mulsanne Corner (named after the village in close proximity). 2014 Le Mans 24 Here the old signalling pits are to be found, along with the run down to Indianapolis, Arnage and the Porsche Curves, which make up the public highway section of the track. So how was the Porsche? Given the density of the traffic there was no opportunity to use more than a fraction of the performance on tap - aside from irresponsibility of such an act, there was the small matter of a distinct lack of talent behind the wheel (me!) I did note that training at a Porsche Driving Centre is included in its price, and speaking to those who have taken the opportunity to utilise this education, all sang its praise. So perhaps before I take another Porsche out I should get up to speed, so to speak. 2014 Le Mans 24 When the Cayenne was first delivered I had reservations about its size and practicality, especially driving in the narrow confines of the back streets and underground car parks of Le Mans. However by the end of the week I found that the Cayenne shrunk to fit like a glove and size was no longer an issue. With 450 hp on tap performance was, well, Porsche-like, far beyond my abilities to test to the maximum. If there was one drawback to the car, it was the cost of filling the 100 litre petrol tank. To be fair to Porsche, it is the criminal levels of taxation imposed on fuel in Europe that makes a visit to the pumps eye watering. Other than that minor quibble it was a stunning car in every way...when I win the lottery... 2014 Nurburgring 24

Toyota RAV 4 | Nürburgring 24 Hours

With barely enough time to draw breath after LeMans I was back on the road, this time heading towards the Nürburgring for its take on a 24 hour endurance race. What bright spark arranged to have these two endurance classics back to back? First stop was Toyota's HQ in Köln, where top Toyota Motorsport PR guru, Alastair Moffitt, had kindly arranged for a Toyota Rav 4 to be available - and with media passes allowing for passageway around the interior forest tracks surrounding the Nordschleife, I had a cunning plan in mind. Making a lap via the forest tracks would count as taking the Toyota around the famous "Grüne Hölle", what could possibly go wrong? 2014 Nurburgring 24 Like most of the finest and most cunning plans, there is always an obvious factor being overlooked which leads to failure...and so it came to pass with mine. The Nordschleife is such a huge entity that several parties control aspects of the track; the Race Organisers, the Forestry folk, the local councils for the various towns and villages that are on route. There have been increasing problems with spectators riding bikes and quad bikes along the tracks and through the forests, so without notice a number of locked road blocks appeared suddenly once action had kicked off. So getting around proved to be virtually impossible, especially without the specialist local knowledge that allowed some regulars to bypass the barriers. We did get some helpful advice from the marshals, most of whom seemed to have keys, but my plan to shoot the RAV4 in proximity to the track was finished. 2014 Nurburgring 24 I did obtain a shot of the Toyota near the action in the race, if you can spot it, but it was more by luck than judgement. I was offered a ride in a helicopter during the first hour of the race. While I was forced to decline, having committed to another plan, I arranged that my spot did not go to waste. So top snapper, David Lord, created his magic at 1,500 feet, and over the Caracciola-Karussell caught a snap of the RAV4 parked up in the trees...one must improvise in this business. 2014 Nurburgring 24 The main reason for taking on the RAV4 was its AWD capability given the propensity of heavy rain at Nürburgring, which can turn the roads into quagmires. However this year the weather was kind to us in the Eifel Mountains, dust being a bigger issue than mud, so that feature was never properly tried out. As a means of getting from A to B, the Toyota was comfortable and refined, whether on forest tracks, B roads or Autobahns. The diesel engine was largely unobtrusive and was certainly economical. It was definitely a car that could fulfil many roles and functions. 2014 Watkins Glen

BMW X5 | Six Hours of The Glen

Another quick trip home, to be followed by an early morning dash to Heathrow, bound for JFK. Almost from the start, arrangements began to fall apart - a cancelled flight meant a 5 hour delay. Next came the news that my luggage (along with almost all the other passengers on the 747) was missing, believed to still be in London. So it was a grumpy figure that made his way to an off-airport parking lot to pick up my third ride. The first sight of the BMW X5 helped to lighten my mood, as did a salutary reminder that there are many people less fortunate than one self. The message received loud and clear was to stop complaining and get on with it. 2014 Watkins Glen The BMW X5 with its 3.2 litre diesel engine was an absolute delight, eating up the 250 miles between JFK and Watkins Glen in a tireless manner. Of course once established in upstate New York the next problem arrived. Along with my missing luggage were all of my camera lenses - so how would the story work? 2014 Watkins Glen We were advised to go down into the centre of Watkins Glen and pay the Motor Racing Research Library a visit, I was assured that a solution would be found. And so it was, I had forgotten that racing had began around the town in 1947 and that those original roads were still in use. The Institute provided us with all the information necessary, we could find our way round. Story saved! 2014 Watkins Glen What was the original circuit came as something of a surprise - having elements of the old Spa Francorchamps, Nürburgring and Targa Florio tracks. It was fast and insanely dangerous, driving around it at legal speeds was difficult enough, Lord alone knows what it would be like at racing speeds and in those old cars... 2014 Watkins Glen In addition to the track we visited some other famous places, such as the Seneca Lodge and the Glen Motor Inn, where all the stars of Formula One stayed in the '60s and '70s. 2014 Watkins Glen I'll soon share more about the original Watkins Glen, but for the BMW...It proved to be a fantastic driver, another car that I would love to own. I covered nearly a thousand miles in it over the week I was in New York and could not have been more impressed. Nearly as fast as the Porsche with all that diesel torque and almost as frugal as the Toyota...I even came to like its dark brown colour.
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