Herbert M�ller � N�rburgring 1971

At the 2007 Mosport Vintage Racing Festival, I had to honour of meeting Peter Felder, who was Swiss driver Herbert M�ller�s best friend and race team manager. We�ve been friends ever since, and Peter has come to visit me a few times in Nova Scotia. Peter�s stories of his racing experiences are completely captivating; he was kind enough to write one of these down for me:

In 1971, Herbie decided to run one of his Ferrari 512 M�s in an InterSeries race at the N�rburgring. (Unfortunately, Pedro Rodriguez perished in one of his 512�s at the Norisring a few months earlier). In any case, Herbie had transmission problems in qualifying and subsequently started last. At the start, the last rows were still in the last corner before the start-finish line. A young, wealthy German driver in a McLaren M8C, not being used to the torque of a 427, he spun coming on to the starting straight, in the process crashing into Herbie�s 512. The red 512 became airborne, flew across the track upside down and hit the pit lane guardrail; the guardrail sliced into the car right behind the driver seat, which caused an immediate explosion. The car landed in the pit lane, still upside down and fully engulfed in burning fuel.

The following is what Herbie told me afterwards in the hospital:

�There was a tremendous crash � I knew that I was flying through the air because I saw the blue sky behind the pits � and I knew that the car was on fire...and I though �This is not going to be good�. I braced myself waiting for some kind of impact, which is what happened � twice! All I was worried about was not to hit my head anywhere � then the car came to a stop � and I immediately release my seatbelt and since I didn�t know that I landed upside down, I fell into the burning fuel. I turned myself around � tried to kick open the door � no go � considered knocking out the windshield � didn�t work � so I tried the other door � and it opened enough for me to get through � and I knew that I was on fire � tried to figure out where to run � (and here comes the kicker) you know those Germans � I remember seeing a couple of fancy Mercedes cars on display next to the tower, so I thought � if I run towards the cars, somebody will try to save me so I don�t blow up the Mercs!�

Herbie and I had a lot of laughs about this whole ordeal.

Regrettably I was with him on May 24^th 1981, or ten years later, at the same track, when he crashed into Bobby Rahal�s crashed, stationary, Coca Cola sponsored, Bob Aiken owned 935.

Later that day I went to the Adenau hospital � but this time, we could not laugh together.

Porsche 917 � 40th Anniversary of the Legend - Part 2

Changing Lanes in 1972
For 1972, the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) changed the Makes rules, basically rendering the 917 obsolete for Group 5 Sports Cars.

At the time, Porsche was also involved with the Can-Am Challenge, having decided to re-purpose their racer to this end, and raise their growing profile in the North American market.

Can-Am racing patch, circa 1972

They created a new light-weight spyder body for the car and re-christened it the 917-10. At the time, they were also experimenting with engine turbo-charging, giving the car 850 bhp.

The new car, fielded by Penske Racing, was initially driven by Mark Donohue, but a testing accident sidelined him for the season. Driving duties were then taken up by George Follmer, who successfully broke McLaren Racing�s five-year dominance of the series, and won the Championship.




Penske Sunoco Porsche 917-30 - Can Am 1973
Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted
� Paul Chenard 2007
Limited editions available.

917-30 � A Monster Machine
For 1973, Roger Penske and Mark Donohue redesigned the 917-10, giving a longer wheelbase, a more aerodynamic body, and a much more powerful twin-turbo-charged engine � 5.4-liters, 12 cylinders, 1250 bhp�s worth! The resulting top speed was 414 km/h (257 mph)!

The Penske Sunoco Porsche 917-30 was unstoppable, with the Donohue-driven car winning six out of the 8 races, and taking the Championship.

For 1974, the fuel-consumption rule-change, and the dwindling interest in Can-Am basically killed the series as it was, and the Porsche 917-30.



Martini Racing/Herbert Muller Interserie winner poster
80 cm x 37 cm, autographed by Muller, 1974.

The 917-30 found a renewed purpose in the European-based Interserie. In the hands of Swiss driver Herbert M�ller, it was the winner of the 1974 Championship.

Martini Racing Porsche Carrera RSR and Herbert Muller - 1974

This poster is part of a collection of racing automobilia gifted to me by my friend Peter Felder. It's autographed by his good friend Herbert Muller.

Vintage Racing Automobilia

When my son Laurent and I were at the 2007 Mosport Vintage Racing Festival, we met a lot of great people. One of these was Peter Felder from Ontario. And since we�ve met, we have become good friends.



McLaren Racing Corporate Brochure 1971

Peter used to be part of some major racing teams from the 60�s through to the 80�s, and along the way, accumulated a lot of �stuff�.


Marlboro Racing BRM Formula 1 1973 Stickers

A few months ago, Peter was clearing out his attic, and asked me if I was interested in having some of this �stuff�. Of course, vintage racing addict that I am, I said yes.


Various Martini Racing Stickers 1970's

Just before Christmas, a large box arrived, and when I opened it, I was completely shocked. Peter had generously filled it to the brim with amazing items: photos, stickers, tags, patches, posters, some of which were autographed, race programs, corporate brochures, and press kits, all covering Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 5000, Can Am, Trans Am and Sports GT racing, from Watkins Glen to Hockenheim.

Over the next few months, I will be posting some of these items, and adding them to my vintage racing automobilia collection site.

Enjoy!

Martini Racing Porsche Carrera RSR - Watkins Glen 1974

Prismacolor pencils on black stock 9"x 6" � Paul Chenard 
Private Collection

Victory Lane magazine is featuring my illustration in their "Holiday Gift Ideas" section of their October issue.

Limited edition of 50 (11.5" x 9"),
numbered and signed premium archival Giclee prints
$65 plus shipping/handling.

The original of this sketch is sold; please contact me if you are interested in other pieces of my original art.

Herbert M�ller - 1973 Targa Florio

Pen & ink and Prismacolor pencils on grey archival stock � Paul Chenard 2008

Swiss race driver Herbert M�ller found some successes in long distance racing in the Ford GT40, the Ferrari 512 M, and a variety of Porsches.

In 1966, teamed up with Willy Mairesse in a Porsche 906 Carrera 6, he won the Targa Florio. He came in 2nd at Le Mans in both 1971 and 1974, and in 1973, teamed up with Gijs van Lennep, he again won the Targa Florio driving a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR.

Sadly, this popular racer lost his life in a fiery crash on the 24th of May, 1981 of Porsche 908 Spyder he was piloting at the 1000 km of the N�rburgring.

Limited edition of 25 (11.5" x 22"),
numbered and signed premium archival Giclee prints
$150 plus shipping/handling.