Brian Redman & Porsche 917 #20 Chassis #004

Key Moments from the Porsche Club of America Event

Below: Tech ED Event Organizer John Mueller introduces the program and event moderator Jay Gillotti.

Brian Redman is a world class storyteller, a colorful, entertaining man with a bottomless well of interesting and amusing tales of his motor racing experiences.

A Brief Overview of Brian Redman’s Driving Career

Redman was a factory team driver for Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, BMW, Jaguar, Lola, Chevron and Aston Martin. He won every major sports car race of the era at least once, except for an overall at Le Mans. 5 races at SPA, 2 at Sebring, 2 at Nurburgring, 3 at Daytona, and the Targa Florio.

Redman raced many cars, including the Porsche 908, 917, 935, 962, Ferrari 312PB, Lola T600, BMW CLS, Jaguar XRJ-5/7, Ford GT40, and Aston Martin AMR-1. He co-drove with Jacky Ickx, Jo Siffert, Peter Greg, Hurley Haywood. He won the US Formula 5000 Championship 3 times, the IMSA Camel GT Championship, and drove for World Manufacturers Championship teams 4 times.

As part of the PCA PNW Tech series, Mr. Redman discussed his career in racing, including individual races, the tracks he raced on, developing race cars, and the people he worked with and competed against—adding up to a presentation spanning over half a day.

Relating behind the scenes stories, he treated attendees to an extensive Q&A session, after which a second star of the event appeared in the form of 917 Chassis #004/#20 livery—driven into the shop to help aid Mr. Redman’s talk around this legendary race car.

Presenting Porsche 917 #20 Chassis Number #004

If you saw the movie “LeMans” you will recognize the livery.

Jay Gillotti, author of “Gulf 917”, a book of the Porsche 917s raced by the John Wyer/Gulf Team in 1970 and 1971, moderated Mr. Redman’s presentation for John Mueller, organizer of the “Tech ED” sessions of the PCA PNW.

Above: Redman discusses cars, fishing or something that can’t be printed in a family magazine. He may have referred to the “bravery” of his co-drivers. Come on. Stay on the subject, Brian!

If you saw this car in your mirror, you were probably about to be passed.

Brian describes his office. It’s all business. No creature comforts here for a 24 hour drive.

Key Specifications of the Gulf Porsche 917

12 cylinders, dual overhead cams, 4.5 liters, something like 480HP. It would run flat out at 8400 for 24 hours and break at 8600 if a driver missed a shift. No REV limiters or automatic clutches in those days. Top speed: ~225MPH.

It was classed as a sports car but engineered for an overall LeMans win—the first overall for Porsche in 1970. They were required to have two seats and carry a functional spare tire. An exercise in silly rules and creative design; these were race cars with virtually no limits.