Test report by CoMod Lotus on the Carrera DIGITAL 124 Porsche 917K "Gespipa Racing Team, No.54", 1000 km Nürburgring 1970 (Art.Nr. 23780)"—
It certainly didn't win anything….
in the 1970 1,000-km race at the Nürburgring, the GESIPA Porsche with start number 54. It retired on lap 9 due to a wheel bearing failure. The two drivers, Jürgen Neuhaus and Helmut Kelleners, had probably imagined things going a little differently, after finishing ninth in practice with a time of 8:17 and being the only 917 on the grid (the other 917 belonged to the AAW team and was withdrawn from the starting grid following the fatal accident involving the Finn Hans Laine).
1970 was the year of the great showdown between Ferrari and Porsche. The previous year, the 908/3 had dominated in particular; Ferrari’s unreliable 312P didn’t stand a chance. And there was no beating the 917 anyway. That was about to change with the Ferrari 512S. As I said: It should have! It didn’t work out—the 512 did engage in thrilling duels with the Porsches, but it was too heavy and usually came up short.
The 1:24-scale Porsche 917s caused quite a stir last year after their release, and the first cars sold out pretty quickly. So, of course, there were high hopes that a new color variant would be released this year as well.
Following the visually striking GAISBERGRENNEN special edition, the only model to follow is the car from the well-known GESIPA Racing Team. The team is owned by Dr. Biermann; the name GESIPA is an acronym standing for “GESellschaft für Internationale PAtentverwertung mbH,” the company’s original purpose. However, this changed very quickly: the company filed patents for mandrel-break hollow rivet connections, blind rivet pliers, and blind rivet processing tools, all of which are still manufactured today. That’s also why the words “BLINDNIETE” are written on the sides of the car—it has nothing to do with the drivers. ;-)
GESIPA manufactures worldwide, and business is going so, well that Dr. Biermann starts a motorsports team in 1969. The first races are contested in the 908. The cars are painted in the GESIPA corporate colors. In 1970, the 917-007—including spare parts—was purchased for 150,000 DM; Dr. Biermann received the number 007 out of the 65 917s (all versions). The car was subsequently entered in the Interserie.
I have this 917, with its beautiful color scheme, right here in front of me. What I’ve liked most about the 917 series so far is the colorful starting grid. Not that black-silver-white monotony that often prevails these days in some series or among certain automakers. The Porsche starting grid is simply beautifully colorful and makes for a really interesting sight on the racetrack.
Based on a comparison with the (few) original photos, the paint job is true to the prototype and well executed; I had no complaints about the quality of the paint job on my model. I don’t need to say much about the handling—thanks to its wide track, the car handles very securely and can really only be thrown off course by serious driving errors. The axles run smoothly, the front lights are fine, and once again there are no taillights.
So, that’s a quick rundown of the 917—I hope another model comes out next year.
One more thing: By the way, Porsche won the 1970 Nürburgring race. Specifically, the SALZBURG team, with drivers Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens, in a 908/3.
Jürgen Neuhaus (www.rennfahrer-juergen-neuhaus.de ) didn't get left out either—in 1970, he won the entire Interserie series in his GESIPA 917!
Best regards,
Lotus
It certainly didn't win anything….
in the 1970 1,000-km race at the Nürburgring, the GESIPA Porsche with start number 54. It retired on lap 9 due to a wheel bearing failure. The two drivers, Jürgen Neuhaus and Helmut Kelleners, had probably imagined things going a little differently, after finishing ninth in practice with a time of 8:17 and being the only 917 on the grid (the other 917 belonged to the AAW team and was withdrawn from the starting grid following the fatal accident involving the Finn Hans Laine).
1970 was the year of the great showdown between Ferrari and Porsche. The previous year, the 908/3 had dominated in particular; Ferrari’s unreliable 312P didn’t stand a chance. And there was no beating the 917 anyway. That was about to change with the Ferrari 512S. As I said: It should have! It didn’t work out—the 512 did engage in thrilling duels with the Porsches, but it was too heavy and usually came up short.
The 1:24-scale Porsche 917s caused quite a stir last year after their release, and the first cars sold out pretty quickly. So, of course, there were high hopes that a new color variant would be released this year as well.
Following the visually striking GAISBERGRENNEN special edition, the only model to follow is the car from the well-known GESIPA Racing Team. The team is owned by Dr. Biermann; the name GESIPA is an acronym standing for “GESellschaft für Internationale PAtentverwertung mbH,” the company’s original purpose. However, this changed very quickly: the company filed patents for mandrel-break hollow rivet connections, blind rivet pliers, and blind rivet processing tools, all of which are still manufactured today. That’s also why the words “BLINDNIETE” are written on the sides of the car—it has nothing to do with the drivers. ;-)
GESIPA manufactures worldwide, and business is going so, well that Dr. Biermann starts a motorsports team in 1969. The first races are contested in the 908. The cars are painted in the GESIPA corporate colors. In 1970, the 917-007—including spare parts—was purchased for 150,000 DM; Dr. Biermann received the number 007 out of the 65 917s (all versions). The car was subsequently entered in the Interserie.
I have this 917, with its beautiful color scheme, right here in front of me. What I’ve liked most about the 917 series so far is the colorful starting grid. Not that black-silver-white monotony that often prevails these days in some series or among certain automakers. The Porsche starting grid is simply beautifully colorful and makes for a really interesting sight on the racetrack.
Based on a comparison with the (few) original photos, the paint job is true to the prototype and well executed; I had no complaints about the quality of the paint job on my model. I don’t need to say much about the handling—thanks to its wide track, the car handles very securely and can really only be thrown off course by serious driving errors. The axles run smoothly, the front lights are fine, and once again there are no taillights.
So, that’s a quick rundown of the 917—I hope another model comes out next year.
One more thing: By the way, Porsche won the 1970 Nürburgring race. Specifically, the SALZBURG team, with drivers Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens, in a 908/3.
Jürgen Neuhaus (www.rennfahrer-juergen-neuhaus.de ) didn't get left out either—in 1970, he won the entire Interserie series in his GESIPA 917!
Best regards,
Lotus
