Page 8 - Sample pages "Forty Six: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport"

CHAPTER 2
THE INFLUENCERS AND THE PITCH
52 FORTY SIX The Birth of Porsche Motorsport
“The rally is linked with a circular tour starting from Interlaken on Sept. 11th and leading over six passes of the Central Alps,” the report in The Swiss Observer continued. “The tour will include, as a supplementary trial, a mountain race from Gadmen to the top of the Susten Pass. This contest, at the beginning of the six mountain-pass-tour, will not only provide additional interest to the participants but will also attract many spectators.” Gadmen was at 1,205 meters elevation/3,953 feet,
while the Susten Pass features seemingly countless switchbacks on the climb to its summit at 2,260 meters/7,415 feet.
On September 3rd, while Sauerwein and Mühle- Eckart prepared for the Interlaken Rally, Ferdinand Porsche celebrated his 75th birthday at Stuttgart’s Schloss Solitude, where Porsche owners met and congratulated the engineer. Mercedes-Benz racer, Rudolf Caracciola, was among those who traveled
to see his old colleague and celebrate their times together as teammates at Daimler and competitors when Ferdinand Porsche was at Auto Union.
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
In early October 1950, Ferdinand, now under ever fewer travel restrictions in post-war French territories, rode with his secretary Ghislaine Kaes to Paris for the 37th Salon de l’Automobile et du Cycle. Ferry had business in Italy, so he missed
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