Patrick Long Demonstrates How Technique Is More Important Than Horsepower

One of the best parts of visiting last weekend’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is getting the chance to see so many rare, historic and frighteningly expensive Porsches on the track, battling hard. Porsche factory drive Patrick Long was asked by the owner of a 1975 Porsche 3.0 Carrera RSR to pilot the Porsche during one of the races. According to Patrick, and despite the 911s 7-figure+ price tag, the owner “encourages me to drive it hard, and he also asks me to bring it back sans donuts on the doors.” Not necessarily an easy accomplishment given the traffic in the field.

Competing against Porsches, and other cars with nearly twice the horsepower, (Long’s 911 has just over 300 hp) it would seem that Patrick would be helpless against the sheer muscle of the 935 Turbos. And while that might be true in the straights, it’s in the braking zones and corners where Patrick’s mastery can be seen. One warning, this video is 18-minutes long. If you go into, like we did, thinking you’re only going to watch a minute or two, I think you’ll find yourself, 18-minutes later, with a big smile and a greater appreciation for technique over horsepower.