It's hard to believe it's been 25 years.

[drcoastline]

On September 30, 1988 Al Holbert was killed when his private plane crashed in Ohio. At the time of his death Al Holbert was Porsches winningest driver.

The son of racecar driver Bob Holbert, who also ran a Volkswagen-Porsche dealership in Warrington, PA, near Philadelphia. Holbert worked for Roger Penske. Holbert began racing Porsches in the northeast division of the SCCA, racing a C-production Porsche 914/6. In 1971, Holbert scored his first race win in a Porsche. He would score his first of his two IMSA titles in 1976 and 1977 in a Dekon Monza. Being a Porsche supporter, Holbert allowed Porsche technicians to inspect his Monza, which would eventually lead to Porsche entering the series with turbocharged cars such as the 934 that led to a Porsche dominance for the following years. During that time Holbert jumped ship to the Stuttgart marque.

Holbert led the Porsche IndyCar effort in 1987-1988. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1983, 1986, and 1987, the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1986 and 1987 and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1976 and 1981. Holbert was the head of the Porsche North America's Motorsports Division and ran his own racing team, Holbert Racing. In 1988, Holbert realised that the Porsche 962 that had brought him success in his earlier years was becoming outmoded. His plan was to build an open top Porsche-engined racer for customer teams. Porsche eventually built such a car nearly a decade later, although the WSC-95 would never be built for customer teams as Holbert and Porsche intended.

[Bob Kontak]

plagiarism

Al Holbert - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[daepp]

Does it really matter? I suppose he should have used quotation marks but is Coastline really trying to get writing props or to disseminate good Porsche info? I suppose if this is a regular thing on his part and you're pointing out another example, ok; but imo why start another row (roe?) on PP?

[Arne2]

On the other hand, I was trying to figure out what the point of the post was. After all, it's not the anniversary of his death, so what prompted this now?

And FWIW, it doesn't seem at all "Technical", so probably (by my way of thinking) should have been in Off Topic anyway.

[rinverso]

sometimes you guys seem like the two old muppets in the balcony, busting everybody's ball's. oh yeah imho

[4flyboy]

Hahahahahah.......two old Muppets. Original!

[dcjones56]

Originally Posted by rinverso

sometimes you guys seem like the two old muppets in the balcony, busting everybody's ball's. oh yeah imho

Oh my, that is funny! Laughing Out Loud on this one! I loved those old buzzard-looking muppets when I was growing up. Thank you for the laugh.

[Ronnie's.930]

Maybe it is Muppet-style ball busting, but if one copies and pastes information from another source and presents it as if it were his or her own, one should expect to get called out for that. On other message boards I am familiar with that gets you an instant ban.

[drcoastline]

To funny. OK for the record;

I copied and pasted the information from Wikipedia. I also deleted some information that I didn't feel was all that important as it wasn't Porsche related. I didn't think it was all that important to state he worked for Penski, went to Lehigh University, Raced Nascar, etc. I also didn't think it was all that important why the plane crashed or where he was coming from so I deleted that to. I wasn't trying to pass off anything as my own. FYI- I didn't take the photos either. I don't know who the photographer(s) are. Am I in copy write violation as well?

Happy BOB?

Arne2- The point of the post. Simply, that it has been 25 years since he died. "What prompted this now?" Well, I was researching 1974 Porsche* shades of Blue specifically Bali Blue* on December 8, 2013. As a result I came a across Al Holberts** 1974 RSR* So I clicked on the image to maybe get some information on the color. It directed me to the Wikipedia information. Reading the information made me realize it had been 25 years since one of Porsches greatest drivers passed away tragically. Please advise if that is an acceptable reason "for posting this now"? For the record I did not see in the "rules" that this type of information could only be posted on the actual anniversary or that a post needed to be prefaced and accepted before being posted. Now that I am aware of the rule I will diary my calendar for September 30, 2014. Can this only be posted at the hour of his death or will any time through out the day be acceptable?

As for "Technical" It has been my understanding that the "911 Technical" forum was for anything 911* related. OT is for anything not 911* related, You know like "propane heaters" or "calendars".


Disclaimer
* I am not affiliated with Porsche marque, I am not Dr. Porsche, Butzi, a member of the Porsche family, a test driver or an engineer. I did not design the 911, 914, 356, 917 or any other product bearing the Porsche name. I do not wear Carrera sun glasses. I did not help in the development of the RSR, I did not create the shade of blue known as Bali Blue. I have never been to Bali. I do not know if in Bali they have a shade of blue called Bali Blue. I am not of German or Austrian descent. I do however own two 911's.

**I am not affiliated with Holbert Porsche Audi VW. I have never been to the dealership. I have never worked on a Porsche that came from the Holbert dealership or that had a Holbert license plate frame mounted to it. I am not a member of the Holbert family, I have never worn a badge that says Hello my name is Al. I do not own nor have I ever owned the blue RSR. I am not trying to create a fake blue RSR and pass it off as Al Holberts RSR. I still don't know if Al Holberts RSR is Bali Blue. I have never driven a 956, 962 or Al Holberts Monza. Is the blue on the Lownebrau*** 962 Blai Blue? I don't know.

*** Oh Crap.

How is that BOB? Did I cover it all? I don't want anyone to think I am trying to pull a fast one here.

I will delete the thread in the morning so it doesn't screw up your day and cause you to go on a rampage killing innocent women and children and throw puppies and kittens off a bridge.

Good night gentlemen.

[kodioneill]

He's just pulling your leg. Give him credit for finding it on Wiki.

[T77911S]

thanks. it was nice to know its been 25 years. makes me feel old

i work for the FAA and was just talking with one of the controllers here about famous people that have died in plane crashes and i brought up AL.
we were juat talking about how people with too much money get in over their heads with an airplane or helo.

i could care less that he copied and pasted some info from wiki.
off topic, yes.

[boyt911sc]

Bob,

Did you get a lot of snow yesterday? Another bad day? I always wanted to meet you and didn't get another chance to meet you last month when I was in New Albany, Ohio. Anyway, my point is that I like you come to Hershey Swap meet this spring and we'll have some crab cakes for lunch with the OP (Don). You two should meet under controlled environment and we'll have fun!!!!! I bet you'll like each other and be good 911 buddies. I'm not taking no for an answer and if I have to drive you to Hershey, I would bring out my newly acquired '89 cabriolet for the trip.

Tony

[Jcslocum]

I bought my first 911 from Al Holbert. He was a nice guy and was very helpful during the process and set the car up with 7&9's and had it lowered to Euro height before delivery. Gave us a tour of the race shop and let us sit in one of the 959's he had in the back shop when they first arrived. Saw him win at Lemans in 1986 & 1987. Was shocked and saddened when this happened.

[Arne2]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

As for "Technical" It has been my understanding that the "911 Technical" forum was for anything 911* related. OT is for anything not 911* related, You know like "propane heaters" or "calendars".

Well, maybe Off Topic isn't the correct place. (I do agree with the Heaters and Calendars comment.) But Pelican HAS provided a place for non-technical Porsche-related posts.



It looks like no one uses it. More's the pity, restricting the Technical forums to truly Technical posts would be extremely valuable for people who come here for help with a problem.

[Jdub]

May I recommend The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donohue? Absolutely fascinating book - get your spouse or spawn to get this under the Christmas tree this year, you will NOT regret it.

Mark was influential in Al's life - read the book for this and much more acerbic and hilarious recounting of racing - he holds NOTHING back!

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

Happy BOB?

What the hell did I say?

[T77911S]

i have some good pics of AL, AL jr and Derek back in the late 80's at daytona. i managed to sneak into the pits and was over the pit wall taking photos.
i just need to take the time to dig them out and scan them.
i have one of Derek B that is pretty cool.
just got out of the car and was sitting on the wall with a towel over his head and i took the pic as he looked at me.

[dad911]

Thanks for posting. I learned a bit today because of it.

Hope someone can find something nice to post about me 25 years after I'm gone.....

[bugmeat]

Bob Kontak - are you a moderator of this forum? If not, please shut the hell up and stop it with the snarky comments. I don't care what your 'standing' is in this 'community' - you come across as an A-hole.

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by bugmeat

Bob Kontak - are you a moderator of this forum? If not, please shut the hell up and stop it with the snarky comments. I don't care what your 'standing' is in this 'community' - you come across as an A-hole.

Why do you read Bob's posts if you find them so offensive? Personally, I think his snarkyness is entertaining, and if one wants to copy without giving credit, butcher the English language (referring to past threads), or be a general dipshat, then one should expect to be battered about the head and shoulders from time to time.