The Battle of Rome continues. Last week we released Part 1. Here’s Part 2.
You may read the full story in the most infamous chapter of “The Driver“…
…for neither video tells the full story.
I retired from such events years ago, with good reason.
See you at Lemons. Or Grand Am. Or Targa. Or Dakar.
Or…somewhere up North.
Far up north.
Or east…
(@ Autoblog’s Zach Bowman: Thanks for the link love.)
The Battle of Rome.
Team Polizei’s finest (and most infamous) hour.
The epic 100+ mile race through Italy at 120+ miles per hour, as described in The Driver.
Polizei M5 144A vs. a Porsche 996 Turbo X50.
Only now, five years after the expiration of the last relevant European legal statutes, we can finally make public the video of our heretofore unseen battle against Spencer Bourne, a legend among both UK Porsche Club racers & the Gumball 3000′s inner circle of veterans. And yes – for them – it was a race.
Those days may be over, but the story of what did occur on the Gumball between 2003 and 2007 has yet to be told.
Until now.
Behold…The Battle of Rome.
Part 1.
Alex Roy, J.F. Musial, and Josh Vietze depart from Mission Control in NYC, piloting the legendary Polizei Interceptor 144A to Homestead Raceway in Miami. After 22 leisurely hours, 14 coffees, 67 law enforcement sightings, countless Black & Mild Wood Tips, 2 Waffle House Aprons, and 4,435 photos, we bring you this video.
Upstate NY morning scenery as seen through the rearview of 144A.
This morning has been filled with uncertainty and unexpected events. Overnight storms and wet weather has been threatening today’s NASCAR race, and many of us are having flashbacks to The Bog. As Kommandant Roy was navigating up River 17…sorry, I mean Route 17 to Watkins Glen, he was flagged off the road by our friends in blue. All of us at Polizei HQ East and West checked under our matresses for bail money when we awoke to this text message from Roy, ‘This cop is curious and not a NASCAR fan.’ Leave it to Roy to find the only Trooper in NY who is NOT a NASCAR fan only miles from the track on raceday!
To our relief Roy is back on the road and ready to rendezvous with Andy Lally and the rest of team TRG at Watkins Glen. The track is drying out and order seems to be restored to the kingdom. Our live race webcast featuring Master Pilot Rene Villeneuve, and the most feared man in Forza 2, John Morley, will be broadcasting soon…
The unbelievably titled Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty reports that Brad Pitt inspires sufficient fear among speeders that…well…you better read this for yourself.
Are cool GM police interceptors gone forever?
It is a sad day in the automotive world as GM files for bankruptcy, but while everyone worries about its stock price, restructured debt obligations and fire-sale prices for its subsidiaries, we at Polizei HQ are sad for another reason, because GM’s passing marks the end of the era of cool police interceptors. Sigh.
Today, Team Polizei salutes the two finest police vehicles GM ever produced; the 1992 F-body CHP IROC B4C RS interceptor, and the 1996 LT1 Caprice 9C1 police cruiser…
Continue reading ‘Requiem For The IROC B4C RS: Farewell to GM's Legendary Police Interceptors…’
Villeneuve.
You know the name, even if you can’t place it.
I, however, am referring to Rene Villeneuve…the other Villeneuve, the Villeneuve you want to have drinks with, the Villeneuve who vaulted Polizei from the street to the track, the Villeneuve who – as Polizei 144 Racing Team Captain – will lead the Polizei/TRG Interceptor 144P into professional motorsport on May 17th at Laguna Seca.
Without Rene Villeneuve, Team Polizei would never had made the lap. I couldn’t be more proud to have him lead us, to have him as my instructor, and to have him as a friend. I’m not alone, because whereas Rene is Team Captain, our other driver – Ferrari Challenge veteran & new Polizei Master Pilot Henri Richard – has also been racing under Rene’s instruction.
And thus the team was born.
I first met Rene several years ago when I attended Skip Barber at Laguna Seca, but, with only Gumball stories to tell, didn’t think it fit I bring those up among proper race instructors, let alone the other students. We re-met through mutual friends last year, and once I recognized him I tried to strike up a conversation about endurance driving – an effort totally in vain - until a passerby mentioned my team’s 31:04 record. Rene burst out laughing, and a friendship was born.
Last week I asked him some basic questions I hoped would convey who he really is…for Rene isn’t the attention-seeker I’m so often accused of being. Rene is one of many race drivers who remain humble in their acheivements, who teaches racing while raising his two daughters and – just like the rest of us – enjoys driving on the street.
So of course I asked about fear, street racing vs. pro racing, games, the Cannonball, Gumball, favorite cars and co-pilot selection. And Jaques. Read the full interview after the jump…
Continue reading ‘INTERVIEW: Polizei 144 Racing Team Captain Rene Villeneuve’
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Thanks, Mr. G.
Some things are above politics, so there’s no point asking how this interview came to pass. The G. Gordon Liddy is a car and a bike guy, as in Lingenfelter-modified Corvette and Harley-Davidson. Full on. And he loves cross-country racing. The bad kind. And he loved “The Driver“. FYI, I’m shocked at how few of my friends under 30 know of G. Gordon Liddy’s historic significance. If you’re too lazy to read the aforelinked, buy some old issues of Soldier of Fortune and you might see some of his older work. If that whets your appetite, there was this little historical event.
Most importantly, he had a cameo appearance on Airwolf.
Enough background…my host – a man with great taste in haircuts – was kind enough to have me on his Radio America show. The topic? Let’s just say it involved driving. Here’s the audio clip. My interview starts around 28:00 and change…
Trapster, Trapster, Trapster…We made it…and owe part of our success to Trapster. Don’t use it? Download it now. It’s free, and if you have an IPhone and like to drive…utterly indispensible. Of course, I use it on a Dash Express GPS as well…
…and today I’m off in Polizei 144B to visit Trapster HQ to learn its secrets straight from the source.
“Les Go Fast” was what the French police called a group of drug couriers who used high-end German cars to transport coke and weed throughout Europe. Carrying up to 1400 lbs of contraband, “Les Go Fast” were famous for using an SUV as a “rabbit” to spot police and run over any that tried to block the road. They didn’t go the stealth route, they simply drove so fast it would have been too dangerous to try to stop them.
Now there’s a movie coming out about them on October 10th. Unfortunately…for many…it’ll only be released in France. (Thanks to Chris M. for the tip…)
Continue reading ‘"Les Go Fast" – Unstoppable(?) Drug Runners Inspire Movie?’
