STEPHANE RATEL IS flicking through the pages of MOTOR'S March issue. He pauses briefly to admire the Ferrari 296 GTB sliding on track as a wry smile spreads across his face before turning over some more pages. Another pause, and he puts the magazine down on the table and shakes his head ever so subtly.
"Ah, Glickenhaus..." he sighs, leaning back in his chair, staring down his nose with a furrowed brow at the two cars that peer back at him from the page. A gold SCG004, and its motorsport ready counterpart.
The statement is dripping with subtext yet unsaid. Ratel and Glickenhaus have a complex relationship. The former the velvet-gloved iron-fisted ruler of modern GT racing, the latter desperately trying to be allowed into the party with his selffunded creations. It doesn't take much provocation for Ratel to expand on his thoughts.
"At the time, they wanted to come to the Spa 24 Hours, but we didn't accept them," Ratel explains. "I was not very much in favour of it."
Ratel was unwilling to bend the rules to give Glickenhaus a dispensation as he felt the cars the American creates don't match the spirit of GT3. If the well-heeled independent wanted to play in Ratel's house, he needed to earn his way in like everyone else, with a proper production run of road cars that are then turned into racers - not the other way around.
Through the Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO), the 58-yearold Frenchman is the custodian of the gargantuan GT3 category, along with its siblings GT2 and GT4. We've been given the opportunity to have an exclusive extended chat with him at Phillip Island during his recent brief visit Down Under.
Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av MOTOR Magazine Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av MOTOR Magazine Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Ged Bulmer
THE ACCOMPANYING YARN WAS A RIB TICKLER, BUT THE SUITS AT PORSCHE DIDN'T SEE IT THAT WAY
Dylan Campbell
WE WERE LIVING THE DREAM. WE ALL WANTED TO WORK FOR MOTOR AS TEENAGERS
HONDA NSX
Honda's alloy missile - a friendly firecracker
TESLA MODEL S
Looking back on the automobile's iPhone moment | TESLA AIMS TO ELEVATE THE ELECTRIC CAR FROM INTRIGUING CURIOUSITY TO A VIABLE MEANS OF EVERYDAY TRANSPORT
PORSCHE 959
Weissach rethinks the supercar
PCOTY LEGENDS - 1996-2022
HOW THE ANNUAL QUEST FOR AUSTRALIA'S BEST PERFORMANCE CARS HAS DELIVERED A ROLL CALL OF EXCELLENCE
THE UNDEFEATED
HONDA'S FK8 CIVIC TYPE R IS OUR LINEAL CHAMP, WINNING EVERY MOTOR COMPARISON AS WELL AS BOTH PERFORMANCE CAR OF THE YEAR AND BANG FOR YOUR BUCKS. WE PAY OUR RESPECTS WITH A FINAL DRIVE IN THE END-OF-THE-LINE LE SPECIAL
THESE ARE OUR PEOPLE
IN A CULTURE OVERFLOWING WITH POSERS AND TRY-HARDS, WE FIND A HAVEN FOR THOSE THAT LOVE DRIVING ABOVE ALL ELSE
OPEN WIDE, SAY R
VOLKSWAGEN'S GOLF R LANDS IN AUSTRALIA AND IT ALREADY HAS THE SWAGGER OF A GIANTKILLER ABOUT IT. WE LINE UP SOME ASYMMETRIC ALTERNATIVES TO SEE IF THE GOLF HAS THEIR RESPECTIVE TALENTS COVERED
SING FOR YOUR DINNER
As the motoring world undergoes seismic shifts in focus, Rob Dickinson's vision for Singer remains clear