Bjorn to race?

“I started my career with Porsche purely as a rally man. I was signed by Huschke von Hanstein, but not long after that he was replaced by Rico Steinemann, who asked me if I’d like to do some racing. He thought that the Targa Florio would be good for me. I didn’t disagree.

“I enjoyed practice because you were allowed more of a free hand in it than you were in the race. Mind you, it was a good job I enjoyed it because, as the newcomer, I always did the first runs, which meant getting up at four in the morning; Jo and Pedro used to turn up at about lunchtime!

“I felt ready for my first lap in a 908/3. It was fantastic and I thought you could be flat everywhere. Then I went off! The big problem I had, though, was that I was too tall; I was crouching so my helmet didn’t blow off.

“Those first laps were not funny because it had rained — and snowed! — overnight and there was mud and slush everywhere. But after a long day’s work, Richard Attwood and I were fifth. The 908/3 was good for its time, but I’m sure it was set up too hard. You could run it better there now with what we know about suspensions.”