On an early spring afternoon in southern Germany, Herbert Linge strolls contentedly between various Porsche 911s and excitable throngs of journalists. The media event, held at Porsche's research and development facility at Weissach, marks the 50th anniversary of a certain sports car that may have been mentioned a couple of times already this year. For the assembled press the notion of Porsche without the 911 is inconceivable, but for Linge it was a reality for two decades.
Retired or not Linge is still a Porsche man
Born in the town of Weissach in 1928, he joined Porsche at 15 years of age, some 20 years before the 911 arrived. The very first apprentice mechanic to be taken on at Porsche's then-modest Zuffenhausen facility, Linge still works for the marque to this day in an ambassadorial role on occasions such as this one. The grin that spreads involuntarily across his face with each tale told alludes to 70 years well spent.
Home team
The test track about which he walks now - and, in turn, the fortunes of the town that sprawls beneath it - owes everything to Linge. "I was the man who showed this location to Ferry Porsche," he reveals, without pride, through a thick accent in broken English. "We had looked at a different place in the country, but there were a lot of nice fields and trees there, so Mr Porsche said, 'That's too good to build a test track on.' I told him I know an area where there are only stones, nothing important. We drove from the first place right up to here and walked around. He said, 'Okay, if you can manage it we will build it here.'
"This was in 1959. In 1960 we started to build some of the track. It first opened in spring of 1962. We only had a skidpad then. In the middle of the 60s we started building workshops - it's still growing now! Most of the people in Weissach live off Porsche and the money it brings to the village."
Co-driving for Herrmann on the Mille Miglia
Who else can claim to have contributed so much to his hometown? Having watched this little family-owned sports car maker grow into one of the world's most recognisable brands over seven decades - all within sight of his childhood home - this place must feel like the centre of the universe for Linge.
That's not to say he never got away from Weissach, though. In 1952, Ferry Porsche handpicked Linge to manage the company's competition car after-sales affairs in the USA. Porsche's Stateside reputation as a manufacturer of peerless competition cars was built on foundations laid by Linge.
Red card
He returned to Europe in 1954 to contest the Mille Miglia, co-driving for Hans Herrmann in a Porsche 550. Employing a rudimentary form of pacenotes, which made use of a red card to signal braking zones and a green one for faster sections, the pair finished sixth overall and first in class.
Winning the Tour de Corse in 1960 with a 356
With driving ambitions of his own, Linge began competing at an amateur level the same year. Such was his natural ability at the wheel of a competition car that Porsche soon pressed him into service as a works driver. He made the first of 15 appearances at Le Mans, all with Porsche, in the late 50s.
Linge recorded his first class win at Le Mans in 1960 in a factory-run 356 and won the Tour de Corse the same year. He remains the only German driver to have conquered the event.
Five years later, and with several more Le Mans starts to his credit, Linge was afforded the unique distinction of giving Porsche's new sports car, the unique and divisive 911, its maiden competitive outing on Rallye Monte Carlo. "The car was not entered for sporting reasons," explains Linge. "Huschke von Hanstein, the press manager at the time, wanted the new car to be shown in Monte Carlo. He told me, 'Just drive the car very slowly, get to Monte Carlo. I want to show the car to the press.' During the rally we found out the car was more than just a representation, so we started to go a little faster..."
Putting the boot in
Linge and his co-driver Peter Falk, a talented engineer with a distinguished career ahead of him, couldn't resist the temptation. "We started to race and ended up fifth overall. It was a tough rally, lots of snow, but it was good for the 911 because the rear engine gave good traction. There was always a connection to sport activities with the 911. This was always something that pushed the car forward and made it better and better." Later in 1965, he recorded his best Le Mans result with fourth overall in a 904/6.
'Accidentally' racing in the Monte with Falk (L)
In 1969, Linge competed at La Sarthe aboard a fearsome 917 with no more than a few straight-line airfield runs beneath his belt, then drove the camera car for Steve McQueen's film Le Mans the following year. "At the beginning Steve was a little strange to everyone, but as soon as you had contact with him he was good," recalls Linge. "He was a very good driver.
"The camera car was a 908. We finished ninth in that car, but we got disqualified. That year you were not allowed to do anything to the car before 21 laps. We had to change the film rolls after 15 laps and one of the organisers claimed we had worked on the car.
"They told us before that they didn't want a camera car in the race, so the car had to behave like a normal competition car. We had to stay within the rules and be handled like any other car. We were only told that we were disqualified after the race, but we didn't care. We had such good film material."
Linge at heart of 917 Le Mans era
In 1972, Linge made his most enduring contribution to motor racing as he founded the world's first rapid response medical team. ONS-Staffel, as it was then known, was a fleet of Porsche 911s equipped with medical supplies, a competent driver and a doctor, each positioned at various points around a circuit during European Formula 1 races, among others. Linge and his team worked closely with the inestimable Professor Sid Watkins to vastly improve safety in motor racing. In his superb memoir Life At The Limit, Prof writes, "One of the great stories told by Herbert Linge is about the making of a motor-racing film called Le Mans in which Steve McQueen starred. Linge was employed on a per diem cash dollar basis to drive in his Porsche down the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans to be overtaken by McQueen at the end towards the sinking sun. McQueen told Herbert that he was a crack driver and that Linge did not need to lift off - McQueen could beat him. After an unsuccessful week of failure on McQueen's part, the film's director instructed Linge to let Steve pass. Herbert acceded and went home a lot richer."
Back in the 550 to re-live some past glories
Linge later worked as Operations Manager of the Weissach R&D facility - such was his standing among Porsche's senior personnel - before managing the nascent Carrera Cup motorsport programme, despite having officially retired several years earlier.
Outside of the most informed Porsche circles the name Herbert Linge doesn't quite resonate as do the names of the celebrated works drivers with whom he competed - such as Richard Attwood, Vic Elford and Jo Siffert - or even some of the engineers with whom he worked closely - the likes of Hans Mezger and Norbert Singer - but there can be no doubt that his contribution to Porsche merits comparison to that of anybody else. When he started at Zuffenhausen as a boy in the 40s, he could not have known to what extent he was in the right place, at the right time.