THE PORSCHE-PHILE – An interview with Auguste Lecourt of St Catharines, ON

IMG_20140424_122936WRBy Stewart McKinney, Porsche-Phile Editor

THE PORSCHE-PHILE: An interview with Auguste Lecourt of St Catharines, ON

By Stewart McKinney, Porsche-Phile Editor

What is your current Porsche?

Since I own Auguste Automotive, I drive Porsches every day so I don’t currently have the need to purchase one.

I have heard that there is an interesting story about your reason to come to Canada.

In 1973 I was working in Germany with a few of the Porsche race teams. At that time Ludwig Heimrath had purchased a factory 911S. He had asked me to come to North America as his chief mechanic for the IMSA and Trans Am series.

How did you get started with race cars and working with Porsches?

I was working in France at the research department in Citroën and was interested to learn German and work with Porsche. I moved to Germany and worked at an independent Porsche dealership. Shortly after that I began working with the Porsche racing program supporting drivers in Germany. It was then that Ludwig approached me about coming over with the 911S to run the program.

How did the racing with Ludwig go?

I stayed with Ludwig for two years. The engine we had was a modified 2.4-litre that displaced 2.5 litres. It was an odd engine but extremely powerful. With the 2.5, the 911S was such a good car and engine–the car was protested almost every time; they would check the size of the gas tank, engine and such. It was the most powerful engine in the GTU class. Following the two-year stint with Ludwig, I went to Halifax to work for a new Porsche dealership for two years, and then Ludwig again recruited me to be the chief mechanic on the new Porsche 934.5 for the Trans Am series. We won the Trans Am championship in 1977.

Do you have any unique Porsche experiences while at Auguste Automotive?

There was a fellow who had a 959 in Miami and he could not find anyone qualified to work on it so he had it shipped from Miami to St Catharines so that I could work on it for him. It was the only 959 allowed to operate in the States at the time.

What are the things you like to do with the club?

I get involved in the PCA club race and volunteer my time during the PCA club races where I perform technical troubleshooting and advice.

 

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