Which reads like a veritable Who’s Who of Man and
Machinery…
Funny how I first learned about Porsche
celebrating it’s 75th Anniversary. Which I discerned when perusing last year’s
24 Heurs du Mans entry list.
Since in typical “Penske Perfect” fashion, or
El Capitano’, nee Roger Penske’s “Attention to Detail”. The third Porsche Penske
Motorsports Porsche 963 was competing with the No. 75 on it’s flanks. Being
Roger’s nod to the company’s History…
Porsche’s Debutante 24 Huers du Mans Overall
victory came in 1970, when the Porsche GH Salzburg entry of Richard Atwood and
Hans Herrmann won aboard a Porsche 917KH “coupe”. In 1971, Der Helmut’, aka Dr.
Helmut Marko and gijs van Lennep driving for Martini Racing won driving a 917K.
Before the ACO effectively killed the 5.0-litre Sports Car class, which the
likes of the 917 and Ferrari 512M competed with.
Yes, that’s the very same Dr. Helmut Marko, whose
the “famous” Red bull Racing Formula 1 Consultant…
For 1976-77 Martini Racing scored back-to-back
victories with the iconic Porsche 936 Spyder. Jacky Ickx teamed up with Gijs
van Lennep aboard a 936/76 Spyder. With the Belgian repeating a year later in
an updated 936/77 Spyder with Hurley Haywood and Jurgen Barth.
Then there’s the ’79 win with the Kremer Racing
Porsche 935 K3 which I’ve scribbled ‘bout before here on No Fenders. As Klaus
Ludwig shared the podium’s top step with those dubious Whittington Brothers don
and Bill.
http://www.nofenders.net/2019/04/retro-notorious-porsche-and-ferrari.html
As the ’79 race pitted two rival 935’s against
each other fighting for the win. With the Hawaiian Tropic sponsored Dick Barber
Racing entry including somebody named P. L. Newman on it’s driving roster,
finishing runner-up…
Beginning with the ’81 24 Heurs du Mans, Porsche
went on a tear, arguably during it’s Glory Years! With the Stuttgart Automobile
manufacturer winning then an unprecedented
seven straight Le Mans victories
1981 saw Porsche Systems dust off it’s 936
Spyder. With two of Lecircuit de la Sarthe legends, i.e.; thee original Mr. Le
Mans, aka six times winner Jacky Ickx and soon to be Five-times winner Derek
Bell winning behind the keyboard of an updated 936/81 Spyder.
Beginning in ’82, the latest Panzerwagen from
Weissach rolled out. As the new Porsche 956 would win four straight races.
1982 saw Ickx and Bell win again for Rothmans
Porsche. Followed by Haywood, Al Holbert and Vern Schuppan’s win.
Joest Racing took over the podium’s top step
the following two years. First in 1984 with Ludwig and Henri Pescarolo. Then Paolo
Barilla, Ludwig and “John Winter” the following year.
1986 saw the arrival of Porsche’s greatest Le
Man’s racer, the iconic 962. Seeing Rothmans Porsche go back-to-back between
1986-87 with bell, Holbert and Hans-Joachim Stuck at
it’s controls. Before Tom Walkinshaw and His Eponomous Silk Cut Jaguar’s ended Porsche’s
streak in ’88.
Porsched didn’t return to the winner’s circle
until 1994, when Mauro Baldi, Yanick Dalmas and Hurley Haywood won aboard a
Dauer 962 Le Mans-Porsche derived “Street Car!”
1996 saw the car that the late Al Holbert had
been championing Porsche to build upon the 962’s demise win. Albeit it was the TWR
Porsch WSP-95 “Spyder” with Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter and Alexander Wurz
winning.
Then Joest Racing won again in ’97 with the
same Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) racecar. Basically an old Jaguar XJR-14 Group
C chassis with it’s roof cut off and intended to compete in IMSA’s new Exxon
sponsored World Sports Car series. (WSC) Before being “outlawed” by rule
changes.
As Reinhold Joest convinced Porsche to allow
Him to race the chassis, and the rest was History. With Joest winning again for
the second year in-a-row with ‘lil Stevie Johnson’, aka Stefan Johansson,
Michele Alboreto and some Dude named tom Kristensen at it’s controls.
1998 saw Laurent Aiello, thee “Scottish Terrier”,
aka Allan McNish and Stefane Ortelli win for Porsche AG behind the wheel of it’s
Porsche 911 GT1-98
Meanwhile, Stuttgart had also taken over the
WSC 95 project, renaming it the LMP1-98, which basically met with poor results
and was cancelled for 2000.
Porsche returned to Sports Car racing with the
debut of the Porsch RS Spyder at the 2005 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Laguna
Seca event. As Roger Penske would successfully campaign the RS Stateside in the
ALMS, with overall victory in the ’08 12 Hours of Sebring being it’s High-water
mark.
The RSSpyder also raced at Le Mans, winning the
LMP2 class between 2008-09, beforerule changes for 2011 rendered it obsolete.
Porsche returned to Circuit de la Sarthe with it’s
most impressive “Piece of Kit” as the Bloody Brits would say in 2014. When it’s
“Spaceship” LMP1 919 Hybrid made it’s debut.
The Porsche Team then won the first of it’s three
successive Le Mans W’s in 2015!
That year saw Earl Bamber, Nico Hulkenberg and
Nick Tandy winning, netting Porsche a record extending 17th Overall victory.
2016,which has to be one of my favourite wins!
Saw Romain dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb victorious again. Snatching what was
to be Toyota’s maiden Le Mans triumph disintegrate upon the race’s final lap! Followed
a year later by Earl Bamber, Timo Bernard and Brendon Hartley taking the lead
of the race back in the final hour…
Porsche then promptly withdrew once again from Sports Car racing. And wouldn’t return to the FIA World Endurance championship (WEC) until the new Hypercar era dawned in 2023. With Porsche Penske Motorsports running two full season Porsche 963 Le Mans Daytona Hybrid (LMDH) prototypes in both IMSA’s new Hybrid GTP category and the “Weckity-WEC”. Plus the aforementioned third No. 75 “Wildcard” Le Mans entry, for Circuit de la Sarthe’s Centenary running…
