Le Mans 1990 was a whole new ballgame. The circuit had changed drastically. The famous Mulsanne straight was now going to have two chicanes in the middle of it. This was part of the new FIA mandated changes to circuits to improve safety. Four-mile-long straights such as the Mulsanne were no longer to be approved by the FIA. The near 250mph speed in a 962 in 1989 on the Mulsanne … [Read more...]
Yesteryear
Early 1980 IMSA GT Championship
By the time that we reached the IMSA Riverside Los Angeles Times Grand Prix in April, the Dick Barbour Racing team’s IMSA GT championship season had been a mixed one. 24 Hour Pepsi Challenge – Daytona (2/3 February) We had started at the Daytona 24 Hours with a new Porsche Kremer K3 935, chassis #000 00009, a Kremer-built K3 from a factory chassis. That car had crashed at … [Read more...]
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.8
Every so often, Porsche creates a short production run of cars that celebrates the attributes of one of their special models. In 1993, the Stuttgart engineers decided to develop a race version of their 911 Type 964 Carrera RS, aptly named the Carrera RSR 3.8, and aimed it squarely at the race track. With the 1993 Carrera 2 as the starting point, Porsche had to make at … [Read more...]
Not very “Aerodynameek” and a few too many – Le Mans 1982
The Garretson Developments Sports Car team entered two cars at Le Mans 1982, a March-Chevrolet and a Porsche 935. The March was an 82G, the March IMSA GTP car. The March was a fast car, but fragile. Most of the problem was due to the use of the Hewland DG300 gearbox in the original design. Used no doubt to save weight, it proved unable to handle the torque of the 6.0 liter … [Read more...]
Celebrating the Porsche Carrera heritage
The origin of the model name, Porsche Carrera, is not only interesting but also somewhat hazy. It all started in a dusty town called Tuxtla Gutiérrez near the southern border of Mexico. The year was 1950, and an epic road race was about to get underway, La Carrera Panamericana, in celebration of the completion of the Mexican section of the Panamerican highway which stretched … [Read more...]
Conversations with Peter Gregg
Peter Gregg was the IMSA driver every one strived to beat. He started in the early ‘70s with Porsches and had done very well. He won the first championship in 1971, sharing a Porsche with Hurley Haywood in the GTU class (under 2.5-litre). By 1973 he was running the iconic Porsche Carrera RSR and he would win the IMSA title in 1973, 1974 and 1975. By then he was known as ‘Peter … [Read more...]
Dick Barbour Racing at the 1980 Le Mans 24 Hours
Le Mans in 1980 was in kind of a transition. The Porsche 935 K3 had won the prior year. Kremer built on the success and sold quite a few customer cars, and kits to update older cars. Dick Barbour had bought a brand-new car to start the season, and was running for the IMSA championship with John Fitzpatrick as lead driver. The Porsche factory had stopped the 936 program, as … [Read more...]
1991 Carrera Cup contender
A bit of history It had long been Porsche’s goal to participate in motorsport at varying levels, and in an effort to nurture new talent from amongst its customer racing base, a new customer racing series was being planned. 1990 marked the birth of the one-make motor racing series which has today become the envy of the motoring industry, the Porsche Carrera Cup. This year marks … [Read more...]
Porsche 356 SL at Le Mans
The date was 23 June 1951, and sixty race cars lined up at 16h00 for the start of the nineteenth running of the Le Mans 24 Hour race. This would be the first race for the Porsche 356 SL at Le Mans, in fact it was the Stuttgart company’s first foray into big time international motorsport, so a lot was riding on the 356’s performance. It was customary for the cars to line … [Read more...]
Porsche at Le Mans Part II: 1964 to 1969
The introduction of the Type 904 heralded a new direction for Porsche’s race cars. Gone were the aluminium-bodied racers, as the 904 spearheaded a generation of GRP-bodied Porsches that culminated in the World Manufacturers’ Championship title, and that all-important Le Mans 24 Hour crown. This is Part II of the Porsche at Le Mans story… Porsche at Le Mans 1964 – June … [Read more...]
