The name Porsche is synonymous with the world’s toughest endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, boasting an unbroken run of 66 years. During this time, they have amassed 19 victories. This is Part III of their story… PART III – 1969 to 1971 The introduction of the Porsche Type 917, was the car that Ferdinand Piëch had planned in his mind, all through the 1960s. It was the … [Read more...]
Motorsport
Porsche 935/84 at the Daytona 24 Hours 1985 – The Last Hurrah
By 1981 at the earliest, and for sure by the 1983 season of sports car racing, it had become clear to most that the Porsche 935 was reaching the end of its useful racing life. While it had been a great car, it just could not compete with the new ground effects prototype designs from Lola, March and subsequently Porsche’s own 956/962 design. The 935 was a production based car … [Read more...]
Doing things right – Le Mans 1990
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
12 Hours of Sebring 1986 – Things go better with Coke
The 2.6-litre Porsche 956 which raced in the 1982/1983 seasons in Europe, was not accepted for racing in the USA, and so the 962 was developed by the factory. The sticking point was that the pedal box of the 956 sat just ahead of the front axle centre line, and so Porsche was forced to move the front axle forward by 4¾ in/120mm. The 962 was also not permitted to run twin … [Read more...]
1983 Sebring 12 Hour – David and Goliath
The 1983 Sebring 12 Hour was an epic event. Back then the race was run on the ‘old circuit’ which was over 5.2 miles in length, bumpy, in disrepair, and it was a real battle to even finish a 12- hour event there, being very hard on both driver and equipment. Since about 1971, it had been the domain of Porsche as they had repeatedly won there with cars from the 917 to the … [Read more...]
The 1979 Sebring 12 Hour – The Tortoise comes through
The IMSA season in the 1970s always started with the two toughest races on the calendar, the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours. Daytona was tough because back then, there was no chicane, and more than fifty per cent of the race was in the dark. The traffic was very difficult, as in the old days they would start with upwards of 80 cars on the 3.84-mile oval/infield … [Read more...]
