When you were last with Richard Wiley, we were hurtling around a damp La Sarthe in 1988 with Stuck in the Shell Dunlop 962, trimming the grass and setting up great plumes of spray as the Porsche barked its flat tones in a relentless but ultimately fruitless pursuit of a howling Jaguar V12 which was on the brink of grinding to a halt with no gears but which somehow survived to … [Read more...]
Motorsport
A Sting in the Tale
In Part 1, Stories from Le Mans – with a Porsche flavour, our intrepid scribbler who hails from that beautiful part of South Africa, the Western Cape, shares with us some hilarious and revealing stories from his many trips to Le Mans. Richard Wiley, a lifelong motoring journalist, has always loved Le Mans, Group C and especially the Porsches of that era. A sting in the tale, … [Read more...]
Taking the Porsche 919 Hybrid around the world – Logistics Part III
Following a fifteen-year absence from the top tier of prototype racing on the world stage, Porsche officially returned to the LMP1 class in 2014 with the 919 Hybrid race car. Preparing a race car like the Porsche 919 Hybrid at Le Mans was no simple task, and so we have explored what was needed in this feature, Logistics Part III. The way the WEC was set up when the … [Read more...]
Porsche 956/962 at Le Mans – Logistics Part II
In 1982, Porsche introduced the Type 956, the race car manufacturer’s entrant in the newly created Group C racing series which commenced that season. The new car scored a second place on its debut at Silverstone that year, and followed this up a month later with a clean sweep of the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The rest, as they say, is history as the 956 and its modified … [Read more...]
Porsche at Teloché, Le Mans – Logistics Part I
Porsche has been represented at the Le Mans 24 Hours every year since 1951, in both an official factory capacity and by privateer entries. No other manufacturer can boast such a long unbroken record of runs at Le Mans since their first race in this classic French endurance race. For Porsche, their attendance from 1951 to 2018 amounts to 68 consecutive races at Le Mans, and this … [Read more...]
The 1989 Daytona 24 hours – Texaco Havoline and the Cruise Brothers
I was really looking forward to the 1989 Daytona 24 Hour race. I had been working as a weekend warrior for Bruce Leven’s Bayside team since early 1987. The team had enjoyed successful seasons in 1987 and 1988, winning multiple IMSA races, the Sebring 12 Hour twice and the Porsche Team Cup. The team had a very good chance to win the 1989 Daytona 24 hours. 1989 would start … [Read more...]
Porsche at Le Mans Part V: 1980 to 1994 the Transaxle years
In this feature, the fifth in our series that looks at the different eras of Porsche’s participation at Le Mans, we examine the part played by the company’s transaxle cars. These front-engined models, that in roadgoing form rescued the company during difficult financial times, have been unjustly maligned over the years. When so many manufacturers of high performance sports cars … [Read more...]
Porsche and the Triple Crown of endurance racing
There are three Sports Car endurance races that have been run over the past sixty-plus years that have been referred to as the ‘Triple Crown’. Arguably, some can say other races should also be included, but these three have withstood the test of time, and they are the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Sebring 12 Hours, and the Daytona 24 Hours. The Le Mans 24 Hours started in 1923, … [Read more...]
World’s longest motor race
The Marathon de la Route, an 84-hour epic endurance race run between 1965-1971, was an event that pushed both car and driver to breaking point. With some really unique rules, this race must go down in history as the world’s longest motor race. It was certainly one of the most demanding motor sport events ever, and yet so little of the race is known. Broken down into its … [Read more...]
Kremer Racing mixes with the big players
In motor racing, the performance margin that separates the winners from the losers is often so small that it is mere determination that helps a driver to cross the line first. But that determination must come from confidence on the part of the driver and a belief in the race car, which may all sound very philosophical, but both of these factors can be very strong weapons in … [Read more...]
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