Today, Porsche can boast a total of 19 overall victories together with countless class successes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's most respected and revered endurance motor race. Porsche’s first year of participation at Le Mans was back in 1951 when the company was just three years old, but it would have to wait nineteen years before it could claim its first overall … [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...]
VIDEO: LEGEND OF LE MANS – THE GENESIS OF PORSCHE MOTORSPORT
Porsche’s road to Le Mans
Sixty-six years ago, on 24 June 1951, the first Porsche was pushed tentatively onto the starting grid of the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hour race. The lone, diminutive 356 SL would finish in a remarkable twentieth place overall. Fifty-one years ago, on 19 June 1966, the first Porsche 911 would see action in the 24-hour race, and finish in a commendable fourteenth place overall and … [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...]