I first came to this race in 1971, so this would be my 50th year at the Daytona 24 hours. It is an interesting exercise to look back at what has changed over the years. The circuit The track has changed quite a bit since I first attended. Back in 1971 it was 3.81 miles in length and the track had NO chicane, now it is 3.56 miles long with a chicane on the backstretch. The … [Read more...]
2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge – Round 2 at Laguna Seca
Dirk Werner, Matt Campbell and Dennis Olsen clinched victory in the opening round of the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge at the twelve-hour race in Bathurst (Australia) on the spectacular Mount Panorama racetrack. While neither of the two works-supported Porsche 911 GT3 Rs could repeat the result this last weekend in Round 2 at Laguna Seca, one of the new cars did finish on … [Read more...]
Road America works disappointment
The IMSA race this last weekend, round 8 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, produced rather mixed results for the Porsches. While honours deservedly went to the #58 Wright Motorsport team of Patrick Long/Christina Nielsen in the GTD class, for the two works 911 RSRs in the GTLM class it turned into a Road America works disappointment. With two victories … [Read more...]
Success in Florida
Porsche scored just a single win in the 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship about three-quarters into the season, but now the Porsche GTLM team have notched up their first victory this year in just the second round. Their success in Florida in the 12 Hours of Sebring came by way of a win for Patrick Pilet/Fred Makowiecki/Nick Tandy in the #911 Porsche 911 RSR. Their … [Read more...]
12 Hours of Sebring 2018
The 12 Hours of Sebring, the toughest and oldest sports car race in the USA, will be held for the 66th time on 17 March. Sebring is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the United States, the first race to be run there was in 1950 with the first 12 Hours of Sebring race being held on 15 March 1952. The atmosphere at Sebring is legendary but in 1974, the race … [Read more...]
Martin Raffauf’s 2018 Daytona Notebook
Martin Raffauf's 2018 Daytona Notebook takes a comprehensive look at the whole Daytona race week. Martin has been going to Daytona in one form or another for 47 years, so one could say he is something of an expert on the race. Editor The Daytona 24 Hours was first held in 1962. Well actually, the 24 Hour first ran in 1966, the first four races run being called the Continental … [Read more...]
Disappointing result for Porsche at Daytona
Disappointing is the only way that you can describe the result for Porsche at Daytona this last weekend. Porsche and Ferrari are the only two manufacturers who can claim an unbroken racing presence in all the major endurance races around the world since the 1950s. This is important for these two manufacturers, because both have produced sports cars as their core business since … [Read more...]
Rolex 24 at Daytona race progress
With the Rolex 24 at Daytona already two-thirds run, we can bring you the latest Daytona race progress. Martin was out and about on Friday once again and reported some interesting pre-race activity which we will give you at the beginning of this report. The rest of the report will contain the latest material from the Porsche press desk. How the Porsche 911 RSRs … [Read more...]
Rolex 24 at Daytona – Diary 23 January 2018
We have our key man, Martin Raffauf, on the ground at the Rolex 24 at Daytona reporting for Porsche Road & Race, and he has sent a few shots of the happenings there on 23 January 2018. This was the first day of this great event where activities were limited to unpacking and scrutineering. Wandering around the paddock and scrutineering area, Martin sent us back this … [Read more...]
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship R1 Daytona 2018
Round 1 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the Daytona International Speedway will be with us this weekend. It has been fifty years since the #54 Porsche 907LH of Vic Elford, Jochen Neerpasch, Rolf Stommelen, Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann took the chequered flag at the Daytona 24 Hours in 1968. This was the first of 22 overall victories, but Porsche also has a … [Read more...]
