Porsche's 956 and 962 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six years in a row in the 1980s. The Porsche 956 was a Group C Sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship. The Porsche 962 (also known as the 962C in its Group C form was a Sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 The 24 Hours of Le Mans ( 24 Heures du Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe,

Motor manufacturer Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport, scoring a total of more than 28,000 victories. Porsche SE or Porsche ( German, ˈpɔɹʃə is a German manufacturer of automobiles which is majority-owned by the Porsche and Piëch Porsche is currently the world's largest race car manufacturer. In 2006, Porsche built 195 race cars for various international motor sports events, and in 2007 Porsche is expected to construct no less than 275 dedicated race cars (7 RS Spyder LMP2 prototypes, 37 GT2 spec 911 GT3-RSRs, and 231 911 GT3 Cup vehicles). The RS Spyder (known internally as Type 9R6 is a LMP2 class race car built by Porsche. ^[1]

Particular success has been in sports car racing, notably the Carrera Panamericana and Targa Florio, races which were later used in the naming of street cars. Sports car racing is a form of circuit Auto racing with Automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels The Carrera Panamericana was a Sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico, similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy The Targa Florio was an open road Endurance automobile race held near Palermo Sicily. Also, they did well in the Mille Miglia and especially 24 Hours of Le Mans where they have won sixteen times overall, more than any other company, plus many class wins. The Mille Miglia (Thousand Miles - pronounced 'miʎʎa was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen The 24 Hours of Le Mans ( 24 Heures du Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe,

Porsche regards racing as an essential part of ongoing engineering development—it was traditionally very rare for Porsche racing cars to appear at consecutive races in the same specification. The phrase research and development (also R and D or more often R&D) according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers Some aspect of the car almost invariably, was being developed, whether for the future race programme or as proof of concept for future road cars.

A Porche in the GT Class practicing for the 2008 Gainsco Grand Prix of Miami at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Early years

As Porsche only had small capacity road and racing cars in the 1950s and 1960s, they scored many wins in their classes, and occasionally also overall victories against bigger cars, most notably winning the Targa Florio in 1956, 1959, 1960, 1964, and every year from 1966-1970 in prototypes that lacked horsepower relative to the competition, but which made up for that, with reliability and good handling. The Targa Florio was an open road Endurance automobile race held near Palermo Sicily. A prototype is an original type form or instance of something serving as a typical example basis or standard for other things of the same category In their September 2003 publication, Excellence magazine identified Lake Underwood as Porsche's quiet giant in the United States [1] and he is among the four drivers, including Art Bunker, Bob Holbert, and Charlie Wallace who are identified by the Porsche Club of America as having made Porsche a giant-killer in the USA during the 1950s and early 1960s. Excellence The Magazine About Porsche (known simply as Excellence and originally named Porsche Magazine) is a Magazine Lake Underwood (born 1926 died September 12 2008 is an American Entrepreneur who competed in the Racing of Prototype Automobiles Charlie Wallace (born January 20, 1885) is a former English footballer who played for Aston Villa. The Porsche Club of America is an Organization of Porsche enthusiasts in the United States and Canada. [2] Notable early successes in the USA also included an overall win in the 1964 Road America 500 for an under-2-litre RS-60 driven by Bill Wuesthoff and Augie Pabst.

Porsche started racing with lightweight, tuned derivatives of the 356 road car, but rapidly moved on to campaigning dedicated racing cars, with the 550, 718, RS, and RSK models being the backbone of the company's racing programme through to the mid 1960s. The Porsche 356 was the company's first production automobile The Porsche 550 was a Sports car produced by Porsche from 1953-1956 The Porsche 718 was an Automobile from Porsche released in 1958 and built until 1962 The 90x series of cars in the 60s saw Porsche start to expand from class winners that stood a chance of overall wins in tougher races where endurance and handling mattered, to likely overall victors. Engines grew from two litre units to three litres in the 908 and to 4. The Porsche 908 was a Racing car from Porsche, introduced from 1967 in the Porsche 906 / Porsche 907 / Porsche 910 series of models 5, and eventually, to five litres in the 917. The Porsche 917 is a racecar that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. Meanwhile, the 911 was establishing a reputation in production-based racing and in rallying. The Porsche 911 (pronounced as Nine Eleven, Neunelfer is a Sports car made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany

24 Hours of Le Mans successes

The 917 gave Porsche its first 24 Hours of Le Mans win in 1970. The Porsche 917 is a racecar that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. The 24 Hours of Le Mans ( 24 Heures du Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, The 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 38th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on June 13 and 14, 1970.

The Porsche 917 is considered one of the most iconic sports racing cars of all time and gave Porsche their first 24 Hours of Le Mans win, while open-top versions of it, came to dominate Can-Am racing. The Porsche 917 is a racecar that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. The 24 Hours of Le Mans ( 24 Heures du Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or Can-Am, was an SCCA / CASC Sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974 After dominating Group 4, 5, and 6 racing in the 1970s with the 911-based 934 and 935, and the prototype 936, Porsche moved on to dominate Group C and IMSA GTP in the 1980s with the Porsche 956/962C: one of the most prolific and successful sports prototype racers ever produced. The Porsche 934 was a racing version of the Porsche 911 Turbo, prepared to FIA Group 4 rules similar to the Porsche 935 which was prepared to The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976 as the racing version of the Porsche 930 (911 Turbo prepared for FIA - Group 5 rules (similar to the Porsche The Porsche 936 was a Racing car introduced in 1976 by Porsche as a delayed successor to the Porsche 917, which was retired by the factory after 1971 Group C was a category of Auto racing, introduced into Sports car racing by the FIA in 1982 along with Group A for touring cars The International Motor Sports Association (generally referred to as IMSA) is an American Auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton Georgia IMSA GT was a Sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. The Porsche 956 was a Group C Sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship.

Porsche scored a couple of unexpected Le Mans wins in 1996-7 - a return to prototype racing in the USA was planned for 1995, with a Tom Walkinshaw Racing chassis, formerly used as the Jaguar XJR-14 and the Mazda MXR-01 fitted with a Porsche engine. Tom Walkinshaw Racing, also known simply as TWR was a racing team founded in 1976 by touring car racer Tom Walkinshaw. The Jaguar XJR-14 was a Sports-prototype racing car introduced for the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season The Mazda MXR-01 was a Group C Sportscar used by Mazda 's factory team Mazdaspeed in the 1992 World Sportscar Championship season. IMSA rule changes struck this car out of the running and the private Joest Racing team raced the cars in Europe for two years, winning back-to-back Le Mans with the same chassis, termed the Porsche WSC-95. Joest Racing (currently Audi Sport Team Joest) is a racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works The Porsche WSC-95 (sometimes referred to as the TWR WSC-95) was a Le Mans Prototype built for Porsche by Tom Walkinshaw Racing and run by This is a feat Porsche had also achieved in the 956 era; contrasting with the 1960s and 1970s where most cars ran only one or two races for the works before being sold on.

Many Porsche race cars are run successfully by customer teams, financed and run without any factory support; often they have beaten the factory itself. Recently, 996-generation 911 GT3s have dominated their class at Le Mans and similar endurance and GT races. The Porsche 996 is the company's internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between 1998 and 2005 The late 1990s saw the rise of racing success for Porsche with The Racer's Group, a team owned by Kevin Buckler in Northern California. The Racer's Group is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Rolex Sports Car Series racing team located in Petaluma California owned by Kevin Buckler In 2002, Buckler won the 24 Hours of Daytona GT Class and the 24 Hours of Le Mans GT Class. The Rolex 24 at Daytona (frequently referred to by its historical title the 24 Hours of Daytona) is a 24-hour sports car Endurance race held annually at The 24 Hours of Le Mans ( 24 Heures du Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, In 2003, a 911 run by The Racers Group (TRG) became the first GT Class vehicle since 1977 to take the overall 24 Hours of Daytona victory. The Rolex 24 at Daytona (frequently referred to by its historical title the 24 Hours of Daytona) is a 24-hour sports car Endurance race held annually at

Rally

The various versions of the 911 also proved to be a serious competitor in rallies as long as regulations allowed them to compete. Rallying is a form of motor competition that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars The Porsche works team was only very occasionally present in rallying in the 1960s and 1970s, but the best private 911s often were close to other brand works cars. Jean-Pierre Nicolas even managed to win the 1978 Monte Carlo Rally with a private 911 SC. Jean-Pierre Nicolas (born January 22, 1945) is a retired French professional rally driver who competed mainly in the 1970s The Monte Carlo Rally (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a Rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco who also organize The Paris Dakar Rally was won twice, also using the 911 derived Porsche 959 Group B supercar. The Dakar Rally (or simply " The Dakar " formerly known as "The Paris Dakar" or "Paris to Dakar Rally" and now as "The Lisboa Dakar" is The Porsche 959 is a Sports car manufactured by Porsche from 1986 to 1989 first as a Group B rally car and later as a legal Production car designed The Group B referred to a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in Sportscar racing and Rally racing regulated by the FIA.

Single-seaters

Porsche also has participated in single seater racing with mixed results; Formula Two cars, initially based on the RSK sports racer, first appeared in the late 1950s and enjoyed some success; these cars moved up to Formula One in 1961 and in 1962 a flat-eight powered 804 produced Porsche's only win as a constructor in a championship race, claimed by Dan Gurney at the 1962 French Grand Prix. Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, was a type of Formula racing. The 1962 Formula One season included the 13th FIA Formula One World Championship season which commenced on May 20, 1962, and ended on December The following is a list of constructors which have competed or plan to compete in the FIA World Championship. Daniel Sexton Gurney (born April 13, 1931) is an American racing driver race car constructor and team owner Results from the 1962 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Rouen-Les-Essarts on July 8, 1962. One week later, he repeated the success in front of Porsche's home crowd on Stuttgart's Solitude in a non-championship race. Stuttgart (ˈʃtʊtgaɐ̯t is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Castle Solitude in Germany (also known as Solitude Palace was built as a hunting lodge between 1764 and 1769 At the end of the season, Porsche withdrew from F1 due to the high costs and lack of success. Privateers continued to enter the out-dated Porsche 718 in F1 until 1964.

McLaren MP4/2 Formula 1 car, powered by a TAG-Porsche engine

Porsche returned to Formula One in 1983 after nearly two decades away, supplying engines badged as TAG units for the McLaren Team. The McLaren MP4/2 was a Formula One car designed by John Barnard of McLaren for the 1984 season. The 1983 Formula One season included the 34th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 13 and ended on October 15 after fifteen races TAG Group (Holdings SA is a private holding company based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK The TAG engine was designed to very tight requirements issued by McLaren's John Barnard-he specified the physical layout of the engine to match the design of his proposed car. John Barnard (born 1946 is a Race car designer and is currently Technical Director for the Team KR Moto GP team The engine was funded by TAG who retained the naming rights to it, although the engines bore "made by Porsche" identification. TAG-Porsche-powered cars took two constructor championships in 1984 and 1985, three driver crowns in 1984, 1985, and 1986. The 1984 Formula One season was the 35th FIA Formula One World Championship season The 1985 Formula One season was the 36th FIA Formula One World Championship season The 1984 Formula One season was the 35th FIA Formula One World Championship season The 1985 Formula One season was the 36th FIA Formula One World Championship season The 1986 Formula One season was the 37th FIA Formula One World Championship season

Porsche returned to F1 again in 1991 as an engine supplier, however, this time with disastrous results: Porsche-powered Footwork cars failed to score a single point, and failed even to qualify for over half the races that year; Porsche has not participated in Formula One since. The 1991 Formula One season was the 42nd FIA Formula One World Championship season Arrows Grand Prix International was a Formula One team active from 1977 to 2002

Engine for the Indy 500-race

Porsche attempted an Indianapolis 500 entry in the late 1970s with a turbocharged 911-based engine in a bespoke car for Danny Ongais and the Interscope team; failure to agree turbo boost levels with USAC meant that this was shelved, although the engine later became the basis of that used in the 956 and 962. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American Danny Ongais (born May 21, 1942 in Kahului, Maui Island, Hawaii) is a former racecar driver from the United States. Interscope Records is an American Record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label The United States Automobile Club (USAC is an Open-wheel Auto racing sanctioning body They returned to CART in the 1980s with a turbo V8 in their own 2708 chassis, but this did not enjoy any success and a March chassis scored their only successes. Champ Car, was the name for a class and specification of cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades primarily for use in the Indianapolis March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from Britain.

One-make series

Porsche has sponsored the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain and Supercup racing series by providing cars and support since 1990. Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain is a one make racing series that takes place in the United Kingdom for the Porsche 911. The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007) is the international motor racing series supporting the FIA Stock and lightly-modified Porsches are raced in many competitions around the world; some of these are primarily amateur classes for enthusiasts, but the Porsche Michelin Supercup is a wholly professional category, raced as a support category for European Formula One rounds. The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007) is the international motor racing series supporting the FIA

Today

Porsche RS Spyder. The RS Spyder (known internally as Type 9R6 is a LMP2 class race car built by Porsche.

Porsche dropped its factory motorsports programs during the turn of the twenty-first century, preferring to support privateers, for financial reasons. An LMP1 prototype with a V10 engine similar to that used in the Carrera GT was abandoned, unraced. The Porsche Carrera GT is a mid-engined Sports car that was manufactured by Porsche in Leipzig Design The Carrera GT is powered Porsche has only recently made a comeback with the new RS Spyder prototype, and even this is run by closely-associated customer teams rather than by the works. The RS Spyder (known internally as Type 9R6 is a LMP2 class race car built by Porsche. Based on LMP2 homologation regulations, the RS Spyder made its debut for Roger Penske's team at Laguna Seca during the final race of the 2005 ALMS season, and immediately garnered a class win in the LMP2 class and finishing 5th overall. Roger Penske (born February 20, 1937 in Shaker Heights Ohio) is the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (previously known as Laguna Seca Raceway) is a paved road Racing track used for both Auto racing and motorcycle racing The American Le Mans Series ( ALMS) is a Sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. The RS Spyder clearly possessed the pace to challenge the Audi and Lola P1 automobiles in the ALMS on all but the fastest circuits winning the LMP2 championship on its debut year.

Major Victories and Championships

• 14 Makes and Team World Championship (1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1994)
• 8 Long Distance World Championship
• 3 IMSA Supercar-Series (1991, 1992, 1993)
• 6 German Racing Championship (1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985)
• 20 European Hill Climbing Championship
• 20 Daytona 24 Hours (1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1995, 2003)
• 15 IMSA Supercar-Race (USA)
• 16 24 Hours of Le Mans (1970, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998)
• 18 12 Hours of Sebring (1960, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2008)
• 11 Targa Florio (1956, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973)
• 4 Rallye Monte Carlo (1968, 1969, 1970, 1978)
• 2 Paris-Dakar Rally (1984, 1986)
• 1 Formula 1 victory (1962)

TAG-Porsche engine in McLaren cars

• 3 Formula 1 Driver World Championship (1984, 1985, 1986)
• 2 Formula 1 Constructor World Championship (1984, 1985)
• 25 Formula 1 victories (1984, 12 wins; 1985, 6 wins; 1986, 4 wins; 1987, 3 wins)

References