Porsche Celebrates 40 Years of Group C Racing

Another Milestone

Porsche's entire history is deeply rooted in motorsport, and in its 70+ years of existence, the automaker has used racing to develop its future road cars. As such, there are always milestones to celebrate with each passing year, and the latest of which is Porsche's 40-year anniversary of participating in Group C racing. It recently marked that occasion by rounding up some historic racers and their drivers in the German town of Leipzig to reflect on that past and look ahead to the future.

Photos: Porsche

Historic Lineup

That lineup included Derek Bell, Jochen Mass, Hans-Joachim Stuck, and Bernd Schneider, along with a host of the Porsche 956 racers that they competed in over the years. At the Porsche Experience Center in Leipzig, Bell and his colleagues encountered the winning car from the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans, with chassis number 956-002. Also, present was the 956 with chassis number 956-005, which won the 1,000-kilometer races at the Nürburgring and Spa, among other triumphs. This racing car was fully restored by the Porsche Museum and returned to its 1983 livery.

Photos: Porsche

Special Cars

These cars were also joined by the IMSA-spec 962 from 1984, which posted the fastest qualifying time at Daytona, and the 962 C that won the Supercup in 1987, both of which had also been restored to their original glory. Beside them was the 962 C with the starting number 17, the Le Mans winner in 1987. Also, present was the youngest representative of Group C, the fourth-place finisher at Le Mans in 1990 - the 962 C with chassis number 962-015, from the Joest customer team.

Photos: Porsche

Long Line of Success

"The 956 is the most successful racing car in the history of Porsche. It dominated everyone. And it remained a winner for an unbelievable 12 years," said Timo Bernhard, the Le Mans winner in 2010 with Audi and 2017 and two-time World Endurance Championship winner with Porsche.  The 956 was undefeated at Le Mans from 1982 to 1985, and this success continued with its successor, the 962 C, which took first place in the 24-hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1986 and 1987.

Photos: Porsche

Impressive Resume

The car's list of successes is indeed impressive - five manufacturer’s and team titles, 43 individual victories at WEC races, five WEC driver’s titles, seven overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (from 1982 to 1987 with the 956 and 962 and with the 962 Dauer Le Mans GT in 1994), four IMSA titles, 52 individual victories in the IMSA races, and five victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona. 

Photos: Porsche

Slightly Slower

Although the drivers weren’t ripping up the track quite as quickly as they would have back in the day, everyone proceeded to rip down the straight one after the other. The fact that the cars can even still be driven in this fashion can be attributed to the Historic Motorsport team in the Porsche Heritage and Museum department, as well as coordinator Armin Burger.

Photos: Porsche

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