We were very honored to be given the opportunity to work with Porsche Cars North America to produce this special all-Porsche issue that, in addition to our normal distribution, will also be going to all the competitors and guests at this year’s Rennsport Reunion III at Daytona.
The all-Porsche Rennsport Reunion was first launched in 2001, with the same simple concept that other great events like the Monterey Historics and the Amelia Island Concours started with—gather together a bunch of like-minded enthusiasts to play with their toys. And like those other events, the Rennsport has steadily grown, with more cars, more personalities and more international buzz each time. This year’s event will feature four days of racing, a concours, a Porsche memorabilia sale as well as a remarkable turn-out of Porsche racers including Richard Attwood, Vic Elford, George Follmer, Hurley Haywood, Willy Kauhsen, Charlie Kemp, Gerald Larrousse, Rudi Lins, David Piper, Brian Redman, Derek Bell, Gijs van Lennep, John Andretti, David Hobbs, Bruce Leven, Jochen Mass, John Morton, Bobby Rahal and Chip Robinson, just to name a few.
Editor
While the Rennsport Reunion includes racing Porsches from all eras, this year’s meeting will highlight two very special types of Rennwagens from Zuffenhausen. One of this year’s honored cars is the 956/962. As part of our special tribute to Porsche, in this issue, we organized the ultimate 956/962 “Racecar Profile”—a head-to-head test of the first 956 (chassis 956-001) and the last works 962 (chassis 962-010). And what better person to help us with this test but four-time Le Mans champion Derek Bell, who raced both of these very cars, in period. Not only did Bell help our European Editor Ed McDonough test drive these two important Porsches, but afterwards he sat down with him for the interview you’ll find on page 26, where he looks back at what it was like to race for Porsche during the heady 956/962 era.
The other Porsche racing car being honored at this year’s Rennsport is the mighty 917 Can-Am car. In this month’s feature article, “Penske’s Panzer,” Gary Horstkorta explores how Porsche modified the long-distance 917 for the Can-Am series, but quickly came to the conclusion that it was going to need a lot more horsepower to dethrone the then-dominant McLaren juggernaut. The story goes on to trace how Roger Penske and Mark Donohue came into the program in 1972 and re-engineered the 917 into a car that was almost unbeatable in the 1972 and 1973 Can-Am seasons. With insights from 1972 Can-Am champion George Follmer, this is a fascinating look into one of the most dominant racing programs of the last 40 years.
As a counterbalance to these two well-known Porsche racing classics, we thought we’d round out this issue with a look into the lives of some the lesser documented, but highly important, people in Porsche racing history. In this month’s “Legends Speak,” we hear from Le Mans-winner Jürgen Barth not only about his come-from-behind victory at Le Sarthe, but also his experiences rallying a 924 across Australia and his surprising choice for his favorite Porsche racing car. Elsewhere, Art Evans looks back at the remarkable life and career of Porsche mechanic-turned-dealer Vasek Polak and how this communist refugee became an influential racing team owner and dealer in the United States. In his “Heroes” column this month, Robert Newman looks at Jo Siffert’s contribution to Porsche racing history, while Pete Lyons, in his column, explores how this year’s RS Spyder ALMS program is surprisingly similar to Porsche’s RS Spyder program in the ’50s. Finally, Rennsport Reunion organizer and Porsche legend Brian Redman tells us why, in his eyes, the 917/30 was the “Greatest Racecar.”
With so much fascinating Porsche history is it any wonder that the Rennsport Reunion has become one of the historic racing world’s “must do’s”? Sadly, if you don’t make it to Daytona, the first weekend of November, you’ll have to wait until 2010 for the next edition, as this special event comes but once every three years.
