Group C 40-year Reunion at Leipzig

The most successful Porsche racecar ever met its Porsche drivers in Leipzig. In the
Newsroom, they explained the technical milestones and most important developments.
Derek Bell is now 81 years old, but when the lean Brit climbs into ‘his’ Porsche 956, he cuts as elegant a
figure as ever. Yet while 40 years ago it seemed like he was simply doing his job, today he concedes:
“We worked like crazy.” By ‘we’, he means all the racing drivers who drove the ‘supercar’ Porsche
956/962 models at racing speeds – although for today’s purposes, he’s thinking particularly of Jochen
Mass, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Bernd Schneider. They all came to Leipzig to share their very special
personal recollections of the most successful Porsche racing car of all time. It was 40 years ago that the
Group C era began.

At the Porsche Experience Centre 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-kilometre 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.
These cars were also joined by the IMSA-spec 962 from 1984, which posted the fastest qualifying time
in 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 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.

The reunion was also attended by then-test engineer Helmut Schmid and – joining by video – Norbert
Singer, the head of the project and metaphorical father of the legendary car. Such an assembly of
experts and stars needed a host who could meet them on an equal footing – in this case Timo Bernhard,
the Le Mans winner in 2010 with AUDI and 2017 two-time World Endurance Championship winner
with Porsche. “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,” he said, to kick things off. The 956
was unbeaten at Le Mans from 1982 to 1985, and this success was seamlessly continued by its
successor, the 962 C, which took first place in the 24-Hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1986 and
1987.

The car’s list of successes is indeed impressive: five manufacturers 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. Jochen Mass put
it in a nutshell: “Thanks, Norbert, for making it possible!”

Small wonder that the protagonists are in a fine mood – after all, they begin the day flying in formation
in their racing cars on the 3.7 km, FIA-certified circuit at PEC Leipzig, the design of which recalls some
of the best-known sections of the world’s race tracks. Although the drivers weren’t going quite as
quickly as they would have back in the day, everyone gathered got goosebumps as the powerful racing
cars, with their distinctive engine notes, ripped down the straight one after the other. The fact that the
cars can even still be driven in this fashion is thanks to the Historic Motorsport team in the Porsche
Heritage and Museum department and Coordinator Armin Burger.

Photos and article from Porsche AG

Well, I guess I can’t make this group as I am only, NO not 30 years old, only been in the club 30 years!

See you at a CVR meeting or event! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!