“The cars you see here are just amazing. They’re all in incredible condition. And the best thing is that I’ve
contested races in many of them.” This is the first time Hans-Joachim Stuck has attended the Rennsport
Reunion. “I’d received invitations before but somehow it always coincided with a race weekend. If I’d known
just how fantastic this event was I would have immediately cancelled all the other commitments and come
straight here.”
US debut of the new Porsche 911
One of the many highlights of the Rennsport Reunion was the US debut of the new Porsche 911, unveiled by
the model range director August Achleitner. For decades the 911 has been the top selling sports car in the
world. Featuring an innovative turbo flat engine and an advanced chassis, the new generation 911 is
well-equipped to continue this trend. Thanks to more than four decades of experience with turbo engines – in
both motor racing and production sports cars – the new engines in the new 911 Carrera set benchmarks in
terms of performance, driving pleasure and efficiency. The new engine generation with bi-turbo charging raises
the emotional driving pleasure in the 911 Carrera to an even more intensive experience: 272 kW (370 hp) of
power at the rear of the 911 Carrera is waiting to be unleashed and converted into sporty propulsion. The
engine in the 911 Carrera S now delivers 309 kW (420 hp). In both cases this represents a power increase of
15 kW (20 hp).
Hurley Haywood: “Fans for the rest of their lives”
The only Porsche racing legend who has attended all five Rennsport Reunions between 2001 and 2015 is
Hurley Haywood. “The event has never been as organised as this and we’ve never seen as many beautiful cars
as we’re witnessing here this weekend,” says the American, who has won Le Mans three times for Porsche
and the Daytona 24-hour classic five times. “I’m particularly delighted to see how many visitors have brought
their children to share the fascination of Porsche with them. I’m sure they’ll be fans for the rest of their lives.”
When asked what his favourite car is, his brow furrows. “That’s like asking a father to name his favourite child.
I have a very special connection to them all.” After contemplating a while he then decides: “I’ve always had a
soft spot for the Porsche 936 with which Jacky Ickx, Jürgen Barth and I won Le Mans in 1977. The car in
which you scored your first Le Mans win always holds a very special place in your heart.”
919 Hybrid and 911 RSR turn demo laps
Porsche’s LMP pilots Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Neel Jani made their first appearance at a
Rennsport Reunion. They were in hot demand for interviews with journalists, and fans waited in long queues to
get their autograph. The demonstration laps with the Porsche 919 Hybrid was the first time that many of the
50,000 plus visitors along the Laguna Seca Raceway witnessed the innovative Le Mans winner in action. The
GT drivers representing Porsche at Laguna Seca were Earl Bamber, Jörg Bergmeister, Michael Christensen,
Wolf Henzler, Patrick Long, Frédéric Makowiecki and Nick Tandy. Another highly sought-after photo subject
was the Porsche 911 RSR, which can be admired again in the USA this coming weekend: On the storied
Road Atlanta circuit, it contests the final round of the 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship.
Hans Herrmann: “Young race drivers need to know how it was back then”
When Hans Herrmann and Jacky Ickx met on the opening night of the Rennsport Reunion, their delight was
second to none. “It’s always wonderful to be reunited with so many drivers from the early days and talk about
old times,” says the first Le Mans winner for Porsche (1970 in the 917K with Richard Attwood). “It is important
for the future to keep these memories alive. The young drivers need to know how it was back then when the
steering wheels were wooden and we had no computers like today.” When he meets Jacky Ickx, the
conversation quickly turns to the 1969 episode when the Belgian beat him to the flag by mere seconds. But
the bitter defeat also yielded something positive: “Ferdinand Piech was so annoyed that for 1970 he built a
super engine and we then won with it.”
Porsche RS Spyder evokes memories of Mark Donohue
The Porsche RS Spyder was built in 2007 – but it only celebrated its race debut at this year’s Rennsport
Reunion. Kevin Jeanette, one of the big names in the American racing scene for the last 37 years, managed
to acquire the race car just three weeks ago from a private collector. At the Laguna Seca Raceway, David
Donohue sat at the wheel of the sports prototype, with its Sunoco livery evoking memories of his legendary
father Mark Donohue. In 2009 David won at Daytona with a Riley Porsche. His 0.167-second advantage went
down in history as the closest finish at the 24-hour race.
Earl Bamber dreams of the Porsche GT1
Earl Bamber was a kid of seven and had already launched his karting career when the Porsche GT1 1998
claimed the 16th outright victory for Porsche at the Le Mans 24-hour race. “Back then I dreamed of sitting in
such a car one day,” says the New Zealander, “but I never thought that I would be one of the drivers to secure
the next Le Mans victory for Porsche.” But that’s exactly what happened. When Porsche notched up its 17th
victory at the world’s most famous long distance race this year, he was one of the winning drivers at the wheel
of the Porsche 919 Hybrid with Nick Tandy and Nico Hülkenberg. At the Rennsport Reunion he discovered the
GT1 that he had once idolised amongst the other historic Porsche race cars. He thinks he would like to buy a
historic Porsche one day, “but first I need to contest a few more races.”
Images ... Peter Singhof
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
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