*THROWBACK THURSDAY*. Porsche seals victory at the 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Rothmans 962C en-route to its last World Sportscar championship for 29 years.
Almost a perfect fairy-tale for Porsche at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans this year: how perfect it would have been to see Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard of the #17 919 Hybrid score Porsche’s 17th Le Mans victory after a 17 year absence from victory lane. Of course few could deny that Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy duly deserved their hard-fought victory
The #17 machine would have the final laugh though, walking away with the 2015 World Endurance Championship, Porsche’s first sportscar title since 1986. On that occasion it was reigning World Sportscar champion Derek Bell who took the laurels, thanks to the diligent efforts of teammates Hans-Joachim Stuck and Al Holbert throughout the year. As well as championship glory, the Brit also walked away with his fourth (from an eventual five) Le Mans victory, as well as securing the sixth for Porsche on the bounce. Stutgart would make it seven from seven just one year later, again with the Porsche 956/962C.
Time for a walk down memory lane, methinks. The below video shows Vern Schuppan in the #3 Rothmans Porsche 962C – which would expire on lap 41 – hounding the #52 Jaguar XJR-6 of Hans Heyer. Porsche would later secure nine of the top ten finishing positions. We recommend you turn your speakers up
Source – lemanslegend and Derek Bell
