In the Porsche Cockpit

The list of famous Porsche drivers is almost endless. Names from the early days include Edgar Barth (father of 1976 Le Mans winner Jürgen Barth), racing journalist Richard von Frankenberg, Gerhard Mitter, and Hans Herrmann, who was the first to bring home a Le Mans victory for Porsche in 1970 together with Dick Attwood.

In the early 70's, A new generation of Formula 1 drivers was pushing to get into the Zuffenhausen cockpits. Rolf Stommelen was the first to tame the 917 "beast". Then there was Swiss driver Jo "Seppi" Siffert, who former racing manager Peter Falk called " the greatest of them all. He was fast in any car. At the Targa Florio he only needed two laps in a standard road car for recce, to take the fastest practice time." He and Britain´s Vic Elford formed a dream duo. Pedro Rodriguez from Mexico was another Porsche driver whose personality was as notable as his driving prowess. Says Falk, Rodriguez "had his ups and downs and was not always easy to control. He wanted to get his own way."

Helmut Marko from Austria, however, will always be remembered for the fastest Le Mans in history. In 1971, he and Gijs van Lennep averaged 222 kph over 24 hours in a 917. Jacky Ickx (World Champion in Porsche 1982 and 1983) and Jochen Mass both had Formula 1 careers behind them when they joined Porsche. Like Derek Bell (World Champion in Porsche 1985 and 1986), they represented the new breed of perfect long distance drivers.

In terms of pure speed, Stefan Bellof stood out in particular. In 1983, the young man from Giessen performed a spectacular feat, completing a lap in the Porsche 956 on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6m11.13s - averaging over 200 kph - a record that is unlikely to be broken. He became World Champion one year later. Another great speed demon was Hans-Joachim Stuck (World Champion in Porsche 1985 and 1986).

Al Holbert, who later became Porsche's racing director in the USA, won Le Mans three times and collected countless IMSA victories for Porsche. Klaus Ludwig repeated Holbert's performance in the French classic, sitting behind the wheel of a customer car. The excellent relationship between Porsche and the customers can perhaps best be seen in a man like Reinhold Joest. During years when the factory did not compete in racing, he donned the Porsche colors either as a driver himself or, later, as a team manager. When the factory team returned, they would then battle in friendly competition. 1998 opens an exciting new chapter of this on-going success story.