#91, Porsche Motorsport, Porsche 911 RSR (2017), driven by Richard Lietz, Frederic Makowiecki at WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2017, Spa-Francorchamps race circuit, on 06.05.2017
The #91 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Richard Lietz and Frederic Makowiecki rounds Malmedy during the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 6 May 2017
Sixty-six years ago, on 24 June 1951, the first Porsche was pushed tentatively onto the starting grid of the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hour race. The lone, diminutive 356 SL would finish in a remarkable twentieth place overall. Fifty-one years ago, on 19 June 1966, the first Porsche 911 would see action in the 24-hour race, and finish in a commendable fourteenth place overall and scooping first place in the Grand Touring 2000 class, in a year that saw Ford make a clean sweep of the podium. Below are several remarkable and memorable milestones on Porsche’s road to Le Mans.
Jacques Dewez and Jean Kerguen start the 1966 Le Mans race on 19 June 1966 driving the #35 911 2.0 Coupé. They would finished 14th overall and 1st in the GT 2.0 Class
Perhaps all the more remarkable about the 1966 race was the fact that the single 911 S was in near-standard trim. Entered by privateer Jacques Dewez, and driven by himself and Jean Kerguen, the French pairing drove a solid race and finished behind five Porsche 906s and eight prototypes. The following year, the field included four privateer 911s, with the highest finisher being in fourteenth place once again.
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