Two of Porsche’s legendary Le Mans 24 Hours winners were guests of honour at Porsche Club Great Britain’s national gathering at Althorp, Northants, home of the Spencer family last weekend, when 1000 models of the German marque joined in the celebration of Stuttgart’s 17th win at La Sarthe this year, reports Mark Cole.
Richard Attwood was Porsche’s first overall winner in the 1970 Salzburg 917 which he shared with Herman Muller, while Jurgen Barth was the fourth in the 1977 Martini 936 shared with Hurley Haywood, which Jacky Ickx then jumped into when his own 936 broke. That #4 car was at Althorp, and is one of the most successful Le Mans cars of all time, also winning in 1976 with Iclx/Van Lennep, and in 1981 (then in Jules colours) with Ickx/Bell.
Attwood went on to finish second in a John Wyer Gulf 917 in 1971 with Herbie Muller – reminding everyone that a Gulf Porsche never won outright, except in Steve McQueen’s Le Mans film! Richard, who still works with Porsche as a driver coach and regularly competes at Goodwood, owned the McQueen car for many years. “I am proud to have started Porsche’s run of wins, and this year’s with our 919s finishing 1-2 after filling the first three places on the grid was hugely important. Yes, it would have been nice to see the #17 car in my Salzburg colours win, but the important thing was that Porsche beat Audi, and in only its second year back.”
Barth was Porsche’s customer racing manager for decades, racing on Sundays before returning to his desk at Weissach on Mondays. “When we won Le Mans in 1977, we had dinner afterwards and I then drove back to Stuttgart, picked up a toolbox and flew to Australia for a 12,000-km rally servicing our factory cars. I was never paid for my racing, but I was given a Porsche watch by the company when I won Le Mans.” He went on to found the BPR Global GT series with Patrick Peter and Stephane Ratel, which saved sportscar racing and revived Le Mans. Today he organises race series including the German Porsche Cup.
It was 19 years since Porsche Club GB last gathered at Althorp, family home of the Spencers, prior to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, and the deer park venue with the backdrop of Althorp House was the perefct setting for a weekend of anniversaries: the 60th for the Carrera brand, the 50th for the 912 (the four-cylinder version of the 911) and the 40th for 924 (the first front-engine water-cooled Porsche.
During the 65 years in which Porsche has participated at Le Mans without a break, the brand has made 778 starts, with 387 finishes. In addition to the 17 overall wins, including this year’s 919 victory for Nick Tandy, Nico Hulkenberg and Earl Bamber, the 911 and its derivatives have scored 46 GT wins, two of those outright – in 1979 for Klaus Ludwig and the Whittington brothers in a Kremer 935 K3, and in 1998 with the factory 911 GT1 for Allan McNish, Stephane Ortelli and Laurent Aeillo.
