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Rennsport Reunion V - Laguna Seca, USA

Historic Motorsport

Rennsport Reunion V - Laguna Seca, USA
Motorsport News, Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca/USA, Historic Motorsport
Fascinating journey through the history of Porsche motor racing

Porsche racing history comes alive this weekend at the Rennsport Reunion at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California. This unique class reunion is the largest gathering in the world for legendary Porsche race drivers and historic Porsche race cars. This year marks the fifth time that Porsche enthusiasts and collectors have travelled from all over the world to the demanding circuit in the dunes of Monterey. The three-day event south of San Francisco in the coastal city, in which John Steinbeck set his world famous novel “Cannery Row”, is a true Porsche festival. More than 50,000 visitors are expected at the Rennsport Reunion V on Sunday, with a diverse range of activities on the programme, from races in seven different classes and exhibitions to autograph sessions.

Nowhere else in the world have so many Porsche come together in one place: with 320 historic Porsche cars contesting races, as well as nine current Porsche works drivers and race legends like Hans Hermann and Richard Attwood, who in 1970 scored the first victory for Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours – the Rennsport Reunion V leaves no wishes of Porsche fans unfulfilled. Attending as prominent patrons of the event are two of the most successful Porsche Le Mans pilots from Europe and the USA: Jacky Ickx and Hurley Haywood. The Belgian won the world’s most famous long distance race six times, with the American notching up three victories. Moreover, Haywood won the Daytona 24 hour race five times.

Fifty well-known names stand on the list of legends who will turn their demonstration laps at Laguna Seca at the wheels of race cars in which they once celebrated their greatest successes: Derek Bell for example, the five-time Le Mans winner, or Vic Elford, who once achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Monte Carlo Rally and the 24 Hours at Daytona for Porsche on two consecutive weeks. Two successful Porsche drivers from Germany attending the reunion of the best are Hans-Joachim Stuck and Jochen Mass. Also at Laguna Seca as one of the legendary Porsche engineers is Norbert Singer, the father of the Porsche 962.

The Rennsport Reunion V offers fans a fascinating journey through Porsche’s illustrious motor racing history spanning from the legendary Porsche 356 to the groundbreaking Porsche 919 Hybrid. The 356 was the first Porsche to contest Le Mans in 1951. It finished first in class. This year at the long distance classic in France, the 919 Hybrid clinched the 17th outright victory for Porsche. Every year since the first outing of the 356 to today, at least one Porsche has competed at Le Mans. This record is again reflected at Laguna Seca following the moto: Le Mans is Porsche, Porsche is Le Mans.

On the expansion grounds of the Laguna Seca Raceway, around 1,400 Porsche vehicles can be seen this weekend in so-called “Porsche Corrals”. Most have been driven by their owners to Laguna Seca. The famous Le Mans Porsche display features 75 exhibits. In addition, there are numerous Porsche vehicles from famous collections. The Porsche Museum alone has flown eleven vehicles from Zuffenhausen to the USA – including the Porsche 718 W-RS from 1962 to the Porsche RS Spyder, which fittingly launched its successful racing career here at Laguna Seca in the 2005 American Le Mans Series.



All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.