Porsche Rennsport Reunion V – A Historic Gathering
Laguna Seca – Porsche owners are driven—so to speak—by passion. Hard to blame them: many will argue that Porsche symbolizes technical brilliance, high performance and driving pleasure. Not to mention a race pedigree that very few can match, including 17 outright victories at Le Mans.
Unsurprisingly, Porsche devotees expressed a desire to share their passion by holding a gathering of as many Porsche cars as possible, including the legendary racers that built the reputation of the pride of Stuttgart.
Humble beginnings
The first Rennsport—the German word for motorsport—was held at the Lime Rock circuit in Connecticut in 2001. It was the result of an event at the Watkins Glen, New York, track that was arranged by British racing great Brian Redman to mark the 50th anniversary of the marque and the beginning of racing at the Glen.
Bob Carlson, then Porsche Cars North America spokesperson, welcomed the idea and joined Redman in organizing the first Rennsport Reunion with no thought as to whether there would be more. Invitations went out to North American and other Porsche owners, a collection of race-winning cars was assembled, and the best-known Porsche racers came to hang out with their devoted fans. The event was such a success that they did it again in 2004 at Watkins Glen, and in 2007 at Daytona. Each reunion was bigger than the one before, and Porsche decided to hold the fourth edition in California, which made sense, because there are more Porsches in California than in any other state. Rennsport Reunion IV, held at the legendary Laguna Seca circuit on the Monterey Peninsula, attracted over 1,500 Porsche owners and legions of enthusiasts. The table was set for this year’s edition: Rennsport Reunion V.
Nirvana
Given the popularity of earlier events and the growing numbers of participants and spectators, the Porsche Club of North America and the U.S. branch of the company got together to organize an event that would be the very best of its kind, and something that does not happen anywhere else. The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart was persuaded to send some of its rarest and most prestigious cars, including all 17 Le Mans winners. They were joined by an unbelievable wealth of classic and historic cars from every era.
Current success was well represented by the fabulous 919 hybrid, fresh from victory at the 2015 24 Heures du Mans, and memorable as much for its almost unearthly shape as for its track performance. The 919 put in a number of high-speed laps at the September 25-27 gathering, to the delight of the 40,000 spectators present. Some of the drivers from the 2015 Le Mans race were on hand, including Mark Webber, Nick Tandy, Romain Dumas and Brendan Hartley.
It was probably the first time in history that such an impressive group of Porsche race drivers of the past were brought together. The honour roll included Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, Jochen Mass, Hans Stuck, Jackie Oliver, Vic Elford, Gérard Larousse, Elliot Forbes-Robinson, Danny Sullivan and Hurley Haywood: Nirvana for the autograph hunters on hand.
Racing was inevitable
According to a number of experts who attended, no Porsche concours d’élégance had ever been as diverse and distinguished. The company’s reputation is based largely on its racing victories, and over 280 cars competed in seven classes. Spectators were able to watch elderly but fully restored 356s and the fabulous 917 and 962 competing in 45-minute races, although not in the same class. While the cars were distinctly collectable and no longer young, most of the racing was nevertheless hotly contested.
Races were held for the current GT3 class; Jesse Lazare of Montreal finished second in the first race, and third in the second.
The high point of the weekend
The most impressive event, however, was track time set aside for the legendary racers that have won at Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona and other circuits too numerous to name. Such cars are always spectacular to see on the track, but the fact that they were being driven by giants of the sport made it all the more memorable. Despite the age of some of the cars, and most of the drivers, they didn’t hang around; after all, some of the cars that were victorious at Le Mans were capable of 245 kph along the Mulsanne Straight. Laguna Seca’s notorious downhill Corkscrew was a piece of cake: after all, this was just an exhibition!
When Rennsport V was over, everyone was looking forward to edition VI.
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