Dauer 962 Le Mans - Race Car

Race Car

Following rule changes in the World Sportscar Championship in 1992 which saw Porsche 962 numbers dwindle in Europe, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Porsche was looking for ways to continue their sports car efforts. Although 962s were still legal at Le Mans, the class in which they ran no longer was capable of competing for overall wins against the top C1 class.

With the re-introduction of production-based grand tourer-style cars in 1993, Porsche saw an opportunity to exploit a loophole which existed in this new class. Rules set by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) which ran Le Mans stated that GT-class cars merely required a road going example, with no specific quantity of road cars specified to meet homologation rules. With Dauer's success in modifying a Porsche 962 into a street-legal car in 1993, Porsche saw an opportunity to bring the 962 back into competition.

With the first production car shown to the public in 1993, Porsche had already met that requirement. Another rule in place at the time was the requirement that production-based cars have storage space for a typical suitcase, something which Dauer had been able to do since the road car was able to carry luggage. The flat bottom of the 962 Le Mans also fit with GT rules. Three more modifications were necessary to fully comply: Narrower tires than the 962 had run in Group C, a larger fuel tank (now up to 120 litres), and the reinstallation of a restrictor for the engine, although this one would be larger than the one they had run in Group C.

The flat bottom and narrow tires of the 962 Le Mans would hinder the performance of the car over the long laps at Le Mans even with the increased power from the GT-class air restrictor. However Porsche believed that the larger fuel tank they were allowed in the GT-class would allow them to overcome this lack of speed by spending less time in the pits than the Group C cars, something which is key for an endurance race.

A total of two Dauer 962 Le Mans racing cars were built. Arriving at Le Mans with the support of Porsche's factory racing team, Joest Racing, Dauer's two cars showed that they lacked the overall pace of the top Group C cars by qualifying fifth and seventh. However their pace in their class was shattering as the next closest GT1-class car could only muster 12th. The race saw Porsche's plan pan out, as the Dauer 962 Le Mans were able to gradually make their way to the top of the standings while their competitors spent time in the pits or succumbed to mechanical woes. In the end, only a lone Toyota 94C-V in the Group C class could contend with the Dauers, taking second place overall. The Dauer 962 Le Mans of Yannick Dalmas, Hurley Haywood, and Mauro Baldi would take the overall win while the second team car would finish one lap behind in third place overall.

Soon after this event the ACO attempted to fix the loophole in the GT regulations by setting a minimum requirement for production cars to meet homologation standards. With this, the Dauer 962s would never race again, nor would the normal Porsche 962s as the Group C class was finally abandoned.