Three special heritage liveries will adorn Porsche’s pro ensemble at this year’s Suzuka 1000km, which hosts round four of the Intercontinental GT Challenge campaign on September 12-14.
As revealed today, Origine Motorsport’s #6 entry pays tribute to Kremer Racing’s 935 K3 shared by Henri Pescarolo and Bob Wollek who, in 1981, collectively became the first team and drivers from outside of Japan to win the Summer Endurance Race.
Three drivers who have already raced for Origine in GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS – Bastian Buus, Laurin Heinrich and Alessio Picariello – share the entry.
The other two liveries are not associated with the event but do honour winning moments from Porsche’s storied Le Mans 24 Hours history.
Joest Racing’s NewMan-sponsored 956B (chassis 117) claimed overall victory in both 1984 and ’85. Now its instantly recognisable yellow, black and white scheme wraps around a 911 GT3 R for the first time. Factory stars Kevin Estre, Patrick Pilet and Laurens Vanthoor join forces in the Absolute Racing-run example.
But perhaps the most iconic of the trio is reserved for Phantom Global Racing, Klaus Bachler, Dorian Boccolacci and Patric Niederhauser whose Porsche features the instantly recognisable ‘Pink Pig’ design, which – with the 917/20 at least – raced competitively just once in 1971. Brake failure led to the car’s retirement but ‘Die Sow’, as it is known in Germany, still nevertheless earned legendary Le Mans status.
It was therefore no surprise to see the livery return to Circuit de la Sarthe as part of Porsche’s 70th anniversary celebrations in 2018. What’s more, the Pink Pig – now in 911 RSR form – clinched GTE Pro victory thanks to Estre, Vanthoor and Michael Christensen.
Together, the three Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific-supported cars comprise a quarter of Porsche’s eleven Suzuka entries. All are eligible to score IGTC points on the manufacturers’ behalf and contribute towards the drivers’ standings.
Full line-ups for the other eight 911 GT3 Rs will be revealed next week.
