Porsche and Penske celebrate Road America history with throwback liveries

• Car No. 6 in the Sunoco livery of the 1973 Porsche 917/30
• Car No. 7 in the design of the Porsche RS Spyder from the 2000s

At the eighth race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at Road America, Porsche and Team Penske are paying tribute to their shared history. Two special designs bridge the gap between legendary successes of the past and current competition at the highest level. The No. 6 car bears the colors of the Porsche 917/30 from the 1970s. In the 1973 Can-Am race, Mark Donohue dominated the 200-mile event in the Sunoco Porsche. The sister car from the Porsche factory team will take the starting grid this coming weekend in the yellow livery of the Porsche RS Spyder. The overall victory by Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas at Road America in 2007 marks a highlight in the history of the LMP2 prototype. Elkhart Lake, Wis. The 2026 season is significant for both the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer and Team Penske: Porsche is celebrating 75 years of motorsports, while the U.S. racing team is marking its 60th anniversary. The factory team’s two Porsche 963 prototypes sported historic designs at the IMSA races in Sebring, Long Beach, and Laguna Seca earlier this season. At Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the hybrid prototypes from Weissach will take to the track for the first time with different liveries.

‘Road America has been the scene of special successes in the shared history of Porsche and Penske,’ Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, said. ‘In 1973, the Porsche 917/30 dominated the scene. During qualifying, Mark Donohue became the first driver on this track to break the two-minute lap time barrier. Starting in 2006, the RS Spyder marked Porsche’s return to prototype racing across several championships. I personally remember the success of 2007: I was there when Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas drove to overall victory against the nominally more powerful LMP1 race cars.’

‘Sports car competition has been the foundation of Team Penske since the very beginning. As we continue to celebrate our team’s 60 years in motorsports alongside 75 years of Porsche Motorsport in 2026, we are excited to honor the heritage and legacy of both organizations,’ Roger Penske, Founder and Chairman of Penske Corporation, said. ‘These two iconic car liveries pay tribute to championship-winning eras, legendary cars and the people who helped build our success. Team Penske’s partnership with Porsche is one of the most successful and enduring relationships in racing, and we are proud to celebrate our winning tradition together.’

Racing driver and engineer Mark Donohue dominated the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) in 1973. In nine races that season, the American won seven times in a row behind the wheel of the 917/30, which produced up to 1,200 PS (882 kW). On his way to winning the title, the Penske driver demonstrated his strength particularly at Road America. In qualifying, Donohue clocked a lap time of 1:57.51 minutes on the 4.08-mile circuit. This put him more than three seconds ahead of his closest competitor.

2007 American Le Mans Series: the Porsche RS Spyder defeats the LMP1 cars
The 1,700-lb. Porsche RS Spyder dominated the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) from late 2005 through 2008. After the four-hour race at Road America on August 11, 2007, it had racked up 14 class victories. Road America saw Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas defeat the more powerful LMP1 prototypes and celebrated the car’s first ALMS overall victory. By the end of the joint Porsche-Penske program, the team had secured three manufacturers’ championships as well as three titles each in the drivers’ and teams’ standings.

The race
Road America near Elkhart Lake, about 15 miles west of Lake Michigan, is a favorite for many drivers due to its natural track characteristics. The circuit, now 4.048 miles long, with its 14 turns, blends into the park-like landscape. Porsche is the most successful manufacturer at Road America with 17 victories. The Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 last won there during the 2024 season. The approximately 707 PS (520 kW) hybrid prototype ‘Made in Flacht’ is the most successful LMDh race car since the introduction of the regulations in 2023.

In the 2026 season, the IMSA race at Road America will run for six hours for the first time and is part of the Michelin Endurance Cup. This special series also includes the endurance races at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and the ‘Petit Le Mans’ at Road Atlanta.

Customer teams aiming for success
The Road America round is also a highlight for customer racing teams. Both the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963, competing against the factory programs in the GTP class, and the AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD Pro class consider this a home race. Though Savage, Minnesota is still more than 300 miles from the track, it is the closest race to JDC-Miller’s headquarters. AO Racing is half as far, in St. Charles, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

Manthey Racing, in both the GTD Pro and GTD classes, return for the Michelin Endurance Cup race. Wright Motorsport and RS1 will also compete in the GTD class, meaning a total of five 911 GT3 R race cars will start the race this weekend.

Elsewhere on the race weekend, Porsche is represented by three Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsports in the two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race. A total of 22 Porsche 911 Cup cars are on the Porsche Carrera Cup North America entry list for the Road America round.

All Porsche teams at Road America
GTP (Porsche 963):
Porsche Penske Motorsport #6: Kévin Estre (FRA) / Laurens Vanthoor (BEL)
Porsche Penske Motorsport #7: Julien Andlauer (FRA) / Felipe Nasr (BRA)
JDC-Miller MotorSports #5: Laurin Heinrich (DEU) / Tijmen van der Helm (NLD) / Kaylen Frederick (USA)

GTD Pro (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
AO Racing #77: Harry King (GBR) / Nick Tandy (GBR)
Manthey #911: Thomas Preining (AUT) / Klaus Bachler (AUT) / Riccardo Feller (CHE)

GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
RS1 #28: Devlin DeFrancesco (CAN) / Ryan Yardley (NZL) / Jan Heylen (BEL)
Wright Motorsports #120: Adam Adelson (USA) / Callum Ilott (GBR) / Tom Sargent (AUS)
Manthey 1st Phorm #912: Ryan Hardwick (USA) / Riccardo Pera (ITA) / Morris Schuring (NLD)

Driver quotes ahead of the race weekend
Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): ‘I’m really looking forward to Road America. I haven’t raced there in 10 years – and never in a prototype. We all have many memories associated with the Sunoco colors of the Porsche 917/30 from back then. That car was a real beast. I hope we’ll be just as successful. I have a special yellow helmet design. With it, I’m following in the footsteps of Mark Donohue. It’s an honor for me.’

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): ‘Competing in the colors of the Porsche RS Spyder is something very special. It allows us to commemorate an extremely successful chapter in the history of Porsche and Penske. Everyone on our team is proud of it. I’m sure we’ll win the hearts of the fans as well. The race at Road America will be six hours long for the first time. Endurance races are our strength. We want to close the gap to the leaders in the championship and, if possible, get back on the top step of the podium.’
Photo credit: Porsche
Posted on Autotech-plus.com

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