Digging deep into the photo files

A truly historic photograph, marking the beginning of Porsche’s plan to dominate WSC racing in general and the Le Mans 24 Hours in particular…

The date is Saturday 27th March 1982. The location is the so-called Can-am track at Porsche’s test facility at Weissach. As Peter Falk (far left) looks on with a group of mechanics, Norbert Singer gives driver Jürgen Barth the go-ahead to begin testing the all-new Porsche 956. Although hopes were high that the latest Group C car would be a winner in World Sportscar Championship events, there was still an understandable nervousness. After all, a lot was riding on the success (or otherwise) of this car, which featured groundbreaking aerodynamics – just check the ‘tunnels’ at the rear of the bodywork. The 956 proved a success and despite being outlawed by IMSA for its ‘feet forward’ design, its successor the 962 stepped in to carry the torch.