RICO STEINEMANN
Porsche’s motorsport successes are the stuff of legend, and this Swiss driver was to play a key part. Total 911 remembers Rico Steinemann
The name of Hans-heinrich ‘Rico’ Steinemann isn’t one that you hear as often as you should in Porsche circles, which is frankly a little surprising given the impact he had on its racing activities. Born in Zurich in 1939, he started his working life as a journalist, though his first foray into publishing with his magazine, Powerslide, wasn’t a roaring success, and the publication would last just a few years. Thankfully he had plenty of other talents, and they would soon be tested as 1969 saw the affable Rico become Porsche’s Motorsport team manager, succeeding Huschke von Hanstein. And, as if that responsibility wasn’t enough, he would also find time to play a leading role in the company’s press department, not that his journalistic skills went to waste in later years as he was editor of the Porsche customer magazine, Christophorus, between 1974 and 1979.
But it’s the 911 we are interested in here, of course, and Steinemann would be one of the four drivers that took to the Monza track in October 1967 in search of endurance records. Driving a hastily prepared 911R they would battle poor weather and a distinctly challenging track surface to take five world records and 14 international class records. It was a stunning achievement that both cemented the reputation of the Neunelfer’s performance prowess and reflected the driving talents of Steinemann and his teammates. In fact, his skill behind the wheel of a racing car was never really in doubt, as two years previously he had finished 2nd overall at Le Mans driving the Squadra Tartaruga Porsche 907 he shared with fellow Swiss racer, Dieter Spoerry.
And that certainly wasn’t the end of his involvement in Le Mans. In 1969 Steinemann in his role as team manager had paired a young Gérard Larrousse with the vastly more experienced Hans Hermann, a decision that resulted in 2nd place overall with their Porsche 908 ‘long tail’. And a year later would come the moment that Porsche had been working so hard towards. In 1970 they would taste the first of many outright victories in the legendary endurance event, Steinemann overseeing the win by Richard Attwood and Hermann in a ‘short tail’ 917. While his time at the helm of Porsche’s racing activities had been a relatively short one, it was under his leadership that the dominance of Le Mans had begun, and that is surely an achievement that deserves celebrating. Steinemann passed away in 2003, but his is a motorsport legacy that deserves to endure.