I'm sure this article brings up a lot of emotions for so many people involved in this project!
The cancellation of this project was a huge disappointment to a highly dedicated Porsche Motorsport team in Weissach at the time - all water under the bridge now!
Here are some insights to those two days.
Day 1, November 2nd 1999:
It had been raining, it was a cold winter day in Weissach (again!), air temp was 12C.
Bob Wollek was the first to drive the car, with Allan driving one lap at the end of the day, in preparation of the second day.
Only function testing was carried and the car was only pushed to a top speed of 216 km/h (134 mph).
Day 2, November 3rd 1999:
Another cold Weissach day, with only 9C (46F) highest air temp, but it was dry.
Allan Mc Nish was the only one to drive the car on the 2nd day and within the first few runs, he smashed the Weissach lap record, previously set with the Porsche 911 GT1.
The car achieved a top speed of 302 km/h (188 mph) and for those that know the short Weissach test track, that was incredibly fast - and this was certainly not a "full push" situation.
We were so excited about the performance and potential of the car, after just a rollout test.
It was a fantastically motivating feeling and we relished what was to come.
The article correctly states that the car only drove 78 km (48 mls) - and then was parked.
Just a side note, Norbert Singer's department car (the gold Porsche 911) in which he drove up to the test track with, can be seen in the background of the 3rd photo in the article.
Would love to see the Porsche LMP2000 car driving at Goodwood or anywhere, for that matter!
I'm sure this article brings up a lot of emotions for so many people involved in this project!
The cancellation of this project was a huge disappointment to a highly dedicated Porsche Motorsport team in Weissach at the time - all water under the bridge now!
Here are some insights to those two days.
Day 1, November 2nd 1999:
It had been raining, it was a cold winter day in Weissach (again!), air temp was 12C.
Bob Wollek was the first to drive the car, with Allan driving one lap at the end of the day, in preparation of the second day.
Only function testing was carried and the car was only pushed to a top speed of 216 km/h (134 mph).
Day 2, November 3rd 1999:
Another cold Weissach day, with only 9C (46F) highest air temp, but it was dry.
Allan Mc Nish was the only one to drive the car on the 2nd day and within the first few runs, he smashed the Weissach lap record, previously set with the Porsche 911 GT1.
The car achieved a top speed of 302 km/h (188 mph) and for those that know the short Weissach test track, that was incredibly fast - and this was certainly not a "full push" situation.
We were so excited about the performance and potential of the car, after just a rollout test.
It was a fantastically motivating feeling and we relished what was to come.
The article correctly states that the car only drove 78 km (48 mls) - and then was parked.
Just a side note, Norbert Singer's department car (the gold Porsche 911) in which he drove up to the test track with, can be seen in the background of the 3rd photo in the article.
Would love to see the Porsche LMP2000 car driving at Goodwood or anywhere, for that matter!
The single best Sportscar365 piece I've ever read.
Fantastic work Davey! I really enjoyed this article.
Would be great if they can outshine all the reasons why they’ve been grounded. I mean, be better than Audi :)