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We love a good racing livery, and Team Penske has been rolling out some hits lately. This year marks 60 years of Team Penske and 75 years of Porsche Motorsport, and to celebrate, the 963 prototypes Penske campaigns in IMSA have been adorned with several of our favorites. For the upcoming race at Road America, they’ll recall a dominant American Le Mans Series racer and an all-conquering car from Can-Am.
Porsche
Porsche
Porsche
Porsche
The liveries are particularly appropriate for the storied Wisconsin track, explains Thomas Laudenbach, vice president of Porsche Motorsport: “Road America has been the scene of special successes in the shared history of Porsche and Penske.” In 2007, the yellow-and-red DHL-liveried Porsche RS Spyder driven by Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas took overall victory at Road America, no small feat for a car not in the top tier of the series. Then again, this was no ordinary entry—the in-house-designed RS Spyder managed to win the 12 Hours of Sebring outright as well, and it took the American Le Mans Series LMP2 championship in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Porsche
Though not affiliated with DHL this time around, the No. 7 Porsche 963, piloted by Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer, will wear the familiar yellow washed with red accents to commemorate Porsche’s and Penske’s early 21st-century prowess in prototype racing.
Porsche
Porsche
Porsche
Impressive as winning a series championship three years in a row may be, it’s tough to beat the car that effectively ended the Can-Am series. In 1973, Team Penske fielded a Porsche 917/30 with Mark Donohue at the wheel and took victory in six of the eight races. At Road America that year, Donohue qualified the car with a 1:57.5 around the 4.08-mile track, some three seconds ahead of the second-place car. The 917/30 reportedly made about 1100 horsepower in race trim and a staggering 1500 hp for qualifying. Big shoes to fill, then, but the No. 6 Porsche Penske 963, piloted by Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, will wear the blue-with-yellow stripes proudly.
Porsche
Porsche
This weekend’s race will be six hours for the first time, rather than the typical two hours and forty minutes, and is part of the Michelin Endurance Cup, which tallies up results from this year’s races at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America, and Road Atlanta. Though modern IMSA GTP rules make for tighter racing than those of eras past, Porsche remains a strong contender at Road America, having won last year’s event. The German carmaker also has a record 17 victories at the picturesque track, more than any other manufacturer. The race kicks off at 11:40 EST on Sunday, August 2; tune in to Peacock or IMSA TV for coverage. In the meantime, tell us which livery you think Penske and Porsche should roll out next.
Porsche