Porsche to celebrate Le Mans success in Suzuka 1000Km with iconic Joest livery

Porsche will celebrate its privateer Le Mans 24 Hours successes with a special livery for next month’s Suzuka 1000Km based on the colours of the famous New Man Joest 956.

The colour scheme with which Joest Racing won Le Mans in 1984 and ‘85 will feature on a Porsche 911 GT3-R to be driven by reigning World Endurance Championship title winners Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor in the Suzuka round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge at Suzuka on 14 September.

The two factory drivers will be joined in the Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific-backed entry run by Chinese-based Absolute Racing by Patrick PIlet.

The Frenchman races for Absolute in the GT World Challenge Asia and remains on Porsche’s books as a so-called contracted driver.

The trio are renewing a line-up for Suzuka, the fourth event of this year’s IGTC, from the 2024 Spa 24 Hours round when they were teamed together in a Porsche fielded by Taiwanese entrant HubAuto.

Absolute Racing team principal Fabian Fior, whose squad was on the podium the last time the IGTC visited Suzuka in 2019, said: “We are delighted to return to Asia’s premier GT3 endurance race.

“Competing with a trio of world-class drivers in collaboration with PMAP in an iconic Porsche customer racing livery provides the team with huge motivation.

“This entry brings not only excitement, but also a clear sense of responsibility.”

Estre added: “I am excited to drive this car with its iconic livery.

“Let’s aim to write another chapter in Porsche’s history with this striking design.”

The New Man livery on the Absolute car will be one of three retro colour schemes on PMAP-supported Porsches at Suzuka.

It has already been revealed that a car entered by the Chinese Phantom Global Racing team will race in the ‘pink pig’ colours first run on a Porsche 917/20 at Le Mans in 1971, with a further announcement due on Friday.

Phantom Global Racing, 1000km Suzuka livery

Photo by: Porsche Motorsport

Joest Racing’s lead entry backed by the New Man clothing brand won Le Mans in 1984 with Klaus Ludwig and Henri Pescarolo upholding Porsche honour when the factory boycotted the race as a result of a late change in the fuel allocation rules that were a key part of the Group C class.

A year later, the same chassis, 956 #117, now driven by Ludwig, Paolo Barilla and ‘John Winter’ (real name Louis Krages), beat the returning Porsche factory, which had just swapped to the new 962C long-wheelbase version of its Group C design.

A 30-car entry has been assembled for the Suzuka event, which will run to a maximum duration of six and a half hours.