VIN: the works / Martini Racing / Sonauto Porsche 911 2.8 / 3.0 Carrera RSR chassis 9113600020 R2
History of chassis 9113600020 R2
Chassis 9113600020, also known as R2, was one of eight R-numbered RSR prototypes built for the 1973 season following the completion of two development mules (9113600001 and 9113600002).
Alongside sister car R1, R2 made its competitive debut in November 1972 when both cars contested the 687km all-tarmac Tour de Corse (round 23 of the European Rally Championship). R2 was allocated to Gerard Larrousse and Christian Delferier. It had a 3-litre engine fitted whereas R1 arrived in Corsica with a 2.8-litre motor.
At this stage, the suspension in both cars was still to more or less RS specification. R1 and R2 appeared in a white and red striped Marlboro livery under a Porsche KG entry, but neither car finished; Larrousse went out with transmission failure in R2 while Bjorn Waldegard crashed R1.
Afterwards, R2 returned to Weissach where it served as an R&D mule, a role that included track time at Paul Ricard and wind tunnel tests at Stuttgart University.
Having been re-finished in Martini livery, R2 went on to appear at the annual Le Mans Test which took place over the weekend of March 31st / April 1st. It was driven by both Gijs van Lennep and Herbert Muller and went on to set fifth quickest time while sister car R4 finished fourth.
To attract more participants and help justify opening the track, the Le Mans governing body organised a four hour race for Sunday afternoon. Not all the teams that attended the test took part; R2 started from pole as the faster Archambaud Racing Lola T292 suffered late engine trouble and lined up at the back of the field.
In the race, Muller and van Lennep cruised to a comfortable win in R2 as some of the quicker cars dropped out. The sister RSR of Manfred Schurti / Helmuth Koinigg placed fourth (R6).
Chassis R2 was subsequently called up for the Targa Florio on May 13th (round six of the 1973 World Sportscar Championship).
The Martini squad took three race cars and one spare to Italy in the hope of scoring a major upset on a track that was arguably better suited to the 911 than top flight Prototype racing cars. All of the Martini 911s ran in the Group 5 class with the latest pistons and big wings.
R2 went on to finish third overall in the hands of Leo Kinnunen and Claude Haldi while team-mates Muller / van Lennep scored a historic win.
Following some minor post-Targa repairs to its damaged right rear side, R2 underwent preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours. At this point the car’s 1972-spec. front fender oil flap was updated to the latest configuration and new external oil lines installed.
As R2 would appear at Le Mans as a Sonauto entry (Porsche’s French distributor), it was refinished in the fetching yellow and green colour scheme of team sponsor BP. It would contest the Group 4 category with Peter Gregg and Guy Chasseuil while the pair of Martini cars in attendance ran in the Group 5 category with all manner of experimental features.
R2 qualified 36th on the grid, second fastest of the under three-litre Group 4 cars. It had risen to 15th at the three hour mark and by midnight was lying eleventh. By mid-distance (4am), Gregg / Chasseuil had moved into eighth, but progress was subsequently delayed between 5am and 6am after the car picked up a puncture down the Mulsanne Straight. It rejoined in 15th and went on to finish 14th overall which was good enough for third in class.
R2 did not race again. Instead, it served as a test bed for the massive tyres and spoilers that would appear on Porsche’s 1974 RSR Turbo.
It remains in Porsche’s possession to this day and has since been returned to 1973 trim.
Notable History
Marlboro livery
Registered LEO ZA 69
04-05/11/1972 ICM Tour de Corse (G. Larrousse / C. Delferier) DNF (#2)
Used as 1973 test-bed
Martini livery
01/04/1973 Le Mans Test (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) 5th oa, 5th S3.0 class (#62)
01/04/1973 Le Mans 4 Hours (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) 1st oa, 1st S3.0 class (#62)
13/05/1973 WSC Targa Florio (L. Kinnunen / C. Haldi) 3rd oa, 3rd S3.0 class (#9)
BP livery (Sonauto Porsche)
10/06/1973 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (P. Gregg / G. Chasseuil) 14th oa, 3rd GT3.0 class (#48)
Used as 1974 test-bed
Retained by Porsche and restored to 1973 Martini trim
Porsche Museum
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
