VIN: the Martini Racing Porsche 911 2.8 / 3.0 Carrera RSR chassis 9113600588 R6
History of chassis 9113600588 R6
Of the six 911 RSR Porsches campaigned by the works Martini squad in 1973, none contested more events than chassis 9113600588 (also known as R6).
R6 made its competition debut alongside R5 at the Vallelunga 6 Hour World Sportscar Championship event on March 25th where it was allocated to George Follmer and Willi Kauhsen. They had a race long battle with the Martini sister car which was eventually decided in R6’s favour when R5 had to make a last minute pit-stop for a new front tyre. Follmer and Kauhsen placed seventh overall to win the GT category.
A week later, R6 appeared alongside R2 for the Le Mans Test weekend which also included a 4 Hour race. The Porsches went extremely well and proved faster than the bigger-engined Ferrari Daytonas and Chevrolet Corvettes. Herbert Muller went quickest of all the GT cars in R6 to post fourth fastest time overall.
Manfred Schurti and Helmuth Koiningg then took the wheel of R6 for the four hour race on Sunday afternoon. They finished fourth overall to win the GT class while Muller and Gijs van Lennep took outright victory in R2 which ran in the Prototype class on account of several un-homologated parts installed.
At the Monza 1000km on April 25th, both R6 and R8 were confirmed to be running three-litre engines as opposed to the regular 2.8-litre unit. A protest from one of the Italian drivers about un-homologated rear suspension parts saw the organisers put the Martini cars in the Prototype class which meant they had to re-qualify on the second day of practice.
As a consequence, Porsche decided to take advantage of the unrestricted modifications permitted in the Prototype category and fitted makeshift wraparound rear spoiler elements which were riveted on to either side of the existing ducktail.
Unfortunately, having qualified well in 24th and led all the two-litre Prototypes in the race, Follmer missed a gear and blew R6’s engine on the 19th lap.
Follmer was back in R6 at the Spa 1000km two weeks later and went very quick in practice. However, Muller and van Lennep pulled rank and decided they wanted to race R6 which meant Follmer and Reinhold Joest were relegated to R5 which was running in the Group 4 category. By contrast, R6 was entered as a Prototype with the extra moulded rear spoilers as seen at Monza. Muller / van Lennep ultimately came home in fifth overall.
After a strong showing in Belgium, R6’s finest hour came at the Targa Florio a week later. As the bona fide Ferrari and Alfa Romeo prototypes fell by the wayside, Muller and van Lennep moved up the order and went on to take a famous outright victory.
For the Le Mans 24 Hours, R6 was brought up to the same specification as R7 which had debuted at the Nurburgring 1000km two weeks prior. The improved specification included wider wheels, a GRP body with even bigger fully integrated rear spoiler, an uprated Type 911/75 330bhp engine and titanium hubs.
Reinhold Joest and Claudi Haldi qualified R6 in 19th, one place behind R7 driven by van Lennep and Muller. The race got off to a bad start though; Joest had a very slow first lap, after which he pitted to have the gearbox attended to.
R6 resumed and was in 45th at the end of the first hour. Joest and Haldi gradually regained ground and had moved up to 28nd by the end of the fifth hour. Unfortunately, they retired shortly before 10pm owing to a broken fuel system.
At the Zeltweg 1000km two weeks later, R6 appeared with another new rear end; this time, a large faired-in rear spoiler extended well beyond the rear bumper and featured two vertical stabilising fins. A new flat front apron was also fitted.
Neither Muller or van Lennep had even tested the new configuration before heading to Austria.
After an off for Muller in the wet first practice session, R6 was repaired and qualified tenth in the dry second session. Muller and van Lennep finished the race eighth overall.
R6’s final outing came in the Watkins Glen 6 Hours on July 21st where it was loaned to one of Porsche’s American representatives: Roger Penske Enterprises. Accordingly, R6 appeared in the blue and yellow livery of Penske’s sponsor, the Sunoco oil company. Following two days of testing at Zeltweg, a central plane had been added between the rear spoiler’s stabilising fins.
Drivers Mark Donohue and George Follmer qualified tenth in R6 while the similar but Brumos-liveried sister car (R7) started eleventh. The two RSRs proceeded to run nose-to-tail in the race; R6 had a faultless six hours and finished sixth while the sister car finished seventh.
Both R6 and R7 were subsequently sold to Hector Rebaque in Mexico. Rebaque went on to win the 1974 Mexico City 1000km event with co-drivers Guillermo Rojas and Fred van Beuren Jr.
Rebaque retained R6 until 1992, since which time it has returned to Europe and been restored to its 1973 Targa Florio-winning configuration.
Notable History
Martini Racing Team
25/03/1973 WSC Vallelunga 6 Hours (G. Follmer / W. Kauhsen) 7th oa, 1st GT class (#9)
01/04/1973 Le Mans Test (H. Muller) 4th oa, 4th S3.0 class (#61)
01/04/1973 Le Mans 4 Hours (M. Schurti / H. Koinigg) 4th oa, 2nd S3.0 class (#61)
25/04/1973 WSC Monza 1000km (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) DNF (#81)
06/05/1973 WSC Spa 1000km (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) 5th oa, 5th S3.0 class (#41)
13/05/1973 WSC Targa Florio (H. Muller / G. van Lennep) 1st oa, 1st S3.0 class (#8)
10/06/1973 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (R. Joest / C. Haldi) DNF (#47)
24/06/1973 WSC Zeltweg 1000km (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) 8th oa, 8th S3.0 class (#7)
Loaned to Roger Penske Enterprises (Blue & Yellow Sunoco livery)
21/07/1973 WSC Watkins Glen 6 Hours (M. Donohue / G. Follmer) 6th oa, 6th S3.0 class (#6)
Sold to Hector Rebaque, Mexico
20/10/1974 IMS Mexico City 1000km (G. Rojas / H. Rebaque / F. van Beuren, Jr.) 1st oa, 1st GTO class (#15)
Retained until 1992
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
