VIN: the Martini Racing Porsche 935 chassis 002 R16
History of chassis 002 R16
Chassis 002 (R16) was the second of eight works 935s built between late 1975 and early 1978. It served as Porsche’s primary race car for the 1976 season and variously appeared with both conventional and Flat Nose bodywork.
That year, 002 contested eight events and won outright on three occasions (the Mugello 6 Hours, Vallelunga 6 Hours and Dijon 6 Hours).
Had it not been for poor mid-season reliabilit,y 002 would likely have doubled that tally.
It took pole position for six of the seven World Championship races entered in 1976 and was only beaten to pole on its final outing of the year at Dijon where BMW’s works 3.5-litre CSL Turbo pipped it to top spot by half a second.
At Le Mans, which was a non-championship event in 1976, 002 was easily the fastest Group 5 car in the race. It finished fourth overall and won the Group 5 class despite alternator and rear suspension problems during the night.
002’s mid-season slump came after round three at Silverstone when clutch problems forced it out of contention. A subsequent FIA ruling deemed the 935's air-to-air intercooler did not fit the engine profile of the 930 base car so Porsche had to adopt the air-to-water intercooler from the 934.
002 retired from its next two World Championship races: a broken distributor arm forced it out of the Nurburgring 1000km and a bent valve ended its race at the Osterreichring 1000km.
At the Watkins Glen 6 Hours, the gearbox locked up and caused major rear brake problems but 002 soldiered on to finish third.
The victory at Dijon in September meant Porsche finished the 1976 World Championship ten points ahead of BMW.
002’s final outing came in the opening round of 1977 (the Daytona 24 Hours) as Porsche’s new twin turbo 935 wasn’t ready in time.
The well used car once again qualified on pole and led the race until an hour was lost to repair damage caused by a puncture. Drivers Ickx and Mass hauled 002 back into second place, but a second tyre failure caused the car to have a big accident after which it was retired from competition duty.
002 was retained by Porsche.
Notable History
Martini Racing
21/03/1976 WCM Mugello 6 Hours (J. Ickx / J. Mass) 1st oa, 1st Gr.5 class (#4)
04/04/1976 WCM Vallelunga 6 Hours (J. Ickx / J. Mass) 1st oa, 1st Gr.5 class (#1)
09/05/1976 WCM Silverstone 6 Hours (J. Ickx / J. Mass) 10th oa, 7th Gr.5 class (#9)
30/05/1976 WCM Nurburgring 1000km (R. Stommelen / M. Schurti) DNF (#1)
13/06/1976 IND Le Mans 24 Hours (R. Stommelen / M. Schurti) 4th oa, 1st Gr.5 class (#40)
27/06/1976 WCM Osterreichring 6 Hours (J. Ickx / M. Schurti) DNF (#1)
10/07/1976 WCM Watkins Glen 6 Hours (J. Ickx / J. Mass) 3rd oa, 3rd Gr.5 class (#2)
04/09/1976 WCM Dijon 6 Hours (J. Ickx / J. Mass) 1st oa, 1st Gr.5 class (#1)
06/02/1977 WCM Daytona 24 Hours (J. Ickx / J. Mass) DNF (#1)
Retained by Porsche
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
