VIN: the Joest Racing / Dieter Schornstein / Kremer Racing Porsche 962 chassis 105
Chassis 105 was one of two customer 956s sold to the Joest Racing team for 1983 (the other having been chassis 104).
Since its inception in 1978, Reinhold Joest’s team had rapidly become one of the top privateer outfits in Sportscar racing.
For 1983, the Joest 956s would contest a mixture of events to include World and European championship outings, the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM), the odd Interserie race and the big money Norisring Trophy which was a stand-alone contest.
For most of the ‘83 campaign, chassis 105 appeared in the yellow, black and white colours of New Man fashions.
Despite a strong showing in that year’s DRM (where it picked up a trio of podium finishes), undoubtedly chassis 105’s most impressive result of the year came at the Le Mans 24 Hours where Volkert Merl, Clemens Schickentanz and Mauricio De Narvarez came home fourth overall (two places ahead of Joests’s sister car).
Other strong performances in the 1983 World Sportscar Championship saw chassis 105 place third at the Monza 1000km, fourth at the Kyalami 1000km and fifth at the Fuji 1000km.
For 1984, Joest purchased a new 956 (chassis 117) which joined chassis 104 while chassis 105 was sold to Dieter Schornstein who had undertaken three late season races in the car during 1983.
Schornstein enlisted Joest to look after 105 on his behalf and the car appeared at most of its 1984 outings sporting the same iconic New Man livery seen throughout much of the previous season. Similarly, Dieter Schornstein also campaigned chassis 105 in a mix of World Sportscar Championship, DRM, Interserie and non-championship events.
Highlights of the car’s ‘84 campaign included a fifth at Le Mans and sixth at the Monza 1000km en route to eight top ten finishes at World Championship level.
Dieter Schornstein retired from motor racing at the end of 1984 and chassis 105 was sold to the Kremer brothers in Cologne where it joined chassis 115.
Kremer ran chassis 105 for the next one-and-a-half seasons, predominantly in the World Sportscar Championship and Interserie, during which the car mostly appeared in the white and blue colours of title sponsor, Pamatex.
Famously, Klaus Ludwig drove chassis 105 to victory in the 1985 Norisring Trophy.
Six weeks later the car was taken to its best World Sportscar Championship finish in Kremer ownership when Ludwig Heimrath Sr. and Jr. along with Kees Kroesemeijer placed fourth at the Mosport 1000km. Chassis 105 also picked up half a dozen top six Interserie finishes and a third for Ludwig in the DRM race at the Norisring (the same weekend as his Trophy win).
In July 1986 the Kremer brothers sold chassis 105 to privateer Walter Lechner who used the car in four Interserie events that season. Lechner scored a win and a second place finish on his two appearances at Zeltweg plus a third at Most and fourth at Siegerland.
Afterwards, chassis 105 was retired from competition duty – the 956 was banned from 1987 on safety grounds (chiefly because the driver’s feet stuck out beyond the front axle, a problem addressed with the 962).
Joest Racing went on to restore chassis 105 to its original New Man configuration in 1989, after which the car was sold to Jamey Mazzotta who retained it until 2001.
Notable History
Joest Racing
Yellow, black and white New Man livery
20/03/1983 DRM Zolder (C. Schickentanz) 6th oa, 5th C class (#4)
10/04/1983 WSC Monza 1000km (R. Stommelen / H. Heyer / C. Schickentanz) 3rd oa, 3rd C class (#12)
01/05/1983 DRM Avus (V. Merl) 2nd oa, 2nd C class (#2)
08/05/1983 WSC Silverstone 1000km (V. Merl / H. Heyer / C. Schickentanz) DNF (#12)
15/05/1983 DRM Mainz-Finthen (V. Merl) 3rd oa, 3rd C class (#2)
19/06/1983 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (V. Merl / C. Schickentanz / M. De Narvaez) 4th oa, 4th C class (#12)
03/07/1983 DRM Norisring (V. Merl) 3rd oa, 3rd C class (#2)
03/07/1983 IND Norisring Trophy (V. Merl) DNF (#2)
24/07/1983 DRM Diepholz (V. Merl) DNF (#2)
04/09/1983 WSC Spa 1000km (V. Merl / H. Heyer / B. Wollek) DNF (#12)
02/10/1983 WSC Fuji 1000km (B. Wollek / H. Heyer / V. Merl) 5th oa, 5th C class (#12)
16/10/1983 EEC Imola 1000km (D. Schornstein / V. Merl) 6th oa, 6th C class (#12)
Red & yellow Momo livery (Schornstein Racing Team Aachen / Joest)
23/10/1983 EEC Mugello 1000km (V. Merl / G. Moretti / D. Schornstein) 6th oa, 6th C class (#12)
Yellow, black and white New Man livery
29/10/1983 INT Hockenheim (L. Krages) 3rd oa, 3rd Div.1 class (#2) Joest Racing
White and red PG Glass livery
10/12/1983 WSC Kyalami 1000km (D. Schornstein / L. Krages / B. Wollek) 4th oa, 4th C class (#12)
Sold to Dieter Schornstein (Schornstein Racing Team), Aachen
Black and yellow Racing Team Aachen livery
23/04/1984 WSC Monza 1000km (V. Merl / D. Schornstein) 6th oa, 6th C1 class (#12)
Yellow, black and white New Man livery
13/05/1984 WSC Silverstone 1000km (V. Merl / D. Schornstein / L. Krages) 9th oa, 9th C1 class (#12)
17/06/1984 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (V. Merl / D. Schornstein / L. Krages) 5th oa, 5th C1 class (#12)
01/07/1984 DRM Norisring (L. Krages) DNF (#2)
01/07/1984 IND Norisring Trophy (V. Merl) 5th oa, 5th C1 class (#12)
15/07/1984 WSC Nurburging 1000km (D. Schornstein / L. Krages / V. Merl) 10th oa, 10th C1 class (#12)
22/07/1984 DRM Diepholz (L. Krages) 5th oa, 5th C1 class (#2)
29/07/1984 WSC Brands Hatch 1000km (V. Merl / D. Schornstein / L. Krages) 9th oa, 9th C1 class (#12)
12/08/1984 INT Most (V. Merl) 3rd oa, 3rd Div.1 class (#2)
02/09/1984 WSC Spa 1000 km Spa (D. Schornstein / H. Heyer / L. Krages) 8th oa, 8th C1 class (#12)
16/09/1984 WSC Imola 1000 km (L. Krages / D. Schornstein / H. Heyer) 7th oa, 7th C1 class (#12)
23/09/1984 DRM Nurburgring (L. Krages) 5th oa, 5th C1 class (#8)
White Tiger Wheels livery
03/11/1984 WSC Kyalami 1000km (H. Pescarolo / D. Schornstein / L. Krages) 9th oa, 3rd C1 class (#12)
Yellow, black and white New Man livery
02/12/1984 WSC Sandown Park 1000km (L. Krages / P. Belmondo / D. Schornstein) 11th oa, 10th C1 class (#12)
Sold to Kremer Bros. (Porsche Kremer Racing)
White and blue Pamatex livery
26/05/1985 INT Zeltweg (K. Kroesemeijer) 3rd oa, 3rd Div.1 class (#2)
09/06/1985 INT Erding (K. Kroesemeijer) 6th oa, 6th Div.1 class (#2)
29/06/1985 DRM Norisring (K. Ludwig) 3rd oa, 3rd C1 class (#10)
30/06/1985 IND Norisring Trophy (K. Ludwig) 1st oa, 1st C1 class (#10)
14/07/1985 WSC Hockenheim 1000km (K. Niedzwiedz / K. Kroesemeijer) DNF (#10)
04/08/1985 INT Nurburgring (K. Kroesemeijer) 3rd oa, 3rd Div.1 class (#2)
11/08/1985 WSC Mosport 1000km (L. Heimrath Jr. / L. Heimrath / K. Kroesemeijer) 4th oa, 4th C1 class (#11)
18/08/1985 INT Most (K. Kroesemeijer) 2nd oa, 2nd Div.1 class (#2)
01/09/1985 WSC Spa 1000km (M. Surer / K. Kroesemeijer) 11th oa, 10th C1 class (#10)
08/09/1985 INT Siegerland (K. Kroesemeijer) DNF (#2)
22/09/1985 INT Nurburgring (K. Kroesemeijer) 5th oa, 5th Div.1 class (#2)
31/03/1986 INT Thruxton (L. Krages) 5th oa, 4th Div.1 class (#2)
White, red and blue Primagaz livery
01/06/1986 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (P. Yver / M. Cohen-Olivar / H. Striebig) DNF (#12)
White and blue unbranded livery
29/06/1986 WSC Norisring 200 mile (F. Konrad) 12th oa, 11th C1 class (#11)
Sold to Walter Lechner
13/07/1986 INT Zeltweg (W. Lechner) 1st oa, 1st Div.1 class (#5)
17/08/1986 INT Most (W. Lechner) 3rd oa, 3rd Div.1 class (#3)
31/08/1986 INT Siegerland (W. Lechner) 4th oa, 4th Div.1 class (#??)
12/10/1986 INT Zeltweg (W. Lechner) 2nd oa, 2nd Div.1 class (#2)
1989 restored by Joest
Sold to Jamey Mazzotta
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
