Porsche and Penske celebrate their successful history at Road America
- Car No. 6 in the Sunoco livery of the 1973 Porsche 917/30
- Car No. 7 in the design of the Porsche RS Spyder from the 2000s
- The 6-hour race is part of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup for the first time
At the eighth race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at Road America, Porsche and Team Penske are paying tribute to their shared history. Two special designs bridge the gap between legendary successes of the past and current competition at the highest level. The No. 6 car bears the colors of the Porsche 917/30 from the 1970s. In the 1973 Can-Am race, Mark Donohue dominated the 200-mile event in the Sunoco Porsche. The sister car from the factory team of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG will take the starting grid this coming weekend in the yellow livery of the Porsche RS Spyder. Here, the overall victory by Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas in 2007 marks a highlight in the history of the LMP2 prototype.
Stuttgart. The 2026 season is equally significant for the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer and Penske: Porsche is celebrating 75 years of motorsports, while the U.S. racing team is marking its 60th anniversary. The factory team’s two Porsche 963 already sported traditional designs at the IMSA races in Sebring, Long Beach, and Laguna Seca. At Road America in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the hybrid prototypes from Weissach will take to the track for the first time with different liveries.
“Road America has been the scene of special successes in the shared history of Porsche and Penske,” says Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “In 1973, the Porsche 917/30 dominated the scene. During qualifying, Mark Donohue became the first driver on this track to break the two-minute lap time barrier. Starting in 2006, the RS Spyder marked Porsche’s return to prototype racing across several championships. I personally remember the success of 2007: I was there when Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas drove to overall victory against the nominally more powerful LMP1 race cars.”
Roger Penske, Founder and Chairman of Penske Corporation: “Sports car competition has been the foundation of Team Penske since the very beginning. As we continue to celebrate our team’s 60 years in motorsports alongside 75 years of Porsche Motorsport in 2026, we are excited to honor the heritage and legacy of both organizations. These two iconic car liveries pay tribute to championship-winning eras, legendary cars and the people who helped build our success. Team Penske’s partnership with Porsche is one of the most successful and enduring relationships in racing, and we are proud to celebrate our winning tradition together.”
1973 Can-Am season: there was no getting around the Porsche 917/30
Racing driver and engineer Mark Donohue dominated the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) in 1973. In nine races that season, the American won seven times in a row behind the wheel of the 917/30, which produced up to 882 kW (1,200 PS). On his way to winning the title, the Penske driver demonstrated his strength particularly at Road America. In qualifying, Donohue clocked a lap time of 1:57.51 minutes on the 6.437-kilometer circuit. This put him more than three seconds ahead of his closest competitor.
2007 American Le Mans Series: the Porsche RS Spyder defeats the LMP1 cars
The 775-kilogram Porsche RS Spyder dominated the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) from late 2005 through 2008. After the four-hour race at Road America on August 11, 2007, it had racked up 14 class victories. At this race Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas defeated the more powerful LMP1 prototypes and celebrated the car’s first ALMS overall victory. By the end of the joint Porsche-Penske program, the team had secured three manufacturers’ championships as well as three titles each in the drivers’ and teams’ standings.
All Photos Courtesy of Porsche Motorsport