Porsche is busy saying goodbye to its Le Mans-winning 919 racer as the German firm withdrew from endurance racing at the end of 2017. It is doing so by performing several public showings of the car and hosting special events.

Watch the Neel Jani set a lap record at Spa Francorchamps in the 919 Evo at this link.

A special date

35 years ago, on this date, Stefan Bellof set the all-time Nurburgring lap record in a Porsche 956 when he stopped the clock at 6 min 11,13 sec.

German driver Bellof was considered by many to be the quickest of his era. In 1984 was crowned champion of the sportscar endurance series driving for the factory Porsche team.

Concurrently, Bellof competed with Tyrell in F1 during 1984 and 1985. He was killed in an accident during the 1985 1000 km of Spa race, aged just 27 years old.

On the same date as the record lap was recorded Hans-Joachim Stuck (956) and Timo Bernhard (919) drove the Nordschleife in unison linking the cars and drivers of Porsche’s illustrious motorsport history in one iconic moment.

In their own words

Hans-Joachim Stuck: “That was a little bit like Christmas coming early for me. The fans enjoyed it, and so did we. The barbecues are already smoking, and it’s absolutely unique how the fans set themselves up here along the course. When driving as slowly as we did today, you can really see and appreciate that. But I have to say: There was a real temptation to put the pedal to the metal, and the 956 still runs like clockwork.”

Timo Bernhard: “This round just before the start of the 24-hour race was a special experience for me. It was an honour to drive the Nordschleife side by side with Hans – he in the 956 C, myself with our 919 Evo. Those are two legendary racing cars, and the fans liked it. I could literally feel their pleasure in the cockpit. That was a very nice gift.”

You can keep up with Porsche’s 919 Tribute tour by clicking here.