Porsche 962-101 (Dyson Racing)

Porsche 962 Chassis #962-101

The first customer Porsche 962, chassis number 962-101, was sold to Bruce Leven, team owner and driver of the Bayside Disposal team in 1984. Leven would sell -101 to Dyson Racing in 1985. Dyson Racing would then take 962-101, with Drake Olson at the wheel, and win at Lime Rock in ’85; their debut event with the chassis.

The original IMSA Porche 962 arrived in a hybrid configuration coupling a Le Mans long tail (956 derived) with a high downforce underfloor, putting the IMSA 962 between the Le Mans car and the bespoke sprint car in terms of downforce. The car’s single element, long-chord, rear wing was mounted close to the deck and attached to endplates that were integral to the bodywork. But notably, the rear wing did not project past the trailing edge of the bodywork, this because of a peculiarity of the IMSA regulations. At the time, IMSA regulations (11.5.7.1.5, Article L to be precise) stated all aerodynamic devises had to be contained within the plan profile of the car. Norbert Singer was able to quickly produce a car meeting IMSA’s regulations by utilizing the 956’s Le Mans tail as it extended out to the car’s overall length. This had the added benefit of setting the rear wing back as far out as possible (in better airflow and allowing for positive cantilever effect). By 1985 the IMSA regulation was rewritten removing the wording that constrained the wing’s relationship to the bodywork perimeter.