Portola Hotel & Spa Transformed for Porsche Rennsport Reunion V

September 28, 2015 by Mazda Raceway

• All part of Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 25, 2015 — The lobby of the Portola Hotel in Monterey may be mistaken as a Porsche Museum as it has been transformed into a showcase of some of the rarest Porsche race cars from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

The transformation of the Portola, the location for the opening night gathering for Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, includes a large Porsche Racing mural outside and branded elevator doors inside as well as small touches like Porsche Rennsport pillows in the rooms and key cards adorned with the graphics of the event poster.

The showpiece race cars are in town as part of Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Sept. 25-27. The Rennsport Reunion, held about every three years, is the largest gathering of Porsche race cars and drivers in the world. Iconic Porsche models and drivers like Jackie Ickx, Derek Bell, Vic Elford, and so many others will be on hand for an amazing weekend of Porsche racing history. Porsche Cars North America is hosting executives, legendary drivers and journalists from around the globe at the Portola Hotel.

Two Porsche Museum cars are on display with banners telling the story of each car's racing history:

1987 Porsche 962 C – In 1987, multi-time overall Le Mans winner Hans Stuck exclusively piloted this 962 (except for one race he co-drove with Derek Bell) to a pair of victories at the Supercup races at the Nurburgring and Hockenheim tracks in Germany.

1996 Porsche 911 GT1 96 – For the 1996 endurance racing season, FIA regulations stipulated that all GT1-class cars be homologated for road use. Porsche started with its trademark 911 Carrera and created an entirely new racing car, combining its brand ideals with the new regulations. The new vehicle was an immediate success at its debut race, the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning its class and finishing third overall.

Porsche Rennsport Reunion V consists of seven different classes of Porsche competition, from professional (including the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge USA), club racing, and historic racing.