Almost everyone has raced a Porsche. The very thorough racingsportscars.com lists 3700 outright victories – a figure rarely still for long – for Stuttgart’s best export these past 70 years. Safe to say it’s not an exclusive club. The flipside is the selection of a Zuffenhausen 1st XI is almost impossible. (We had to include a substitute in our list as it was.) Whom to leave out? How to choose? And where to start?

Le Mans, of course: Hurley Haywood, for example, has three wins at La Sarthe. This Chicago-born class act also won a joint record five Daytona 24 Hours plus a brace of 12 Hours of Sebring – all in Porsches. That’s 10 victories from 1973-94. Ten! Hometown hero Hans Herrmann is another to have completed the endurance triple crown – and the marque’s maiden victory at each venue – and for good measure added another Sebring as well as Sicily’s Targa Florio.

Germany’s Timo Bernhard donned his crown (with Porsche) at Le Mans last season and has been winning – including a joint record five Nürburgring 24 Hours – in all types of Porsche for almost 20 years.

The above are as Zuffenhausen as unburstable reliability: Porsche people. Whereas AJ Foyt and Al Unser Jr are guys who drove Porsches, yet between them these icons won four Daytonas and a Sebring astride Germany’s Prancing Horse.

“Fast, reliable and an unselfish team player”

Back to the Porsche drivers. Haywood’s mentor Peter Gregg won three Daytonas and a Sebring. He also scored a bewildering number of IMSA GT victories, only two of which were obtained in a (cough) BMW.

Dutchman Gijs van Lennep won two Le Mans, one of which set a distance record that stood for almost 40 years, plus a Targa Florio that will remain the 911’s greatest victory.

‘Brilliant Bob’ Wollek’s career was coloured by Le Mans agonies but the Alsatian outlier compensated with four Daytonas and a Sebring. At the time of his fatal accident, cycling between track and hotel after Sebring practice in 2001, Monsieur Porsche had won almost 70 of 450-plus starts for the marque. Mr Porsche – and a challenger to Wollek for the 935 crown – was Birmingham’s John Fitzpatrick; Mark Donohue’s twin-turbo Can-Am Panzerwagens set new performance standards; and Dan Gurney scored Porsche’s only grand prix victory…

But a line must be drawn somewhere and F1 is where. Rallying, however, is unavoidable in this context…

Stefan Bellof

TITLES 1984 WSC, 1984 DRM
12 WINS 9 WSC, 4 DRM

This independent extrovert from the Hesse region of western Germany was rushing towards widely predicted F1 glory (probably with Ferrari) when in the space of fewer than 30 races – career stepping-stones – he redefined sports cars. Sucking the last drops of performance from the 956’s underbody tunnels, poles and fastest laps abounded: 12 apiece. But so too did wins. Brushing aside words of caution from wiser, slower heads, his every stint was on the edge and he is remembered as much for his accidents – back-flipping from the lead at the Nürburging in 1983 after setting a remarkable fastest lap and the one bold move too many that claimed his short life two years later – as his skill and speed. Yet retirements were remarkably infrequent: there was not one in that stellar 1984.

Jochen Mass

39 WINS including 21 WSC, 4 IMSA (1 Sebring), 6 INTERSERIE, 3 DRM

The brawny Bavarian didn’t much care for Le Mans – in particular its attitude to safety – and met with no (Porsche) success there. Neither was he a fan of 935 – though ‘Moby Dick’ wasn’t too bad apparently – nor of 936, yet he met with plenty of success in both during a whirlwind 1976 with the works squad. The ground-effect grip of 956 and 962 was more to his taste and he went on another (extended) spree six years after the first. Being paired with the best in the business helped no doubt, but his continued selection in that role was indicative of the respect of his peers and of a self-assurance that allowed him to flourish without compromising a crew mentality learned in the merchant navy.

Brian Redman

13 WINS inc 12 WSC (2 Daytona, 1 Targa Florio, 1 Sebring)

With a number two driver’s attitude allied to a number one’s aptitude, this unassuming and wry former mop salesman from Lancashire was the perfect fit in sports cars. Happy to pick up the pieces or to go faster than the ‘top of the bill’ if necessary – usually at Spa and always with observant mechanical sympathy – he won everything bar Le Mans (with and without Porsche): his fast but inflexible co-driver missed a gear when holding a big lead in 1970. But he was willing to accept this rough – and to test assiduously – in order to take the smooth: they had scored five major wins in 1969. Had he not retired for a few unhappy months at the end of 1970 – lost momentum – his Porsche tally would have been even more impressive.

Derek Bell

TITLES 1985 & 1986 WSC
39 WINS including 18 WSC (4 LE MANS), 18 IMSA (3 DAYTONA)

For Porsche designer Norbert Singer, a vital factor in all bar three of its Le Mans victories to date, this English gent is the sports car ideal: fast, reliable and an unselfish team player capable of melding with co-drivers of bewildering diversity. The rock rather than a rockstar.

Getting the nod over Ronnie Peterson for a JWA 917 seat in 1971, Derek Bell won first time out in Argentina and followed team orders – not his co-driver’s from the pits! – to finish second at Spa. Ten years later, in his 40s, he won again and again in an Indian summer that lasted another decade. His seven consecutive Le Mans podiums from 1981 and Daytona/Le Mans double-double (with Holbert) in 1986-87 were Herculean.

Jacky Ickx

TITLES 1982 & 1983 WSC
26 WINS including 22 WSC (2 Le Mans), 1 DRM

It seems only right that Ford’s – and arguably Ferrari’s – most important sports car driver should also be Porsche’s. Yes, he had the best equipment, but under duress at Le Mans in 1977 this charismatic Belgian proved conclusively why that was only right: come rain or shine, he was night and day the fastest, the most complete. Plugged into an unfamiliar 936 – the team’s third string, which had spent an hour in the pits and plunged to 41st – he lost a stone while howling through the foggy dark at lap-record speed. Two unstinting four-hour sessions had him leading by 10am. His aloofness – he was shy in fact – meant that he was not to every team-mate’s liking but they had to concede that he was Porsche’s go-to guy for several good reasons – four wins and three seconds from eight consecutive Le Mans among them. Even the precocious rival that shaded him for speed felt the need to hammer home the point, with fatal consequence.

“He lost a stone while howling through the dark at lap-record speed”

Probably Ickx saw his cocky, younger self reflected in Bellof – he, too, had been nurtured by Ken Tyrrell, albeit 20 years before – and their collision at Spa in 1985, though not his fault, persuaded this professionals’ professional to retire, at the end of his contract, and after winning his final race.

Jo Siffert

19 Wins including 14 WSC (1 Daytona, 1 Sebring, 1 Targa Florio)

For a driver who knew one way – foot to the floor, forcing the gaps, overtaking at the first opportunity – and who lived a born wheel-dealer’s nervy, high-octane existence, this Swiss met with remarkable success over longer distances: a string of victories made him Porsche’s clear leader from 1968-69. But then a “little Mexican bastard” – Seppi was half-joking about Pedro Rodríguez – invaded his territory (“He tries to kill me!”), and a civil war ensued. Mainly they traded (Gulf’s zenith blue and tangerine) paint – at Eau Rouge on lap one! – rather than insults. Siffert’s flow of wins ebbed – despite two minor ones at Thruxton in a 917! – but indelible memories came thick and fast and there was everlasting glory to be had in defeat. He’d fought like a lion against a formidable foe.

Klaus Ludwig

TITLE 1979 DRM
25 WINS 7 WSC (3 Le Mans), 2 imsa (1 sebring), 12 DRM, 2 INTERSERIE, 1 SUPERCUP, 1 EUROPEAN GT

Born close to and all but raised at the Nürburgring, he converted bubbling sportscar/GT potential into solid success in 1979 in the Kremer brothers’ more aerodynamic K3 take on 935: he won all bar one Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) round – he finished second in the other – as well as the Watkins Glen Six Hours and Le Mans. The second victory for this smooth-driving smart operator at La Sarthe was obtained in 1984 in the absence of the works team – and despite losing three laps early on. His third the following year upstaged entirely the works, his Joest-run 956B obtaining superior mpg (for a variety of suggested reasons). Yet ‘King Klaus’ hated the place. That his 962C ran out of fuel in 1988 – a rare glitch (for car or driver depending to whom you speak) on a rare works outing – was probably the clincher.

Hans-Joachim Stuck

TITLES 1985 WSC, 1986 & 1987 SUPERCUP, 1993 IMSA SUPERCAR
32 WINS 7 WSC (2 LE MANS), 2 IMSA (2 SEBRING), 10 IMSA SUPERCAR, 6 INTERSERIE, 5 SUPERCUP, 2 BPR GT

Though ‘Strietzel’ came late to works Porsches – he was 34 and 16 years into his career by 1985 – the ebullient German soon became their public face and made up quickly for lost time with five consecutive Le Mans podiums, including back-to-back victories in 1986-87; he ’slipped’ to fourth in 1990.

“Assured in the wet, reliable in the clutch and extremely fit”

Behind the scenes a tireless tester: his second Supercup title was won using a 962 with revolutionary PDK transmission, and he was fundamental to sorting the initially wayward 911 GT1, scoring his seventh Le Mans podium in 1996. An ace in the wet – gambles on slicks often paid off – his style was spectacular and exciting yet entirely consistent with the demands of his team.

Pedro Rodríguez

9 WINS 8 WSC, 1 pacific coast

Quiet, verging on quirky, the Mexican with a penchant for a deerstalker but an aversion to physical jerks would clamber from the cramped confines of a 917K cockpit, remove crash helmet and beam a flashlight smile: not a single bead of sweat, not one strand of hair out of place after otherworldly performances that left gasping rivals on their knees: he won in the Brands Hatch monsoon of 1970 by five laps after driving 197 of 235 tours. Though he revelled in the thrill of the chase – witness his victories in 1971 at Daytona and Österreichring – he had an uncanny feel for setting the pace while taking care of machinery, and his mechanics loved him as much as did the crowds: a telling measure of the man and the driver.

Rolf Stommelen

TITLES 1977 DRM
29 WINS including 11 WSC (3 Daytona, 1 Targa Florio), 9 DRM, 1 IMSA, 4 INTERSERIE

Fastest along The Muldoon in early 917 and 935 ‘Moby Dick’ and the last of the Nürburgring’s late brakers – where once he finished fifth driving the 1976 ‘Black Widow’ 936 on its ignition in the wet because of a jammed throttle – this German’s bravery and occasional divisiveness, born of reticence as well as competitiveness, hid his silky skill and robust technical grasp from some. But not from ‘Fitz’, who reckoned him the best of the bunch: assured in the wet (a sports car must); reliable in the clutch; and extremely fit: his breakthrough Targa win was earned in blistering heat and his return from the mid-1975 Formula 1 crash that caused him physical pain thereafter was accomplished miraculously quickly. Those Daytona wins, including three from five from 1978, might have been sandwiched by a Le Mans victory (in 1979 alongside Paul Newman!) but for a jammed wheel nut.

Nick Tandy

20 WINS including LE MANS, SPA 24, NÜRBURGRING 24H AND DAYTONA 24H

Such are the rose-tinted glasses these sorts of lists are constructed under, it takes something special for a modern, and current, driver to break into contention. So how about becoming the first, and only, driver to complete the set of global 24-hour race victories? Step forward Mr Tandy.

“How about becoming the first driver to complete the set of global 24-hour race wins”

After a fledgling single-seater career Tandy made the switch to sportscars with Porsche and claimed the German Carrera Cup title in 2011. That set him on a path of glory with the brand few can match.

Drafted into Porsche’s work LMP1 team for its Le Mans return after chancing his arm with an email, his stupendously consistent night-time stint in 2015 proved pivotal to the 919 Hybrid ending Porsche’s 17-year wait for another win at La Sarthe. Nurburgring 24H success followed in 2018 before he successfully nursed a failing gearbox through abysmal conditions at a Covid-delayed Spa 24H in 2020. Despite a sabbatical to Corvette, Tandy returned to Porsche in time to complete the set by guiding a Penske 963 to victory at Daytona in January 2025.

Any other big races? Well, Sebring 12H and Petit Le Mans, he won those too, both with Porsche. Oh, and the Formula Ford Festival in 2007, but that one definitely wasn’t in a Porsche.

Al Holbert

TITLES 1985 & 1986 IMSA
37 WINS 32 IMSA (2 DAYTONA), 4 WSC (3 LE MANS, 1 SEBRING), 1 TRANS-AM

This son of a US pioneer Porsche racer/dealer from Pennsylvania was another great all-rounder: inspirational team boss, persuasive figurehead – he was 962’s catalyst – superb design engineer, astute sorter of chassis and a fast driver easy on equipment and fuel and on the spiritual side of calm. He had learned well at the school of Penske and Donohue. The wins began in the early 1970s in 911s and his annual European sortie during the 1980s resulted in three Le Mans wins and a third place from five starts across six years; the first victory had him nursing a car jammed in second and billowing smoke as it crossed the line. His death, aged 41, in a private plane in 1988 is the most unappreciated major loss the sport has suffered. Just ask his co-drivers.

Vic Elford

7 WINS 6 WSC (1 DAYTONA, 1 SEBRING, 1 TARGA FLORIO), 1 INTERSERIE

Who better to bring off the subs’ bench than – at the risk of mixing metaphors – this brilliant all-rounder? Witness his impact in 1968: wins Monte Carlo Rally in 911; jets to USA; wins at Daytona. His charge to victory in that year’s Targa is the epitome of sustained ferocity with accuracy: the best on that speed-happy island. Happier – and more able – than most coping with the slippery looseness of the early 917 Langheck, he was in the ascendancy at Le Mans in 1969 when halted by clutch failure. Victory would have capped three Nürburgring 1000Kms wins in four years and a 1971 Sebring success. ‘Quick Vic’ was considered family – he drove for Piëch-owned Porsche Salzburg – with good reason and was the one that the star-spangled JWA Gulf squad knew it had to beat.