Will the Le Mans Prototypes or the Gran Turismo 1 racing vehicles dominate the 65th running of the 24 hour classic? Either way it’s a Porsche.

At first the two factory 911 GT1 Evos control the high speed race. For 1997 the 911 features improved aerodynamics, a new front axle with wider track, an optimised suspension and a modified engine management. Thierry Boutsen/Hans-Joachim Stuck and Bob Wollek lead ahead of Emmanuel Collard/Yannick Dalmas and Ralf Kelleners. The dominating drive of the Porsche with starting number 25 ends dramatically in the early morning hours when, during Bob Wollek´s stint, the rear spins out on a damp kerb and the car touches a wall. The number 26 Porsche takes over the lead until an oil heat exchanger breaks at 1.36 pm. Ralf Kelleners flees the burning vehicle unhurt.

Now the hour of the Joest WSC Spyder has come. Team boss Reinhold Joest has entered his 1996-spec open sportscar, further modified together with Porsche. Michele Alboreto, Stefan Johansson as well as Tom Kristensen together with Joest´s first-class team prove to be extremely fast and reliable. They win.

Porsche customers also win the GT2 class against strong works opposition. This time it´s Jean-Claude Lagniez, Guy Martinolle and Michel Neugarten who bring their 911 GT2 entered by the Swiss Haberthur team first over the finish line.

The endurance season had begun well for Porsche customers at Porsche, with the 911 GT2 Evo of the Rohr Racing team driven by Harald Grohs, Arndt Meyer, Andy Pilgrim and Jochen Rohr taking tenth overall and GT1 victory. The 911 GT2 of Roock Racing with André Ahrlé, Patrice Goueslard, Claudia Hürtgen and Ralf Kelleners posted pole position in their GT2 and netted fourth overall after 24 hours.

Sebring: Robert Nearn, Andy Pilgrim and Jochen Rohr in a 911 GT2 Evo repeat their success from Daytona with another GT1 victory, whilst Franz Konrad, W. Roessler and Bob Wollek pocket the GT2 class honours.

Under the rules of the governing body FIA, the BPR GT Series becomes the international FIA GT Championship. For the first time since 1988 Porsche works team returns to a championship. The extensively liberalized regulations open the door for prototype-similar sportscars. At the same time the 911 GT1 is at first reined in by air restrictors.

From the third round in Helsinki the restrictors are again back to the 1996 measurements. Whilst the works team is absent due to an accident during testing with Yannick Dalmas, the Roock Racing GT1 with Kelleners/ Ortelli takes second, with Ni Amorim, Bruno Eichmann and Claudia Hürtgen collecting their first victory in the GT2 class. At the following round on the Nürburgring and again in Spielberg the trio increase their class lead with another victory, only to lose it at the penultimate round on a wet Sebring circuit.

In Belgium´s Spa Boutsen, Dalmas and Wollek take third at the wheel of a works 911 GT1. In Suzuka Yannick Dalmas, Pedro Lamy and Allan McNish race with a sequential gearbox developed by Porsche. Dalmas takes second place. In the race a broken gearshift lever costs them a top placing. On the fast circuit of Mugello, Dalmas and Wollek again secure a podium placing in third. The eleventh and final round in Laguna Seca yields second position for Dalmas and Wollek. Trailing the French duo come McNish and Kelleners in third. The Porsche works team finishes the year sitting fourth in the manufacturers‘ championship.

In the fiercely contested American GT Championship the Rohr team with Andy Pilgrim secures the GTS 1 drivers´ and manufacturers´ titles. Initially, team boss cum driver Jochen Rohr competes with a 911 GT2 but swaps it for a 911 GT1 in the final third of the season. The GTS 2 class goes to the consistently competitive Larry Schumacher in a 911 Turbo.

In Britain Steven O´Rourke and Tim Sugden win the BRDC GT Championship in their 911 GT2. With five wins Patrice Goueslard convincingly dominates the inaugural running of the French GT Sprint Series driving a 911 GT2 for Larbre Compétition and takes home the drivers´ title.

Patrick Huisman wins the Porsche Pirelli Supercup trophy, with seasoned veteran Wolfgang Land repeating his 1993 victory in the German Carrera Cup.

Austria´s Franz Konrad receives the Porsche Cup as the most successful private driver.

he 911 GT1 Evo for the year 1997 rolls out with a totally modified body as well as a new undercarriage under the front of the car. These measures result in improved downforce. The front axle is also new and features a wider track. Many details are improved with a view to becoming more service-friendly. On March 7,1997 the GT1 Evo rolls out of the workshop and with Bob Wollek at the wheel laps Porsche’s own proving circuit in Weissach for the first time.

Technical Specifications
Engine:	Water-cooled six-cylinder four-stroke horizontally opposed engine, two turbochargers, two controlled metal-substrate catalytic converters, dual ignition, four valves per cylinder, mechanical valve adjustment, dry sump lubrication
Power:	544 bhp (400 kW) at 7.200 rpm
Displacement:	3.163 cc
Fuel system:	No details
Transmission:	Six-speed manual transmission, drive on rear wheels, 40/60 % locking differential
Chassis:	Two-door body, composite steel plate and carbon fibre plastic design, double-wishbone suspension at front and rear, adjustable coil springs, single-pipe gas-pressure shock absorbers, adjustable stabilisers, eight-piston fixed-caliper brakes at front, four-piston fixed-caliper brakes at rear, internally vented discs front and rear, Bosch anti-lock braking system
Dimensions and weight:	Length 4.710 mm width 1.980 mm weight 1.250 kg
Performance:	Approx. 310 km/h (193 mph)