Porsche Carrera Cup Helped Spawn a New Era of Racing

Defining Moments

It's been 30 years since Porsche's Carrera Cup debut, and over those three decades, we've been treated to some pretty amazing moments from the one-make series. So it makes perfect sense that the automaker would want to reflect back on the memories that have defined the Carrera Cup over the years, including its spectacular opening moment.

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First Strike

From 1986 to 1989, the Porsche 944 Turbo Cup served as a precursor for the series' subsequent success story. From 1993 onward, the Porsche Supercup started as part of Formula One. But in March of 1990, the Porsche Carrera Cup debuted in Zolder, Belgium in front of a large and eager crowd. And it was Rhineland native and touring car veteran Olaf Manthey who would strike first.

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Win After Win

Manthey secured the pole position with a qualifying lap time of 1:15.50 minutes before going on to enjoy a perfect weekend with a win in the very first race. Nine races later, Manthey took home the first Cup championship among 30+ other contenders in mechanically identical cars. This, despite the fact that he had to radically alter his driving style when transitioning to the series.

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Difficult Transition

In fact, it was the first time Manthey had ever even raced a rear-engine car in his career. "As soon as you drift a little you lose an enormous amount of time," he said. "The car demands an absolutely clean line." Manthey forced himself to adapt, however, a process that he describes as "incredibly difficult."

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Successful Endeavor

Clearly, things worked out just fine for Manthey. He went on to start his own Porsche team, which has since gone on to win the Porsche Supercup four times, the legendary twenty-four-hour race at the Nürburgring six times, and the GT contest in Le Mans with a factory contract (1999, 2013, and 2018), as well as the World Endurance Championship (2015, 2019).

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Stepping Stone

Since that debut, the Porsche Carrera Cup has also become a defining series in the world of motorsports, particularly for those looking to get their foot in the door. "The Porsche one-make cups form the basis of our motorsport pyramid and are also a training ground for talented youngsters who are keen to make their way to the top of the career ladder in motor racing," said Fritz Enzinger, Vice President Porsche Motorsport.

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Launching Platform

For decades, the Carrera Cup has served as the launching platform onto the major international stage for the best drivers. From Porsche’s overall winners at Le Mans between 2015 and 2017, five earned their stripes in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland: Earl Bamber, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb, and Nick Tandy. And that's just a small sampling of the many, many great drivers who have honed their skills in this now-legendary one-make series, not to mention the many still yet to come.

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