1973 PORSCHE 917/30

The brilliant success of the Porsche 917/10 in the 1972 Canadian American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) series could not satisfy Porsche's appetite for victory. Launched in 1972, the twin-turbocharged mid-engine car with over 1,000 hp still suffered from stability issues that only drivers such as Mark Donohue and George Follmer were able to master. In order to maintain its dominance in 1973, Porsche developed the 917/30, an even more advanced car in terms of mechanics, chassis and bodywork, not yet knowing that it would be the last to represent the brand in the North American championship.

The Porsche 917/30 entered the 1973 season with a single car entrusted to the Penske team, Porsche's official partner, driven by star driver Mark Donohue. Reigning champion George Follmer, who had won the previous year thanks to Donohue's misfortune, joined the private Rinzler Motorsport team, strongly protesting Porsche's refusal to entrust the new car to other teams. Even so, Rinzler had the satisfaction of beating the 917/30 in the first two rounds of the new championship at Mosport and Road Atlanta, where Charlie Kemp and George Follmer won respectively in the ‘old’ but still competitive 917/10.

Donohue recovered in the third race at Watkins Glen and won all the remaining races of the season at Mid-Ohio, Road America, Edmonton, Laguna Seca and Riverside, scoring 139 points, twice as many as Follmer (62), who, apart from his victory in the second heat, finished twice in second place and achieved nothing really significant.

This string of victories prompted the SCCA (the association that organises the championship) to introduce a rule change for 1974, which would put an end to Porsche's dominance. It imposed a limit on fuel consumption, reduced to 1 US gallon per 3 miles (nearly 80 l/100 km), which prevented the powerful but fuel-hungry (up to 1 l/km!) twin-turbo engine of the 917/30 from performing at its full potential.

At the only race in which the car competed, held at Mid-Ohio, driver Brian Redman, having dominated much of the race, had to settle for second place as the risk of running out of fuel forced him to slow down during the final sprint. By then, however, it was clear that the series was in irreversible decline, and the championship was cancelled shortly after the next race at Road America. The 917/30 not only caused the Can-Am to lose popularity, but the model continued to shine in the Interserie Championship, the European equivalent of the Can-Am, in which this car was permitted to compete. Between 1973 and 1975, the 917/30 achieved several victories and other good rankings with drivers such as Vic Elford, Herbert Müller and Leo Kinnunen.

The career of this engineer and driver began in the early 1960s and developed across several disciplines, from the Trans-Am Championship to the Indianapolis 500 and Nascar. Thanks to his good relationship with the Penske team, he was able to drive for them in F1, where the American team began competing with McLaren cars in 1971 and entered their own cars from 1974 onwards. Donohue achieved his best result right from the start at the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished third. In parallel, he was involved in the development of the 917/10 with Porsche, whose official representative in Can-Am was Penske. As the lead driver in 1972, he was beaten by his rival, friend and teammate George Follmer, who initially had to replace him after an accident kept him off the track for several races and whom he was unable to beat after returning to competition. Mark Donohue made history with his victorious 1973 season and the Sunoco-sponsored 917/30, which he helped develop and was the sole driver of.