As the news breaks that Porsche and Dyson are to link forces once again in a bid to reclaim their 1980s glory days, here is a look-back at the pairing’s chequered history at the pinnacle of US sportscar racing.
Following initial stints in SCCA club racing and IMSA GTO in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dyson team patriarch Rob Dyson was looking to move up to the International Motor Sports Association’s top class – GTP. He was considering a March chassis when the late Bob Akin told him that the Porsche 962 was the way to go. Thus a story was born.
Besides Porsche’s great engineering and technical support, Akin reminded Dyson of the Stuttgart marque’s heritage. In 1985, Dyson went to Porsche Motorsport North America President Al Holbert to buy a 962, but the company was all sold out for the year.
So he turned to privateer Bruce Leven, from whom he bought the very first Porsche 962. Dyson and co-driver Drake Olson then arrived at Lime Rock Park and promptly won on their series debut. Olson would go on to win again at Road America with Bobby Rahal and Price Cobb at Columbus, earning the Porsche Cup for North America for 1985.
The following year, Dyson and Cobb triumphed at both Riverside and Sears Point in a new Porsche 962, as the latter claimed the North American Porsche Cup. In 1987, James Weaver joined the team, and he and Cobb won their first race together at Road Atlanta. They also lifted the spoils at Road America and Watkins Glen, with Cobb again sealing the North American Porsche Cup.
1988 was the year of Nissan domination in IMSA GTP, but Dyson Racing’s Porsche 962s scored the only two non-Nissan wins that year, claiming success in the street races at Miami and San Antonio. Price Cobb raced to his third straight North American Porsche Cup title, and the team’s fourth. The squad continued to race Porsche 962s through 1991 before IMSA changed the rules, racking up a total of 12 victories and 19 podium finishes.
![Andy Wallace returns to the Dyson line-up on a full-time basis in 2007 [Pic credit: Dyson Racing]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/281794.jpg)
