The Max Moritz ‘Semi Works’ 928 GTR (1995)
Porsche’s Racing Department never officially entered or prepared a racing 928 for a pure works entry. Only once Porsche decided to make it obvious to the 911 enthusiasts that they usually tended to underrate the racing genes of the 928. Porsche then “arranged” this 928GTR to compete against the then dominant 911 (993GTR) on the race track. In order not to offend sensibilities of their traditional 911 customers by openly challenging them with a Works 928GTR offering, Porsche asked Max Moritz Racing, their longtime private racing partner from next door Reutlingen to enter a 928GTR Cup as a ‘semi-works’ car.
The drivers were: Bernd Mayländer, Manuel Reuter (Porsche works pilots), also Harm Lagaay (then Head of Porsche’s Design Studio). Vittorio Strosek sponsored MM with his Lightweight-Body-Parts and racing exhaust. The car was officially entered by Porsche-Club-Schwaben. Homologation minimum weight had to be, and actually is 1,370 kg (3,020 lb).
Lagaay reports that the car was very competitive and able to hold most 964 Cup GTs down, although the engine was no more than fine-tuned after having been chosen from a set of high power output specimen in Weissach. In the last race of the season at Hockenheim a crank-bearing ran dry. As the car was supposed to race in 1995 as well, it was made ready to continue its successful competition in the 1995 season. A fresh engine was installed, selected from the same lot of high output engines and tuned as before. In 1995 Porsche’s 928 production came to an end, and the car consequently was not raced in the new season.
The late Max Moritz himself then added the car to his collection of historic vehicles. It was not put on the road again until after his death, when the family sold the car in October 2004 – with 24,500 km on the odometer.
