Moby Dick and 904 battalion to head stunning 30-car Porsche lineup at #76MM

12th March 2018

James Charman

Last month we announced that the Central Feature at this year’s Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard will celebrate 70 years of Porsche, and this weekend’s 76^th Members’ Meeting will provide the perfect teaser to whet your appetite for this year’s celebrations.

No fewer than 30 Porsches will be in action over the weekend, both in the incredible Group 5 Special Production high-speed demonstration and in three of 76MM’s most exciting races.

Forming almost half of the grid in the Ronnie Hoare Trophy will be a cacophony of 901s, 911s and 904s – with the group of 904s totalling the most racing together since period – all hoping to beat home the British contingent of MG, Morgan and Triumph and the Italian stallions in the shape of Abarth, Alfa Romeo and a stunning Ferrari 275 GTB/C.

A pair of beautiful 356s, including one piloted by BTCC and British GT star Sam Tordoff, will battle Aston Martins, Ferraris and Jaguars in the Moss Trophy, while 906s and 910s will take to the track in the Gurney Cup.

Another highlight will be a fleet of mind-blowing Porsche 935s in the monstrous Group 5 Special Production high-speed demonstrations – headlined by the iconic 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’.

Spawned out of a loophole, originally introduced for the benefit of BMW – which allowed manufacturers to cut into the car’s floor to make space for the exhaust system from the front-mounted engine – Moby Dick was the third and final development of the 935, and had just one thing in mind: victory at Le Mans.

Moby Dick completely dominated its debut race at Silverstone but failed to achieve the same level of success when the teams arrived at Le Mans. Despite being the fastest car down the Mulsanne at a staggering 228mph, engine problems in the early stages of the race meant that Moby Dick would come home a rather disappointing eighth, beaten by three customer 935s.