The Story Behind Porsche's IndyCar Win

Porsche, Holbert Racing, and driver Teo Fabi made history at the 1989 CART IndyCar Series event held at Mid-Ohio where the German manufacturer captured its first win in the American championship.
On the 30th anniversary of the achievement, team manager Derrick Walker and March 89P-Porsche chassis designer Tino Belli take us inside the car's unique attributes and how, despite making a huge mistake in the race, the team was able to reach Victory Lane.

[@shooter7a]

CART from the late 80s and through the 90s was just the best. Miss that era of racing so much.

[@andrewmasto716]

Tony George really screwed up a good thing. The interest in Indy cars dropped like a stone with the whole IRL debacle and hasn't ever recovered.

[@patrickshea6666]

My first IndyCar race at, 6 years old. I've never forgotten sitting at the Esses and watching the Porsche go by. Thanks for the footage. I've never really seen high quality coverage of the race. IndyCar needs to put the '89 race in their archive!

[@ronzigato]

One of my favorite CART moments. Thanks for this!

[@epistte]

I was at Mid-Ohio when this happened. Mid-Ohio was the same track were the 962 scored its first win.

[@scarbourgeoisie]

I recall Fabi running round the Molson Indy circuit in Toronto in the late 80's and early 90's. He was always mid pack, but that car sounded glorious compared to the faster Fords and Ilmors. Car looked sharp as well.

[@AWC1989]

.....It was Fabi's fault why he was mid-fielder most of his career. His rookie or sophomore year he won 4 races. Then Fabi decided hey how about I race in like 3 or 4 different series at the same time. When he FINALLY focused on just Indycar it was too little too late for him.

[@Cooper1]

Terrific content with the video, Marshall! Now, I've heard the story twice in 1 week (podcast, KZbin). The video adds a bunch of context, its so worth hearing it again. Geez, I love those dangerous, beautiful 80's Indycars with the driver's feet over the front axle line. (also love those 80's CART crowds)

[@nu_foz]

Great insider video on a significant yet too oft-overlooked chapter in Porsche motorsport history. Thank you, Marshall!

[@DouginaBoxster]

Great stuff Marshall! Loved the podcast, so much better with the video supplements. Really brings back memories...thanks for all you do!

[@kingmanaz1488]

Thanks Marshall. Nice piece. I love American open wheel history.

[@camrsr5463]

Hell yeah! Great Mini-Doc! As a life long Porsche fan and Indy resident, nothing would bring me more joy than Porsche taking home an Indy 500 victory. I would imagine Porsche has a better chance of that than and F1 world championship. Formula E......well..... ya know?! lol Icing on the cake would be a Flat 6 Turbo powered machine! but it looks like current and future tech specs and rules might prevent that. Oh well. I guess Porsche will just have to make their own V-6 turbo monster or wait until the Hybrid becomes reality and use some iteration of the 919 power plant. Love what you do Marshall! Thanks for all of your hard work and insight. All good thoughts and energy to you and Shabral.

[@RedbadvanRijn-ft3vv]

Look what mclaren have a profit now,with an Porsche enigineer. Porsche should step up in F1.

[@tbone1493]

Marshall is the best! He creates great content that really nobody else will. Thanks Marshall!

[@aldee7533]

I just wish he wouldn't pull his punches. Pruett knows more dirt I Indycar than everyone else combined.

[@xienon]

Great story. Thank you Marshall and hope your wife gets well soon.

[@sergiogiacomosammartano7623]

They did the same to porsche in Can-Am when the 917 destroyed the competition, they just changed the rules so that basically banned Porsche from the series. History repeats over and over...

[@MrDrBlahh]

They did the same thing to Audi when they used their AWD system in early GT racing(not sure the actual name for that category). They dominated and the rules were quickly changed to ban AWD.

[@FMecha]

@@MrDrBlahh IMSA GTO

[@christophernoto]

Great story, Marshall! Thanks!

[@healthyone100]

they need to bring back Indy car chassis designs and Indy car will flourish!

[@StaySqueezy12]

Indycar is already starting to grow again

[@PizzaChet]

The Dallara IR18 is just fine thanks.

[@pumpkinking5174]

@@PizzaChet Not on ovals.

[@DeanoBanksy]

Really interesting, thanks Marshall

[@GfwTrains]

Good story and great video. Thanks!

[@geoffherald1098]

Just saw this great clip, and the interviews with Walker and aerodynamics guys are most informative. Wasn't Tony Cicale Mario's aero tuner at one point? He also built the 2 liter Can Am car Rahal and Brian Redmond took to the "Run what you brung" Lumberman's 500. at Mid Ohio in about 1975. Attended the CART race when Porsche won, and it was a big deal at the time. Purely by chance, wandering around the paddock about an hour after the race, we were short- cutting between the impressive gleaming transporters, and there was Walker helping with the packing/clean up. He was nice enough to pause and politely accept our heartfelt congratulations (although we were wearing Rahal-partisan shirts). Just struck me as the classic, hard working, hands on type of team manager. Little did we know about the fuel fumble earlier, but the extra stop was puzzling and made for a great spectacle for the last stint! Thanks Marshall!

[@michaellorenson2997]

Well done, thanks!

[@crasherror]

Fantastic content!!!

[@mrjasonwhite73]

Hearing Paul Page shout "PORsche! Has DONE IT!" is pretty damn epic :)

[@archibaldchimpin]

Great piece marshall

[@Shoorit]

German factory, English Indy car manufacturer, Scottish team manager and a Welsh aerodynamicist.. as a Brit and Indy car noob this amazes me..

[@shiki_fa14]

and an italian driver

[@swerne01]

Excellent video. Thanks. Sad to think that except for politics Porsche could have been racing in CART for many more years. The U.S has always been one of the best, if not the best, markets for Porsche automobiles.

[@danesorensen1775]

So Fabi, Walker and Belli accidentally invented the Schumacher-Brawn strategy, five years early?

[@marioluizandradecosta3241]

Que história fascinante!

[@jsembler1]

By the time I got into Indy Car as a 16 year old in 1990, Porsche was uncompetitive and I had no idea why. I saw them race at Road America that same year and they were well back in the field, even went off at Canada Corner at one point. This story helped me put the pieces together.

[@PeterKKraus]

March Porsche were a great combo in 1983 1984 Camel GTP

[@brettcole84]

Well done sir

[@AlistairMaxwell77]

14:45 damn that car was quick . he puts half a second on little Al in about 5 corners .

[@fastEdCanuck]

Thanks Marshall, great video here. I followed CART a bit back then but not deep in to it ... knew Porsche was there but not reason for their exit. Too bad as other commenters have mentioned. Wonder if Penske was thinking about how they managed to effectively kill the Can-Am series with the 917s, and was afraid the same thing might happen to CART if they were allowed to continue.

[@TalladegaTom]

Well done sir. +1

[@DucatiPaso750]

Does anyone else remember that the first Porsche win almost happened at the previous race? At the super speedway in Michigan. Unfortunately, with Teo in the lead, he couldn't stop for new tires and fuel because he lost brake pressure.

[@ejpeiker]

Ha, I was at that race!!! :)

[@rodrigofonseca528]

Lindo esses antigos carros da Indy

[@carlosbragatto]

Loved it, Marshall. Just heard yesterday that podcast with Uncle Robin Miller, and you guys mentioned there the Porsche Indycar programme. Would you consider doing a new mini-doc or even a podcast later on the subject of the all carbon fibre March that was banned? Thank you and wishing a good recovery for your wife. Stay Strong!

[@darknessesdarknesses2492]

A mini doc about the banned carbon chassis would be awesome. I wonder what those who were behind the decision would say if interviewed today.

[@MarshallPruett]

Hi Carlos. Great idea! I did a podcast with Tino a year or two ago where we discussed the 90P, but it definitely deserves a deeper piece. marshallpruett.podbean.com/e/mp-321-tino-bellis-career-in-race-car-design-and-engineering/

[@TheSwanlake2009]

my favorite indy car of all time. i was there watching on tv when they won. i was so excited for the Porsche team. but then the Usac got invovled and destroyed everything.

[@darren2514fv]

When Porsche did the Fosters Lager sponsorship for 1990 that deal lead to rumours of a 2 car team with Allan Grice in the second car alongside Teo Fabi with a third car at the Indy 500 with John Andretti driving the Indy 500 only third car

[@clintscroggs65]

I thought this was an interesting topic, so I clicked on the video. Then I realized I was at the Mid-Ohio race mentioned here. I kind of went on a whim and only knew Fabi had won the pole. Then the race was not very exciting. It was clear all day he would win unless some kind of disaster struck. Wish I had realized what I was seeing...

[@lionelrosiere2062]

Fabi one on the more underrated F1 driver, very fast but very unlucky. Porsche is the first european constructor with Ferrari via Alfa in Indycar. The beginning of 90's is a the coming of many european driver in CART and the Golden Era of CART.

[@synaptik111]

Beautiful piece of machinery! Too bad CART went south not too many years later...

[@nicholasmaher9175]

Typical jingoistic not-invented-here CART bigwig attitude, "them boys is too smart, we'll show em" and that rat Penske had more than a helping hand in it. He didn't mind pulling a very similar "fast one" with the rules just 6 or so years later when he invented a one race push-rod Mercedes engine. We all know how that "unsafe" all carbon fiber chassis pholosophy went. Not a centimeter of foresight in the whole bunch of CART team owners, look where it got them. Porsche would have been a great long term competitor and would have enhanced the series long term, as did Toyota and Honda. Think of what the series could have become. CART already rivalled F1 and was more competitive, think of a series that had a BIG 5 or 6 engine manufacturers. Instead we got a cluster fuck of BS. Though what the (merged) series became does now finally have a good product it's only a 2 horse race for engines.

[@ThunderAppeal]

These are all reasons why I dont watch Indy whatever it is nowadays. Havent watched these big motor sports racing in ages. I dont watch NASCAR either, no personality in those races.

[@chipcity3016]

These era of open wheelers both Indy and in F1 were the golden years. It will never be the same again today cars are so over developed so advanced, so regulated it’s become un interesting dare I say boring,

[@chipcity3016]

Cart in the 80's and 90's was a good series. But not as interesting as f1. F1 had more international flavour, where as Cart was more appreciated by Americans for Americans.

[@Decetop]

Say what you will about Penske but he at the very least is better than Tony George just being blatantly xenophobic about not wanting non-American drivers in IndyCar so badly that he caused a split which flushed the sport down the toilet for twenty years at the peak of its popularity. A duo of jackasses no doubt but one is clearly worse.

[@chatruc]

What about the Porsche 2708? Porsche decided to race in IndyCar with its own chassis. Then it was a disaster (Al Unser leave after the first race at Laguna Seca and Al Holbert didn't qualify at Miami), so they switch to March for 1988.

[@mrjasonwhite73]

@Marshall Pruett, what is the music you used for this video?

[@leveskockaa]

I would also like to know :/

[@mrjasonwhite73]

@@leveskockaa It would be awesome grid music

[@1ls376]

I'm aware Cart and F1 are 2 different organizations, but by '90 hadn't F1 gone to a full carbon chassis? McLaren's 1988 MP4, showing a Carbon chassis was up to the job.

[@darkoneforce2]

They all went carbon fibre by 84 or 85. And it dramatically improved F1 safety.

[@erickschmitt1917]

American racing took a huge hit when Al Holbert passed.

[@Eibarwoman]

Understatement, Al Holbert along with the highly similar Alan Kuwicki were two of the best minds at both driving and engineering the cars. Their deaths were even highly similar with both passing in plane crashes. It makes me wonder how far racing would be if neither died.

[@6lemans10]

Hmmmmm.

[@leveskockaa]

Anybody who knows the intro/outro song ?

[@davidfast3511]

I see Leyton House on Teo's helmet at the 1:51 mark, when did he drive for them?

[@andrewarmstrong7254]

He didn't race for them, but may have tested given Akira Akagi owned March at the time.

[@GenoSalvati]

March and Leyton House were together in F1 and, apparently, in Indycar.

[@danielknieriemen8586]

I'd love to see them come back to Indy. Can't help to think Porsche is really missing out in such an important market. Great video Marshall! Keep them coming.

[@aldee7533]

Porsche isn't missing out on a market. Indycar is missing out on a great manufacturer.

[@danielknieriemen8586]

@@aldee7533 Well I think it's a lose - lose situation when it could be win-win. IndyCar continues to grow and Porsche needs to be there. The window is open right now but it will soon close. When will there be another opportunity? Five years?

[@aldee7533]

@@danielknieriemen8586 I don't want to argue. The two builders, Ilmor and Judd won't accept a Goliath to contend.

[@danielknieriemen8586]

@@aldee7533 We're just fans that love the sport, no argument. I think you make a valid point about the engine manufacturers. My question is, when IndyCar continues to grow, at what point do they become stretched too thin?

[@aldee7533]

@@danielknieriemen8586 when they don't have enough engines to power 48-55 legitimate entries at the Speedway. I first went there in '67. I think there were 13 different powerplant configurations that qualified for that race. The rule book was wide open (even allowed for electrics.) A turbocharged car was allowed but never had won. One car had a powerplant that would last 3 seasons before needing a rebuild but it never made much noise... (Car #40). Racing is diseased by the want to contain costs. The written rules end up making racing more expensive... Allowing Porsche back into Indycar would make the '94 Ilmor (called a Mercedes back then) a cheap proposition.

[@TheInkPitOx]

I would like engine variety in IndyCar. No more Honda vs Chevy.

[@jockellis]

Educated Porsche fans even enclosed the word team in commas. Their English teacher’s and profs were made proud.

[@Fmontes]

Fuck that was great.

[@Wrongway1965]

Porsche Had an Indy Car !!??

[@epistte]

@Rainer Werner Mindbinder Bobby Rahal was connected to that can but it only even ran in a few tests, IIRC.

[@mrjasonwhite73]

@Rainer Werner Mindbinder IIRC, That was more of a political ploy so Ferrari could bend F1 to its will.

[@geraldfordman7474]

Not surprising coming from Team Porsche, especially the partnership they made with the Indy Chassis engineer.

[@mak62183]

Back when indycar has some sheeeeit

[@johnnylongfeather3086]

0:52 engine

[@RandyDubin]

Let's hope those heartless bastards normal people call D*** Video don't take down your video for using actual footage of the Mid-Ohio race....

[@vinewood8295]

I was happy for Teo & those guys back then but I really feel like Porsche shoulda cut ties with March & gone with the Lola chassis for 1990. Teo's 89 & 90 season's in comparison were like night & day, he had only 4 DNF's in 89 then 8 in 1990. That 90 car looked like what it was, a heavyass Sherman tank... Had they gone with the 90 Lola, he surely woulda contended for that years PPG Cup along with Unser Jr & Mikey... at least I think so

[@NxDoyle]

Poppin' awn the mic. Puh! Puh! You're in good company. F1 paddock reporter Will Buxton is the worst popper in the business.

[@ThunderAppeal]

I dont know what this fixation is on peoples faces. What is it with these millenials who fixate on reactions.

[@anotheraccount4776]

Indycar is off-brand f1+nascar. Indy car is pathetic