The Porsche 356 is an older Porsche sports car from the early days of the brand. It’s known for being a small, lightweight car with an engine placed in the back. People talk about it a lot because it’s a classic and parts can be important for repairs and restorations.
The Porsche 918 Spyder is a very special Porsche supercar that uses both gas and electricity. It’s known for feeling extremely fast and futuristic—like it can switch from normal driving to “rocket ship” mode quickly.
The “Porsche Experience Centre” is a Porsche visitor attraction. In this story, they’re talking about special access—like paying for a package—to go to a different area.
“GT1 Evo” means an upgraded, later version of a top-level race car in the GT1 category. They’re saying it’s part of the special GT1 display at Le Mans Classic.
Dunlop is a well-known tire brand that’s been involved in racing for a long time. Here, they’re using “the Dunlop bridge” as a reference point around the Le Mans track.
This is how the event organizes cars into numbered groups for the start. In this case, “plateau 8 grid 8” is the section for 1990s GT cars, which is why you hear about the 964 and 993 models.
This is a special Porsche 911 from the 993 generation, built to be fast on track. Here, they’re talking about Paragon Porsche racing’s 993 GT2 Evo and where it placed during the early running at Le Mans Classic.
Mark Sumter is the person driving the Porsche 993 GT2 Evo for Paragon Porsche racing in this segment. They mention him right when they talk about the car’s lap and grid position.
This is the “24-hour” endurance race format—cars run for a full day. Winning depends on strategy and keeping the car running reliably, not just one fast lap.
In endurance racing, cars are often split into different groups (classes). Being a “class winner” means you were the best in your group, even if you weren’t necessarily first overall.
The paddock is the team area at a race where cars are kept between sessions. Fans can often get closer to the cars and see what’s going on behind the scenes.
The McLaren F1 is a famous, very rare supercar. Here it’s brought up because a driver is attending with one, showing how special cars and people gather around Le Mans events.
A “sister car” means a second race car that’s basically the same as the one you’re talking about. It’s used when teams have multiple cars built to the same rules and spec.
Stefan Ortelli is a professional race driver. Here he’s mentioned because the speaker is trying to match which driver raced an identical “sister” car back in the 1990s.
Restrictors are like a built-in limiter on a race car’s engine. They reduce how much air (and therefore power) the engine can make, which can improve reliability and keep cars closer in speed.
Horsepower is how much power the engine can produce. The speaker is saying that at around 650 horsepower, these cars were pushed so hard that they became unreliable.
In racing, “unreliable” means the car breaks or can’t keep running for the whole event. The speaker says the cars couldn’t last when run at that aggressive setup, so they changed the spec.
Place
circuit de la sade
This sounds like the track used for Le Mans in France. The speaker is describing how amazing it feels to race around that circuit, especially at sunset.
Paragon Porsche Club is a group of Porsche fans the speaker mentions while they’re at the event. It’s more about the people and atmosphere than car tech here.
Slipstream is the “draft” you get when you drive close behind another car. The lead car pushes air out of the way, so you don’t have to fight as much wind drag.
A chicane is a part of the track where you have to weave through a couple of turns. It’s usually there to slow cars down and make the driving more technical.
“Different classes” means the race has multiple groups of cars with different rules. That matters because faster cars can catch and pass slower ones during the same race.
A debrief is a short team meeting after a driving segment. The driver and crew talk about what went well, what didn’t, and what they should adjust next.
Racers wear special fire-resistant clothes so that if there’s a fire after a crash, the fabric won’t catch immediately. It gives rescue teams more time to get the driver out safely.
A flow state is when your brain feels totally locked in—like everything clicks and you’re driving on autopilot. Drivers often describe it as being super focused and consistent.
“Gear” just means what speed/ratio the transmission is set to. In a race, picking the right gear helps the car accelerate and stay in the right power range for each corner.
That means the driver uses a fixed distance marker to start slowing down before a corner. Doing it the same way every lap helps the car turn in consistently.
A “night stint” is the part of an endurance race you drive at night. It’s harder to stay focused because visibility and fatigue are tougher, so consistency takes more effort.
Term
holding era
This sounds like a delay period where the race isn’t running normally. When that happens, it can be harder to stay sharp and ready to drive consistently when you get going again.
Term
brake disc glowing
When you brake hard over and over, the brake parts can get so hot they start to glow. It’s a visual clue that the car is working the brakes a lot in that corner.
In a race, an engine problem means the motor isn’t behaving correctly—maybe it’s not running right or something is broken. The team then has to figure out what’s wrong and fix it as quickly as possible so the car can keep racing.
That’s a rule saying you can only have up to four extra lights on the car. If you run more than allowed, officials could penalize you—especially if someone else notices.
FATurbo express is presented here as a motorsport sponsor tied to a delivery company identity in France. The name is used to connect the team’s Porsche to the sponsor’s presence at Le Mans.
Chris Harris is a famous car journalist who’s especially into Porsche. Here, they say he was racing at the Le Mans Classic event and is friends with the person they’re talking about, which is why he’s connected to the FAT car.
In racing, a “livery” is the car’s paint scheme and decals—basically how it looks on track. “FAT livery” means the specific FAT-branded design they were running.
Person
Ferdy
They mention “Ferdy” as someone Chris Harris knows, and later they connect it to Ferdinand Porsche. The point is that this person has a Porsche-heritage link, which makes the message and the car’s branding feel extra meaningful.
Ferdinand Porsche was the influential Austrian-German engineer and founder figure behind Porsche’s early engineering legacy. The host’s mention frames the FAT car’s branding as something that resonates with Porsche enthusiasts because it ties back to that heritage.
“Golden hour” is that beautiful time near sunset when the light looks warm and cinematic. They’re saying the cars looked especially amazing in that lighting.
“Glowing turbos” refers to turbochargers becoming visibly hot enough to glow, typically from exhaust heat during aggressive driving. In endurance racing, this can happen when boost and exhaust temperatures stay high for long periods.
LIVE
This special episode of Nine Wax Radio is brought to you in association with Heritage
Park Centre, your number one destination for all Porsche parts from the 356 to the 997
inclusive get up to 10% off your basket by entering the code Nine Wax10 at the checkout
now at heritagepartcenter.com Hello everybody, welcome to Nine Wax Radio,
we have a guest, it's Mrs Sibs. Mrs K Sibs. The work wife isn't here, we placed it with
Mrs Sibs and Andy's out there somewhere, how are you? I'm alright, how are you? I'm
pleased people have heard your voice on Nine Wax Radio before. They have indeed, intro
and outro. Yes, that's it, if you're ever wondering, who on earth is that promoting
the Nine Wax marketplace at the start of each podcast? It's Mrs Sibs. I know, not quite
as good as Maximilian and he's Caramel Smooth Voice, but good second. So we're here at Le
Solid Day to get here from the UK, how are you feeling about it? I'm excited, it's my
first time here, I don't really know what to expect, I just know there's a lot of cool
cars that I've seen already and yeah, excited to take on the day really. Excellent, for
those unaware, where would you place your Porsche enthusiasm on a scale of where's the
shade to oh my god, is that a 935 K3? Not quite that high, look the reality is, am I
massively into cars? No, I'm not, but can I appreciate them, especially having you as
a husband? Yeah, absolutely. And like even on the way here we've seen some pretty good
cars and I've been saying, oh that looks amazing. So yeah, not super high, but also not zero
either. Excellent, well it's worth people knowing that kind of over the years through
osmosis, you've been slowly indoctrinated in the Porsche brand, shall we kick off by
asking you for a favourite Porsche model? Yes, I'm going to go bullsy, the 918 Spyder
and the reason being is, I think I've said this on a podcast before, is actually I was
really lucky and I was taken out by one of the German technicians and he drove it but
I was in the passenger seat, wow what a car, it was a spaceship, one moment
we're just like putling along the Scottish roads, next thing we're flying and my stomach
was left back at the hotel, so yeah that was great. That's a big flex by the way, that
is a big flex. Favourite Porsche colour? I absolutely adore lava orange, I think it's
really striking, it's not the most classic colour for people to have but I just think
it looks incredible on the road, especially in the summer. It's a beautiful colour, I
love that but that's for sentimental reasons but in terms of catching my eye it's always
lava orange, though I do like maritime blue as well. Love that, love
more colours than I do, more finish off with Porsche legend. It has to be for pure relationship
Tony Hatter, what a man, what a dude, so knowledgeable, he's got so many stories as well and he's
such a gentleman, love him, big love. Yeah big time, what I really love about that is
every time I'm on the phone to Tony when we sign off he always asks how you are and to
pass on his regards which is a sign of a beautiful man, so okay happy days, well look we are
here with the Paragon Porsche team and some clients called Paragon Porsche Club Loosely
I guess this is, so we'll get stuck into what is going to be a very full on day here at
Circuit de la Sartre following Marc Sumter in I think yeah Group 8 but there's plenty to see
here so we'll get stuck in and we'll take you, dearest listeners, along for the ride.
While we wait for the next set of racing to come out on what is a blisteringly hot day here at
Circuit de la Sartre, I'm just going to give some feedback on what we've seen so far so I had
little meet up with the Driven Not Hidden Collective that was lovely and the general
consensus from the group, I should have got someone to talk into the mic for this but the
general consensus from the group is Le Mans Classic this year is around 30% quieter than
previous years which has been good where it means nobody's had to queue for anything you know
food, loo, beer, no queues which has been lovely as I said it has been stiflingly hot but the show
has gone on it's been really well organized the racing has been fantastic as well good to visit
the Porsche Experience Centre just now as well it's the usual isn't it you flash a key if you
want to sit upstairs you have to spend 200 euros on a package of lunch which is madness
obviously but what was really cool downstairs in the lobby and then in the outside sort of
garden area as it is at Le Mans Classic a GT1 Ensemble and all of them as well you had the
993 with the original livery that Tony had to design and then the GT1 Evo as well so really cool
any case the racing's about to get back underway under the beating sun here at Le Mans so we'll
check in a little bit later on what a soundtrack as we sit just by the Dunlop
bridge I'll turn this off now we'll check in a little bit later on okay so that was lap one of
plateau 8 grid 8 which is GT cars of the 90s so you got 964 RS, 993 RS, 993 GT2 which is the car of
interest for us this year Mark Sumter at Paragon Porsche racing his 993 GT2 Evo in there that
was lap one here at Le Mans at 4 grid 8 so we'll check in a little bit later on here at Le Mans
Classic 2026 well it's quarter to four in the morning we're at Indianapolis and I'm with
Jay from Paragon hello everybody I hope you're sleeping well I think this is the latest or
possibly earliest interview I've ever done on Nox radio Jay how are you feeling well there's a
sounds incredible a blonde a blonde from Essex at quarter four in the morning
it's some time it's lost in the midst of time well you've put a shift in I had to run Mrs
Sibs back to the ranch but you've done you know a solid 18 hours here so far and yeah you've been
you've been in your element what is it about Le Mans and particularly Le Mans Classic that brings
you back I have a feeling that might just be answered by the sound in the background again the second
F1 McLaren I shouldn't be talking about F1 McLaren's oh here's something far better
lovely mesca beautiful lovely mesca yeah yeah yeah we better not get off on that kick right now
um mate it's just for me it's the atmosphere of this place it's all of the history you know it's
over a hundred years of it here it's the core of what we love our Porsches and my god you know you
see the depth of of race cars around here that all wear that Stuttgart badge and it's just magnificent
so I don't know there's I love coming down here I love the camaraderie of it I love the enthusiasm
that is shown I love the different ages of people I mean you know our gang this time we've got people
between 16 and they probably wouldn't care to mention but 70 something and it's just you know
everyone's loving it so you know yeah that's it could also bring your friends along as you said
because it's you know kind of um customers past and present really to be here well customers
passed out at the moment because it's only you and me that are left here mate we're that we're the
hardcore thanks for inviting us for this first year of um Pericom Porsche Club I guess is is what
you're calling it I hope that sort of um you know gain some ground and keeps trundling on or whatever
it was formed particularly for this but we're hoping to do a few more things away days away
trips and stuff with customers there's more
well look you've done really well now I know you're a seasoned pro at Le Mans the 24 hour
and the classic but um yeah having a microphone thrust in front of you at quarter to four in
the morning after 18 hours in a dusty field is pretty exceptional mate so it's always been
it's fantastic it's been lovely to have you along lovely to have Laura along and lovely to bump into
a lot of the nine works guys down here as well our bunch into people on the way down in petrol
stations and all that sort of stuff it's you know the shared amount of fun that's been had I think
has been pretty bloody special we'll let you sign off Jason yeah thanks very much for your time
ah it's a great pleasure mate great pleasure cheers dude
Mark Sumter class winner at Le Mans right it's good isn't it it's incredible that's incredible
congratulations I actually got on the podium as well it's just good we need to photoshop a big
crowd of people because there was a bit too much tarmac beneath me but I'm sure we can do that you
know yeah no it's fantastic thank you first of all for inviting us along fabulous weekend it's been so
good it's been really nice watching like having a vested interest in the outcome of a couple of
these races as well I mean you know now it's easy to say that was the right thing to do on Friday I
thought it's another added pressure you know because obviously you know I think the 25 of you
come down bit of added pressure did you feel that really yeah definitely because we I think
I wouldn't normally but we'd had a I only did two laps at Spa which was our last meeting so you
sort of you only you know you remember your last meeting and it didn't go well so it's nice to
bounce back with some success yeah yeah no you've definitely put on a show for us and everybody else
attending word kind of gone around they're driven or hidden collective as well plenty of people
looking out for you yeah I've had a few messages actually it's really nice yeah really really nice
let's look at things a bit more holistically if you don't mind when I say Le Mans what does that
mean to you for me the Le Mans my era was was the car I'm driving so it's it's pretty fortunate
really I mean I you know I I really was properly nerdy with Le Mans in the 90s it meant everything
to me you know obviously I love GT2 GT1 and probably 94 when Porsche won both the classes
with the you know with the 964 RSR as well so that way that was pretty cool so it's it's great
for me to be in this paddock you know it really is a massive privilege in the classic I think
whether you're driving or spectating I think that's the big appeal of the classic is it takes
everybody back in time yeah I mean the whole ethos of of of this the organisers basically the
cars of the stars but we're lucky enough to be driving the cars this weekend but people come to
see the cars in my paddock we're also lucky to have a few stars as well so we had Emmanuel Collard
you know driving a McLaren F1 so that's pretty cool but yeah it's people come to see the cars
and it's great to see the enthusiasm and people that have come up to me and told me things about
my car I didn't know you know so then there's a lot of knowledge out there
we go down to the collecting area about 45 minutes before each race and I had 10 minutes to chat to
Emmanuel Collard and he was telling me I didn't know but he said oh I I raced a sister car so
when my car was new in 1995 and he said I think I raced your car and then we were looking I said
no you didn't race this he said our race was Stefan Ortelli and it was a identical car and I said
yeah there were two cars yeah so you know I didn't know that he raced a sister car but you know he
was really enthusing about my car and this is a guy that's that's raced everything and was racing
a McLaren F1 this weekend so this might get edited out if it's wrong but um I was explaining to
Laura a couple of days ago about like you know history of Le Mans briefly and we got on to the
flipping Mercedes yeah and I showed Laura the footage and I said I'm sure that's Mark's car
in the background just right it is yeah yeah it was yeah yeah because my car did it did Le Mans
four times so it did it it was actually it was it there were three cars because Porsche didn't
have a GT1 in 95 so um Labra convinced Porsche to do a GT1 spec car so my car was actually born as a
GT1 it's confusing whether it's called a GT2 EVO but there were three EVOs so they they they raced
them without any restrictors and they had wider track and different things but they were actually
competing against the McLaren F1s you know so so um you know and then and my car was doing really
well and it but it rained a lot in 95 and and one of the drivers had an accident in the middle of
the night they soon realized that that actually running those cars at sort of 650 horsepower
was just too much so they were so unreliable that within two or three races they they pegged them
all back and ran all the cars as GT2s but yeah originally it was actually a GT1 wow but then it
went on to do obviously championships as well as Le Mans but it it went to Le Mans three more
you know went 96, 708 so it's done Le Mans four times so you know I feel like I've got a piece
of history and I feel sort of quite responsible to look after it you know that was absolutely
going to be my next question was that you know you're you're as as much as a racing driver you
know you are an enthusiast as well so you know do you do you feel that history when you climb
by there especially at a storied racetrack like Le Mans it means so much more to me than you know
I could drive the same car that could have been built last month and probably would be slightly
better because it would be all brand new but it really when I sit in the car I just feel like
I'm adding to the history as well you know I mean in years to come someone goes this funny who was
this guy into you know 2026 that won a couple of races in it or whatever but it's um you know you do
feel like that and and the two out of the three drivers have approached me and talked about driving
the car as well so it's fantastic that is mega and and I have to say so standing with Jay and a
couple of other the guys and girls from the Paragon Porsche Club was your first race Saturday
evening sun setting and I said to Jay I just don't think it gets any better than that racing
round circuit de la sade to a setting sun it's absolutely amazing I mean I had to try to think
which my brain's a bit frazzled but so forgive me but I think it was qualifying on Friday night
that I just had this thing I'll never ever forget it I had probably a minute and a half of
so I would we've done our lap really and there was about two or three minutes left in qualifying
and I'm coming on to the more sun and I can see these lights in my mirror and you can sort of tell
if a car is approaching and you can sort you can guess roughly what type of car is from the
attitude of the the dartiness of these lights and I looked and I thought this is good and I
kept it over to the left and it was collard and he was in the McLaren F1 the Lark McLaren F1
and he went past me and the noise was immense and I tucked straight under his rear wing and
actually you can feel the car accelerate a bit because you're in his wake and then I did obviously
he was pulling away from me but I did the first chicane second chicane and then through to Indian
apolis by the time I got to the Porsche Curves he's gone but I did half a lap under the you know
back of a driver that I love and a car that I love and you know it's it's one of those things
you've got the best seat in the house yeah that I was literally gonna say that it's the best seat
in the house yeah and that's one of those things you think I'll bank that that's a really good memory
yeah yeah yeah and then does your brain go by I'm actually also qualifying yeah you know that's
when I just became the biggest nerdy enthusiast for that moment yeah just driving and really grinning
in my crush helmet really enjoying it that's so good so good can we talk about the intricacies
of like again you know what you've done so for those that don't know the the Le Mans classic
it's kind of the spirit of the 24 hour so the racing goes through the night but it's like
lots of like different classes and it's like a relay really yeah I guess but like you know so with
you scheduled it was a slight delay wasn't it but scheduled race one was quarter to nine on the
Saturday evening which is not a great slot because a lot of cars have been going round and you always
want to get in and get started yeah well I just thought that is the best time of day to race again
with a setting start yeah yeah but I'd like to have had a warm-up at lunchtime just so you
feel like you're in the you know you get up have breakfast and then you've got a whole day before
you're getting in the car okay because this is kind of where where I want to go so you've had
that quarter to nine so it's about 50 minutes wasn't it yeah and then your race two again
scheduled was just after 2 a.m yeah so by the time you've came in I think again there was a slight
delay in the evening so you've kind of came back in half 11 ish yeah yeah yeah so you've got three
hours yeah so you have a bit of a debrief and all of a sudden you've only got two hours yeah
and then I've got friends in other races so you want to sort of check in see how they're doing
it goes really quickly yeah so no time to sleep I just changed you you know I
sweat a bit in the car so you change your fireproof I actually changed my to bought two sets of overalls
I changed into some dry because it gets cold otherwise you go off and I went to drivers club
which a bit quieter and had a coffee and stuff like that you can't be late obviously and you're
always looking at your watch you know so you're almost better just to get back to the car because
otherwise you're always thinking oh I don't want to get delayed or forget something you know so
you've made a conscious decision there to not to not sleep like yeah I'll be curious to know if
any that you know if any other drivers is there a different approach so they try and get a 45 minute
nap or yeah yeah I mean I was I'm good friends with Joe McCarrie that's that's racing Maserati's
and Ferrari's and he's the most laid-back he's the last person to turn up you know they're always
shouting where's Joe where's Joe you know he gets back into his shorts and goes back to his camper
and but I just can't do that I faff around too much I worry that I haven't got my glasses I haven't
got my ear you know so I just I like to lay everything out and just be and I also enjoy
being around the mechanics in the car really okay because the the the discipline is similar to the
24 hour where there's you know you've got drivers doing stints they go well I've got
you know four and a bit hours so what do I do so it is kind of similar isn't I guess Jay and I were
two man behind me I called it watching you we went to like Indianapolis at the time and our
nars around there and I just felt you were mist consistent every lap was the same it's like a
flow state I don't know if you could do loads of testing you could try different things I said to
Jay if I came back here next week there's one or two corners where I would maybe try different gear
or something but you've almost locked in once you've qualified and you sort of know what you can do
it's not the time to be testing different things yeah I was definitely I picked up some speed like
today I was really pleased that I picked up a couple of seconds and I know exactly what it was
and it was something that was bugging me your Porsche curves is the hard you know you can learn
three quarters of this circuit quite quickly I mean there's always time but you know you can learn
it and you can be quite good at it quite quickly but the the entry to Porsche curves there's basically
one line through that whole thing and it just you just need to go through it 50 more times or
something to get that right but today I definitely picked up some time picked up a couple of seconds
which is quite a lot really but I had the freedom of not having to you know wasn't really racing or
defending today I had a bit of free air and I just thought I'm just going to try a few things so
that's quite good but but yeah it's you just keep hitting your spots I'm pretty good at doing that
type of thing I know you know once I know it's you brake at 180 meters I can do that every lap
I'm pretty good at that and the car's really consistent it's a beautiful car to drive I'm
just wondering again like and I'm feeding into the discipline of the whole approach this weekend
you've had to have and choosing to not have that sleep between the the you know your first two races
as an example you know there's obviously a spike of adrenaline when you're at the wheel right but
like how how as I'm talking about that race too you're racing in the dead of night you know how
difficult is it to maintain that concentration to be that consistent I definitely think that that one
you know we because we were in the holding era for nearly an hour because it was delayed a little
bit and that was somewhere where you I did sort of have some long blinks and you're thinking and
you don't want to be you know that relaxed you want to keep keep buzzing sort of thing I had to
sort of take some deep breaths and sort of really think about the first few laps as soon as the
adrenaline enters your body you're back into you know you're hitting all your marks and doing it
correctly but that's probably the first lap of that night stint was the one where you happen to
think a bit more than it didn't come as naturally as you'd hope yeah okay but yeah it was once you
get going it's just the adrenaline comes in and and it's good yeah from a viewing point of view
such a spectacle mark because you know you've got as the cars are coming into the corner where we were
you know brake disc glowing your car spitting flames from back it's just incredible to look at
quite dramatic cars yeah it is it is you know and obviously like with its looks as well it's so
storied it's interesting as well with the crossover between the race car and the road car obviously
like behind us there as well that feels like a Cadillac today driving that car yeah I totally
bet yeah a little pussycat by comparison you know after you know like race race three and your result
is confirmed you know like again kind of going back to the first question how does that feel you
do you know because we'd had some technical problems and the the team really have been
under the cost to turn the car around we had a major engine problem after spa and by the time
we'd sort of got the parts we had like 10 days to do the whole thing and test it and then get it
shipped over here so I felt just really I actually felt quite emotional for the team because you race
with the guys I could see how nervous they were on Friday okay and and today they're just the
whole atmosphere is like and I felt really proud of what they've done and felt really good for them
so I felt more pleased for them than myself in a way my bit was quite easy yeah okay but they've
done such a good job to turn it around so quickly and you know they've been under stress yes stressful
it's you know it really is a team effort but I've said to my main guy Lewis is the main
mechanic today I said I think where we're good is we just look at what's ahead of us so when we
had the problem with the engine we'd fix that and we just take it one step at a time and then we
did Friday qualifying we did Saturday you know we do the races so we're not thinking of we just
this is our job in front of us do that and then do the next thing so I think you've got to be a bit
like that about it was it's very gracious of you and and also really lovely to kind of point that out
you know the many people that make that happen I wandered over to the car in the paddocks about
1am and I believe it was Lewis there apologies because I hadn't hadn't met him but it was tinkering
you know and that is yeah they say it's very much a team effort right yeah yeah I mean I looked
through he had like a checklist and you know I'd never really seen it at other race meetings but
there's like 20 things on there and he's crossed through them and he's making notes about everything
and you know yeah it's good and he's still having to deal with like things that I don't even like the
scrutineer and you know other technical things that he has to get through over the weekend to make
sure that we don't drop the ball you know we get used to our own championship and the Le Mans classic
has slightly different rules so we just have to make sure that we conform to that on Friday night
we had four extra auxiliary lights who had some pointing at apexes and some pointing forwards
and he noticed in the rule that actually you only allow the maximum of four lights so he checked
that with the scrutineer off his own back and you know that that could have we could have lost a race
you know if another team you know it's quite friendly but they still want to win so if someone
had spotted that and taken that to a scrutineer we could have lost a result for having just two
extra lights on the car so he's on it there yeah so that's that's you know so that's
it's nice to know that he's on it can we finish obviously wearing these lovely t-shirts can we
talk about the the FAT yeah I mean it's I actually met the guys that had fat so it was FATurbo express
they were a delivery company French like a DHL if you like in France so I met the brothers that
originally owned and started the company and they're just motorsport fans so they I think
they've been coming to Le Mans definitely since the 80s maybe in the late 70s and all the way through
to they were still sponsoring Labra a few years ago but not under the FAT thing they they they
just wanted to be part of the team they ended up calling themselves the champagne club so just
just so they could be have some hospitality and be part of the team so I was lucky enough to have
a another Porsche with it which happened to be a FAT turbo sponsored car so I got to know them
then which was sort of 2008 when we came over and did a support race at Le Mans and then when
they they they wound the company up about 10 years ago Ferdy Porsche so Ferdinand's grandson
he's mid 30s and he is whenever he came to Le Mans he for some reason he it really stuck in his
mind and he loved the FAT logo so he bought the rights to the logo and not not the business but
just the the rights to the logo and all the history and it's now become quite a more famous now
than it was in period yeah so it's cool you know and obviously Chris Harris has been racing this
weekend and he's good friends with Ferdy so he's always wearing all the FAT livery and and stuff
so yeah I love you know the look the thing I'm quite proud to drive the FAT car and he always
comments on it you know which is it's nice to get a message from him a congratulation yeah from
Ferdinand Porsche basically it's pretty cool yeah please you're right like the the brand is really
from a Porsche enthusiast point of views really come into our conscience yeah and you know yes
lovely sit on your car and rock rock the t-shirt to be honest I know it's time for some supper a big
congratulations on your exploit at Le Mans it's our pleasure so thank you very much and so to the end
of a fabulous weekend Mrs Sibbs is back in the building thank you to Jay and Mark for jumping
on the podcast earlier on as well a lot for in their thoughts been really good with a conversation
that we've just heard with Mark from the driver's side we'll kind of wrap this podcast up with a
view from the spectators for those that saw all of it and some of it yeah absolutely what were
your highlights of Le Mans Classic 2026 there were a few actually that I would like to discuss
objectively so that's a very good question I think the highlight for me and I can only imagine what
it would have been like to be behind the wheel as Mark just mentioned but watching grid nine or
it was grid eight of beg your pardon sunset on the Saturday night as the sun just dipped beneath
the trees and this went on from yeah the racer started a quarter to nine round to about 20 to 10
just pure golden hour looks amazing that was just such a spectacle the other thing I'd like to mention
is as Jay and I then watch the cars into the wee hours group see at night wow wow wow I said to Jay
these things are like mechanical wildebeests running off into the night they I mean they're so
you know low wide aggressive things they sound aggressive as well and that's just in the day
in the night you've got the added drama of like glowing brake discs flame spitting out the back
of the car glowing turbos amazing to see a bit of a transportation back in time
it felt like the 70s 80s lots of sounds attached to it as well aggressive transmission wine banging
back down the gears coming up to the corner and then accelerating out popping and spitting away
that was awesome and then the other thing I've just written down here is about the enthusiasm that I
saw okay not only from people like yourself who were battling that heat and we both said didn't
we there's a lot of people walking around like zombies it was relentless wasn't it and the
thing is there wasn't a great deal of shade either so every tree that was planted around the race
so many people were huddled under just trying to get a little bit of respite from it just the very
fact that those people and I've no idea on numbers on the event you know the very fact that that a
number of people turned up I thought was incredible because it was mid to late 30s yeah real commitment
and I suppose like you said the enthusiasm to want to be there yeah regardless of that heat
yeah yeah pretty impressive absolutely and then again down at Arnard's in the early hours of
the morning temperature dropped there my fingertips went numb did they it was it was nippy it was
really really nippy and then as Jay and I were leaving which was getting you know it was the
back end of huffpass four there was a couple lying down on the banking in sleeping bags propped up
yeah so they could just stay where they were and watch the racing as the sun came up I just thought
that's incredible you know and the enthusiasm for these you know old cars is objectively what
they are yeah I thought that was really special crowd wise actually as well numbers place didn't
feel quiet to me at all don't know what you've felt going back to what you said earlier I wonder if
actually that percentage was lower because of the heat and people just didn't want to do it yeah
alongside the fact that where it's every year now maybe it waters it the experience down a little
bit for summer I don't know but I found it was great you know no cues for food bar lose anything
like that so attend attendance slightly down so I'm told and again you know Mark mentioned in the
conversation just now you know the grid possibly a little bit quiet I'd like a few more cars on
there to compete with but I kind of I didn't feel like I was shortchanged in terms of what I was
seeing out on track at any point it was a really well-run event the only thing I would say is a
dash of soap in the lose wouldn't go miss to be honest you know true very true hygiene and what
not but um yeah aside from that that's that's kind of it really I thought it was a fabulous weekend
I won't do them on classic 2027 because where they've split the categories down into the older stuff
it's not for me but I would very much like to return in 2028 with the driven or hidden collective
with you Mrs S if you're up for it yeah absolutely how about you for a highlight I know there's a
little bit left field but I really enjoyed the NASCAR racing that was a really cool experience
and something I've never experienced before I don't know if I'll see it again but that was a
really cool thing to do and thank you to Paracom Porsche for the invite as well as I never would
have seen it yeah yeah it was great wasn't it we said before the race of course this is going to
be interesting seeing NASCAR because they're not known for going around corners oh my god they were
terrible true to form they didn't go around any corners did they actually where we were sat at
the grandstand there were a few tasty curves there weren't there and they are trying to get
around them and so many people just missing the line left right centre straight over I think that's
what made exciting though because you just didn't know what was going to happen I loved it I've
as you know you well know I've bucket list thing for me is to go to Florida yeah and see some NASCAR
100% yeah so to have NASCAR come to us essentially in Europe yeah absolutely pretty damn rad yeah
yeah it was we've seen a few driven not hitting stickers and people that came up recognising the
car and saying it's so nice to see it back on the road and actually you had someone comment on
Instagram didn't you saying it's so nice to see this car in my country as well which is brilliant
kind of stepping away from the track so to speak obviously Paracom brought us all out which was so
lovely and a real highlight for me was meeting everyone that was there with us yeah some incredible
stories both personal and about their cars and for me I'm a real people person so actually
sitting down and getting to know them was really cool and a real big highlight for me but also
I suppose plug in you a little bit seeing people come up to you and say it's been so nice to see
little Irish again so nice to see you I saw the car here I'm I'm pleased I've got to see you in
person that was really cool to see as well yeah yeah nice I collect the bronze medal at home behind
the dog and you so it's nice to uh nice to extract some value as we go about this
planet so oh dear it's fair to say isn't it you know you wouldn't put motorsport at top of your
list of things to do in in your past time to be honest I'm the typical back then oh 9-11's all
at the same um whereas now that's not the case you know through proxy I've learned a lot of
information still nowhere near as some of the enthusiasts out there including yourself but
I think I know more than your average joe and that definitely helps give me or joe lean
it gives me more respect for them more understanding for them and more appreciation for them yeah I
think I could hold my own in a conversation so it's definitely it's definitely a lot better
than what it was I think it's a you know a decent question to ask as a follow-up really is yeah where
it's kind of not top of the pile for you in terms of interests there was probably a little bit of
maybe apprehension from my side as to how you'd get on you know you know I said to you you know
what is what is Le Mans it's a dusty racetrack we did go into the old town which by the way
if you've not done it yet then please do it and it's amazing amount of people that have been to
Le Mans classic in the 24 hour that haven't been into town yeah definitely go in yeah really pretty
really pretty little place but I think you said at some point over the weekend there's actually
more to do at the event than you perhaps anticipated yeah I think you sold it sure if I'm completely
honest with you because I remember when Paragon reached out and said you know would Laura like to
come and you even said to me it's not something you're gonna want to do and I even I said to you
then actually I kind of think I do and yeah I wasn't expecting it to be like a mini festival
which I think essentially that's what it is on the outskirts of a racetrack you know there was music
there was food there was bars a great crowd so actually even if you're not a massive motorsport
enthusiast there's so much to do there and you know something you always say you come for the
Porsches and you stay for the people yeah and you know we got to see so many people and catch up
and that makes it all worth it really good okay yeah there was I saw a lot of like father and
sons there that we know from the collective you know Paolo for example and his son Tim was there
with his son Ollie we had Tom from Paragon Porsche Club there with his son I think Ben which was
obviously yeah really lovely to see and yeah I think maybe your experience this weekend has shown
that yeah if you want to get other members of the family involved it won't go south no no and
actually there were a lot of wives girlfriends partners there as well I just think for the ladies
that are listening don't wear your best clobber because you are going to get filthy yeah yeah
get sensible walking shoes that's not to say that you know wives and girlfriends and daughters
aren't interested in motorsport I'm saying that you know the point to be made is if you
have partners or daughters or whatever it is who aren't interested in motorsport it doesn't
necessarily mean you shouldn't bring them exactly you know so excellent all right we'll wrap it up
then so thanks for listening to Nine Works Radio from the boss and the bronze medal will you know it
okay we'll catch you in another episode see bye everyone this episode is brought to you by the
driven not hidden collective if you'd like to join the DNHC and unlock unique new experiences with
your Porsche visit NineWorks.co.uk forward slash join you can also support us by leaving a five
star review on your favorite podcast app and google reviews
About this episode
Lava orange, late-night endurance, and a 918 Spyder ride that feels like “a spaceship” set the tone for a Le Mans Classic 2026 weekend. Hosts and guests compare paddock and grid atmosphere, explain the 90s GT grouping (including Paragon Porsche’s Mark Sumter in a 993 GT2 Evo), and dig into why GT1-to-GT2 EVO changes happened after reliability issues. The conversation also covers Porsche Experience Centre access, scrutineering details, and the vivid spectacle of glowing brakes and turbos at night.
The smell of high-octane fuel, the echoes of flat-sixes down the Mulsanne Straight, and the absolute pinnacle of historic motorsport. Welcome to our Le Mans Classic 2026 Special!
In this very special episode of 9WERKS Radio, we pack our bags and head across the Channel to the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe. We had the immense privilege of embedded access with the team at Paragon Porsche to follow a truly thrilling campaign: Mark Sumpter piloting his iconic, fire-breathing Porsche 993 GT2 Evo to a spectacular class victory. We take you behind the pit wall to experience the tension, the strategy, and the raw emotion of winning at Le Mans.
But the track action didn’t stop there. The 2026 event delivered an absolute sensory overload of motorsport royalty. We get up close and personal with the ultimate legends of endurance racing, tracking the sights and sounds of the homologation-special Porsche and McLaren GT1s, screaming 993 and 964 RSRs, and the legendary water-cooled 996 GT3 RS and Cup cars. Plus, we look back at the thunderous Group C era, the iconic 917s, and the modern-classic monsters of LMP1.
Whether you were there trackside or want to live the weekend vicariously through us, grab your headphones, turn up the volume, and join us for the ultimate celebration of Porsche motorsport heritage.
Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
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