 Porsche 2
kfz-tech.de/PAR216
Let’s jump straight to 1988 and take a look at the first 911 (Model 964) with all-wheel drive (Carrera 4). It wasn't related to the future Turbo yet. It transmitted its enormous power 'only' to
the rear axle. The first Carrera 2 built on the success achieved at the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally.
An air-cooled 3.2-liter six-cylinder engine producing 169 kW (230 hp) powered the 953 model, which had about 25 centimeters of ground clearance. It wasn't Jacky Ickx's team that took the victory, but the two Frenchmen
René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne. Incidentally, they won the "Cars" category again two years later with the Porsche 911/959 (pictured above).
Everything seemed to be fraught with difficulties for the three Porsche cars competing in this rally; there appeared to be no possibility of recovery. Whether or not you finish the rally successfully depends more than half on
the circumstances and consequently less on the drivers' skill.
The challenge involved covering 12,000 kilometers across 7 African countries in 16 days in the categories 'Cars', 'Motorcycles', 'Trucks', and, more recently, 'Quads', with 500,000 liters of fuel and 55 tons of food for 1,200
people. For Jacky Ickx, that wasn't his first trip to Algeria during the rally in January 1985. He had already spent two months preparing the three Porsches here.
Before the actual sandy desert, there are stretches of gravel roads that the average driver can't even imagine. Where, provided you have enough ground clearance and four-wheel drive, you might be able to
venture forward at a snail’s pace, the rally drivers, especially those in the Bykes and Cars, push their vehicles to the limit without mercy, as if they were on a normal country road.
It's hard to believe, but motorcycle sidecars and two-wheel-drive vehicles also take part in a rally like this. Of course, a lot of things break down without a service vehicle nearby. Driving well over 100 kilometers with a flat tire
is not uncommon. Of course, that significantly reduces the cruising speed.
The Porsches performed respectably, though they were initially unable to challenge the leading Range Rovers or the Lada Niva (!), which was powered by Chrysler technology. As the desert approached, speeds
increased, sometimes exceeding 200 km/h. One had to admire the Enduro riders even more, as their speed was noticeably slower than that of the cars only on the straights.
The defects remained faithful to Jacky Ickx and his co-pilot. The electrical system failed completely twice, the last time without any technical assistance. What a wonder, the two of them made it to the checkpoint in 139th (!)
place. After a night at -5°C and, hopefully, a successful repair, the team faced the prospect of inhaling endless amounts of dust the next day before the frequent overtaking.
Anyone who thinks this rally takes place on roads or trails is sorely mistaken. Only a compass and a 'prayer book' show the way. This is where the passenger plays a particularly important role. The prayer book for a rally
through the desert probably looks a little different than usual. After all, how are you supposed to calculate turn radii and predict jumps when the course goes cross-country?
Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur's Porsche seemed to be back in working order. In any case, the team managed to climb a whopping 60 spots. By the way, it’s not just cars that suffer serious damage, people do too,
for example, in accidents. It's a good thing the helicopters weren't just there to take those fabulous aerial shots. The camel, the desert’s primary means of transportation, demonstrates that slow or
steady movement is the most suitable.
Once again, you have to admire the Enduro riders. Without a controlling passenger, completely on his own, with unicycle propulsion through the loose sand of the highest dunes in Africa. No chance for sitting comfortably.
Very often, they have to stand on their pedals or take a few steps to free their bike from the deep sand or get it back on track.
Toward the end of the rally, Jacky Ickx had fought his way up to 10th (!) place thanks to several stage wins. BMW led the motorcycles, and Mercedes led the trucks. That’s how the final result turned out, except that Ickx wasn’t
the top Porsche driver. Perhaps he found some consolation later in the fact that he won the rally with Mercedes the following year (and, incidentally, the year before that as well).br>
Almost as unbelievable as these results was the performance of two rear-wheel-drive vehicles. There was the rear-wheel-driven Opel Manta of the Belgian Colsoul, who won three stages, and the
front-wheel-driven Citroën Visa of the Frenchman Lacaze, who won the 17th stage. The former finished fourth in the overall classification, while the latter finished eighth.
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