Throwback Thursday: Al Holbert’s Iconic Lowenbrau Special Porsche 962

The No. 14 Lowenbrau Special was not the first Porsche 962 to participate in IMSA GTP competition, but it’s definitely the best known and most successful.

The 962 – a built-for-America version of the successful Porsche 956 – made its competition debut at Daytona in 1984. Mario Andretti put the all-white car on the pole, and joined his son Michael in a competitive run cut short after only a few hours due to transmission problems traced to lack of heat shielding in the turbocharger.

Al Holbert’s first Porsche 962 debuted early in the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with the blue and white No. 14 adorned with gold trim and Lowenbrau Special logos – a look the team would carry through the 1987 season. Holbert and Derek Bell won Round 9 at Mid-Ohio, and added victories at Watkins Glen, Road America, Pocono Raceway and the Daytona Finale. 

“I just fell into that ride, and it turned out to be one of the most amazing things that happen in one’s life,” Bell said. “Al and I had driven at Le Mans together in Porsche 924 Carrera GTS. Our relationship developed from there. He asked me to come over and drive with him, and Lowenbrau came around at the same time. That was it. The car – and his whole team – was just perfect. Never any hassle. I remember having only one incident – when I got the car upside-down in testing at Sears Point – and we won a heck of a lot of races. It was definitely the major part of my American racing career. It was a very, very major part of my 40-odd-year career.”For 1985, the Porsche 962 was the car to beat – and Holbert Racing the team to beat. Holbert and Bell sandwiched a victory at Miami between seconds in the endurance classics at Daytona and Sebring. Two races later, the team went on a streak, winning five of the next six races. Holbert and Bell added late-season victories at Pocono and Watkins Glen to finish 1-2 in the championship.The 1986 season began with a victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Five additional triumphs helped Holbert capture his second straight title for crew chief Kevin Doran.

Holbert cut back his driving in 1987, and brought in Chip Robinson as the main driver of the Lowenbrau Special. Robinson already drove an iconic sports car, the No. 44 Group 44 Jaguar.

“I loved the car,” Robinson said. “It was one of the best-looking cars out there. When you still see it, it looks so good. Great graphics, great colors, even the lines of the car itself. It’s a great-looking car.“I had been driving against Al in the Group 44 Jag, and I knew Al was going to cut back on his driving because of his involvement in the Porsche IndyCar program,” Robinson said. “Group 44 was cutting back its schedule for 1987, so there was an opening and that’s how it went.”Holbert stepped up in the 1987 Rolex 24, joining Robinson, Bell and Al Unser Jr. in winning the event for the second straight year. Robinson added victories at San Antonio and Portland to give the Lowenbrau Special Porsche 962 its third consecutive title.For 1988, Miller Brewing opted to change the car’s paint scheme, with Holbert reluctantly switching the No. 14 to Miller High Life gold. That wasn’t the only change, with new GTPs from Nissan and Jaguar altering the IMSA landscape. Geoff Brabham won eight straight races and the title in a Nissan, while Robinson finished eighth in the final standings. It was a year of tragedy for the team, with Holbert perishing in a crash of his private plane on the eve of the race at Columbus, Ohio.The Lowenbrau Special had a final appearance, taking a lap of honor prior to the 1989 Rolex 24. American sports car pioneer Bob Holbert was at the wheel of the car made famous by his son. Ironically, Jim Busby’s Porsche 962 went on to win the race in the Miller High Life colors. Busby also entered a Kevin Doran prepared ex-Holbert 962 for Mario and Michael Andretti, but the car failed to finish.