Patrick Long on Driving a Porsche 962PorscheAs a works driver for the Porsche factory, American Patrick Long has class wins at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring, among many other tracks. Since transitioning to vintage racing after the 2018 season, he has had a chance to drive all kinds of really cool cars from many different eras. At last week's Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, he drove seemingly everything in the paddock."I drove five cars in five classes: front-engine, rear-engine, naturally aspirated, turbo, V8, flat-six, right-hand drive, left-hand drive, and even, of my two right-hand drive cars, one I shifted on the left, and the other I shifted on the right. Some of my cars had sequential shifters, some had H-pattern, it was crazy."PorscheCan he name them off, the cars he drove at last week's Rolex?AdvertisementAdvertisement"From the top down I raced: a 1969 Shelby 302 Boss Mustang; 1977 IROC Camaro for Bill Warner that was a lotta fun; you know the list of characters that were out there: Scott Pruett, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, I was so honored to be out there; and then my three Porsches: 935 K4, 962 Jagermeister car; and my first IMSA car that I did a whole season in, the 2004 Porsche RSR."Had he ever driven a 962 before?"I've raced quite a few 962s. I recently raced the Leyton House Kremer car for Tom Malloy and we were able to win the Monterey Reunion and the Rennsport Reunion and also the Long Beach Grand Prix. We had that car really tuned up. And before that I had run 962 #001 for the factory, which would be the Andretti/Andretti car, [and the] 009, which was a Stuck supercar. Both of those cars were done by the factory and so were brand-new top-to-bottom. So since 2007 I've been in and out of different 962s. We won Rennsport in the Miller High Life 962, an Al Hobert car. I've been involved in the development of those cars and just loved driving them."PorscheWhat was it like, driving all those 962s?AdvertisementAdvertisement"They're such a race car driver's dream because they can do pretty much whatever your body and mind want it to do. Just convincing your body and mind physically and mentally that the car is that capable is a challenge, because the car just makes so much downforce, so much power. Just incredible. Even (compered to cars in the) modern-day period. I think in 2023 we ran a 1:19 around Laguna Seca, that's what the Nick Yelloly Honda Acura LMP (Yelloly competes as a factory driver for Honda/Acura Racing (HRC) in the IMSA SportsCar Championship piloting the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 LMDh prototype) that ran this weekend, those are the times he was doing."The cars are capable of modern day prototype speeds. Obviously, they have more horsepower, but they still gotta have the grip to support the horsepower. Pretty wild to see how far advanced that technology was, especially the later-developed 962s, because those cars ran so long in period."It is surprising to learn the old 962s can keep up with modern cars."Back in my RS Spyder days, I think in 2008, we were probably like 1:08 or 1:09 (in lap times at Laguna Seca), but still the margin to the top level of prototypes but the cars this day and age are a lot bigger especially with the hybrid systems.Porsche"At Rennsport in '23 I drove back-to-back in the 962 and 963. There were 30-plus years separating those cars. And yet they were not crazy different to drive as far as the fundamentals of driving. Obviously the amount of technology—switches and buttons—and with the protocols on the new car, it's just like is like flying an airplane. But I would say the 962s create the biggest separation between amateur and pro. To really get a 962 today completely running at optimal, with boost, with handling, the physicality of no power steering in a car that makes that much downforce, Iwould say three times more hand and shoulder strength than a more modern prototype with power steering. The 962s are intense cars to drive, very treacherous with the turbos on cold tires."AdvertisementAdvertisementHe gave an example."Geoff Brabham, who is my hero from the GTP days, was in one of hisex-Nissans, and in the practice and the qualifying race he had two spins on cold tires. They started us in the morning at 9:30 on Friday and he spun it on the pace lap and on lap one. They just make so much power. And on cold tires, when the turbo hits, it's like a light switch and it's impossible to catch. So you really… it's like taking a race horse on a trot through the forest."It's just so much car that you really have to know how to handle big power, big downforce. And to have it tuned up, a lot of the cars that run in vintage these days are probably at half their potential. Between boost and tire technology, a lot of them run a harder tire. And then just tuning them up, because they make so much under-car downforce. The brake, ride height and your wing setup is tremendously important on those cars. And of course, they don't have lasers, and they don't have data acquisition."Technology, or lack thereof, has it's own appeal.AdvertisementAdvertisement"I love it as a driver because you really are a big piece of the formula. That's why I love the era of the '80s and '90s because they're modern fast but the technology isn't there, so the driver… there's an art to driving the car fast but there's also an immense amount of input that you must have as a driver. And you must have a super-capable team. Not only to run the car but to make it go fast."Porsche 962 and Silk Cut Jaguar XJR9 LM drive up the hill during the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood Motor Circuit on July 11, 2026.Jakob Ebrey - Getty ImagesSo a buyer looking to get their first vintage race car, it would not be a good choice to get a 962?"No. I liken it to vintage Formula 1. It's in a way even more complex than vintage Formula 1 cars. They're serious, serious cars to operate and to drive but the difference between being somewhat committed and fully committed is probably 10 seconds. Whereas a modern GT car, fundamentally they're pretty user-friendly. That's where the ABS and traction control, and more visibility, cockpit space, more safety, paddle shift, they have so many things they've implemented into modern race cars that make them a lot easier for newer guys."Has he ever talked to Derek Bell or Hans Stuck about or any of those guys about driving the 962 back in the day, what that was like?AdvertisementAdvertisement"Yeah. I've talked to Hurley (Haywood) quite a bit, to Derek Bell, alsoto Hans, especially them driving two-driver format for 24 hours which was popular at Daytona, I just can't understand how physical that must have been, mentally and physically. On the banking with no power steering. The way cars work. And working with Kevin Doran (best known for his many victories with the late Al Holbert) who was right in there in that period. And Max Crawford as well (Crawford built the carbon-fiber Mazda RX7-92P for the IMSA GTP category. In the late '90s Crawford was Dyson Racing's crew chief for two Daytona 24 victories). Castor and camber, especially camber, and Kevin Doran said to me, 'We just put more until the driver couldn't turn it anymore, physically, and that's the limit of how much grip we could make mechanically out of the front of those cars.'TED7"And so yeah, those guys shared with me how careful you had to be in the rain, how fast they were on the Mulsanne, in those chicanes, just how treacherous, and how the driver was a factor. If you look back, (1984 FIA World Endurance Champion) Stefan Bellof and how fast he was at Spa and those insane laps we see. I think it was Hans at the Nordschliefe, the driver with those cars, you could easily make five seconds on your teammate with a level of commitment, bravery, and precision. They just, it's the type of car, you can't cut corners. The level of commitment is just intense."Where does the 962 rank on his list of favorite cars to drive?"Top three. Probably driving the Teo Fabi Porsche Indy car with turbo again, similar engineering, that was really really special. I love turbo cars from that era. Driving the FWB Williams from Keke Rosberg. The FWB 007 naturally aspirated high rpms, short wheelbase, no ground effects, that car ranks up there in those top three."AdvertisementAdvertisementIf you want to see 962s, as well as a whole lot of other Porsches for both the road and for the track, consider making the pilgrimage to Atlanta October 10 for Luft 12, a Porsche Gathering Long co-produces. This one will be held at the Town at Trilith, a 235-acre, European-inspired master-planned community located in Fayetteville, Georgia, adjacent to [Trilith Studios] (formerly Pinewood Studios), one of the largest film and television production complexes in the United States.
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