– This message could be 25 years old: Timo Bernhard and Jörg Bergmeister are racing together for Porsche. But it is August 2026, and Porsche has actually managed to put two of its most legendary drivers together in one car again. And not just any car: Together they pilot the last ever built Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS of the 982 series in the SP10 (GT4) class.
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Of course, neither had to be asked twice. “Since both are brand ambassadors and share a common history, we just knew it would fit and both were eager for such a project,” Bernhard says to Motorsport-Total.com.
The entry is carried out in cooperation between the Porsche Heritage and Museum team and Bernhard’s Team 75 Motorsport. According to Porsche, such a collaboration between a historic and a current racing team has not existed with any other manufacturer so far.
According to Armin Burger, coordinator of Historic Motorsport at Porsche, the project had been on the minds of those involved for three years: “The idea came up at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2023. I was sitting with Jörg and we talked about the phase-out of the 982,” he says to Motorsport-Total.com.
“He mentioned in passing that these cars are now so developed that in terms of lap times, with the Clubsport, he almost reaches the times of a super sports car.” Bergmeister is still involved as a test driver in the development of new Porsche road models.
So the idea was set, and with Bergmeister and Bernhard as drivers and team leader, the crew was quickly found. “When I’m asked why it was these two, I always say: They were simply the most convenient because they are brand ambassadors anyway,” Burger laughs.
However, they have to work more than expected, as Bernhard also admits with a smile: “I actually always assumed a normal four-hour race. But then Armin told me at some point that it is a 6-hour race!”
Strong competition in SP10
The main focus is above all to complete a film about the production of the last Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS. This has already followed the chassis from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen through the installation of the roll cage and the sustainable flax fiber components in Osnabrück, the approval run by Manthey at the Nürburgring, and the subsequent rollout in Weissach. The race entry now represents the highlight. The film will debut shortly after the race.
But as is well known, a switch flips for professional racing drivers as soon as the race starts. Accordingly, the endeavor will not proceed without ambitions. “We didn’t have a very long preparation time. Accordingly, after the setup runs, we will still tweak the setup a bit and then hopefully head in the right direction,” Bergmeister says to Motorsport-Total.com.
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How serious they are is shown by the fact that former LMP1 chief engineer Stephen Mitas is involved in the project. He was also responsible for Bernhard’s record lap in the 919 Evo.
Compared to the high-tech marvel, the Cayman is of course far less complex, which does not make the task any easier: “You don’t get any data from this car. Now I have to listen to the drivers, which makes everything more complicated!” jokes Mitas, which Bernhard and Bergmeister respond to with loud laughter.
Bernhard shoots back: “But he asks me for feedback after six minutes. I first had to explain to him that I’m not sitting in the Evo and the lap with this car takes a bit longer!”
Nevertheless, both are aware that the task will not be easy. The benchmark in SP10 this season so far has been a Mercedes-AMG GT4 from PROsport Racing with drivers Anton Abee, Yannick Himmels, and Jörg Viebahn. Also to be noted is the BMW M4 GT4 from Black Falcon with drivers Malcolm Harrison, David Ogburn, Ross Turner, and Alexandru Vasilescu, who also already has a win to his name.
“Of course, we can’t come here and expect to beat opponents who have been on the Nordschleife all year,” Bernhard emphasizes. “The level here is very high, so we keep our expectations low. But I do think we will find a rhythm.”
Dream team with a special background
Bergmeister and Bernhard won the 24 Hours of Daytona together twice in a row. In 2002 it was still the class win in the GTs, a year later they achieved the coup of beating the prototypes with the Porsche 996 GT3 RS.
The first class win was actually a punitive expedition: Because Bergmeister, Bernhard, and also Marc Lieb fought fiercely at the Carrera Cup final in 2001, then Porsche motorsport chief Herbert Ampferer put Bernhard and Bergmeister in one car for the following race in Daytona. On top of that, both were booked on the same flight. The tactic worked: They subsequently formed a dream team that now wants to prove itself once again.
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