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Remembering Porsche's illustrious Le Mans history

Not only does this weekend mark the running of the 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans, it will also see the return of one of the race's most venerable brands to the top tiers of endurance racing. Porsche will campaign its first top-flight car since the 1998 911 GT1-98, the 919 Hybrid, at this weekend's race, in the hopes of knocking off its corporate rival, the dominant Audi team.
To understand just what a win for the 919 would mean, though, you need to look back on the intrinsic connection between the Circuit de la Sarthe and Porsche. It's a history that spans decades, dating back to the team's first win in 1970.
XCar has a great video on that history. At 25 minutes, it's a bit on the long side. Then again it is the Friday before Le Mans. Take a look below for the video.

Force India F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg will drive a Porsche at Le Mans

Sahara Force India Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg is officially part of the Porsche factory team for next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans; the last time a current F1 driver got permission from his team to compete in the world's biggest endurance race was in 2009 when Toro Rosso let Sebastien Bourdais pilot for Peugeot. That will make it an even busier May and June for Hulkenberg, who will get to know the 919 Hybrid in race trim by driving the 6 Hours of Spa on May 2. He'll follow that with two F1 races in May, then do the Le Mans practice day on May 31, race for Force India at the Canadian Grand Prix on June 7, be in action for Porsche at Le Mans the next weekend, then back in a Force India the following weekend in Austria. Hulkenberg is the first driver to be named for Porsche's third LMP1 in next year's race, and we already know that former F1 colleague Mark Webber will be in one of the other cars. The other two drivers joining the German haven't been named yet, but speculation is that Porsche GT drivers in the manufacturer team are on the shortlist. Numerous observers also think it could be a suitable job for a certain Englishman who might have competed in his last race for McLaren...

Meet Buster, this 1968 Porsche racecar transporter from Mercedes

If you're thinking about Porsche and Mercedes-Benz when it comes to motorsports, your first thought is probably on the two German brands battling on the track. However, for decades, whenever Porsche's factory team went to compete, a custom Mercedes was right along with them hauling the racecars. These days the truck lives in the Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, FL, and goes by the nickname Buster. However, its story goes back to 1968 when Porsche ordered two commercial vehicles from Mercedes and then handed them over to a Stuttgart-based outfitter for customization. The results were these racing transporters that hauled models like the 917 and 956 until the '80s. The other survived, too, with a place in Porsche's collection. Well-known racers in their own right, Brumos scooped up the transporter in 2003 and have kept driving it to vintage racing events. The interior now boasts the signatures of many of the great drivers from the era of this historic truck. Watch the video for the whole story on the Mercedes with a whole lot of Porsche inside.