Peter Auto 2.0L Cup set for new season of racing in the 911’s sixtieth Anniversary Year
2023 marks the legendary 911’s sixtieth anniversary. Since 2018, historic motorsport organiser, Peter Auto, has been paying tribute to this iconic sports car by hosting a series dedicated to what many consider the purest incarnation of the flagship Porsche product: the two-litre short-wheelbase 911. The resulting single-make 2.0L Cup is a first for historic racing. Let’s have a look at the history of this series, what you can expect from 2023 events, plus the changes Peter Auto has introduced to race regulations for the new season.
Created in partnership with renowned air-cooled 911 restoration specialist, Lee Maxted-Page, and James Turner (founder of classic sports car sales and storage business, Sports Purpose), the 2.0L Cup grid is the only single-make series hosted by Peter Auto. The competition is reserved for pre-1966 FIA-specification two-litre short-wheelbase 911s. The difference on track isn’t the cars — everybody races on equal terms, putting emphasis on the drivers to deliver in an environment where sliding has become something of an art form.
With the aim of controlling preparation costs, which many participants have seen spiral skyward in recent years, Peter Auto is adjusting its 2.0L Cup sporting and technical regulations for the 2023 season. The first update consists of organising the events of this grid over two days instead of three, while maintaining the same number of sessions, which includes a free practice session of thirty minutes, a qualifying session of forty minutes and a race of ninety minutes. Of course, a day less on-site means significantly reduced costs for teams and drivers. The second adjustment concerns the technical regulations themselves — they are now fixed for the next three seasons, preventing any expensive developments, which are counter to the spirit of historic racing. The last regulation change aims to reduce tyre expenses by limiting competitors to no more than five new tyres per event, without the possibility of remoulding. These new tyres, marked with a specific sticker, will have to be used from the qualifying session onward, including the entire duration of the race, thereby introducing tyre management strategy (per endurance racing and top-flight motorsport) to the 2.0L Cup paddock for the very first time.
Since its inception five years ago, this special competition has proved hugely popular with fans of historic motorsport, who will be thrilled to discover the 2023 season’s races will be held on some of Europe’s bestloved circuits as part of Peter Auto’s growing portfolio of high-profile historic racing events. Test days are scheduled to take place on the Paul Ricard Circuit in France across 15th and 16th March, with rounds subsequently scheduled for the Mugello Classic at Mugello Circuit in Italy (21st March until 2nd April), the Spa Classic at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium (12th-14th May), a return to France for the Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or at Dijon-Prenois Circuit (2nd-4th June) and the Dix Mille Tours at Paul Richard Circuit (1st-3rd September), plus a trip to Portugal for the highly anticipated Estoril Classics event at Circuito do Estoril (6th-8th October). Visit the Peter Auto website at peterauto.fr for series technical notes, a full calendar of the year’s events (including the Le Mans Classic), ticketing offers and to register your interest in competing in the 2.0L Cup.
LIMITING COMPETITORS TO NO MORE THAN FIVE NEW TYRES PER EVENT, WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF REMOULDING