To mark the 45th anniversary of Herbert Müller’s death, a tribute event will be held on September 27, 2026, in Murten and at Münchenwiler Castle—featuring a lecture by Angelo Pallavicini and the original-condition #82 Le Mans Porsche 934. This article explores how this customer race car outpaced the factory cars in the pouring rain at the Sarthe in 1979.
Three races, three outstanding finishes at major classics in the world of endurance racing, coupled with three class victories!
That is the record of the duo Herbert Müller and Angelo Pallavicini between June 1979 and May 1980. These included a fourth-place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and victory in Group 4, an eighth-place finish at the 1980 6-Hour Race at Brands Hatch (1st in the GT class), and a twelfth-place finish at the 1980 1,000 km of the Nürburgring (1st in the GT class). The car: a Porsche 934—a customer race car without any major modifications.
At Le Mans, the two were joined by Marco Vanoli to compete in a race that set three records, the details of which we will now examine in depth.
Le Mans 1979: 4th place and a pit stop record of 27 minutes …
At the time, Angelo Pallavicini was making his third attempt to compete in the 24-hour race, following a failure to qualify in 1975 and a retirement in 1977.
By early 1979, the privateer had drawn attention to himself with a series of strong finishes, including a 10th-place finish and victory in the GT class at the 24 Hours of Daytona. As the owner and driver of his Porsche 934—which he had prepared in his workshop in Dietikon, just outside Zurich—he arrived at the Sarthe in high spirits.
This was also thanks to the support of the company Lubrifilm. For he had finally managed to secure a viable budget and enlist the immeasurable experience and speed of Herbert Müller, one of the stars of endurance racing!
Angelo Pallavicini recalls: “It was a very grueling race with more than fourteen hours of rain—often very heavy—and there were many retirements. Yet Herbert (Editor’s note: Müller) managed the feat of setting the fastest lap times compared to the competition during a rainy night stint of nearly four and a half hours straight behind the wheel—without losing his maximum concentration even once! And this despite a problem with the brakes. It was almost record-breaking!”
The race also turned out to be a success thanks to record-breaking pit stops; Pallavicini added: “We only opened the rear engine hood during the entire 24 hours to top off the oil twice, change the brake pads, and clean the windshield while refueling—that’s it.” A total of 27 minutes of downtime! Could this also be a record for the ages …?
In the end, Pallavicini/Müller/Vanoli finished fourth overall and won Group 4 with a customer race car without factory support(!), which—aside from the brake issues—had shown no weaknesses whatsoever. Pallavicini: “Honestly, we could hardly have hoped for anything better…”
The Porsche 934, with its 2,994 cm³ 6-cylinder turbocharged engine, covered 3,973 km at an average speed of 165.530 km/h.
A true masterpiece
The 4th-place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was a true masterpiece. For Müller, it joins the ranks of his other great achievements at La Sarthe. Following his top finishes in 1971 (2nd place in a Porsche 917), 1973 (4th place in a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR), and 1974 (2nd place in a Porsche Carrera RSR Turbo 2.1), this record made him the most successful Swiss race car driver at Le Mans—a status that endured beyond his death in 1981 well into the 2010s.
For Angelo Pallavicini, who will celebrate his 80th birthday in July 2028, this success undoubtedly marked the highlight of his career.
And a few months later, he deservedly received personal congratulations from the company’s top executive, Ferry Porsche, as the best independent Porsche driver of the year—worldwide(!)
Event: “45th Anniversary of Herbert Müller’s Death”
- Sunday, September 27, 2026
- 10:30 a.m. MurtenBox Exhibition, CH-3280 Murten “Tribute to Jo Siffert – Herbert Müller”
- 12:00 p.m. Münchenwiler Castle – Lecture by Angelo Pallavicini
- 1:00 PM Cocktails in the castle park around the Porsche 934 #82—in 100% original condition
- 1:30 p.m. Lunch at Münchenwiler Castle
- 3:00 p.m. Autographs/photos
Reservations: [email protected]
Further information: www.jo-siffert.ch
