1969 Le Mans 24 hour race

Ford GT40 MK.I; Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver's winning car

The Porsche 908 long tail with the starting number 64 in the Porsche Museum Stuttgart. Hans Herrmann and Gérard Larrousse drove this car to second place in the overall ranking.

The Porsche 908 long tail with starting number 64 on a demonstration lap at the Nürburgring in 1981

The Deutsche-Auto-Zeitung-Ford-GT40 in the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1969. The same vehicle, this time with the starting number 68, was driven by Helmut Kelleners and Reinhold Joest in fifth place in the overall standings

The reconstructed Ferrari 312P with starting number 19. This vehicle was Chris Amon in the accident of John Woolfe involved

The Matra MS630 by Nino Vaccarella and Jean Guichet

The Alpine A220 and Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Patrick Depailler

37. The 24-hour race at Le Mans , the 37 ^s Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , and 24 Heures du Mans Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans , was held at from 14 to 15 June 1969 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

Before the race

The most notable new racing car in the 1969 24-hour race was the Porsche 917 . In Le Mans, the variants with the long rear should be used. The elongated stern enabled a high top speed, but initially proved to be very problematic in terms of grip. During test and training drives, the long-tail 917 reached speeds of almost 400 km / h on the Hunaudières straight. The vehicles were very restless on the road.

Nevertheless, Porsche race director Rico Steinemann , who had finished second in the overall standings with Dieter Spoerry in a Porsche 908 last year, decided to use two 917 long-tail cars. The number 12 car was driven by Vic Elford and Richard Attwood . The two Germans Rolf Stommelen and Kurt Ahrens sat in the vehicle with the number 14 . A third 917 was given to the British privateer John Woolfe . Most Porsche works drivers preferred the Porsche 908, however. Jo Siffert and Brian Redman drove a Spyder, Hans Herrmann , Gérard Larrousse , Udo Schütz , Gerhard Mitter , Rudi Lins and Willi Kauhsen closed long-tail coupés.

At the last briefing, which was attended by the entire team management with Ferry Porsche at the top, the technical directors Helmuth Bott and Ferdinand Piëch and race director Rico Steinemann, in the Porsche quarter in Teloché , final instructions were given to the drivers. The 917 drivers were instructed to handle the clutch carefully, as the built-in Borg & Beck clutches that had withstood the high torque in the 7-liter Ford GT40 MK.IV broke after only three hours on the test bench. During the night, the engines first had to be switched off and then reinstalled with new clutches that had not been run in. The guide times for the race were given for the 917 drivers 10 seconds above the training time and for the 908 drivers 5 seconds above. The pilots were also explained which tools for possible emergency repairs were in the respective vehicles. In response to Rico Steinemann's question about “last wishes”, Kurt Ahrens replied: “Give every driver 10 francs if we fail on the track…” With great laughter, Piëch declared: “This advance payment is granted.”

Ferrari brought two new 312Ps to the Sarthe. The prototype was based on the Formula 1 technology of the Ferrari 312F1 . For Le Mans, the Spider bodies were replaced by a closed Berlinetta version. John Wyer continued to trust the Ford GT40 , which was inferior to the Porsche and Ferrari racing cars in terms of top speed, but had proven to be extremely stable over the years. Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver drove the same vehicle with which Pedro Rodríguez and Lucien Bianchi had won the race the year before.

Matra brought four works cars to the circuit, including a new MS650 and three evolutionary stages of the MS630 . The MS640 was actually supposed to be the new racing car for Le Mans. But Henri Pescarolo had a serious accident during a test drive at Le Mans in April. The car had vented at high speed and took off. The car was completely destroyed and Pescarolo was badly burned. As the aerodynamic problems could not be eliminated, the project was stopped.

The start of the race was brought forward from 4 p.m. to 2 p.m. due to the French presidential elections. There was also a change in the organizers. The long-time Clerk of the Course Jacques Loste had made his function available. Former racing driver and designer Charles Deutsch , whose racing cars had competed in Le Mans for many years, was appointed as the new racing director . The starter was the racing driver Bernard Consten , who held the office of President of the French Motorsport Federation in 1969.

The race

In practice, Rolf Stommelen in a Porsche 917 had set the fastest lap time ever achieved at Le Mans with 3.22.900. This time corresponded to an average of 238.976 km / h. At the start, the Belgian Jacky Ickx demonstrated his displeasure with the procedure of the Le Mans start by walking quickly across the street, but not running and completely wearing his seat belt before driving off. When he finally started, the last car in front of him had already disappeared into the Esses.

The death of John Woolfe

John Woolfe, who ran a racing team in Great Britain, bought one of the new Porsche 917s in early summer.

Long-time team partner and friend of Woolfe, Digby Martland , was to become the teammate at Le Mans. Martland had previously mainly driven 2-liter sports cars and drove the 917 for one lap during the preliminary tests. Then he explained that he was unable to drive the prototype and that he was afraid of the vehicle's performance in the cockpit. Richard Attwood was then earmarked as a partner for Le Mans. Attwood had a contract with John Woolfe Racing and competed for the racing team in sports car races in Great Britain. But Attwood got a works contract with Porsche. Herbert Linge joined the team as a new teammate . The seasoned Linge was supposed to drive the first part of the race as well, but Woolfe insisted on this privilege as his entire family was present.

There was a fatal accident on the first lap. The Woolfe-Porsche-917 was only in 21st place on the grid, but Woolfe was one of the fastest at the Le Mans start and in the top ten at the end of the Les Hunaudières straight. At the Maison Blanche entrance - the first laps were driven by the top drivers at Grand Prix pace - he hit the grass on the left with two wheels, lost control of the car and hit the guardrail on the right at high speed. Woolfe was thrown out of the car because he was not wearing his seat belt, which also explained his perfect start. The Porsche's tank burst and the car went up in flames. Chris Amon - who shared a Ferrari 312P with Peter Schetty - could no longer avoid the crowd behind Woolfe and crashed into the wreck. While Amon was miraculously uninjured, Woolfe died at the scene of the accident.

The course of the race

Although you could clearly see the smoke from the Woolfe accident in the pits, the race was neither interrupted nor canceled. In the lead was the fastest in training, Rolf Stommelen, who set himself apart from the field with constant record laps. In doing so, he showed the potential of the Porsche 917. After almost an hour of racing, however, the 917 began to draw a trail of smoke behind it. A seal on the underside of the crankcase allowed oil to leak through, which dripped onto the right rear wheel, creating the oil plume. During a 24-minute emergency stop, the Porsche mechanics tried to seal the leak, which only partially succeeded. Since the Porsche 917 had enough oil in the tank, Steinemann decided to let the car continue. Because, according to the regulations, refilling with oil was only allowed from the 25th lap onwards at Le Mans. At each stop, several liters of oil had to be topped up to keep the engine running. Jo Siffert took the lead in the race, but retired after two hours of racing due to a gearbox failure; an oil line on the gearbox was burned through. Siffert was able to continue driving 20 minutes after the damage occurred, then the transmission oil was used up and no more gears could be engaged.

Nevertheless, four Porsches were clearly in the lead in the evening. Jacky Ickx was up to seventh place, but was already five laps behind the Porsches of Elford and Attwood. Then the tide began to turn to the disadvantage of Porsche. Shortly before 8 p.m., Ahrens reported the first clutch problems on the 917 long tail from Stommelen / Ahrens, which had already been damaged by the constant loss of oil. Almost at the same time, Gérard Larrousse with the 908 long-tail stopped in front of the pit. A wheel bearing had to be replaced and the team lost 39 minutes in the repair. This bearing damage meant that the 908 fell far back into midfield and at the end of the race had to fight for victory with the GT40 from Ickx / Oliver. At 8:30 p.m., the clutch on the Stommelen / Ahrens car was readjusted for the first time. At 11 p.m. the car was again unplanned at the pits. The mechanics had to change the clutch disc. At 1:48 a.m. Ahrens was able to continue. At 3 a.m. there was a fire alarm at the racetrack. During the driver change, Ahrens reported a burning car in front of the Mulsanne. It quickly became apparent that it was Udo Schütz's 908 long tail. Schütz later reported a collision with team mate Larrousse, who vehemently denied it. Udo Schütz on the accident: “Larrousse followed me for four laps. At first I thought it was Hans Herrmann. Before the fast right-hand bend, the car pulls to the same height and I see that Larrousse is sitting there. He falls back and then I get a push. The car hit the guardrails at an acute angle, he began to play ping-pong, he rolled over. I see flames. I kick in the door. I wasn't buckled up. Then I jumped out, ran into the forest and the car exploded behind me ... ”At the next pit stop in Larrousse, the car was examined and there were no signs of collision. The exact cause of the accident could never be clarified.

Masten Gregory came back to the pits together with Schütz . On the Scuderia Filipinetti - Lola T70 Mk.IIIB , which he drove with Joakim Bonnier , the mechanics had spent a lot of time repairing the cylinder head. The 5-liter Chevrolet engine had definitely broken down near the scene of the accident .

On Sunday morning, Elford and Attwood clearly led the race in the second 917. The 917 from Stommelen and Ahrens had long been standing in the paddock with a defective clutch and a damaged cylinder. The lead over the Lins / Kauhsen-Porsche was already six laps when this 917 also had clutch problems. At 10 o'clock Attwood had to head for the pits because the clutch bell had broken and the clutch was dragging. The mechanics tried to recreate them. Attwood was only able to leave the pits with difficulty and drove the next laps around the course in 4:30 minutes. At 11 a.m. Attwood finally stopped: clutch damage. Half an hour earlier, Rudi Lins had handed over his 908 to Willi Kauhsen, who came back to the pits after only one lap and spoke of shifting problems. The Porsche team management sent him back out onto the track, where the Porsche rolled out after a few kilometers with a damaged gearbox. At this point, the second factory Ferrari had long since failed. Pedro Rodríguez and David Piper had advanced up to eighth place in the overall standings when a gearbox damage ended the race there too.

The duel for victory

After the retirement, two cars were tied three hours before the end: the Porsche 908 from Herrmann / Larrousse and the Ford GT40 from Ickx / Oliver. After the last stop of both vehicles, one of the most exciting Le Mans finals in history developed, comparable only to the duel of 1933 , when Tazio Nuvolari and Luigi Chinetti fought for victory, and the narrow race result in 2011 . The 908 was faster on the straights than the GT40, which in turn had an advantage on the winding sections. The same game was repeated almost every lap: Hans Herrmann overtook the Ford on the long straight in front of the Mulsanne, and Jacky Ickx countered in the corners before the start and finish. When Ickx slowed down the Porsche in front of the Ford chicane just before 2 p.m., the race seemed decided. But Charles Deutsch gestured to the two pilots at the finish line with a stretched finger that one more lap was to be driven because the full distance of 24 hours had not yet been reached. While the vehicles behind the two leaders were already flagged, Ickx and Herrmann drove down the Hunaudières straight again. This time the Porsche driver did not manage to overtake Ickx, who saved a 100 meter lead across the finish line.

Third in the overall standings was the second Wyer GT40 with David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood . After the race, Hobbs complained heavily to the British motorsport press that changing the brake discs, which he saw as unnecessary, had cost him victory.

On the drive home, Jacky Ickx had a serious road accident near Chartres with his private Porsche 911 , which he survived unharmed.

Results

Pilots by nationality

37 French	18 British	9 Germans	7 Swiss	5 Belgians
5 Italians	3 Americans	2 Sweden	1 Australian	1 Mexican
1 Dutch	1 New Zealander	1 Austrian

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S 5.0	6th	John Wyer Automotive Engineering	Jacky Ickx Jackie Oliver	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.9L V8		372
2	P 3.0	64	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann Gérard Larrousse	Porsche 908 Coupe	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	D.	372
3	S 5.0	7th	John Wyer Automotive Engineering	David Hobbs Mike Hailwood	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.9L V8		368
4th	P 3.0	33	Equipe Matra Elf	Jean-Pierre Beltoise Piers Courage	Matra MS650	Matra 3.0L V12		368
5	P 3.0	32	Equipe Matra Elf	Jean Guichet Nino Vaccarella	Matra MS630	Matra 3.0L V12		359
6th	S 5.0	68	German auto newspaper	Helmut Kellener's Reinhold Joest	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.7L V8		341
7th	P 3.0	35	Equipe Matra Elf	Nanni Galli Robin Widdows	Matra MS630 / 650	Matra 3.0L V12		330
8th	S 5.0	17th	North American Racing Team	Teodoro Zeccoli Sam Posey Ricardo Rodríguez-Cavazos	Ferrari 250LM	Ferrari 3.3L V12		329
9	S 2.0	39	Christian Poirot	Christian Poirot Pierre Maublanc	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		312
10	GT 2.0	41	Jean-Pierre Gaban	Jean-Pierre Gaban Yves Deprez	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		306
11	GT 2.0	40	Auguste Veuillet	Claude Ballot-Léna Guy Chasseuil	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		301
12	P1.15	50	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Alain Serpaggi Christian Ethuin	Alpine A210	Renault - Gordini 1.0L I4		292
13	GT 2.0	44	Claude Laurent	Claude Laurent Jacques Marché	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		287
14th	GT 2.0	67	Philippe Farjon	Philippe Farjon Jacques Dechaumel	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		286
Disqualified
15th	GT +2.0	59	Scuderia Filipinetti	Claude Haldi Jacques Rey	Ferrari 275 GTB / C	Ferrari 3.3L V12		39
Failed
16	S 5.0	12	Porsche System Engineering	Vic Elford Richard Attwood	Porsche 917L	Porsche 4.5L Flat-12	D.	327
17th	P 3.0	22nd	Porsche System Engineering	Rudi Lin's Willi Kauhsen	Porsche 908L	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	D.	317
18th	P 1.6	45	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Claude Killy Bob Wollek	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 1.5L I4		242
19th	GT 2.0	66	Jean Egreteaud	Jean Égreteaud Raymond Lopez	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		241
20th	P 3.0	18th	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Pedro Rodríguez David Piper	Ferrari 312P	Ferrari 3.0L V12		223
21st	P 3.0	29	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Patrick Depailler Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Alpine A220 / 69	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8		209
22nd	P 3.0	23	Porsche System Engineering	Udo Schütz Gerhard Mitter	Porsche 908L	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	D.	199
23	GT + 2.0	1	Scuderia Filipinetti	Henri Greder Reine Wisell	Chevrolet Corvette C3	Chevrolet 7.0L V8		196
24	GT 2.0	63	Marcel Martin	René Mazzia Pierre Mauroy	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		174
25th	P 3.0	31	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Pierre Nicolas Jean-Luc Thérier	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8		160
26th	P 3.0	34	Ecurie Matra Elf	Johnny Servoz-Gavin Herbert Müller	Matra MS630 / 650	Matra 3.0L V12		158
27	S 5.0	14th	Porsche System Engineering	Rolf Stommelen Kurt Ahrens	Porsche 917L	Porsche 4.5L Flat-12		148
28	S 5.0	2	Scuderia Filipinetti	Jo Bonnier Masten Gregory	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB	Chevrolet 5.0L V8		134
29	P 3.0	28	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean Vinatier André de Cortanze	Alpine A220 / 69	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8		133
30th	S 5.0	8th	Peter Sadler	Peter Sadler Paul Vestey	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.7L V8		106
31	S 2.0	43	JCB Excavators Ltd.	Roger Enever Peter Brown	Chevron B8	BMW 2.0L I4		100
32	P 1.3	49	Le Mans Trophy	Jacques Foucteau Patrice Compain	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 1.3L I4		97
33	P 2.0	38	Racing Team VDS	Gustave Gosselin Claude Bourgoignie	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	Alfa Romeo 2.0L V8		76
34	P 3.0	20th	Hart ski racing	Joseph Siffert Brian Redman	Porsche 908 / 2L	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8		60
35	P 3.0	30th	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Claude Andruet Henri Grandsire	Alpine A220 / 69	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8		48
36	S 5.0	9	Alan Mann Racing Ltd.	Frank Gardner Malcolm Guthrie	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.9L V8		42
37	P 3.0	36	Racing Team VDS	Teddy Pilette Rob Slotemaker	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2.5	Alfa Romeo 2.5L V8		35
38	GT 2.0	42	Wicky Racing Team	André Wicky Edgar Berney	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		34
39	P 2.0	62	Mark Konig	Mark Konig Tony Lanfranchi	Nomad Mk.II	BRM 2.0L V8		28
40	P 2.0	37	Donald Healey Motor Company	Clive Baker John Harris	Healey SR	Coventry Climax 2.0L V8		14th
41	P 2.0	60	Robert Buchet	Jean de Mortemart Jean Mésange	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		10
42	P 1.15	51	Ecurie Fiat-Abarth France	Maurizio Zanetti Ugo Locatelli	Fiat-Abarth 1000SP	Fiat 1.0L I4		9
43	P 1.6	46	Ecurie Savin-Calberson	Alain LeGuellec Bernard Tramont	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 1.5L I4		1
44	S 5.0	10	John Woolfe Racing	John Woolfe Herbert Linge	Porsche 917	Porsche 4.5L Flat-12		1
45	P 3.0	19th	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Chris Amon Peter Schetty	Ferrari 312P	Ferrari 3.0L V12		1
Not started
46	S 5.0	15th	Porsche System Engineering	Udo Schütz Rudi Lins Herbert Linge Brian Redman	Porsche 917L	Porsche 4.5L Flat-12		1
47	S 5.0	16	North American Racing Team	Sam Posey Bob Grossman	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4 Daytona	Ferrari 4.9L V12		2
48	S 5.0	58	Ecurie ASA ESCA	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud Dominique Martin	Ford GT40	Ford 4.9L V8		3
49	S 2.0	61	North American Racing Team	Ricardo Rodríguez François Migault Robert Mieusset	Ferrari Dino 206S	Ferrari 1.9L V6		4th
Not qualified
50	P 1.3	47	Unipower Cars	Piers Forester Stanley Robinson	Unipower GT	BMC 1.3L I4		5
51	P 1.3	48	Brian Sherwood Piper Cars Ltd	Tim Lalonde John Burton	Piper GTR	Ford 1.3L I4		6th

¹ Replacement car ² Accident during training ³ Engine damage during training ⁴ Accident during training ⁵ not qualified ⁶ not qualified

Only in the entry list

Here you can find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race, but did not take part for various reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires
52	GT + 2.0	57	Lola Cars Ltd.	Ulf Norinder	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB	Chevrolet 5.0L V8
53	P 3.0	59	Scuderia Filipinetti	Herbert Müller Jonathan Williams	Ferrari 312P	Ferrari 3.0L V12
54	S 2.0	64	Porsche System Engineering		Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
55	S 2.0	65	Porsche System Engineering		Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
56	S 2.0	67	Philippe Farjon	Philippe Farjon	Porsche 906	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
57	GT 2.0	69	Joseph Bourdon	Joseph Bourdon Maurice Nussbaumer	Alpine A110	Renault-Gordini 1.3L I4
58	GT 2.0	70	Squadra Bardahl		Alpine A110	Renault-Gordini 1.3L I4
59	GT 2.0	71	Yves Leroux	Yves Leroux Marcel Grue	Alpine A110	Renault-Gordini 1.3L I4
59	GT + 2.0	2	Scuderia Filipinetti	Henri Greder	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8
60	S 5.0	3	John Woolfe Racing	John Woolfe Bruce McLaren	McLaren M6B	Chevrolet 5.0L V8
61	S 5.0	4th	Lola Cars Ltd.	Paul Hawkins Mark Donohue	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB	Chevrolet 5.0L V8
62	S 5.0	5	Lola Cars Ltd.	Mike Hailwood John Love	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB	Chevrolet 5.0L V8
63	S 5.0	6th	Lola Cars Ltd.	Piers Courage	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB	Chevrolet 5.0L V8
64	P 3.0	11	Ecurié Ford France SA	Michel Martin Hervé Bayard	Ford GT40	Ford 4.9L V8
65	P 3.0	16	Svenska Volkswagen	Björn Waldegård	Porsche 908	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8
66	P 3.0	19th	Autodelta SpA	Lucien Bianchi	Alfa Romeo T33B	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
67	P 3.0	20th	Autodelta SpA		Alfa Romeo T33B	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
68	P 3.0	21st	Autodelta SpA		Alfa Romeo T33B	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
69	P 3.0	22nd	Autodelta SpA		Alfa Romeo T33B	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
70	P 3.0	24	Escuderia Nacional	Àlex Soler-Roig Gérard Larrousse	Porsche 908/02	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8
71	P 3.0	31	Ecurie Savim Calberson		Alpine A220	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8
72	P 3.0	36	Abarth-Osella	Toine Hezemans	Abarth 3000 SP
73	P 2.0	39	Brian Sherwood Piper Cars Ltd	Brian Sherwood Tim Lalonde	Piper GT	Martin 2.0L V8
74	S 2.0	41	Auguste Veuillet	Sylvain Garant	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
75	S 2.0	45	Porsche System Engineering	Rolf Stommelen Kurt Ahrens	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
76	S 2.0	46	Porsche System Engineering	Joe Buzzetta Hans Herrmann	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
77	S 2.0	48	Abarth-Osella	Johannes Ortner	Abarth 2000SP
78	P 1.6	49	Squadra Corse Lancia	Sandro Munari Rauno Aaltonen	Lancia Fulvia HF F&M Special	Lancia 1.6L V4
79	P 1.6	50	Squadra Corse Lancia	Claudia Maglioli Raffaele Pinto	Lancia Fulvia HF F&M Special	Lancia 1.6L V4
80	P 1.6	69	Ecurié Léopard	Jean-Pierre Nicolas Jean-Luc Thérier Alain LeGuellec Bernard Tramont	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 1.5L I4
81	S 5.0	4th	André Wicky Racing Team	André Wicky	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB	Chevrolet 5.0L V8
82	S 5.0	5	Robin Ormes	Michael d'Udy Frank Gardner	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB	Chevrolet 5.0L V8
83	S 5.0	9	Escuderia Montjuich	José Juncadella	Ford GT40	Ford 4.9L V8
84	P 3.0	19th	Brian Sherwood Piper Cars Ltd	John Bamford John Burton	Piper GT
85	P 3.0	20th	David Piper	David Piper	Porsche 908/02	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8
86	P 3.0	30th	Escuderia Repsol	Ben Heiderich	Porsche 908/02	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8
87	P 3.0	31	Ben Pon	Gijs van Lennep Toine Hezemans	Porsche 908/02	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8
88	P 3.0	41	Gérard Larrousse	Gérard Larrousse Dieter Spoerry	Porsche 908/02	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8
89	P 3.0	47	Scuderia Serenissima		Serenissima Mk168	ATS 3.0L V8
90	P 3.0	49	José Juncadella	Juan Fernández	Porsche 907	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
91	P 3.0	50	BG Racing		Porsche 907	Porsche 2.2L Flat-6
92	P 2.0	51	BG Racing		Porsche 907	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
93	P 2.0	55	Marcos Racing Ltd.	Jem Marsh John Quick	Marcos Mantis	Volvo 1.8L I4
94	P 2.0	56	Chris Lawrence	John Wingfield Peter Bolton	Deep Sanderson 302	Martin 2.0L V8
95	S 2.0	59	Racing Team AAW		Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
96	P 2.0	62	Rudi Lins	Rudi Lins Peter Peter	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
97	GT 2.0	63	Edgar Herrmann	Edgar Herrmann Hans Schuller	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
98	GT 2.0	65	Claude Buchet	Claude Buchet Henri Guyomard	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
99	GT 2.0	66	Herman Damseaux		Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
100	GT 2.0	73	Porsche System Engineering		Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
101	GT 2.0	74	Porsche System Engineering		Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
102	S 2.0	75	Sportscars Unlimited	Richard Broström Masten Gregory	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
103	GT 2.0	76	Claude Haldi	Claude Haldi Edgar Berney	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
104	GT 2.0	78	Patrice Sanson	Patrice Sanson Roland Lefevre	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
105	P 2.0	79	William Bradley	Alan Rollinson Tony Dean	Porsche 907	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
106	GT 2.0	83	Chris Waldron		MG B	BMC 1.8L I4
107	GT 2.0	84	Chris Waldron		MG B	BMC 1.8L I4
108	GT 2.0	94	Bernard Collomb	Bernard Collomb Francois Lacarrau	Alpine A110	Renault-Gordini 1.3L I4
109		100	North American Racing Team		Ferrari 275 GTB2	Ferrari 3.3L V12

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Performance	Alain Serpaggi	Christian Ethuin	Alpine A210	Rank 12
Index of Thermal Efficiency	Jacky Ickx	Jackie Oliver	Ford GT40	Overall victory
Prototype 2501-3000 cc	Hans Herrmann	Gérard Larrousse	Porsche 908 Coupe	Rank 2
Prototype 1601-2000 cm³	Christian Poirot	Pierre Maublanc	Porsche 910	Rank 9
Prototype 1001-1 150 cm³	Alain Serpaggi	Christian Ethuin	Alpine A210	Rank 12
Sports car	Jacky Ickx	Jackie Oliver	Ford GT40	Overall victory
GT car	Jean-Pierre Gaban	Yves Deprez	Porsche 911S	Rank 10

Racing data

• Registered: 109
• Started: 45
• Valued: 14
• Race classes: 7
• Spectators: 400,000
• Honorary starter of the race: Bernard Consten , President of the French Motorsport Federation
• Weather on the race weekend: warm, rain showers again and again
• Route length: 13.469 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 371
• Distance of the winning team: 4997.880 km
• Winner's average: 208.545 km / h
• Pole position: Rolf Stommelen - Porsche 917L (# 14) - 3.22.900 = 238.976 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Vic Elford - Porsche 917L (# 12) - 3.27.200 = 234.017 km / h
• Racing series: 8th round of the 1969 sports car world championship

literature

• Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre, Alain Bienvenu: 24 heures du Mans, 1923–1992. Éditions d'Art, Besançon 1992, ISBN 2-909-413-06-3 .

Web links

Commons : 24 Hours of Le Mans 1969  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Helmut Zwickl: World champion through technical knockout - a racing season with Porsche . Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart 1969, p. 158 ff.
2. ↑ Helmut Zwickl: World champion through technical knockout - a racing season with Porsche . Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart 1969, p. 157.
3. ↑ Helmut Zwickl: World champion through technical knockout - a racing season with Porsche . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1969, p. 170.

Predecessor race 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1969

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 6-hour race at Watkins Glen 1969