Le Mans 24 hour race 1980

The Rondeau M379 with starting number 16; Winning car from Jean Rondeau and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud

The Dick Barbour Porsche 935, here at the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring in 1980. With the same vehicle - this time with the starting number 70 - John Fitzpatrick was leading at the beginning of the race. In the end, he reached fifth place in the overall standings with Brian Redman and Dick Barbour

The Porsche 924 Carrera GT with starting number 3. Derek Bell and Al Holbert achieved 13th place in the overall standings with this car

Factory BMW M1

48. The 24-hour race at Le Mans , the 48 ^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 1980 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

The race

New regulations

In February 1980 the Automobile Club de l'Ouest surprised the invited teams once again with profound changes to the regulations. The tank capacity of the vehicles was restricted to 120 liters or 26 gallons. In addition, the flow rate of the fuel in the tank systems of the Le Mans boxes was limited to 50 liters per minute. This extended the duration of an average refueling stop from 40 seconds to 2 minutes 30. In 1980 it took the fastest pit crew 45 minutes to clear the vehicle in the pit. No comparison to the record set by Lance Macklin and Eric Thompson , which has existed since 1952 , and who only spent 10 minutes in the pits with their Aston Martin DB2 .

Engine and gear changes were limited. Only one engine per team was allowed to be used for training and qualifying and another for the race. The North American Racing Team failed at this hurdle, after two engine failures on the Ferrari 512 BB during training, they were not allowed to participate in the race. In addition, the free practice time was limited to two hours.

There have also been significant changes to the drivers. Now every driver of a team, regardless of whether a team of 2 or 3, had to drive qualifying times. A cut was then drawn from the best times of a team that was relevant for the starting grid. The first victim of this rule was the South African Desiré Wilson , who formed a team with Alain de Cadenet and François Migault . Wilson had an accident during training and was unable to drive a qualifying lap. The ACO officials then prohibited her from starting.

Before the race, there were heated discussions between some British team bosses and the ACO. The British could not explain the discrepancies between the times in free practice and those in qualifying training to their disadvantage and suspected irregularities in the timing. The Triumph TR8 Turbo from Ada Engineering was also affected . It would have been the first Le Mans triumph since 1965 . Despite heavy protests, the teams were not allowed to start.

Before the race

In 1980 there were only three works teams at the start. Porsche refrained from reporting in Group 6 and brought three 924 Carrera GTs to Le Mans. Still a milestone for the Porsche brand. The three racing cars were the first water-cooled front - engine vehicles that the German company brought to the Sarthe. The second factory team provided Lancia , which, after the inglorious appearances with the Lancia Stratos in 1976 and 1977, was back with a large team for the first time since 1953 . There was also a works BMW .

Nevertheless, a Porsche was registered in Group 6. The Porsche 908/80 from Joest Racing was a hybrid car. Reinhold Joest , who shared the cockpit with Jacky Ickx , had a modified body of a Porsche 908 mounted on the chassis of a Porsche 936 . Then there were the racing cars from Jean Rondeau with the Cosworth V8 engine.

In Group 5 , alongside the factory Lancias, mainly Porsche 935s were registered. In group 4, a Porsche 911SC that ran on ethanol should be mentioned . There was only one vehicle in the GTX class (Grand Touring Production) - a BMW M1 . Three more M1s started alongside an abundance of Porsches, five Ferrari 512 BB and one Wankel - Mazda RX-7 in the IMSA class.

Race course

The start took place in pouring rain and strong wind. Jean Ragnotti got off badly from the front row with his Rondeau, and so pole setter John Fitzpatrick took the lead in the Dick Barbour Porsche 935. In the rain, the GT cars had advantages because they did not have as limited ground clearance as the Group 6 cars and therefore did not tend to aquaplaning as much . After two hours of driving, Hans-Joachim Stuck led the BMW M1; but when the track dried up, the Group 6 cars prevailed. Before night fell, the Ickx / Joest-Porsche was in the lead when the 908 suddenly stopped on the straight in front of the Mulsanne. The team had already had problems with the fuel pump during training, so the drivers were prepared for this defect. Ickx was able to repair the pump with on-board resources and bring the Porsche back to the pits. After a long pit stop, the car went back into the race, but had slipped to the bottom of the classification. An experienced driver like Jacky Ickx was not deterred by such a circumstance and after 12 hours of driving the Porsche was back in the lead.

After the second-placed Ragnotti / Pescarolo- Rondeau retired with engine failure, the leading Porsche ran into problems again: it lost its fifth gear, had to pit for half an hour, and the lead went to Jean-Pierre Jaussaud's and Jean Rondeau. Just before the end of the race, rain showers came up again, and both the leading Rondeau and the Porsche had a spin that could have decided the race. However, both cars were only slightly damaged and were able to continue.

In the end, with Jean Rondeau, a driver won Le Mans for the first and so far only time in a vehicle that bore his own name. For Jean-Pierre Jaussaud it was the second overall victory in a French team after 1978 .

Live on TV

For the first time, the 24-hour race was broadcast live from a racing car. In the World Championship P79 from Welter Racing , which Roger Dorchy and Guy Fréquelin drove to fourth place in the overall standings, a camera was mounted that broadcasted for 24 hours. Video walls were set up all over the site, and for the first time the audience got an impression of driving down the Les Hunaudières straight at 340 km / h in pouring rain.

Results

Pilots by nationality

60 French	19 British	19 Americans	13 Germans	9 Italians
7 Belgians	5 Swiss	2 Puerto Ricans	2 Venezuelans	1 Argentine
1 Australian	1 fin	1 Irish	1 Liechtensteiner	1 Austrian

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S +2.0	16	LePoint Jean Rondeau	Jean Rondeau Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Rondeau M379	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	G	338
2	S +2.0	9	Equipe Liqui Moly	Jacky Ickx Reinhold Joest	Porsche 908/80	Porsche 2.1L Turbo Flat-6	D.	336
3	GTP	17th	Belga Jean Rondeau	Gordon Spice Philippe Martin Jean-Michel Martin	Rondeau M379	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	G	329
4th	GTP	5	WM Esso	Guy Fréquelin Roger Dorchy	WM P79 / 80	Peugeot PRV 2.7L Turbo V6	M.	316
5	IMSA	70	Dick Barbour Racing	John Fitzpatrick Brian Redman Dick Barbour	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche Type-935 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	G	316
6th	GTP	4th	Porsche system	Manfred Schurti Jürgen Barth	Porsche 924 Carrera GT	Porsche 2.0L Turbo I4	D.	316
7th	S +2.0	8th	Alain de Cadenet	Alain de Cadenet François Migault	De Cadenet-Lola LM	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	D.	313
8th	Size 5	49	Vegla Racing Team	Harald Grohs Dieter Schornstein Götz von Tschirnhaus	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	313
9	IMSA	73	JLP Racing	John Paul Sr.John Paul Jr. Guy Edwards	Porsche 935 JLP-2	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	312
10	IMSA	76	JMS Racing Charles Pozzi	Jean Xhenceval Pierre Dieudonné Hervé Regout	Ferrari 512BB	Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12	M.	312
11	GTP	6th	WM Esso	Jean-Daniel Raulet Max Mamers	WM P79 / 80	Peugeot PRV 2.7L Turbo Flat-6	M.	311
12	GTP	2	Porsche system	Andy Rouse Tony Dron	Porsche 924 Carrera GT	Porsche 2.0L Turbo I4	D.	310
13	GTP	3	Porsche system	Derek Bell Al Holbert	Porsche 924 Carrera GT	Porsche 2.0L Turbo I4	D.	305
14th	IMSA	83	BMW France	Didier Pironi Dieter Quester Marcel Mignot	BMW M1	BMW M88 3.5L I6	D.	293
15th	IMSA	84	BMW Motorsport GmbH	Hans Joachim Stuck Dominique Lacaud Hans-Georg Bürger	BMW M1	BMW M88 3.5L I6	D.	283
16	GT	93	Thierry Perrier	Thierry Perrier Roger Carmillet	Porsche 911SC	Porsche 4.6L Flat-6 [ethanol]		280
17th	S 2.0	25th	ROC - Société Yacco	Bruno Sotty Daniel Laurent Philippe Hesnault	Chevron B36	ROC- Talbot 2.0L I4		276
18th	S 2.0	23	ROC - Société Yacco	Michel Dubois Christian Debias Florian Vetsch	Lola T298	ROC-Talbot 2.0L I4		272
19th	Size 5	53	Jolly Club - Lancia Corse	Carlo Facetti Martino Finotto	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo	Lancia 1.4L Turbo I4	P	272
20th	IMSA	89	Hervé Poulain	Dany Snobeck Hervé Poulain Pierre Destic	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	272
21st	IMSA	86	Z & W Enterprises Inc.	Ernesto Soto Mark Hutchins Pierre Honegger	Mazda RX-7	Mazda 12A 1.2L 2-Wankel	G	266
22nd	S 2.0	29	Dorset Racing Associates	Peter Clark Nick Mason Martin Birrane	Lola T297	Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4	D.	263
23	IMSA	78	EMKA Productions	Steve O'Rourke Richard Down Simon Phillips	Ferrari 512BB LM	Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12	D.	262
24	GT	90	Georges Bourdillat	Georges Bourdillat Alain-Michel Bernhard Pascal Ennequin	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	M.	248
25th	S +2.0	12	Dome Co. Ltd.	Chris Craft Bob Evans	Dome RL80	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	D.	246
Failed
26th	GTP	7th	WM Esso	Serge Saulnier Jean-Louis Bousquet Denis Morin	WM P79 / 80	Peugeot PRV 2.7L Turbo V6	M.	264
27	S 2.0	27	Michel Elkoubi Primagaz	Patrick Perrier Pierre Yver	Lola T298	BMW M12 2.0L I4		255
28	GT	94	Alméras Frères team	Jacques Alméras Jean-Marie Alméras Marianne Hoepfner	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.3L Turbo Flat-6	M.	251
29	IMSA	69	Racing Associates Inc.	Bob Akin Ralph Kent-Cooke Paul Miller	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		237
30th	IMSA	95	BMW Zol car	François Sérvanin Laurent Ferrier Pierre-François Rousselot	BMW M1	BMW M88 3.5L I6	G	237
31	Size 5	43	Malardeau Kremer Racing	Xavier Lapeyre Jean-Louis Trintignant Anne-Charlotte Verney	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	217
32	Size 5	45	Gelo Racing Team	Bob Wollek Helmut Kelleners	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	P	191
33	Size 5	42	Gozzy Kremer Racing	Tetsu Ikuzawa Rolf Stommelen Axel Plankenhorn	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	167
34	GT	80	Diego Febles Racing	Armando Gonzales Diego Febles Francisco Romero	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		164
35	Size 5	44	Charles Ivey Racing	Peter Lovett Dudley Wood John Cooper	Porsche 935K3	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	158
36	S 2.0	28	Scuderia Torino Corse	Lella Lombardi Mark Thatcher	Osella PA8	BMW M12 2.0L I4	P	157
37	IMSA	85	Whittington Brothers Racing	Hurley Haywood Don Whittington Dale Whittington	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	151
38	GT	91	ASA Cachia	Christian Bussi Bernard Salam Cyril Grandet	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		137
39	IMSA	71	Dick Barbour Racing	Bobby Rahal Bob Garretson Allan Moffat	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	134
40	IMSA	77	JMS Racing Charles Pozzi	Jean-Claude Andruet Claude Ballot-Léna	Ferrari 512BB LM	Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12	M.	129
41	S +2.0	1	André Chevalley Racing	Patrick Gaillard François Trisconi André Chevalley	Lola T380	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8		126
42	GTX	96	Garage du Bac	Frederic Alliot Jacques Guérin	BMW M1	BMW M88 3.5L I6	D.	125
43	S +2.0	15th	ITT Jean Rondeau	Henri Pescarolo Jean Ragnotti	Rondeau M379	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	G	124
44	Size 5	41	Porsche Kremer Racing	Ted Field Danny Ongais Jean-Louis Lafosse	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	89
45	S 2.0	22nd	Hubert Striebig	Michel Pignard Mario Ketterer Hubert Striebig	Toj SM01	BMW 2.0L I4		79
46	IMSA	75	JMS Racing Charles Pozzi	Lucien Guitteny Gérard Bleynie	Ferrari 512BB LM	Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12	M.	47
47	IMSA	82	March Racing Ltd.	Manfred Winkelhock Patrick Nève Michael Korton	BMW M1	BMW M88 3.5L I6	D.	38
48	Size 5	46	Meccarillos Racing	Claude Haldi Bernard Béguin Volkert Merl	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 2.9L Turbo Flat-6	D.	37
49	S 2.0	24	ROC - Sociéte Yacco	Marc Sourd Bernard Verdier	Lola T298	ROC-Talbot 2.0L I4		27
50	Size 5	52	Scuderia Lancia Corse	Piercarlo Ghinzani Markku Alén Gianfranco Brancatelli	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo	Lancia 1.4L Turbo I4	P	26th
51	IMSA	79	Scuderia Supercar Bellancauto	Spartaco Dini Fabrizio Violati Maurizio Micangeli	Ferrari 512BB LM	Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12	M.	10
52	IMSA	68	Racing Associates Inc.	Skeeter McKitterick Charles Mendez Leon Walger	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	9
53	IMSA	72	Wynn's International Dick Barbour Racing	Robert Kirby Mike Sherwin Bob Harmon	Porsche 935 K3	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	7th
54	S 2.0	20th	Jean-Philippe Grand	Jean-Philippe Grand Yves Courage	Chevron B36	BMW M12 2.0L I4		6th
55	Size 5	51	Scuderia Lancia Corse	Hans Heyer Bernard Darniche Teo Fabi	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo	Lancia 1.4L Turbo I4	P	6th
Not started
56	IMSA	74	North American Racing Team	Jean-Pierre Delaunay Preston Henn	Ferrari 512BB	Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12		1
Not qualified
57	S +2.0	10	Ian Bracey	Tiff Needell Tony Trimmer	Ibec P6	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8		2
58	S +2.0	11	Nick Faure	Nick Faure Richard Jones Bernard de Dryver	De Cadenet-Lola LM	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8		3
59	S 2.0	21st	Racing fans	Sandro Plastina Mario Luni Marc Fichknecht	Cheetah G601	Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4		4th
60	S 2.0	26th	Patrice Gaulupeau,	Michel Lateste Patrice Lenormand Jacques Terrien	Lola T298	BMW M12 2.0L I4		5
61	S 2.0	30th	Jean-Marie Lemerle	Jean-Marie Lemerle Max Cohen-Olivar	Lola T298	ROC-Talbot 2.0L I4		6th
62	Size 5	40	Ada engineering	Ian Harrower John Sheldon John Brindley	Triumph TR8 Turbo	Rover 3.6 V8		7th
63	IMSA	81	Alpha Cubic Racing	Nobuhide Tachi Fumiyasu Sato	Toyota Celica Turbo	Toyota 2.8L I4		8th
64	IMSA	87	All Canadian Racing	Maurice Carter Murray Edwards Richard Valentine	Chevrolet Camaro	Chevrolet 7.0L V8		9
65	IMSA	88	Douglas J. Rowe	Jacques Bienvenue Douglas J. Rowe Bill Adam	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8		10
reserve
66	GTP	18th	Racing Team Schulthess	Heinz Schulthess Stig Blomqvist Ola Srömberg	Saab 900 Turbo	Saab 2.8L V4		11
67	Size 5	54	Carlo Pietromarchi	Maurizio Micangeli Carlo Pietromarchi Gianfranco Brancatelli	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.7L V8		13

¹ Engine failure in training ² not qualified ³ not qualified ⁴ not qualified ⁵ not qualified ⁶ not qualified ⁷ not qualified ⁸ not qualified ⁹ not qualified ¹⁰ not qualified ¹¹ not qualified ¹² reserve ¹³ reserve

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
68	GTP	14th	Simon Phillips Racing	Dave Preece Simon Phillips Richard Jenvey	Gipfast DPLM	Aston Martin 5.4L V8	D.
69	S 2.0		ROC Société Yacco	Bruno Sotty Noël del Bello	Chevron B36	ROC-Talbot 2.0L I4
70	S 2.0		Patrice Gaulupeau	Michel Elkoubi Max Cohen-Olivar Pierre Yver	Lambretta LW80	ROC-Talbot 2.0L I4
71	S 2.0		Michel Elkoubi	Paul Perrier Michel Lateste Yves Courage	Lambretta LW80	ROC-Talbot 2.0L I4
72	Size 5		Almeras Fréres	Jacques Alméras Jean-Marie Alméras Jean-Pierre Sivel	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 3.2L Turbo Flat-6
73	Size 5		Martin Birrane	Martin Birrane Tony Charnell	Lotus Esprit S1
74	GTX		Angelo Pallavicini	Angelo Pallavicini Herbert Müller	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Thermal Efficiency	Jean Rondeau	Jean-Pierre Jaussaud		Rondeau M379	Overall victory
Group 6, sports cars over 2000 cm³	Jean Rondeau	Jean-Pierre Jaussaud		Rondeau M379	Overall victory
Group 6, sports cars under 2000 cm³	Bruno Sotty	Daniel Laurent	Philippe Hesnault	Chevron B36	Rank 17
GT prototypes	Gordon Spice	Philippe Martin	Jean-Michel Martin	Rondeau M379	Rank 3
IMSA	John Fitzpatrick	Brian Redman	Dick Barbour	Porsche 935 K3	Rank 5
Group 5	Dieter Chimney	Harald Grohs	Götz von Tschirnhaus	Porsche 935	Rank 8
Group 4	Thierry Perrier	Roger Carmillet		Porsche 911SC	Rank 16
GTX	no participant in the finish

Racing data

• Registered: 74
• Started: 55
• Valued: 25
• Race classes: 8
• Spectator: unknown
• Honorary starter of the race: Joachim Springer, Secretary General of the ADAC
• Race weekend weather: rain and strong gusts of wind
• Route length: 13.626 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 339
• Distance of the winning team: 4608.020 km
• Winner's average: 191.899 km / h
• Pole position: John Fitzpatrick - Porsche 935 K3 (# 70) - 3.40.020 = 222.373 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Jacky Ickx - Porsche 908/20 (# 9) - 3.40.600 = 222.177 km / h
• Racing series: Round 9 of the 1980 sports car world championship

literature

• Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre, Alain Bienvenu: 24 heures du Mans, 1923–1992. Éditions d'Art, Besançon 1992, ISBN 2-909413-06-3 .

Web links

Commons : Le Mans 24 Hours 1980  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Previous race 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1980

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 6 Hours of Daytona 1980