1971 Le Mans 24 hour race
The 39th 24-hour race of Le Mans , the 39 e Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , also 24 Heures du Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans , took place from 12 to 13 June 1971 on the Circuit des 24 Heures .
The race
The race of records
The 24-hour race of 1971 went down in the history of this event as the race of records. After a driving time of 24 hours, the victorious Porsche 917 driven by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep had set a new distance record of 5335.313 kilometers, surpassing the previous record of Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt from 1967 by almost 100 kilometers. This distance corresponded to a racing average of 222.304 km / h and that including all pit stops. For a long time this record was considered one for the ages. However , the record fell in 2010 when the Audi R15 TDI driven by Timo Bernhard , Mike Rockenfeller and Romain Dumas also covered 397 laps and improved the record to 5410.713 km thanks to the longer route. The two Audis that reached the finish behind it also covered a longer distance than the Porsche in 1971.
In practice, Pedro Rodríguez drove a record lap with an average of 250.069 km / h. Nobody had driven faster at Le Mans on the race weekend before him. Team mate Jackie Oliver had set a time of 3: 13.600 minutes in the preliminary tests. This is the fastest lap time at Le Mans to date.
New start procedure
The year before that , the Le Mans start introduced in 1925 had already been adapted. After the protests of the drivers had accumulated, who ran across the street to their stationary vehicles and had to start them, they started standing up in 1970 - albeit still at an angle in front of the pits. The main criticism was that the drivers could not seat their seat belt properly and some of them drove to the first pit stop of the race without wearing the seat belt.
From 1971 on this tradition was completely abandoned and the Indianapolis start was taken over, in which the vehicles cover the introductory lap behind the pace car and are sent into the race at full speed as they cross the starting line.
Before the race
Even before the race it became clear that this endurance race would be a racing event for the Porsche brand . 33 of the 49 starters were Porsches. This large number was led by seven Porsche 917s. Striking was the 917 from Reinhold Joest and Willi Kauhsen , who was known as the “Pink Pig” and was painted out of pork halves. The Martini Racing 917 hatchback had a lightweight body made of magnesium . In addition to the 917, there were five 3-liter Porsche 908/02 and one 2-liter Porsche 907 as well as 18 Porsche 911 and two Porsche 914 , all of which competed in the GT class . After the Ferrari factory team did not do so, it was left to private teams to put the Ferrari 512M to the start. Too few units of the new Ferrari 365 GTB / 4 were produced for the homologation of the GT class, so that all registered 365 had to start in the sports car.
With the MS660, Matra only brought a prototype to Le Mans and the Ligier JS3 was powered by the 3-liter Cosworth engine from Formula 1 .
Marie-Claude Charmasson was the first female participant in almost two decades. The starting ban for women imposed by the ACO after Annie Bousquet's fatal accident at the Reims 12-hour race in 1956 was lifted in 1971 as out of date.
The course of the race
As in the two years before, the Porsche 917 took the lead right from the start. Jackie Oliver drove record laps at the beginning and was at the front with his partner Pedro Rodríguez for the first seven hours of racing, interrupted only by various pit stops. The best Ferrari at the time was the 512 from David Hobbs and Mark Donohue, which was in fifth place . When the Oliver-917 failed with a technical defect, a Ferrari was in the lead for a short time. The Escuderia-Montjuich-512 driven by José Juncadella and Nino Vaccarella led to the gearbox failure.
In the second half of the race, the Marko / van Lennep car was in the lead and never gave it up until the end.
Results
Pilots by nationality
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Final ranking
Item | class | No. | team | driver | chassis | engine | tires | Round |
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1 | S 5.0 | 22nd |
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Porsche 917K | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | F. | 397 |
2 | S 5.0 | 19th |
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Porsche 917K | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | F. | 395 |
3 | S 5.0 | 12 |
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Ferrari 512M | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | G | 366 |
4th | S 5.0 | 16 |
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Ferrari 512M | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | G | 355 |
5 | S 5.0 | 58 |
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Ferrari 365 GTB / 4 | Ferrari 4.4L V12 | G | 314 |
6th | GT + 2.0 | 63 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.4L Flat-6 | D M | 306 |
7th | P 2.0 | 49 |
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Porsche 907 | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | F. | 306 |
8th | GT + 2.0 | 38 |
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Porsche 911EC | Porsche 2.4L Flat-6 | M D | 303 |
9 | GT + 2.0 | 42 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | 298 |
10 | GT + 2.0 | 26th |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.4L Flat-6 | D. | 292 |
11 | GT + 2.0 | 39 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | 290 |
12 | GT + 2.0 | 44 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | 286 |
13 | GT + 2.0 | 36 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.4L Flat-6 | G | 263 |
Not classified | ||||||||
14th | P 3.0 | 24 |
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Ligier JS3 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | M. | 270 |
Failed | ||||||||
15th | GT + 2.0 | 35 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.4L Flat-6 | D. | |
16 | S 5.0 | 57 |
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Porsche 917K | Porsche 4.5L Flat-12 | G | |
17th | P 3.0 | 29 |
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Porsche 908/2 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | F. | |
18th | S 5.0 | 17th |
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Porsche 917LH | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | F. | |
19th | P 3.0 | 32 |
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Matra-Simca MS660 | Matra 3.0L V12 | G | |
20th | S 5.0 | 9 |
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Ferrari 512M | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | F. | |
21st | S 5.0 | 6th |
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Ferrari 512M | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | G | |
22nd | GT 2.0 | 47 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | D. | |
23 | GT + 2.0 | 1 |
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Chevrolet Corvette Stingray | Chevrolet 7.0L V8 | D. | |
24 | P 3.0 | 30th |
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Porsche 908/2 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | D. | |
25th | GT 2.0 | 69 |
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Porsche 914/6 GT | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | G | |
26th | GT + 2.0 | 2 |
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Chevrolet Corvette Stingray | Chevrolet 7.0L V8 | M. | |
27 | S 5.0 | 18th |
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Porsche 917LH | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | F. | |
28 | S 5.0 | 15th |
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Ferrari 512M | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | F. | |
29 | P 3.0 | 28 |
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Porsche 908/2 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | D. | |
30th | S 5.0 | 7th |
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Ferrari 512F | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | G | |
31 | GT + 2.0 | 65 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | |
32 | S 5.0 | 23 |
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Porsche 917/20 "Pink Pig" | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | F. | |
33 | S 5.0 | 21st |
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Porsche 917LH | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | F. | |
34 | GT + 2.0 | 33 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.4L Flat-6 | D. | |
35 | GT 2.0 | 46 |
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Porsche 914/6 GT | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | F. | |
36 | GT + 2.0 | 34 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.4L Flat-6 | G | |
37 | GT + 2.0 | 37 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.4L Flat-6 | D. | |
38 | GT + 2.0 | 40 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | |
39 | GT + 2.0 | 41 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | |
40 | P 2.0 | 50 |
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Lola T212 | Cosworth FVC 1.8L I4 | D. | |
41 | S 5.0 | 11 |
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Ferrari 512M / P | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | G | |
42 | S 5.0 | 10 |
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Ferrari 512M | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | F. | |
43 | P 3.0 | 60 |
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Porsche 908/2 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | F. | |
44 | S 5.0 | 14th |
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Ferrari 512S Spyder | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | G | |
45 | GT + 2.0 | 66 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D M | |
46 | GT + 2.0 | 48 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | P | |
47 | GT + 2.0 | 43 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | |
48 | P 3.0 | 27 |
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Porsche 910 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | D. | |
49 | S 5.0 | 5 |
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Lola T70 Mk.IIIB | Chevrolet 5.0L V8 | F. | |
Not qualified | ||||||||
50 | GT + 2.0 | 45 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | 1 |
51 | GT + 2.0 | 68 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | D. | 2 |
52 | GT 2.0 | 52 |
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Alpine A110 | Renault 1.6L L4 | 3 | |
Withdrawn | ||||||||
53 | GT + 2.0 | 64 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | 4th |
1 not qualified 2 not qualified 3 not qualified 4 withdrawn
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
54 | GT + 2.0 | 3 |
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Chevrolet Corvette Stingray | Chevrolet 7.0L V8 | |
55 | GT + 2.0 | 4th |
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Chevrolet Corvette Stingray | Chevrolet 7.0L V8 | |
56 | P 3.0 | 24 |
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Porsche 908 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | |
57 | GT 2.0 | 70 |
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Porsche 914/6 GT | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | |
58 | GT 2.0 | 74 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | |
59 | GT 2.0 | 75 |
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Porsche 911T | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | |
60 | P 3.0 | 29 |
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Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 | Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 | ||
61 | P 3.0 | 30th |
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Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 | Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 | ||
62 | P 3.0 | 31 |
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Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 | Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 | ||
63 | P 2.0 | 47 |
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Huron 4A | Cosworth 1.8L I4 | ||
64 | P 2.0 | 48 |
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Huron 4A | Cosworth 1.8L I4 | ||
65 | P 2.0 | 52 |
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Chevron B12 | BMW 2.0L I4 | ||
66 | P 2.0 | 53 |
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Chevron B19 | Opel 2.0L I4 | |
67 | P 2.0 | 54 |
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Huron 4A | Cosworth 1.8L I4 | |
68 | P 2.0 | 55 |
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Lola T212 | Cosworth FVC 1.8L I4 | ||
69 | GT + 2.0 | 64 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 | ||
70 | GT 2.0 | 68 |
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Porsche 914/6 GT | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | ||
71 | S 5.0 | 5 |
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Ferrari 512F | Ferrari 5.0L V12 | |
72 | P 3.0 | 59 |
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Porsche 908 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | |
73 | P 3.0 | 60 |
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Porsche 908 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | |
74 | P 3.0 | 61 |
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Ferrari 312P | Ferrari 3.0L V12 | |
75 | P 2.0 | 65 |
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Huron 4A | Cosworth 1.8L I4 | |
76 | P 2.0 | 66 |
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BBM 2-C | BMW 2.0L Flat-6 | |
77 | P 2.0 | 71 |
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Porsche 910 | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | |
78 | S 5.0 |
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Ford GT40 | Ford 4.7L V8 | ||
79 | S 5.0 |
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Porsche 917 | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | |||
80 | S 5.0 | 19th |
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Porsche 917 | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | |
81 | S 5.0 | 23 |
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Porsche 917 | Porsche 4.9L Flat-12 | |
82 | P 3.0 | 59 |
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Porsche 908 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 | ||
83 | GT 2.0 | 59 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | |
84 | GT 2.0 | 72 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | |
85 | GT 2.0 | 73 |
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Porsche 914/6 GT | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | ||
86 | GT 2.0 |
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Porsche 911S | Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 | ||
86 | P 3.0 |
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Porsche 908/02 | Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 |
Class winner
Racing data
- Registered: 86
- Started: 49
- Valued: 12
- Race classes: 5
- Spectator: unknown
- Honorary starters of the race: Mr. Watson, US Ambassador to Paris and actor Steve McQueen
- Race weekend weather: cold and dry
- Route length: 13.469 km
- Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
- Total laps of the winning team: 397
- Distance of the winning team: 5335.313 km
- Winner's average: 222.304 km / h
- Pole position: Pedro Rodríguez - Porsche 917L (# 18) - 3: 13.900 = 250.069 km / h
- Fastest race lap: Jackie Oliver - Porsche 917L (# 18) - 3: 18.400 = 244.387 km / h
- Racing series: Round 9 of the 1971 World Sports Car 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
Individual evidence
Previous race 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1971 |
Sports car world championship |
Successor 1000 km race from Zeltweg 1971 |