1972 Le Mans 24 hour race

The Porsche 908 long tail with starting number 60. Reinhold Joest, Michel Weber and Mario Casoni drove the car to third place in the overall ranking.

Lola T280 (start number 80, front), here in 2009 at an event for historic racing cars in Spa-Francorchamps

3 liter V12 engine of the Matra MS670

The 40th 24-hour race at Le Mans , the 40 ^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 11 to 12 June 1972 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

Before the race

New regulations

At the beginning of the 1972 season, new regulations came into force for the World Sports Car Championship . The most important innovation was the limitation of the displacement of the group 5 sports cars to 3 liters. This meant that racing vehicles such as the Porsche 917 , the Ferrari 512S and the Lola T70 could no longer be used in Le Mans. However, the new guidelines made Formula 1 technology possible in long-distance races. This had an effect on the engine of many participants and made it possible to use the Cosworth V8 engine at Le Mans. Since the V12 engine of Matra had only three liters of displacement, which included Matra MS670 favorites of the race.

Ferrari had already developed a 3-liter prototype with the Ferrari 312PB in 1971, which had dominated all sports car races up to the Le Mans race. The Scuderia had also registered three 312PB, but withdrew the entry shortly before the race. In Maranello it was feared that the prototypes would technically not be able to withstand the long distance.

In 1972 the Automobile Club de l'Ouest also changed the class rating. The Index of Performance, introduced in 1925 , has been canceled. This index related the performance of a vehicle to the distance traveled. In the 1950s and 1960s, this index was particularly popular with teams in the small displacement classes.

The ACO also returned to the roots of the race. The race was launched in 1923 with the aim of being an event for conventional touring cars . In 1972 there was again a touring car class in which vehicles from Ford and BMW competed. The BMW brand returned to Le Mans after many years of absence - the last time a BMW was at the start at the Sarthe in 1939 .

Modifications to the route

In the spring of 1972 the racetrack was rebuilt. The dreaded Maison-Blanche-Passage - the scene of many accidents - has been defused. A completely new section of the track was built away from the public road, which connects the fast straight to Indianapolis with the pit area. In the course of the renovation work, the Ford chicane was also adapted. The new section of the track - although a permanent racetrack - is only used for the 24-hour race, as it is not part of the Bugatti circuit . In recognition of the achievements of Porsche racing cars, the section, which consists of four fast corners, was named "Porsche Curves".

The race

After Ferrari's cancellation, the Matras were the big favorites for overall victory. Porsche had not sent any works cars into the race, but six Porsche 908 , one Porsche 907 and Porsche 910 - all registered by private teams - competed. Alfa Romeo was again represented with three Tipo 33s .

After the start, a Lola T280 with Jo Bonnier at the wheel took the lead. The Swede shared the cockpit with the Dutchman Gijs van Lennep and the Frenchman Gérard Larrousse . After one hour of racing, however, the works Matra took the lead. Although Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Chris Amon's car retired on the first lap, the French prototypes had a comfortable three-car lead.

The death of Jo Bonnier

At 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, the experienced Swedish racing driver Jo Bonnier made a fateful mistake when he tried to overtake the Ferrari Daytona of Swiss private driver Florian Vetsch when braking onto the Indianapolis curve. To let Bonnier by, Vetsch braked hard. Bonnier may have misunderstood this, so that after changing lanes twice, he collided with the Ferrari at around 250 km / h. His Lola was catapulted eight meters into the air, hurled the driver from the cockpit into the pine trees and exploded on contact with the ground. Bonnier died at the scene of the accident. Vic Elford driving behind him assumed that Bonnier had made the wrong decision because he was exhausted.

Further course of the race

After the failure of the Jean-Pierre Jabouille / David Hobbs - Matra MS660 and a long pit stop of the second MS670, the way to victory was clear for Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill . For Pescarolo it was the first victory at Le Mans. Graham Hill was also able to add a triumph at Le Mans to his two Formula 1 world titles and victory in the Indianapolis 500 mile race .

Third was Reinhold Joest , who with his two partners drove a Porsche 908 that originally belonged to Joseph Siffert .

Results

Pilots by nationality

47 French	14 British	13 Germans	13 Swiss	10 Americans
7 Belgians	7 Spaniards	4 Italians	3 Austrians	2 New Zealanders
1 Greek	1 Dutch	1 Portuguese	1 Swede

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S 3.0	15th	Equipe Matra-Simca Shell	Henri Pescarolo Graham Hill	Matra-Simca MS670	Matra 3.0L V12	G	344
2	S 3.0	14th	Equipe Matra-Simca Shell	François Cevert Howden Ganley	Matra-Simca MS670	Matra 3.0L V12	G	333
3	S 3.0	60	Jo Siffert ATE Racing	Reinhold Joest Michel Weber Mario Casoni	Porsche 908L	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8		325
4th	S 3.0	18th	Audodelta SpA	Nino Vaccarella Andrea de Adamich	Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8	G	307
5	GT 5.0	39	Charles Pozzi	Jean-Claude Andruet Claude Ballot-Léna	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		306
6th	GT 5.0	74	North American Racing Team	Sam Posey Tony Adamowicz	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		304
7th	GT 5.0	34	Scuderia Filipinetti	Mike Parkes Jean-Louis Lafosse Jean-Jacques Cochet	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		302
8th	GT 5.0	36	Ecurie Francorchamps	Derek Bell Teddy Pilette Richard Bond	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		301
9	GT 5.0	38	North American Racing Team	Jean-Pierre Jarier Claude Buchet	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		297
10	T 3.0	54	Ford Motor Company Germany	Gerry Birrell Claude Bourgoignie	Ford Capri 2600RS	Ford 3.0L V6		292
11	T 3.0	52	Ford Motor Company Germany	Dieter Glemser Àlex Soler-Roig	Ford Capri 2600RS	Ford 3.0L V6		289
12	S 3.0	68	Duckham's Oil Motor Racing	Alain de Cadenet Chris Craft	Duckhams LM	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8		288
13	GT 3.0	41	Louis Meznarie	Sylvain Garant Jürgen Barth Michael Keyser	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		285
14th	S 2.0	27	René Ligonnet - Kodak	René Ligonnet Barrie Smith	Lola T290	Cosworth FVC 1.8L I4		284
15th	GT +5.0	4th	North American Racing Team	Dave Heinz Robert B. Johnson	Chevrolet Corvette ZL1	Chevrolet 7.0L V8	G	284
16	GT +5.0	32	Claude Dubois	Jean-Marie Jacquemin Yves Deprez	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8		282
17th	GT 3.0	46	North American Racing Team	Jean-Pierre Laffeach Gilles Doncieux	Ferrari Dino 246 GT	Ferrari 2.4L V6		265
18th	S 2.0	24	Wicky Racing Team	Peter Mattli Hervé Bayard Walter Brun	Porsche 907	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6		252
Not classified
19th	S 3.0	67	Christian Poirot	Christian Poirot Philippe Farjon	Porsche 908/2	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8		206
Failed
20th	S 3.0	16	Equipe Matra-Simca Shell | Shell	Jean-Pierre Jabouille David Hobbs	Matra-Simca MS660C	Matra 3.0L V12	G	278
21st	S 3.0	5	Escuderia Montjuich	Juan Fernández Francesco Torredemer Eugenio Baturone	Porsche 908/3	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8
22nd	S 3.0	19th	Autodelta SpA	Rolf Stommelen Nanni Galli	Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8	G	263
23	S 3.0	6th	Hans-Dieter Weigel	Hans-Dieter Weigel Helmuth Krause	Porsche 908/2	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8		244
24	GT +5.0	29	Greder Racing Team	Henri Greder Marie-Claude Charmasson	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8		235
25th	S 3.0	17th	Autodelta SpA	Vic Elford Helmut Marko	Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8	G	232
26th	GT 5.0	57	North American Racing Team	Luigi Chinetti junior masters Gregory	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		226
27	S 3.0	8th	Ecurie Bonnier Switzerland	Joakim Bonnier Gérard Larrousse Gijs van Lennep	Lola T280	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	G	213
28	GT 3.0	42	Claude Haldi	Claude Haldi Paul Keller Gérard Darton-Merlin	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		208
29	GT 5.0	35	Scuderia Filipinetti	Bernard Chenevière Florian Vetsch Gérard Pillon	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		204
30th	S 3.0	22nd	Automobiles Ligier	Pierre Maublanc Jacques Laffite	Ligier JS2	Maserati 3.0L V6		195
31	GT +5.0	71	Ecurie Leopard	Jean-Claude Aubriet Jean-Claude Depince	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8		188
32	S 3.0	65	Jean-Louis Ravenel	Louis Cosson Jean-Louis Ravenel	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.4L Flat-6		188
33	S 3.0	56	Claude Laurent	Claude Laurent Martial Delalande Jacques Marché	Ligier JS2	Maserati 3.0L V6		186
34	GT 3.0	45	Raymond Touroul	Fernand Sarapoulos Dominique Bardini	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		183
35	T 3.0	53	Ford Motor Company Germany	Jochen Mass Hans-Joachim Stuck	Ford Capri 2600RS	Ford 3.0L V6		152
36	S 3.0	76	Jean Égreteaud	Jean-Claude Lagniez Raymond Touroul	Porsche 908/2	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8		83
37	GT +5.0	72	John Greenwood Racing	Bernard Darniche Alain Cudini John Greenwood	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8		82
38	S 2.0	23	Brian Robinson	Brian Robinson Jean Rondeau	Chevron B21	Cosworth FVC 1.8L I4		76
39	T 3.0	49	Team AC Schnitzer Motul	Hans Heyer René Herzog	BMW 2800CS	BMW 3.0L I6		70
40	GT 3.0	44	Jean Sage	Jean Sage Georg Loos Franz Pesch	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		64
41	GT 5.0	37	Maranello Concessionaires	Peter Westbury John Hine	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		72
42	GT +5.0	28	John Greenwood Racing	John Greenwood Dick Smothers	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8		53
43	GT 3.0	80	Porsche Kremer Racing Team	John Fitzpatrick Erwin Kremer Juan Carlos Bolaños	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		39
44	GT 3.0	79	Jean-Pierre Gaban	Hermes Delbar Roger van der Schrick	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.4L Flat-6
45	GT +5.0	30th	Escuderia Montjuich	José Juncadella Fernando de Baviera	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8		36
46	GT +5.0	31	Escuderia Montjuich	Herbert Müller Cox Cooker	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8		36
47	S 2.0	69	Michel Dupont	Michel Dupont Jean-Paul Bodin	Chevron B19 / 21	Cosworth FVC 1.8L I4		29
48	T 3.0	84	Shark team	Jean-Claude Guérie Jean-Pierre Rouget	Ford Capri 2600RS	Ford 3.0L V6		26th
49	S 3.0	7th	Ecurie Bonnier Switzerland	Hughes de Fierlant Jorge de Bagration Mário de Araújo Cabral	Lola T280	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8		26th
50	G 3.0	40	René Mazzia	Pierre Mauroy Marcel Mignot	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		27
51	GT 5.0	75	Charles Pozzi	François Migault Daniel Rouveyran	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		22nd
52	S 3.0	58	Bosch Racing Team	Walter Roser Otto Stuppacher	Porsche 908/2	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8		11
53	S 3.0	21st	Automobiles Ligier	Guy Ligier Jean-François Piot	Ligier JS2	Maserati 3.0L V6		7th
54	S +3.0	33	Société Franco-Brittanic	Guy Chasseuil Jean Vinatier	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8		3
55	S 3.0	12	Equipe Matra-Simca Shell	Jean-Pierre Beltoise Chris Amon	Matra-Simca MS670	Matra 3.0L V12	G	1
Not started
56	GTS	78	Jean Sage	Jean Sage Pierre Creub Georg Loos Franz Plesch	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		1
57	S 2.0	26th	Veglia GRAC Racing	Lionel Noghés Christian Mons Alain Finkelstein	GRAC MT16	Cosworth FVC 3.0L V8		2
58	S 3.0	61	Wicky Racing Team	André Wicky Walter Brun Max Cohen-Olivar	Porsche 908/02	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8		3
59	S 2.0	85	Société Darnval	Jean-Daniel Jakubowski Peter Schweitzer	Taydec MK III	Cosworth FVC 3.0L V8		4th
Not qualified
60	S 3.0	64	Scuderia Filipinetti	Jean-Jacques Cochet Gérard Pillon Dominique Martin	Lola T290	Cosworth FVC 3.0L V8		5
61	GTS	43	Jean Mésange	Jean Mésange Gérard Darton-Merlin Pierre Boitier Paul Keller	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		6th
62	GTS	47	Motor Racing Facilities Ltd.	Robert Grant Sergé Troch Martin Birrane	Datsun 240Z			8th
63	GTS	51	Wicky Racing Team	Jean-Pierre Aeschlimann Juan Diez	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6		9
64	GTS	73	Scuderia Brescia Corse	Enrico Pasolini Vincenzo Cazzago Giampiero Moretti Mario Casoni	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8		10
65	TS	55	AGACIF	Guy Verrier Gérard Foucault Francois Monath	Citroën SM	Maserati 3.0L V6		11
66	TS	82	Claudet Buchet	Claude Buchet Joël Bonnemaison	Ford Capri 2600RS	Ford 3.0L V6		12
Withdrawn
67	S 3.0	1	Ferrari SEFAC	Jacky Ickx Clay Regazzoni Arturo Merzario	Ferrari 312PB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		13
68	S 3.0	2	Ferrari SEFAC	Brian Redman Sandro Munari Arturo Merzario	Ferrari 312PB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		14th
69	S 3.0		Ferrari SEFAC	Ronnie Peterson Mario Andretti Tim Schenken	Ferrari 312PB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		15th

¹ defect ² accident during training ³ tire problems ⁴ defect ⁵ not qualified ⁶ not qualified ⁷ not qualified ⁸ not qualified ⁹ not qualified ¹⁰ not qualified ¹¹ not qualified ¹² not qualified ¹³ withdrawn ¹⁴ withdrawn ¹⁵ 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
70	S 2.0		Bellco Racing Team	Tomohiko Tsutsumi Noritake Takahara	Bellco R39B	Mitsubishi 2.0L I4
71	S 2.0		Barclay's International Racing	Guy Edwards John Burton	Lola T290	Cosworth FVC 1.8L I4
72	S 3.0		Escuderia Montjuich		Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
73	S 3.0		Zitro Racing	Dominique Martin	Lola T280	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8
74	S 3.0		Automobiles Ligier		Ligier JS2	Maserati 3.0L V6
75	S 3.0		Guy Edwards		Lola T280	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8
76	S 3.0		Gulf Research Racing Co.	Gijs van Lennep	Mirage M6	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8
77	S 3.0		Gulf Research Racing Co.	Derek Bell	Mirage M6	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8
78	S 3.0		Ecurie Bonnier Switzerland	Reine Wisell Dominique Martin	Lola T280	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8
79	S 3.0		Société Darnval	François Migault Rick Hurst	Darnval LM2	Repco 3.0L V8
80	S 3.0		Autodelta SpA	Toine Hezemans Peter Revson	Alfa Romeo 33TT3	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
81	S 3.0		Ecurie Bonnier		Lola T280	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8
82	S 3.0		North American Racing Team	Sam Posey Tony Adamowicz	Ferrari 312PB	Ferrari 3.0L V12
83	GTS	75	Robert Buchet	Guy Gentis Jean-Paul Bodin	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6
84	GTS	76	Porsche Club Romand	Ennio Bonomelli Pino Pica	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.5L Flat-6
85	TS	48	AMG engineering office	Hans Heyer Clemens Schickentanz	Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL	Mercedes-Benz 6.3L V8
86	TS	81	Greder Racing Team	Henri Greder Jean Ragnotti	Opel Commodore GS
87	S 2.0	24	Wicky Racing Team	Max Cohen-Olivar André Wicky	Porsche 907	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6
88	TS		Wicky Racing Team		BMW 2800CS	BMW 3.0L I6
89	TS		Claude Laurent		Citroën SM	Maserati 3.0L V6
90	TS		BMW Alpina	Dieter Quester John Fitzpatrick	BMW 2800CS	BMW 3.0L I6
91	TS		Castrol Racing Team	François Mazet Dieter Basche	BMW 2800CS	BMW 3.0L I6
92	GTS		Dana English		Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8
93	TS		Claude Buchet	Claude Buchet Jean-Paul Agére	Chrysler Barracuda
94	GTS		Claude Dubois	J.-M. Chailler J.-M. Currien	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Thermal Efficiency	Jean-Claude Andruet	Claude Ballot-Léna		Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Rank 5
Sports car up to 3000 cm³	Henri Pescarolo	Graham Hill		Matra MS670	Overall victory
Prototype up to 2000 cm³	René Ligonnet	Barrie Smith		Lola T290	Rank 14
GTS over 5000 cm³	Dave Heinz	Bob Johnson		Chevrolet Corvette ZL1	Rank 15
GTS up to 5000 cm³	Jean-Claude Andruet	Claude Ballot-Léna		Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Rank 5
GTS over 2500 cm³	Sylvain Garant	Jürgen Barth	Michael Keyser	Porsche 911S	Rank 13
Touring special	Gerry Birrell	Claude Bourgoigne		Ford Capri 2600RS	Rank 10

Racing data

• Registered: 94
• Started: 55
• Valued: 18
• Race classes: 7
• Spectator: unknown
• Honorary starter of the race: Georges Pompidou , French President
• Race weekend weather: rain showers
• Route length: 13.640 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 344
• Distance of the winning team: 4691.343 km
• Winner's average: 195.472 km / h
• Pole position: François Cevert - Matra-Simca MS670 (# 14) - 3.42.020 = 220.990 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Gijs van Lennep - Lola T280 (# 8) - 3.46.900 = 216.413 km / h
• Racing series: Round 9 of the 1972 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

Commons : 24 Hours of Le Mans 1972  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Previous race 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1972

Sports car world championship

Successor 1000 km race from Zeltweg 1972