1974 Le Mans 24 hour race

Matra MS670C. With this version of Matra, Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse won the overall standings.

Gulf GR7

The 42nd 24-hour race of Le Mans , the 42 ^e Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , also 24 Heures du Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans , took place from June 15 to 16, 1974 on the Circuit des 24 Heures .

Before the race

After the end of the sports car activities at Ferrari and the withdrawal of Alfa Romeo - despite top times at the Le Mans test days in April - the Matra works team was the clear favorite for overall victory. It could also renewing registration of the two Carrera RSA - Porsche - prototypes with a Porsche 911 -Silhouette - from the factory team from Zuffenhausen change anything. The North American Racing Team fielded a 1969 Ferrari 312P driven by Teodoro Zeccoli and Jean-Claude Andruet .

The race

Just before the race, the British team owner and racing driver Alain de Cadenet broke his right arm so that his two teammates Chris Craft and John Nicholson had to contest the race without him.

After the early retirement of one of the two Gulf GR7s - with Vern Schuppan at the wheel - who were most likely to keep up with the Matras, three of the blue French works cars were in the lead after three hours of racing. But the Matra teams' race did not go without a hitch: at 7.30 p.m. Jean-Pierre Jarier had a collision with a Porsche 911 in the new Matra MS680 while exiting the pit lane and after a slow lap had to pit again to repair the body . Just after midnight, the Jarier / Beltoise -MS680 failed first and only a little later the Jabouille / Wollek / Dolhem -MS670C, each with an overheated engine.

Nevertheless, the overall victory did not seem in jeopardy, as Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse were in the lead on Sunday morning with a lead of eleven laps on the Carrera RSR of Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep . Then Henri Pescarolo rolled out on the Hunaundières straight with a defective gearbox synchronization. But he managed to get the MS670C to drive again and drove slowly back to the pits. The mechanics there needed 45 minutes to repair, and the lead melted to one lap. When Pescarolo hit the track again, the car was no longer entirely competitive. What saved the Matra team in the end was the fact that the Porsche also had transmission problems due to a slipping clutch and lost five laps in the pits. For Henri Pescarolo and Matra it was the third overall victory in a row. The French company ended its motorsport activities at the end of the year.

Results

Pilots by nationality

61 French	13 Swiss	7 Germans	6 British	4 Italians
4 Spaniards	4 Americans	3 Belgians	3 Ecuadorians	3 Japanese
2 Mexicans	1 Australian	1 Liechtensteiner	1 New Zealander	1 Moroccan
1 Swede

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S 3.0	7th	Equipe Gitanes	Henri Pescarolo Gérard Larrousse	Matra-Simca MS670C	Matra 3.0L V12	G	337
2	S 3.0	22nd	Martini Racing Team	Gijs van Lennep Herbert Müller	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 2.1L Turbo Flat-6	D.	331
3	S 3.0	9	Equipe Gitanes	Jean-Pierre Jabouille François Migault	Matra-Simca MS670C	Matra 3.0L V12	G	324
4th	S 3.0	11	Gulf Research Racing	Derek Bell Mike Hailwood	Gulf GR7	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	F.	317
5	GT	71	Raymond Touroul	Cyril Grandet Dominique Bardini	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		313
6th	GT	54	North American Racing Team	Dave Heinz Alain Cudini	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12	G	312
7th	GT	66	Porsche Club Romand	Bernard Chenevière Peter Zbinden Michel Dubois	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		312
8th	S 3.0	15th	Automobiles Ligier	Jacques Laffite Alain Serpaggi	Ligier JS2	Maserati 3.0L V6	M.	310
9	S 3.0	1	North American Racing Team	Teodoro Zeccoli Jean-Claude Andruet	Ferrari 312P	Ferrari 3.0L V12	G	298
10	GT	70	ASA Cachia	Raymond Touroul Henri Cachia Dennis Rua	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		288
11	GT	56	North American Racing Team	Christian Ethuin Lucien Guitteny	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12	G	285
12	GT	69	Lucien Negeotte	Lucien Nageotte Jean-Pierre Laffeach	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		276
13	GT	59	Pierre Mauroy	Anne-Charlotte Verney Pierre Mauroy Martine Rénier	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		276
14th	GT	63	Jean-Claude Lagniez	Jean-Claude Lagniez Gérard Meo	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		274
15th	T	86	Jean-Claude Aubriet	Jean-Claude Aubriet Jean-Claude Depince	BMW 3.0CSL	BMW 3.5L I6		269
16	GT	57	Marcel Mignot	Marcel Mignot Harry Jones	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12		266
17th	S 2.0	30th	Écurie Seiko	Christine Beckers Yvette Fontaine Marie Laurent	Chevron B23	Cosworth FVC 2.0L I4	F.	265
18th	GT	51	Henri Greder	Henri Greder Marie-Claude Charmasson	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8	M.	253
19th	S 3.0	65	Christian Poirot	Christian Poirot Jean Rondeau	Porsche 908/2	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8		251
20th	GT	73	Paul Blancpain	Michael Keyser Milt Minter Paul Blancpain	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		246
Not classified
21st	S 3.0	25th	Mazda Automotive	Yasuhiro Okamoto Harukuni Takahashi Yōjirō Terada	Sigma MC74	Mazda 12A 1.2L 2- Wankel	D.	155
Failed
22nd	GT	72	Polifac Gelo Racing Team	Franz Pesch Jürgen Barth	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		232
23	GT	62	Ecurie Francorchamps	Hughes de Fierlant Richard Bond	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		227
24	GT	67	Porsche Club Romand	William Vollery Eric Chapuis Roger Dorchy	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		225
25th	T	90	Shark team	Jean-Claude Guérie Serge Godard Dominique Fornage	Ford Capri RS	Ford 3.0L V6		186
26th	S 3.0	10	Alain de Cadenet	Chris Craft John Nicholson	De Cadenet LM	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	F.	168
27	T	87	BMW Jolly Club	Manfred Mohr Martino Finotto Carlo Facetti	BMW 3.0CSL	BMW 3.5L I6		155
28	S 2.0	43	Racing Organization Course	Robert Mieusset Fred Stalder François Sérvanin	Lola T292	ROC- Chrysler 2.0L I4	F.	145
29	S 2.0	44	Gérard Cuynet	Gérard Cuynet Yves Evrard Jean-Louis Gama	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	G	143
30th	GT	64	Polifac Gelo Racing Team	Georg Loos Clemens Schickentanz	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		134
31	S 3.0	17th	Ortega Ecuador Marlboro Team	Fausto Merello Guillermo Ortega Lothar Ranft	Porsche 908/2	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	G	122
32	S 3.0	8th	Equipe Gitanes	Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Bob Wollek José Dolhem	Matra-Simca MS670B	Matra 3.0L V12	G	120
33	GT	61	Robert Buchet	Claude Ballot-Léna Vic Elford	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		117
34	S 3.0	6th	Equipe Gitanes	Jean-Pierre Beltoise Jean-Pierre Jarier	Matra-Simca MS680	Matra 3.0L V12	G	104
35	S 3.0	21st	Martini Racing Team	Helmut Koinigg Manfred Schurti	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo	Porsche 2.1L Turbo Flat-6	D.	87
36	S 3.0	14th	Automobiles Ligier	Guy Chasseuil Michel Leclère	Ligier JS2	Maserati 3.0L V6	M.	82
37	GT	68	Samson Kremer Racing	Hans Heyer Paul Keller Erwin Kremer	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		65
38	S 3.0	46	Rebaque-Rojas Racing Team	Guillermo Rojas Héctor Rebaque	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6	G	60
39	S 3.0	12	Gulf Research Racing	Vern Schuppan Reine Wisell	Gulf GR7	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	F.	49
40	S 2.0	23	Mamers-Grac-Gotti-Meca	Max Mamers Xavier Lapeyre	Grac-Gotti MT20	Chrysler- Simca JRD 2.0L I4	G	45
41	GT	58	Escuderia Montjuich	Claude Haldi José-Maria Fernandez Jean-Marc Seguin	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6	D.	41
42	S 3.0	19th	Wicky Racing Team	André Wicky Jacques Boucard Louis Cosson	Porsche 908/2	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	F.	41
43	S 3.0	28	Michel Dupont Scato	Heinz Schulthess Michel Lateste	Lola T284	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	F.	32
44	S 3.0	18th	North American Racing Team	Jean-Louis Lafosse Giancarlo Gagliardi	Ferrari 308 GT4	Ferrari 3.0L V8		30th
45	GT	60	Louis Meznarie	Hubert Striebig Hughes Kirschoffer Jean-Louis Chateau	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		23
46	GT	52	Wicky Racing Team	Max Cohen-Olivar Philippe Carron	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8	F.	16
47	S 3.0	31	Écurie Tibidabo	Francisco Torredemer Juan Fernández Bernard Tramont	Porsche 908/3	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	G	12
48	GT	55	North American Racing Team	Jean-Pierre Paoli Alain Couderc	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L V12	G	4th
49	S 2.0	27	Michel Dupont Scato	Michel Dupont Gregor Fischer Daniel Brillat	Chevron B23 / 26	Cosworth BDG 1.8L I4	F.	3
Not qualified
50	TS	98	Claude Buchet	Claude Buchet Jean-Paul Agerés Frederic Canal	Mazda RX-3			1

¹ 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
51	S 3.0	3	Autodelta SpA	Rolf Stommelen Andrea de Adamich	Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
52	S 3.0	4th	Autodelta SpA	Arturo Merzario Carlo Facetti	Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
53	S 3.0	6th	Autodelta SpA	Carlo Facetti Teodoro Zeccoli Rolf Stommelen	Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
54	S 3.0	7th	Autodelta SpA	Andrea de Adamich Arturo Merzario	Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12	Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8
55	S 3.0	21st	Automobiles Ligier		Ligier JS2	Maserati 3.0L V6
56	S 3.0	22nd	North American Racing Team		Lamborghini Urraco P250	Lamborghini 2.5L V8
57	S 3.0	23	Wicky Racing Team	André Wicky Florian Vetsch Jean-Pierre Aeschlimann	Lamborghini Urraco P250	Lamborghini 2.5L V8
58	S 3.0	24	Lancia Marlboro	Sandro Munari Jean-Claude Andruet Umberto Maglioli	Lancia Stratos	Lancia 2.5L V6
59	S 2.0	26th	Pierre-Marie Painvin	Lucien Guitteny Guy Fréquelin Pierre-Marie Painvin	GRAC MT20	Chrysler- Simca -JRD 2.0L I4
60	S 2.0	27	Paulenco Racing	Emilio Zapico Yves Martin Alan Stubbs	March 74S	BMW M12 2.0L I4
61	S 2.0	29	Raymond Touroul	Raymond Touroul	March 74S	BMW M12 2.0L I4
62	S 2.0	32	José Uriarte	José Uriarte Hervé LeGuellec	Lola T292	Cosworth FVC 2.0L I4
63	S 2.0	33	Paul Blancpain	Paul Blancpain	Chevron B23	Cosworth FVC 2.0L I4
64	S 2.0	34	Michel Lateste	Michel Lateste Michel Dufust Robert Nee	ACE PB2	Cosworth FVC 2.0L I4
65	S 3.0	36	Pascal Michelet	Pascal Michelet Francisco Madera Francisco Perez Louis Larrea	Ferrari 250LM	Ferrari 3.0L V12
66	GT + 5.0	40	Wicky Racing Team	Max Cohen-Olivar Pierre-François Rousselot	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8
67	GT + 5.0	41	John Greenwood		Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8
68	GT 5.0	52	Martini Racing Team		Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.5L Turbo Flat-6
69	GT 5.0	53	Martini Racing Team		Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.5L Turbo Flat-6
70	GT 5.0	57	Porsche Kremer Racing		Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.5L Turbo Flat-6
71	GT 5.0	58	Jean-Louis Chateau	Jean-Louis Chateau Hubert Striebig	Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.5L Turbo Flat-6
72	GT 5.0	60	Opal Lubrifiants	Denis Rua Jean-Pierre Laffeach Jean-Francois Jaunet Jean Ortelli	Porsche 911 SE	Porsche 3.5L Turbo Flat-6
73	GT 5.0	61	Heinz Schiller	Jean Selz Florian Vetsch	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.5L Turbo Flat-6
74	GT 5.0	63	ASA Cachia	Jacques Borras	Porsche 911S	Porsche 3.5L Turbo Flat-6
75	TS	64	BMW Motorsport GmbH		BMW 3.0CSL	BMW 3.5L I6
76	TS	65	BMW Motorsport GmbH		BMW 3.0CSL	BMW 3.5L I6
77	TS		BMW Motorsport GmbH		BMW 3.0CSL	BMW 3.5L I6
78	TS	66	Walter Brun	Walter Brun	BMW 3.0CSL	BMW 3.5L I6
79	TS	67	Gelo Racing Team	Jürgen Barth	BMW 3.0CSL	BMW 3.5L I6
80	TS	70	Francesco Torredemer	Jorge Pla Luis Rosal José Clot	Ford Capri RS	Ford 3.0L V6
81	S 3.0		Mike Coombe		March 74S	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8
82	GT 3.0		Jean-Marc Seguin	Jean-Marc Seguin	Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6
83			Philippe Montels	Philippe Montels P. Le Greves	Jide
84	S 3.0		Equipe Gitanes		Matra-Simca MS670C	Matra 3.0L V12
85	S 2.0		Michel Dupont Scato		Chevron B26	Cosworth BDG 1.8L I4
86	S 2.0		Michel Dupont Scato		Chevron B21	Cosworth BDG 1.8L I4

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Thermal Efficiency	Cyril Grandet	Dominique Bardini		Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Rank 5
Sports car 2001–3000 cm³	Henri Pescarolo	Gérard Larrousse		Matra MS670C	Overall victory
Sports car up to 2000 cm³	Christine Beckers	Yvette Fontaine	Marie Laurent	Chevron B23	Rank 17
GTS	Henri Greder	Marie-Claude Charmasson		Chevrolet Corvette	Rank 18
GTS up to 5000 cm³	Cyril Grandet	Dominique Bardini		Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Rank 5
Touring special	Jean-Claude Aubriet	Jean-Claude Depnice		BMW 3.0CSL	Rank 15

Racing data

• Registered: 86
• Started: 49
• Rated: 20
• Race classes: 6
• Spectators: 200,000
• Honorary starter of the race: Olivier Guichard , French Minister of Industry
• Race weekend weather: warm and sunny
• Route length: 13.640 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 338
• Distance of the winning team: 4606.571 km
• Winner's average: 191.940 km / h
• Pole position: Henri Pescarolo - Matra-Simca MS670C (# 7) - 3: 35.180 = 227.554 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Jean-Pierre Jarier - Matra-Simca MS680 (# 6) - 3: 42.700 = 220.994 km / h
• Racing series: 5th round of the 1974 World Sports Car Championship

literature

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

Web links

Commons : 24 Hours of Le Mans 1974  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Previous race Imola 1000 km race in 1974

Sports car world championship

Successor race 1000 km race from Zeltweg 1974