1977 Le Mans 24 hour race

The winning car with starting number 4: Porsche 936 from Jacky Ickx, Hurley Haywood and Jürgen Barth.

The number 50 BMW Art Car designed by Roy Lichtenstein reached 9th overall.

Henri Pescarolo in the Porsche 936 in the early stages of the race. After 45 laps the car had to be parked with engine failure.

The 45th 24 hour race of Le Mans , the 45 ^e Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , also 24 h du Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans , took place from 11 to 12 June 1977 on the Circuit des 24 Heures .

The race

The teams

After the first attempts in the 1960s and 1970s, Renault Alpine returned to Le Mans in 1977 with its sports prototypes to win the 24-hour race. Under the direction of team boss Gérard Larrousse , who won the race for Matra as a driver in 1973 and 1974 , Renault brought three works cars to the Sarthe. The three A442 were powered by 2-liter V6 turbo engines. A fourth A442 was used by Jacky Haran and Hugues de Chaunac , today's ORECA team manager , and had sufficient factory support. The Grand Touring Cars Incorporation was also closely associated with the Renault works team. The two Mirage GR8s were also equipped with Renault's 2-liter turbo engines this year.

Renault's toughest opponent was again Porsche. The factory team from Zuffenhausen used two 936 Spyder and one 935 . The best-known driver pairing was the duo Jacky Ickx and Henri Pescarolo , both multiple Le Mans winners. Four more cars of this type came to the -935 plant, which were reported by the German teams Loos and Kremer . A total of 27 Porsches competed across the different classes.

In addition to Alpine, the Inaltera prototypes also came from France. There they sat in the engine choice on the V8 engines from Cosworth . This aggregate came in the new Lola by Alain de Cadenet used. After a year of absence, the North American Racing Team's 365 GT4 / BB was again a Ferrari . And for the first time since 1964 an Aston Martin was registered again. Robin Hamilton had built a DBS with a 5.3-liter V8 engine for this race and entered the GTP class.

The course of the race

Immediately after the start, the factory Renault took the lead in the race. Right at the front was the A442 with starting number 9, which started the race from pole position and was driven alternately by Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Derek Bell . However, Renault also had to retire on the first lap. The private A442 had to be parked on the first lap with turbocharger damage. The fastest Porsche in the initial phase was the works 935 run by Rolf Stommelen and Manfred Schurti , but the car soon ran into technical problems and finally broke down after three hours of racing. After three hours the Bell / Jabouille-Renault was still in the lead, now ahead of the two 936 Spyders. As a result, a wheel-to-wheel duel developed between Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Henri Pescarolo, which ended with the Porsche breaking down after Pescarolo over-revved the engine. The second works Porsche 936 from Jürgen Barth and Hurley Haywood had already replaced the fuel pump and fell behind by the end of the ranking.

At the top were now the three works Renault. At Porsche, a far-reaching decision was made and without further ado, Jacky Ickx was the third driver in Barth and Haywood's car. This process was covered by the regulations, since pilots were allowed to drive within a team, even in two racing cars. Jacky Ickx drove one of his best sports car races that night and brought the Porsche up to fourth place in the overall standings. And what was hardly thought possible any more happened on Sunday morning. The Porsche took the lead because all three Renaults retired with engine damage. One hour before the end, the Schuppan / Jarier -Mirage GR8 was in second place. However, 16 laps behind the works Porsche 936. The Porsche was in the pits with a damaged cylinder and the big question was whether the Porsche technicians would get the 936 running again. Because the regulations stipulated that regardless of the lead, a vehicle had to cross the finish line to be scored. The entire Renault-Alpine team had gathered in the Mirage box when the Porsche with Barth at the wheel was pushed out of the box a few minutes before the end of the race and drove two laps around the course to victory at slow speed with the engine smoking. Vern Schuppan and Jean-Pierre Jarier finished second in the GR8.

Results

Pilots by nationality

78 French	18 British	13 Swiss	9 Belgians	9 Americans
4 Germans	3 Australians	3 Italians	3 Dutch	3 Spaniards
1 Ecuadorian	1 Irish	1 Liechtensteiner	1 Luxembourger	1 Moroccan

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S +2.0	4th	Martini Racing Porsche System	Jürgen Barth Hurley Haywood Jacky Ickx	Porsche 936/77	Porsche Type-935 2.1L Turbo Flat-6	D.	342
2	S +2.0	10	Grand Touring Cars Inc.	Vern Schuppan Jean-Pierre Jarier	Mirage GR8	Renault 2.0L Turbo V6	G	331
3	Group 5	40	JMS Racing Team	Claude Ballot-Léna Peter Gregg	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 2.9L Turbo Flat-6	D.	315
4th	GTP	88	Inaltera	Jean Ragnotti Jean Rondeau	Inaltera LM77	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	G	315
5	S +2.0	5	Alain de Cadenet	Alain de Cadenet Chris Craft	De Cadenet LM	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	G	315
6th	S 2.0	20th	Racing Organization Course	Michel Pignard Albert Dufréne Jacques Henry	Chevron B36	ROC- Chrysler 2.0L I4		303
7th	GT	58	Porsche Kremer Racing	Bob Wollek Jean-Pierre Wielemans Philippe Gurdjian	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	298
8th	IMSA	71	Luigi Racing	Jean Xhenceval Pierre Dieudonné Spartaco Dini	BMW 3.0 CSL	BMW 3.2L I6	D.	291
9	IMSA	50	Hervé Poulain	Hervé Poulain Marcel Mignot	BMW 320i	BMW 2.0L I4	G	287
10	IMSA	61	Christian Gouttepifre	Christian Gouttepifre Philippe Malbran Alain Leroux	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6	D.	281
11	S +2.0	2	Inaltera	Lella Lombardi Christine Beckers	Inaltera LM77	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	G	279
12	IMSA	70	JMS Racing Team	Simon De Lautour Jean-Pierre Delaunay Jacques Guérin	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6	D.	275
13	S +2.0	1	Inaltera	Jean-Pierre Beltoise Al Holbert	Inaltera LM77	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	G	275
14th	IMSA	79	Ravenel Fréres	Jean-Louis Ravenel Jacky Ravenel Jean-Marie Détrin	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		274
15th	GTP	86	WM AEREM	Max Mamers Jean-Daniel Raulet Xavier Mathiot	WM P76	Peugeot PRV 2.7L V6	M.	274
16	IMSA	75	North American Racing Team	François Migault Lucien Guitteny	Ferrari 365 GT4 / BB	Ferrari 4.4L Flat-12	G	268
17th	GTP	83	SAS Robin Hamilton	Robin Hamilton David Preece Mike Salmon	Aston Martin DBS V8	Aston Martin 5.3L V8	D.	260
18th	Group 5	47	Anne-Charlotte Verney BP	Anne-Charlotte Verney René Metge Dany Snobeck Hubert Striebig	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		254
19th	GT	56	JMS Racing Team	Jean-Louis Bousquet Cyril Grandet Philippe Dagoreau	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		253
20th	IMSA	77	Wynn's International	Dennis Aase Robert Kirby John Hotchkis	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6	G	246
Not classified
21st	S 2.0	31	Dorset Racing Associates	Ian Harrower Martin Birrane Ernst Berg Richard Down	Lola T290 / 4S	Cosworth BDA 2.0L I4	G	212
Disqualified
22nd	GTP	85	WM AEREM	Marc Sourd Jean-Louis Lafosse Xavier Mathiot	WM P77	Peugeot PRV 2.7L Turbo V6	M.	90
Failed
23	S +2.0	8th	Renault Sport	Patrick Depailler Jacques Laffite	Alpine A442	Renault 2.0L Turbo V6	M.	289
24	Group 5	39	Gelo Racing Team	Toine Hezemans Tim Schenken Hans Heyer	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 2.9L Turbo Flat-6	G	269
25th	S +2.0	9	Renault Sport	Jean-Pierre Jabouille Derek Bell	Alpine A442	Renault 2.0L Turbo V6	M.	257
26th	GTX	96	GVEA Porsche Club Romand	André Savary Jean-Robert Corthay Antoine Salamin	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		211
27	IMSA	78	Charles Ivey Racing	John Rulon-Miller John Cooper Peter Lovett	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		198
28	IMSA	80	Bernard Béguin	Bernard Béguin Robert Boubet Jean-Claude Briavoine	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6	D.	191
29	S 2.0	25th	Racing Organization Course	Max Cohen-Olivar Alain Flotard Michel Dubois	Chevron B36	ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4		176
30th	S 2.0	21st	PP Sauber AG	Eugen Strähl Peter Bernhard	Clean C5	BMW 2.0L I4		161
31	GT	59	Schiller Racing Team	François Sérvanin Laurent Ferrier Franz Hummel	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		160
32	S +2.0	7th	Renault Sport	Patrick Tambay Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Alpine A442	Renault 2.0L Turbo V6	M.	158
33	GTP	87	Bernard Decure	Bernard Decure Jean-Luc Thérier Jacky Cauchy	Alpine A310	Renault PRV 2.7L V6	M.	137
34	GT	60	Schiller Racing Team	Claude Haldi Florian Vetsch Angelo Pallavicini	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		123
35	GT	57	Nicolas Koob	Nicolas Koob Willy Braillard Guillermo Ortega	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		116
36	GT	55	Escuderia Montjuich	Juan Fernández Eugenio Baturone Raphael Tarradas	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		115
37	S +2.0	14th	Daniel Broudy	Patrick Perrier Xavier Lapeyre	Lola T286	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8		104
38	S 2.0	29	Osella Squadra Corse	Alain Cudini Raymond Touroul Anna Cambiaghi	Osella PA5	BMW 2.0L I4	P	100
39	GT	63	Joël Laplacette	Joël Laplacette Yves Courage André Gahinet	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		100
40	S 2.0	32	André Chevalley	André Chevalley François Trisconi Wink Bancroft	Cheetah G601	BMW 2.0L I4		93
41	Group 5	48	Thierry Perrier	Thierry Perrier Jean Belliard	Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		90
42	Group 5	49	Hubert Striebig	Guy Chasseuil Hubert Striebig Hughes Kirschoffer	Porsche 934/5	Porsche Type-935 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	D.	65
43	S +2.0	11	Grand Touring Cars Inc.	Sam Posey Michel Leclère	Mirage GR8	Renault 2.0L Turbo V6	G	58
44	Group 5	41	Martini Racing Porsche System	Rolf Stommelen Manfred Schurti	Porsche 935/77	Porsche Type-935 2.9L Turbo Flat-6	D.	52
45	GT	62	Georges Bourdillat	Georges Bourdillat Bruno Sotty Alain-Michel Bernhard	Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6		52
46	IMSA	72	Luigi Racing	Tom Walkinshaw Eddy Joosen Claude de Wael	BMW 3.0 CSL	BMW 3.2L I6	D.	46
47	S +2.0	3	Martini Racing Porsche System	Jacky Ickx Henri Pescarolo	Porsche 936/77	Porsche Type-935 2.1L Turbo Flat-6	D.	45
48	GTP	89	Team Esso Aseptogyl	Christine Dacremont Marianne Hoepfner	Lancia Stratos	Ferrari Dino 2.4L Turbo V6	M.	37
49	IMSA	76	Jean-Claude Giroix	Jean-Claude Depince Jacques Coulon	BMW 3.0 CSL	BMW 3.2L I6	D.	28
50	S 2.0	28	Jean-Marie Lemerle	Jean-Marie Lemerle Alain Levié Pierre-François Rousselot	Lola T294	ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4		27
51	S 2.0	22nd	Chandler Ibec International	Tony Charnell Ian Bracey John Hine Robin Smith	Chevron B31	Cosworth FVD 2.0L I4		21st
52	S 2.0	30th	GVEA	Georges Morand Christian Blanc Fréderic Alliot	Lola T296	Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4		19th
53	Group 5	38	Gelo Racing Team	Tim Schenken Toine Hezemans Hans Heyer	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6	G	15th
54	Group 5	42	Porsche Kremer Racing	John Fitzpatrick Guy Edwards Nick Faure	Porsche 935 K2	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6	G	15th
55	S +2.0	16	Equipe Jacky Haran and Hugues de Chaunac	Didier Pironi René Arnoux Guy Fréquelin	Alpine A442	Renault 2.0L Turbo V6		1
Not started
56	GTP	84	Jean-Louis Chateau	Jean-Louis Chateau	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6		1
57	S 2.0	20th	Daniel Brillat Symaz Racing	Daniel Brillat Eric Vaugnet Sandro Plastina	Cheetah G601	Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4		2
Not qualified
58	S 2.0	6th	Alain de Cadenet	Simon Phillips Tony Birchenhough Richard Bond	De Cadenet LM76	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8		3
59	S 2.0	27	Société Racing Organization Course	Jean-Louis Bos Fred Stalder Jacky Haran	Chevron B36	ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4		4th
60	IMSA	43	Louis Meznarie	Thierry Sabine Jean Bélin	Porsche Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		5
61	GT	66	André Gahinet	Christian Bussi André Gahinet	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		6th
62	IMSA	73	Maurice Ouvière	Philippe Jaffrenou Roger Dorchy Philippe Streiff	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6		7th

¹ withdrawn ² accident during training ³ not qualified ⁴ not qualified ⁵ not qualified ⁶ not qualified ⁷ 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
63	Group 4	67	Scuderia Jolly Club	Anna Cambiaghi Emilio Paleari	Lancia Stratos	Ferrari Dino 2.4L Turbo V6
64	S 2.0		Osella Squadra Corse	Anna Cambiaghi Giorgio Francia	Osella PA5	BMW 2.0L I4
65	GTX		North American Racing Team		Ferrari 308GTB	Ferrari 3.0L V8
66	Group 5		Egon Evertz KG		Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 2.9L Turbo Flat-6
67	Group 5		Porsche Kremer Racing		Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 2.9L Turbo Flat-6
68	S 2.0		Maison du Chalet	Yves Courage Jean-Philippe Grand	Lola T294	ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4
69	S 2.0		Jacky Haran	Jacky Haran	Lola T294	ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4
70	GTX		Ward Racing	Jean-Pierre Malcher Michael Keyser Milt Minter	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	Ferrari 4.4L Flat-12
71	GTP		Jean-Louis Chateau	Michel Maitam	Ferrari 512 BB	Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12
72	IMSA		John Greenwood	John Greenwood Bernard Darniche	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8
73	Group 5		Jean Blaton	John Cooper Tim Goss	Porsche 935	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6
74	S + 2.0		Shin Kato	Motoharu Kurosawa Yasuhiro Okamoto Masayuki Kaneda Harukini Takahashi	Sigma MC77	Toyota
75	S + 2.0		Charles Graemiger	Francois Servanin Laurent Ferrier Franz Hummel	Cheetah G602	ford
76	S 2.0		Georges Schäfer	Georges Schäfer	Chevron B26	Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4
77	S 2.0		Car team	Jean-Christian Duby Lucien Rossiaud Marc Frischknecht	Chevron B26	Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4
78	S 2.0		Escuderia Montjuich	Eugenio Baturone Antonio Oygdellivo "Jean-Claude"	Lola T294	ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4
79	Group 5		Yacco	Jean-Claude Géral Michel Guicherd Patrick Piget Christian Avril	Plymouth Barracuda
80	Group 5		Christine Laure	Christian Poirot Robert Boubet	Porsche 934	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6
81	GTX		Ecurie 13 Etoiles	Philippe Carron Paul-Bernard Mugnier Antoine Salamin	Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6
82	GTX		André Wicky	André Wicky Max Cohen-Olivar Philippe Carron	Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6
83	Group 5		Martin Birrane		Jaguar XJS
84	Group 5		Thierry Sabine		Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6
85	S 2.0		Sandro Plastina	Sandro Plastina Mario Luini	Cheetah G501	Cosworth BDA 2.0L I4
86	Group 4		Robert Boubet	René Boubet Jean-Louis Chateau	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6
87	Group 4		Jean-Marc de Susini		Porsche 911 Carrera	Porsche 3.0L Flat-6

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Thermal Efficiency	Michel Pignard	Albert Dufrene	Jacques Henry	Chevron B36	Rank 6
Sports car over 2000 cm³	Jacky Ickx	Hurley Haywood	Jürgen Barth	Porsche 936/77	Overall victory
Sports car under 2000 cm³	Michel Pignard	Albert Dufrene	Jacques Henry	Chevron B36	Rank 6
GTP	Jean Rondeau	Jean Ragnotti		Inaltera LM77	Rank 4
Group 5	Peter Gregg	Claude Ballot-Léna		Porsche 935	Rank 3
GT	Bob Wollek	Jean-Pierre Wielemanns	Philippe Gurdjian	Porsche 934	Rank 7
IMSA	Jean Xhenceval	Pierre Dieudonné	Spartaco Dini	BMW 3.0 CSL	Rank 8

Racing data

• Registered: 87
• Started: 55
• Rated: 20
• Race classes: 7
• Spectators: 170,000
• Honorary starter of the race: Pierre Ugeux, President of FISA
• Race weekend weather: Saturday, warm and dry; Sunday, cold and rainy
• Route length: 13.640 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 343
• Distance of the winning team: 4671.830 km
• Winner's average: 194.651 km / h
• Pole position: Jean-Pierre Jabouille - Alpine A442 (# 9) - 3.31.070 = 231.951 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Jacky Ickx - Porsche 936/77 (# 4) - 3.36.500 = 226.808 km / h
• Racing series: did not belong to any racing series

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 1977  - Collection of images, videos and audio files