Le Mans 24 hour race 1978
46. The 24-hour race at Le Mans , the 46 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 10 to 11 June 1978 the Circuit des 24 Heures .
Before the race
The 1978 24-hour race was in many ways similar to that of the previous year . Again there was a sporting competition between the works teams from Renault and Porsche . Although 31 of the 55 racing cars at the start bore the Porsche brand name, there was a colorful starter field and a large number of remarkable designs.
Teams and racing vehicles
Renault brought an Alpine A443 and three Alpine A442s in different configurations to Le Mans. All four vehicles common to the 2-liter were 6-cylinder - turbo engines and the radial tires from Michelin . The A442B from Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi had an open glass roof made of acrylic , which gave the car a 10 km / h higher top speed on the long straights than the version without a roof. The A442 reached a speed of 365 km / h at the end of the Les Hunaudières straight in front of the Mulsanne; the A443 was 15 km / h faster. Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jabouille drove the A443, Derek Bell and Jean-Pierre Jarier the A442A . The second A442A was officially used and maintained by Ecurie Calberson. José Dolhem , Guy Fréquelin and Jean Ragnotti were signed up as drivers .
Despite the high top speed of the Alpine, Porsche had the faster vehicle for one lap. Three 936s were brought to Le Mans. Jacky Ickx drove the fastest lap time in training 936/78 with 3: 27.060 minutes. As in the previous year, he shared the cockpit with Henri Pescarolo . Ickx had already won the race four times and was the record winner alongside his compatriot Olivier Gendebien . Pescarolo has won Le Mans three times. The time driven by Ickx corresponded to an average speed of 236.561 km / h. The second 936/78 was driven by Bob Wollek and Jürgen Barth . In the previous year's model, the 936/77, sat the two Americans Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood . The fourth Porsche works car was a Porsche 935 that Manfred Schurti and Rolf Stommelen drove. Replacement drivers were Reinhold Joest and Jochen Mass .
John Horsman reorganized the financial means to develop a new racing car for Le Mans. Like the GR8 from last year, the M9 had the 2-liter Renault turbo engine in the rear. The drivers were Jacques Laffite , Michel Leclère , Sam Posey and Vern Schuppan .
Alain de Cadenet had a new sports car built by Lola , which he shared with Chris Craft . De Cadenet gave the car from last year to Simon Philipps Racing. For the first time, the French racing driver and designer Jean Rondeau competed in Le Mans with his own creation. The M378 had a closed body, a 3-liter Cosworth V8 engine and was driven - alongside Rondeau himself - by Jacky Haran and rally driver Bernard Darniche .
One of the most striking designs was the Ibec-Hesketh 308LM , the Harvey Postlethwaite had designed the chassis and on the Formula 1 - Hesketh 308 of Hesketh Racing was based.
Gerard Welter brought the new WM P78 to Le Mans in addition to the P76 . Both types were powered by a Peugeot 2.7 liter turbo engine.
The majority of the starters in the GT cars were Porsche with the 935s, plus five Ferrari 512 BBs , including those from the North American Racing Team, and a few Porsche 934s . The only vehicle from the USA was a Chevrolet Monza .
The race
For the first time at Le Mans there was a race before the race. On Saturday morning, historic vehicles drove before the actual event. Stirling Moss celebrated his first Le Mans victory. His race car, a single-seater - Maserati 250F was, however, never been in a long distance race at the start. Jean Blaton , who was one of the best sports car drivers in the world in the 1960s , also competed under the pseudonym Beurlys . Blaton, the uncle of Jacky Ickx's wife, had placed in the top three four times at Le Mans, but never won the race.
The course of the race
Although Jacky Ickx started the race from pole position , frustration spread in the Porsche box after just a few laps. The Ickx car and the Haywood / Gregg vehicle were pitted with transmission problems and lost valuable time on the Alpine Renaults, which were now in the lead. In the first hours of the race there was a stable triple lead for Renault, with the Jassaud / Pironi car at the front. Only the Barth / Wollek Porsche was able to come close to keeping up with the trio's pace. When Henri Pescarolo came back to the pits for a long repair, Jacky Ickx was transferred to a different car, just like the year before: He joined Jürgen Barth and Bob Wollek in the team. His place as Pescarolo's partner was taken over by Jochen Mass, who had an accident with the 936 after driving 255 laps and retired.
As in the previous year, Ickx brought the Porsche back to the top until fifth gear broke on Sunday morning. In the meantime, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Patrick Depailler led the way when Renault ran into difficulties. The Jaussaud / Pironi car also had transmission problems and dropped to third place. Jean-Pierre Jabouille finally retired with engine failure; But thanks to the persistent problems with the Porsche gearbox in the Ickx car, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi won with a five-lap lead.
It was Renault's first overall victory at Le Mans. The state-owned company had thus achieved its major goal and stopped the sports car program at the end of the year.
Results
Pilots by nationality
71 French | 25 British | 19 Americans | 16 Swiss | 14 Germans |
6 Belgians | 3 Brazilians | 2 Australians | 1 Italian | 1 Irish |
1 Liechtensteiner | 1 Luxembourger | 1 Moroccan | 1 Dutch | 1 Austrian |
1 South African |
Final ranking
Item | class | No. | team | driver | chassis | engine | tires | Round |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | S +2.0 | 2 | Renault Sport |
Didier Pironi Jean-Pierre Jaussaud |
Renault Alpine A442B | Renault 2.0L Turbo V6 | M. | 369 |
2 | S +2.0 | 6th | Martini Racing Porsche System |
Bob Wollek Jürgen Barth Jacky Ickx |
Porsche 936/78 | Porsche Type-935 2.1L Turbo Flat-6 | D. | 364 |
3 | S +2.0 | 7th | Martini Racing Porsche System |
Hurley Haywood Peter Gregg Reinhold Joest |
Porsche 936/77 | Porsche Type-935 2.1L Turbo Flat-6 | D. | 362 |
4th | S +2.0 | 4th | Equipe Renault Elf Sport Calberson |
Guy Fréquelin Jean Ragnotti José Dolhem Jean-Pierre Jabouille |
Renault Alpine A442A | Renault 2.0L Turbo V6 | M. | 358 |
5 | IMSA +2.5 | 90 | Dick Barbour Racing |
Brian Redman Dick Barbour John Paul Sr. |
Porsche 935/77 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 337 |
6th | Size 5 +2.0 | 44 | Porsche Kremer Racing |
Jim Busby Chris Cord Rick Knoop |
Porsche 935/77 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 336 |
7th | Size 5 +2.0 | 41 | Mondelo ASA Cachia |
Alfredo Guarana Paulo Gomes Mário Amaral
|
Porsche 935/77 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 329 |
8th | Size 5 +2.0 | 43 | Martini Racing Porsche System |
Manfred Schurti Rolf Stommelen |
Porsche 935/78 | Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6 | D. | 326 |
9 | GTP 3.0 | 72 | Jean Rondeau |
Jean Rondeau Bernard Darniche Jacky Haran |
Rondeau M378 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | 294 | |
10 | S +2.0 | 10 | Grand Touring Cars Inc. |
Vern Schuppan Jacques Laffite Sam Posey |
Mirage M9 | Renault 2.0L Turbo V6 | G | 293 |
11 | S 2.0 | 31 | ROC La Pierre du Nord |
Michel Pignard Lucien Rossiaud Laurent Ferrier
|
Chevron B36 | ROC- Chrysler 2.0L I4 | 284 | |
12 | GT 3.0 | 66 | BP Racing Anne-Charlotte Verney |
Anne-Charlotte Verney Xavier Lapeyre François Sérvanin |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L Flat-6 | 279 | |
13 | GTP 3.0 | 71 | André Chevalley Racing |
André Chevalley François Trisconi
|
Inaltera LM | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | 279 | |
14th | IMSA +2.5 | 97 | Charles Ivey Racing |
Larry Perkins Gordon Spice John Rulon-Miller |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L Flat-6 | 278 | |
15th | S +2.0 | 8th | Alain de Cadenet |
Alain de Cadenet Chris Craft |
De Cadenet-Lola LM | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | 273 | |
16 | IMSA +2.5 | 86 | North American Racing Team |
François Migault Lucien Guitteny |
Ferrari 365 GT4 / BB | Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12 | G | 262 |
17th | GT +3.0 | 62 | André Gahinet |
Christian Bussi Jean-Claude Briavoine André Gahinet |
Porsche 934 | Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | 259 | |
Not classified | ||||||||
18th | S 2.0 | 23 | Artos Francy Sauber PP AG |
Marc Surer Eugen Strähl Harry Blumer
|
Clean C5 | BMW 2.0L I4 | P | 257 |
19th | S 2.0 | 20th | CH Graeminger |
Sandro Plastina Mario Luini Jean-Daniel Grandjean
|
Cheetah G601 | Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4 | G | 250 |
20th | GT 3.0 | 64 | Georges Bourdillat |
Georges Bourdillat Alain-Michel Bernhard Jean-Luc Favresse
|
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L Flat-6 | 241 | |
21st | S 2.0 | 25th | Team Pronuptia |
Bruno Sotty Gérard Cuynet Jean-Claude Dufrey
|
Lola T294 / 6 | Cosworth FVC 1.9L I4 | G | 238 |
22nd | S 2.0 | 24 | Team Pronuptia |
Michel Elkoubi Pierre Yver Philippe Streiff |
Lola T296 | Cosworth FVC 1.9L I4 | G | 232 |
23 | S 2.0 | 28 | Dominique Lacaud |
Michel Lateste Jean-François Auboiron Dominique Lacaud |
Lola T297 | BMW 2.0L I4 | 217 | |
24 | Size 5 +2.0 | 25th | Porsche Kremer Racing |
Louis Krages Dieter Schornstein Philippe Gurdjian |
Porsche 935/77 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 182 |
25th | S 2.0 | 27 | Mogil Motors Ltd. with Kores Racing |
Tony Charnell Robin Smith Fréderic Alliot Richard Jones |
Chevron B31 | Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4 | 180 | |
Disqualified | ||||||||
26th | S +2.0 | 12 | Simon Phillips Racing |
Nick Faure John Beasley Simon Phillips Martin Raymond
|
De Cadenet-Lola T380 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | 99 | |
Failed | ||||||||
27 | S +2.0 | 1 | Renault Sport |
Jean-Pierre Jabouille Patrick Depailler |
Renault Alpine A443 | Renault 2.0L Turbo V6 | M. | 279 |
28 | S +2.0 | 5 | Martini Racing Porsche System |
Jacky Ickx Henri Pescarolo Jochen Mass |
Porsche 936/78 | Porsche Type-935 2.1L Turbo Flat-6 | D. | 255 |
29 | IMSA +2.5 | 88 | Pozzi-Thompson JMS |
Jean-Claude Andruet Spartaco Dini |
Ferrari 512 BB | Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12 | M. | 251 |
30th | IMSA +2.5 | 87 | Luigi Chinetti |
Jacques Guérin Jean-Pierre Delauney Gregg Young
|
Ferrari 512 BB | Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12 | 232 | |
31 | IMSA +2.5 | 89 | Pozzi-Thompson JMS |
Claude Ballot-Léna Jean-Louis Lafosse |
Ferrari 512 BB | Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12 | M. | 218 |
32 | S +2.0 | 19th | IBEC Racing Developments, Ltd. |
Guy Edwards Ian Grob |
Ibec-Hesketh 308LM | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | G | 195 |
33 | S 2.0 | 30th | ROC La Pierre du Nord |
Jacques Henry Albert Dufréne Max Cohen-Olivar |
Chevron B36 | ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4 | 195 | |
34 | GTP +3.0 | 78 | WM AEREM Esso Aseptogyl |
Christian Debias Xavier Mathiot Marc Sourd
|
WM P78 | Peugeot PRV 2.7L Turbo V6 | 186 | |
35 | GTP 3.0 | 76 | WM AEREM Esso Aseptogyl |
Christine Dacremont Marianne Hoepfner |
WM P76 | Peugeot PRV 2.7L V6 | 171 | |
36 | GT +3.0 | 68 | Hervé Poulain |
Edgar Dören Gerhard Holup Hervé Poulain Romain Feitler |
Porsche 934 | Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 167 |
37 | S +2.0 | 3 | Renault Sport |
Derek Bell Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Renault Alpine A442A | Renault 2.0L Turbo V6 | M. | 162 |
38 | IMSA +2.5 | 91 | Dick Barbour Racing |
Bob Garretson Steve Earle Bob Akin |
Porsche 935/77 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 159 |
39 | S 2.0 | 29 | ROC Modylook |
Michel Dubois Daniel Gache Julien Sanchez |
Chevron B36 | ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4 | 142 | |
40 | Size 5 +2.0 | 48 | Haberthur Mecarillos-Cégécol Racing Team |
Herbert Müller Claude Haldi Nick McGranger
|
Porsche 935/76 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | 140 | |
41 | S 2.0 | 26th | GVEA |
Georges Morand Eric Vaugnat Christian Blanc
|
Lola T296 | Cosworth BDG 2.0L I4 | 130 | |
42 | S 2.0 | 21st | Jean-Marie Lemerle |
Jean-Marie Lemerle Alain Levié Pierre-François Rousselot |
Lola T294 | ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4 | 126 | |
43 | GT 3.0 | 65 | Joël Laplacette |
Antoine Salamin Gérard Vial Yves Courage Joël Laplacette |
Porsche 930 | Porsche 3.3L Turbo Flat-6 | 116 | |
44 | S 2.0 | 34 | BMW Great Britain |
Dieter Quester Tom Walkinshaw Wheel Dougall
|
Osella PA6 | BMW 2.0L I4 | P | 113 |
45 | S 2.0 | 32 | Dorset Racing Associates with Kelly Girl |
Ian Harrower Tony Birchenhough Juliette Slaughter Brian Joscelyn
|
Lola T294 | Cosworth FVC 2.0L I4 | 61 | |
46 | GT +3.0 | 61 | Auto Daniel Urcun |
Guy Chasseuil Jean-Claude Lefèbvre Marcel Mignot |
Porsche 934 | Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | 61 | |
47 | GTP +3.0 | 77 | WM AEREM Esso Aseptogyl |
Jean-Daniel Raulet Max Mamers |
WM P77 | Peugeot PRV 2.7L Turbo V6 | 44 | |
48 | Size 5 +2.0 | 94 | Whittington Bros. Racing |
Don Whittington Bill Whittington Franz Konrad |
Porsche 935/77 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 41 |
49 | IMSA +2.5 | 85 | Ecurie Francorchamps |
Teddy Pilette Jean Blaton Raymond Touroul |
Ferrari 512 BB | Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12 | 39 | |
50 | GT +3.0 | 69 | Ravenel Frères |
Willy Braillard Philippe Dagoreau Jean-Louis Ravenel Jacky Ravenel |
Porsche 934 | Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | 35 | |
51 | Size 5 +2.0 | 46 | Porsche Kremer Racing |
Martin Raymond Jean-Pierre Wielemann's Mike Franey
|
Porsche 935/77 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 34 |
52 | S +2.0 | 11 | Grand Touring Cars Inc. |
Sam Posey Michel Leclère |
Mirage M9 | Renault 2.0L Turbo V6 | G | 33 |
53 | IMSA +2.5 | 84 | Brad Frisselle Racing |
Brad Frisselle Robert Kirby John Hotchkis |
Chevrolet Monza | Chevrolet 5.7L V8 | G | 30th |
54 | S 2.0 | 33 | Dorset Racing Associates |
Bob Evans Martin Birrane Richard Down Richard Bond |
Lola T294 | Cosworth FVC 2.0L I4 | 23 | |
55 | Size 5 +2.0 | 47 | Weisberg Gelo Racing Team |
John Fitzpatrick Toine Hezemans Klaus Ludwig |
Porsche 935/77 | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | G | 19th |
Not qualified | ||||||||
56 | Size 4 | 60 | Haberthur Mecarillos Racing Team |
Gérard Belyni Roland Ennequin Simon de Latour
|
Porsche 934 | Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | 1 | |
57 | Size 4 | 63 | Christian Gouttepifre |
Christian Gouttepifre Robert Boubet Raymond Touroul
|
Porsche 911 Carrera RS | Porsche 3.0L Flat-6 | 2 | |
reserve | ||||||||
58 | S +2.0 | 9 | Alain de Cadenet |
Peter Lovett John Cooper Bob Evans
|
De Cadenet LM76 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | 3 | |
59 | S +2.0 | 14th | Toj BP Racing |
Jörg Obermoser Guy Chasseuil Hubert Striebig |
Toj SC303 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | 4th | |
60 | S +2.0 | 22nd | L'Agence Locomotiv |
Jean-Claude Guérie Anna Cambiaghi Martine Rénier
|
Lola T296 | ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4 | 5 | |
61 | Size 5 | 40 | AMG Motorenbau GmbH |
Clemens Schickentanz Hans Heyer |
Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC | 6th | ||
62 | Size 4 | 73 | Bernard Decure |
Guy de Saint-Pierre Marcel Mignot |
Alpine A310 | 7th | ||
63 | IMSA | 96 | Garage du Bac |
Jean-Claude Depince Alain Cudini Pierre Dieudonné |
BMW 3.5 CSL | 8th | ||
64 | IMSA | 98 | Thierry Perrier |
Thierry Perrier Jean Beliard Joël Mouetron
|
Porsche Carrera 911 RS | 9 |
1 not qualified 2 not qualified 3 reserve 4 reserve 5 reserve 6 reserve 7 reserve 8 reserve 9 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
65 | Group 5 | 42 | Konrad Racing |
Franz Konrad Volkert Merl |
Porsche 935 / 77A | Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | |
66 | Group 5 | 50 | Morfe Racing with Polaroof |
Richard Jenvey John Morrison |
Lotus Esprit S1 | Ford 2.0L I4 | |
67 | GTP | 70 | Robin Hamilton |
Robin Hamilton Dave Preece
|
Aston Martin AM | Aston Martin 5.4L V8 | |
68 | IMSA | 92 | Holly Cars LSA | Porsche 934 | Porsche 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 | ||
69 | IMSA | BMW Racing with Toleman Delivery | Ted Toleman | BMW 3.0 CSL | BMW 3.0L I6 | ||
70 | Group 5 | Hervé Poulain | Hervé Poulain | BMW 320i | |||
71 | Group 4 | Luigi Chinetti | Ferrari 308 GTB | Ferrari 3.0L V8 | |||
72 | Group 4 | Florian Vetsch | Florian Vetsch | Ferrari 308 GTB | Ferrari 3.0L V8 | ||
73 | Group 4 | Ecurie Grand Competition Cars | Ferrari 512 BB | Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12 | |||
73 | Group 4 | L'Agence Locomotiv | Chevron B36 | ROC Chrysler 2.0L I4 |
Class winner
class | driver | driver | driver | vehicle | Placement in the overall ranking |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Index of Thermal Efficiency | Bob Wollek | Jürgen Barth | Jacky Ickx | Porsche 936/78 | Rank 2 |
Sports car over 2000 cm³ | Jean-Pierre Jaussaud | Didier Pironi | Renault Alpine A442B | Overall victory | |
Sports car up to 2000 cm³ | Michel Pignard | Lucien Rossiaud | Laurent Ferrier | Chevron B36 | Rank 11 |
Group 5 over 2000 cc | Jim Busby | Chris Cord | Rick knoop | Porsche 935/77 | Rank 6 |
GT | Anne-Charlotte Verney | Xavier Lapeyre | François Sérvanin | Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Rank 12 |
GTP | Jean Rondeau | Bernard Darniche | Jacky Haran | Rondeau M378 | Rank 9 |
IMSA | Brian Redman | Jim Barbour | Jean Paul sr. | Porsche 935/77 | Rank 5 |
Racing data
- Registered: 74
- Started: 55
- Valued: 17
- Race classes: 7
- Spectators: 150,000
- Honorary starter of the race: Raymond Poulidor , French cyclist
- 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: 370
- Distance of the winning team: 5044.530 km
- Winner's average: 210.188 km / h
- Pole position: Jacky Ickx - Porsche 936 (# 6) - 3.27.060 = 236.531 km / h
- Fastest race lap: Jean-Pierre Jabouille - Alpine A443 (# 1) - 3.34.200 = 229.244 km / h
- Racing series: 8th round of the 1978 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
Predecessor race 1000 km race on the Nürburgring 1978 |
Sports car world championship |
Successor to the 6-hour race of Misano in 1978 |