1988 Le Mans 24 hour race

The victorious Jaguar XJR9-LM with starting number 2, driven by Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace

The second-placed works Porsche 962 from Hans-Joachim Stuck, Derek Bell and Klaus Ludwig with start number 17. In practice, Stuck drove the car at an average speed of 250.164 km / h

The Mazda 757 with the starting number 203 and a 2-liter rotary engine. Yōjirō Terada, Dave Kennedy and Pierre Dieudonné drove the car to 15th place in the overall classification and to victory in the IMSA-GTP class

The 56th 24-hour race of Le Mans , the 56 ^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 11th to 12th, 1988 on the Circuit des 24 Heures .

The race of records

When the victorious Jaguar XJR9-LM , with Jan Lammers at the wheel, crossed the finish line at 3 p.m. on Sunday , one of the fastest Le Mans 24-hour races came to an end. With 5332.970 kilometers driven, Lammers and his teammates Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace were just under two kilometers short of the record of 5335.313 km, set in the 1971 Le Mans 24-hour race by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep in a Porsche 917 .

The 400 km / h top speed barrier fell during training. Roger Dorchy was measured in Welter-Racing - P88 at the end of the Les Hunaudières straight at 405 km / h. Welter had set out to achieve the record. Defined as "Project 400", the car had hardly any downforce in the curves. The French tire manufacturer Michelin supplied tires with a special compound and guaranteed a speed of 410 km / h.

The German Porsche driver Hans-Joachim Stuck broke the 250 km / h sound barrier for the average speed on one lap during training. At 250.164 km / h, the 250 km / h was only exceeded for the third time.

Race course

More than 200,000 spectators flocked to Le Mans to watch the three-way battle between the five works Jaguars, the three works Porsches and the two Sauber-Mercedes cars . Before the race, however, Peter Sauber withdrew the two C9s . During training on Thursday, Klaus Niedzwiedz had a puncture in the bend in front of the Mulsanne. Niedzwiedz was able to intercept the car at over 300 km / h and avoid an accident. As the cause of the defect could not be determined by Michelin technicians in the short time, Sauber decided not to start for safety reasons.

The XJR9 Jaguars had been modified and now had 17-inch wheels, which gave the car better downforce. Porsche has made improvements to the aerodynamics of the 962 and the new Motronic MP1 engine management system.

From the first lap, Hans-Joachim Stuck came back to the start and finish as the leader, but was ousted from the front by Jan Lammers on the sixth lap. This started a duel between these two cars and their six drivers, which was to last until the penultimate lap and which was driven out at a constant top speed. In the 19th lap, the Andretti Porsche 962 took the lead for one lap - made possible by pit stops by the leading cars. In this car sat Mario Andretti , his son Michael and his nephew John . After nine hours, the Wollek / van der Merwe / Schuppan-Porsche led for 12 laps, but retired soon after with engine failure.

After 16 hours of racing, the Lammers / Dumfries / Wallace-Jaguar was leading with a lead of two laps on the pursuing Porsche from Stuck, Klaus Ludwig and Derek Bell . In third place was Martin Brundle and John Nielsen's Jaguar , which, however, retired after 306 laps with a defective cylinder. Until the end of the race, the Porsche team put pressure on the Jaguar at the front and was able to catch up a whole lap in the last three hours.

In the end, however, the Jaguar team, led by Tom Walkinshaw , won, as it was able to consistently drive faster laps than the works Porsche over the long distance.

Results

Pilots by nationality

36 French	30 British	16 Japanese	11 Germans	11 Italians
11 Americans	6 Belgians	5 Swiss	3 Australians	3 danes
3 Irish	3 Sweden	3 South Africans	1 Brazilian	1 Chilean
1 Greek	1 Canadian	1 Moroccan	1 Dutch	1 Norwegian
1 Austrian	1 Spaniard

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	C1	2	Silk Cut Jaguar	Jan Lammers Johnny Dumfries Andy Wallace	Jaguar XJR-9LM	Jaguar 7.0L V12	D.	394
2	C1	17th	Porsche AG	Hans-Joachim Stuck Klaus Ludwig Derek Bell	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	394
3	C1	8th	Blaupunkt Joest Racing	Frank Jelinski Louis Krages Stanley Dickens	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6	G	385
4th	C1	22nd	Silk Cut Jaguar	Derek Daly Kevin Cogan Larry Perkins	Jaguar XJR-9LM	Jaguar 7.0L V12	D.	383
5	C1	7th	Blaupunkt Joest Racing	David Hobbs Didier Theys Franz Konrad	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6	G	380
6th	C1	19th	Porsche AG	Mario Andretti Michael Andretti John Andretti	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	375
7th	C1	5	Repsol Brun Motorsport	Jesús Pareja Massimo Sigala Uwe Schäfer	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	M.	372
8th	C1	11	Leyton House Kremer Racing	Kris Nissen Harald Grohs George Fouché	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	Y	371
9	C1	10	Kenwood Kremer Racing	Kunimitsu Takahashi Hideki Okada Bruno Giacomelli	Porsche 962CK6	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6	Y	370
10	C1	33	Takefuji Schuppan Racing Team	Brian Redman Eje Elgh Jean-Pierre Jarier	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	359
11	C1	72	Primagaz Competition	Jürgen Lässig Pierre Yver Dudley Wood	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6	G	356
12	C1	36	Toyota TeamTom's	Geoff Lee's Masanori Sekiya Kaoru Hoshino	Toyota 88C	Toyota 3S-GT 2.1L Turbo I4	B.	351
13	C2	111	Spice engineering	Ray Bellm Gordon Spice Pierre de Thoisy	Spice SE88C	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	G	351
14th	C1	32	Nissan Motorsports	Allan Grice Mike Wilds Win Percy	March R88C	Nissan VRH30 3.0L Turbo V8	B.	344
15th	GTP	203	Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.	Yōjirō Terada Dave Kennedy Pierre Dieudonné	Mazda 757	Mazda 13G 2.0L 3- Wankel	D.	337
16	C1	21st	Silk Cut Jaguar	Danny Sullivan Davy Jones Price Cobb	Jaguar XJR-9LM	Jaguar 7.0L V12	D.	331
17th	GTP	201	Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.	Yoshimi Katayama David Leslie Marc Duez	Mazda 767	Mazda 13J 2.6L 4-Wankel	D.	330
18th	C2	115	ADA engineering	Ian Harrower Jiro Yoneyama Hideo Fukuyama	ADA 03	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	G	318
19th	GTP	202	Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.	Takashi Yorino Hervé Regout Will Hoy	Mazda 767	Mazda 13J 2.6L 4-Wankel	D.	305
20th	C2	123	Charles Ivey Racing	Tim Harvey Chris Hodgetts John Sheldon	Tiga GC287	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6	D.	301
21st	C2	124	MT Sport Racing	Jean Messaoudi Pierre-François Rousselot Jean-Luc Roy	Argo JM19C	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	A.	300
22nd	C2	177	Automobiles Louis Descartes	Jacques Heuclin Louis Descartes Dominique Lacaud	ALD 04	BMW M80 3.5L I6	A.	294
23	C2	198	Roy Baker Racing	Mike Allison David Andrews Steve Hynes	Tiga GC286	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	D.	294
24	C1	37	Toyota Team Tom's	Paolo Barilla Hitoshi Ogawa Tiff Needell	Toyota 88C	Toyota 3S-GT 2.1L Turbo I4	B.	283
25th	C2	117	Team Lucky Strike Schanche	Martin Schanche Robin Smith Robin Donovan	Argo JM19	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	G	278
Not classified
26th	C2	113	Primagaz Competition	Max Cohen-Olivar Patrick de Radiguès	Cougar C12	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8		273
27	C2	151	Pierre-Alain Lombardi	Pierre-Alain Lombardi Bruno Sotty	Rondeau M379	Cosworth DFL 3.0L V8	A.	271
Failed
28	C1	1	Silk Cut Jaguar	Martin Brundle John Nielsen	Jaguar XJR-9LM	Jaguar 7.0L V12	D.	306
29	C1	23	Nissan Motorsports	Kazuyoshi Hoshino Takao Wada Aguri Suzuki	March R88C	Nissan VRH30 3.0L Turbo V8	B.	286
30th	C2	103	Spice engineering	Almo Coppelli Thorkild Thyrring Eliseo Salazar	Spice SE88C	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	G	281
31	C2	131	Graff Racing	Jean-Philippe Grand Jacques Terrien Maurice Guenoun	Spice SE86C	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8		263
32	C1	24	Dollop Racing	Nicola Marozzo Jean-Pierre Frey Ranieri Randaccio	Lancia LC2	Ferrari 308C 3.0L Turbo V8	D.	255
33	C2	127	Chamberlain Engineering	Nick Adams Martin Birrane Richard Jones	Spice SE86C	Hart 418T 1.8L Turbo I4	A.	223
34	C1	18th	Porsche AG	Bob Wollek Sarel van der Merwe Vern Schuppan	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	D.	192
35	C1	42	Noël del Bello Racing	Bernard Santal Noël del Bello Bernard de Dryver	Clean C8	Mercedes-Benz M117 5.0L Turbo V8	G	157
36	C2	121	Cosmik GP Motorsport	Costas Los Wayne Taylor Evan Clements	Spice SE87C	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	G	145
37	C2	191	PC Automotive	Olindo Iacobelli Alain Iannetta John Graham	Argo J9C	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	G	130
38	C1	3	Silk Cut Jaguar	John Watson Raul Boesel Henri Pescarolo	Jaguar XJR-9LM	Jaguar 7.0L V12	D.	129
39	C1	13	Primagaz Competition	Pierre-Henri Raphanel Michel Ferté	Cougar C20B	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	M.	120
40	C2	178	Automobiles Louis Descartes	Sylvain Boulay Gérard Tremblay Michel Lateste	ALD 04	BMW M80 3.5L I6	A.	103
41	C1	4th	Camel Brun Motorsport	Manuel Reuter Walter Lechner Franz Hunkeler	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	M.	91
42	C1	85	Italya sport	Michel Trollé Toshio Suzuki Danny Ongais	March 88S	Nissan VG30ET 3.2L Turbo V6	Y	74
43	C1	86	Italya sport	Lamberto Leoni Akio Morimoto Anders Olofsson	March 88S	Nissan VG30ET 3.2L Turbo V6	Y	69
44	C1	30th	Courage Compétition	Paul Belmondo François Migault Ukyo Katayama	Cougar C22	Porsche Type-935 2.8L Turbo Flat-6	M.	66
45	C1	51	WM Secateva	Roger Dorchy Claude Haldi Jean-Daniel Raulet	WM P88	Peugeot ZNS4 2.8L Turbo V6	M.	59
46	C2	132	Roland Bassaler	Jean-François Yvon Roland Bassaler Rémy Pochauvin	Clean SHS C6	BMW M80 3.5L I6	A.	53
47	C1	52	WM Secateva	Pascal Pessiot Jean-Daniel Raulet	WM P87	Peugeot ZNS4 3.0L Turbo V6	M.	22nd
48	C2	107	Chamberlain Engineering	Claude Ballot-Léna Jean-Louis Ricci Jean-Claude Andruet	Spice SE88C	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	A.	17th
49	C1	20th	Team Davey	Tim Lee-Davey Tom Dodd-Noble	Tiga GC88	Cosworth DFL 3.3L Turbo V8	D.	5
Not started
50	C2	181	Luigi Taverna Technoracing	Luigi Taverna Fabio Magnani Roberto Ragazzi	Olma's GLT-200	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	A.	1
51	C1	61	Team Sauber Mercedes	Mauro Baldi James Weaver Jochen Mass	Clean C9	Mercedes-Benz M117 5.0L Turbo V8	M.	2
52	C1	62	Team Sauber Mercedes	Klaus Niedzwiedz and Kenny Acheson	Clean C9	Mercedes-Benz M117 5.0L Turbo V8	M.	3

¹ accident in training ² withdrawn ³ 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
53	C1	14th	Richard Lloyd Racing		Porsche 962C GTi	Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6
54	C1	15th	Richard Lloyd Racing		Porsche 962C GTi	Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6
55	C1	35	Walter Lechner Racing School	Walter Lechner Ernst Franzmaier	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6
56	C1	40	Swiss Team Salamin	Antoine Salamin Enzo Calderari Max Cohen-Olivar	Porsche 962C	Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6
57	C1	73	Primagaz Compétition	Pierre-Henri Raphanel Roberto Ravaglia	Cougar C20	Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6
58	C1	74	Primagaz Compétition	Hervé Regout Thierry Lecerf	Cougar C20	Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6
59	C2	101	Dollop Racing	Jean-Pierre Frey Nicola Marozzo	Argo JM19B	Motori Moderni 2.0L V6
60	C2	106	Kelmar Racing	Pasquale Barberio Vito Veninata Ranieri Randaccio	Tiga GC288	Cosworth DFL 3.0L V8
61	C2	114	José Thibault	José Thibault "Berdal"	TJ 01	ROC Talbot Tagora
62	C2	134	American Alloy Engines	Slim Borgudd	Tiga GC286	Cosworth GA 3.4L V6
63	C2	140	Dune Motorsport	Duncan Bain John Sheldon Massimo Sigala Pierre Pagani	Tiga GC287	Cosworth DFL 3.0L V8
64	C2	171	Jiro Motor Racing	Jiro Yoneyama Hideo Fukuyama	JTK 63C	Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	D.
65	GTX	204	Road Circuit Technology	Les Delano Andy Petery	Lincoln Mercury Merkur XR4Ti	Ford V8
66	IMSA Lights	205	Fabcar		Fabcar CL	Porsche 901 3.0L V6
67	IMSA Lights	206	Fabcar		Fabcar CL	Porsche 901 3.0L V6

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Group C1	Jan Lammers	Johnny Dumfries	Andy Wallace	Jaguar XJR9-LM	Overall victory
Group C2	Ray Bellm	Gordon Spice	Pierre de Thoisy	Spice SE88C	Rank 13
IMSA GTP	Yōjirō Terada	Dave Kennedy	Pierre Dieudonné	Mazda 757	Rank 15

Racing data

• Registered: 67
• Started: 49
• Valued: 25
• Race classes: 3
• Spectators: 260,000
• Honorary starter of the race: Mr. Yokose, CEO of the Sumitomo Group
• Race weekend weather: hot and sunny
• Route length: 13.535 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 03: 28.260 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 394
• Distance of the winning team: 5332.970 km
• Winner's average: 221.754 km / h
• Pole position: Hans-Joachim Stuck - Porsche 962C (# 17) - 3.15.640 = 250.164 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Hans-Joachim Stuck - Porsche 962C (# 17) - 3.22.500 = 240.622 km / h
• Racing series: 5th round of the Sports Car World Championship in 1988

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 1988  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Previous race Silverstone 1000km race 1988

Sports car world championship

Succession race 1988 360 km of Brno