1997 Le Mans 24 hour race

Nissan R390 GT1 with the number 21; Failure due to accident

McLaren F1 GTR

Panoz Esperante GTR-1

The 65th 24-hour race at Le Mans , the 65 ^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 14 to 15 June 1997 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

The race

In 1997 there was no doubt among the experts that the overall winners of the 24-hour race of that year would drive a GT1 vehicle. Porsche had revised the 911 GT1 . The works team started with two cars. In the vehicle with the number 25 sat Hans-Joachim Stuck , Thierry Boutsen and Bob Wollek who had already formed a team the year before and finished the race in second place in the final ranking. The car with the number 26 was driven by Emmanuel Collard , Ralf Kelleners and Yannick Dalmas . In addition to the two works cars, six other GT1s entered by private teams. BMW competed with Schnitzer Motorsport as the official works team. The company had not built its own chassis, but the McLaren F1 GTR was powered by a BMW 6-liter V12 engine . The two works vehicles were driven by Peter Kox , Roberto Ravaglia , Eric Hélary , JJ Lehto , Steve Soper and 3-times former Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet .

Another factory team came from Japan. Tom Walkinshaw led the operation at Nissan Motorsports International . Their new Nissan R390 GT1 could only be interpreted as a GT1 vehicle with good will. During the technical acceptance, the cars promptly failed. Tony Southgate's technicians had the required trunk - GT1 vehicles had to be able to show a street version in order to be homologated - designed as an inflatable bag. The officials of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest objected to this. Overnight, a small space had to be created in the rear that was accepted as a trunk; However, the exhaust had to be relocated, a fact that led to problems in the race. The audience favorites were the front engine - Panoz Esperante GTR-1 and the Ferrari 333SP by Giampiero Moretti .

Reinhold Joest anticipated outsider opportunities with last year's winning car, the Le Mans prototype - TWR-Porsche WSC-95 , which Michele Alboreto , Stefan Johansson and Tom Kristensen drove in 1997 .

In the early stages, Alboreto in the Joest Porsche, Bob Wollek in the works GT1 and Riccardo Patrese in the Nissan pulled away from the field. At Nissan, all three cars had problems with the cooling of the transmission, which cost some time and even led to car number 22 failing. A little later, the fastest car, number 21, also retired after a spin. The only car that lasted finished the race 67 laps behind in twelfth place. In contrast to the previous year, the GT1 were faster than the LMP cars this time. On Sunday, Porsche looked like the sure winner when the leading Bob Wollek damaged the car so badly in an accident in the Arnage that the team had to give up. A few hours before the end of the race, the number 26 Porsche was comfortably in the lead in the overall standings. Ralf Kelleners was behind the wheel when the Porsche suddenly caught fire while driving to Indianapolis. Hot oil had leaked and ignited body panels. Soon the whole rear car was in flames and Kelleners had to stop. The driver managed to get to safety with a spectacular jump, but the car was so badly damaged that it was out of the question to continue driving. The TWR-Porsche WSC-95 won for the second time in a row.

The race weekend was overshadowed by the fatal accident of Frenchman Sébastien Enjolras in a WR LM97 during practice.

Results

Pilots by nationality

37 French	20 British	15 Americans	11 Germans	11 Italians
8 Japanese	7 Belgians	5 Dutch	4 Brazilians	4 Portuguese
4 Sweden	4 Swiss	4 Spaniards	3 fins	2 Australians
2 danes	2 Monegasque	2 Austrians	2 South Africans	1 Chilean

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	LMP	7th	Joest Racing	Michele Alboreto Stefan Johansson Tom Kristensen	TWR-Porsche WSC-95	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	361
2	GT1	41	Gulf Team Davidoff	Jean-Marc Gounon Pierre-Henri Raphanel Anders Olofsson	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70 6.0L V12	M.	360
3	GT1	43	BMW Team Schnitzer	Peter Kox Roberto Ravaglia Eric Hélary	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70 6.0L V12	M.	358
4th	LMP	13	Courage Compétition	Didier Cottaz Jérôme Policand Marc Goossens	Courage C41	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	M.	336
5	GT1	33	Schübel Engineering	Pedro Lamy Armin Hahne Patrice Goueslard	Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	M.	331
6th	LMP	3	Moretti Racing Inc.	Giampiero Moretti Didier Theys Massimiliano Papis	Ferrari 333SP	Ferrari F310E 4.0L V12	Y	321
7th	LMP	8th	La Filière Elf	Henri Pescarolo Jean-Philippe Belloc Emmanuel Clérico	Courage C36	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	M.	319
8th	GT1	27	BMS Scuderia Italia	Pierluigi Martini Christian Pescatori Antônio de Azevedo Hermann	Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	P	317
9	GT2	78	Eleven Haberthur Racing	Michel Neugarten Guy Martinolle Jean-Claude Lagniez	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6	D.	307
10	GT2	74	Roock Racing	André Ahrlé Andy Pilgrim Bruno Eichmann	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6	M.	306
11	GT2	73	Roock Racing	Manuel Mello-Breyner Thomaz Mello-Breyner Pedro Mello-Breyner	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6	M.	295
12	GT1	23	Nissan Motorsport	Kazuyoshi Hoshino Érik Comas Masahiko Kageyama	Nissan R390 GT1	Nissan VRH35L 3.5L Turbo V8	B.	294
13	GT2	80	GT Racing Team AG	Claudia Huertgen John Robinson Hugh Price	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6	P	280
14th	GT2	63	Société Viper Team Oreca	Justin Bell Pierre Yver John Morton	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 8.0L V10	M.	278
15th	GT2	64	Chamberlain Engineering	Hans Hugenholtz Junior Jari Nurminen Chris Gleason	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 8.0L V10	G	269
16	LMP	10	Courage Compétition	Fredrik Ekblom Jean-Louis Ricci Jean-Paul Libert	Courage C36	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	M.	265
17th	LMP	15th	Team TDR	Yōjirō Terada Jim Downing Franck Fréon	Kudzu DLM-4	Mazda R26B 2.6L 4- Wankel	G	263
Failed
18th	GT1	26th	Porsche AG	Emmanuel Collard Ralf Kellener's Yannick Dalmas	Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	G	327
19th	GT1	39	Gulf Team Davidoff	Ray Bellm Andrew Gilbert-Scott Masanori Sekiya	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70 6.0L V12	M.	326
20th	GT2	61	Viper Team Oreca	Philippe Gache Olivier Beretta Dominique Dupuy	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 8.0L V10	M.	263
21st	GT1	25th	Porsche AG	Hans-Joachim Stuck Thierry Boutsen Bob Wollek	Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	G	238
22nd	GT1	42	BMW Team Schnitzer	JJ Lehto Steve Soper Nelson Piquet	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70 6.0L V12	M.	236
23	GT1	29	JB Racing	Jürgen von Gartzen Olivier Thévenin Alain Ferté	Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	M.	236
24	GT1	54	David Price Racing	Andy Wallace James Weaver Butch Leitzinger	Panoz Esperante GTR-1	Ford Roush 6.0L V8	G	236
25th	GT1	30th	Kremer Racing	Christophe Bouchut Andy Evans Bertrand Gachot	Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	G	207
26th	GT2	75	Larbre Compétition	Patrick Bourdais Peter Kitchak André Lara Resende	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6	M.	205
27	LMP	9	Courage Compétition	Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Olivier Grouillard	Courage C36	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	M.	197
28	GT1	52	DAMS	Franck Lagorce Éric Bernard Jean-Christophe Boullion	Panoz Esperante GTR-1	Ford Roush 6.0L V8	M.	149
29	GT1	55	David Price Racing	David Brabham Perry McCarthy Doc Bundy	Panoz Esperante GTR-1	Ford Roush 6.0L V8	G	145
30th	GT1	21st	Nissan Motorsport	Martin Brundle Jörg Müller Wayne Taylor	Nissan R390 GT1	Nissan VRH35L 3.5L Turbo V8	B.	139
31	GT1	28	Konrad Motorsport	Franz Konrad Mauro Baldi Robert Nearn	Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	P	138
32	GT2	67	Saleen-Allen Speedlab	Steve Saleen Price Cobb Carlos Palau	Saleen Mustang RRR	Ford 5.9L V8	D.	133
33	GT2	79	Konrad Motorsport	Toni Seiler Larry Schumacher Michel Ligonnet	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	P	126
34	GT1	22nd	Nissan Motorsport	Riccardo Patrese Eric van de Poele Aguri Suzuki	Nissan R390 GT1	Nissan VRH35L 3.5L Turbo V8	B.	121
35	GT1	49	GT1 Lotus Racing	Jan Lammers Mike Hezemans Alexander Grau	Lotus Elise GT1	Chevrolet LT5 6.0L V8	M.	121
36	LMP	5	Kremer Racing	Tomás Saldaña Carl Rosenblad Jürgen Lässig	Kremer K8 Spyder	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	103
37	GT2	84	Stadler Motorsport	Enzo Calderari Lilian Bryner Angelo Zadra	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6	P	98
38	GT1	44	Team Lark McLaren	Akihiko Nakaya Keiichi Tsuchiya Gary Ayles	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70 6.0L V12	M.	88
39	GT2	77	Chereau Sports	Jean-Luc Chéreau Jack Leconte Jean-Pierre Jarier	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6	M.	77
40	GT1	46	Newcastle United Lister Cars	Julian Bailey Thomas Erdos Mark Skaife	Lister Storm GTL	Jaguar 7.0L V12	D.	77
41	GT2	62	Viper Team Oreca	Tommy Archer Soheil Ayari Marc Duez	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 8.0L V10	M.	76
42	GT2	60	Agusta Racing Team Ltd.	Almo Coppelli Riccardo Agusta Eric Graham	Callaway Corvette LM-GT	Chevrolet LT1 6.2L V8	D.	45
43	GT2	66	Saleen-Allen Speedlab	David Warnock Robert Schirle Allen Lloyd	Saleen Mustang RRR	Ford 5.9L V8	D.	28
44	GT1	45	Newcastle United Lister Cars	Geoff Lee's Tiff Needell George Fouché	Lister Storm GTL	Jaguar 7.0L V12	D.	21st
45	LMP	4th	Pilot racing	Michel Ferté Adrián Campos Charlie Nearburg	Ferrari 333SP	Ferrari F310E 4.0L V12	D.	18th
46	GT2	70	Team Marcos Racing International	Cor Euser Takashi Suzuki Harald Becker	Marcos Mantara LM600	Chevrolet 5.9L V8	D.	15th
47	GT1	32	Roock Racing	Stéphane Ortelli Allan McNish Karl Wendlinger	Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6	M.	8th
48	LMP	14th	Pacific Racing Ltd.	Harri Toivonen Eliseo Salazar Jesús Pareja	BRM P301	Nissan 3.0L Turbo V6	P	6th
Not started
49	GT1	40	Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren	John Nielsen Thomas Bscher Chris Goodwin	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70 6.0L V12	M.	1
Not qualified
50	LMP	6th	Kremer Racing	Giovanni Lavaggi Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière Bernard Chauvin	Kremer K8 Spyder	Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6	G	2
51	GT1	50	GT1 Lotus Racing	Fabien Giroix Jean-Denis Delétraz Ratanakul Prutirat	Lotus Elise GT1	Chevrolet LT5 6.0L V8	M.	3
52	GT2	71	Team Marcos Racing International	Dominic Chapell François Migault Henri-Louis Maunoir	Marcos Mantara LM600	Chevrolet 5.9L V8	D.	4th

¹ wagon fire in training ² not qualified ³ not qualified ⁴ 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
53	LMP	2	Rachel Welter	Sébastien Enjolras Marc Rostan	WR LM97	Peugeot PRV 2.0L Turbo V6
54	LMP	12	Didier Bonnet	David Dussau Edouard Sezionale François Jakubowski	Debora LMP297	Cosworth 2.0L Turbo I4
55	LMP	16	Matrix Motor Co Ltd.	Tim Richardson Bernard de Dryver Robin Donovan	Matrix MPX-1	Nissan 3.0L Turbo V6
56	LMP	17th	Alain le Brun	Pierre Bruneau	WR LM97	Peugeot PRV 2.0L Turbo V6
57	GT1	34	Team Menicon Sard	Olivier Grouillard	Sard MC8-R	Toyota - Lexus 4.0L Turbo V8
58	GT1	35	Team Menicon Sard	Olivier Grouillard Cathy Muller Oriol Servià Alexandre Debanne Christophe Tinseau	Sard MC8-R	Toyota-Lexus 4.0L Turbo V8
59	GT1	36	RJ Racing	Patrick Gonin Stéphane Daoudi Benjamin Roy Marc Sourd	Helem-Renault Spider	Renault PRV 3.0L Turbo V6
60	GT1	37	RJ Racing	Patrick Gonin Stéphane Daoudi Benjamin Roy Marc Sourd	Helem-Renault Spider	Renault PRV 3.0L Turbo V6
61	GT1	38	BBA Compétition	Jean-Luc Maury-Laribiere Alain Ferté Marcel Tarrès	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70 6.0L V12
62	GT1	51	GT1 Team Lotus	Ratanakul Prutirat Maurizio Sandro Sala Kasikam Suphot	Lotus Elise GT1	Chevrolet LT5 6.0L V8
63	GT1	53	Société DAMS	David Velay Jean-Christophe Boullion Wolfgang Kaufmann	Panoz Esperante GTR-1	Ford Roush 6.0L V8
64	GT2	65	Chamberlain Engineering	Jay Cochran Chris Gleason	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 8.0L V10
65	GT2	69	Eric van de Vyver	Eric van de Vyver	Gillet Vertigo V de V	Cosworth 2.0L Turbo I4
66	GT2	76	Bruno Krauss racing technology	Bernhard Müller Michael Trunk	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6
67	GT2	81	GT Racing Team AG	Luca Drudi Luigino Pagotto	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6
68	GT2	83	Gerard McQuillan	Ben Collins Gerard McQuillan Scott Peeler	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6
69	GT2	85	Steve O'Rourke	Steve O'Rourke Tim Sugden Win Percy	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6
70					TVR 12/7
71	GT1		Newcastle United Lister Cars		Lister Storm GTL	Jaguar 7.0L V12
72			Peter Allnutt		Specter R4	ford
73	LMP		Giampiero Moretti		Ferrari 333SP	Ferrari F310E 4.0L V12
74	LMP		Jon Dellor		Spice WSC D97	Cosworth
75	LMP				Spice WSC D97	Cosworth
76	GT1	24	Ennea Srl		Ferrari F40 GTE Evoluzione	Ferrari F120B 3.5L Turbo V8
77	GT1	31	Société Larbre Competition		Porsche 911 GT1	Porsche 3.2L Turbo Flat-6
78	GT1	47	GBF Ltd.	Andrea Boldrini Martin Stretton	Lotus Elise GT1	Chevrolet LT5 6.0L V8
79	GT1	48	GBF Ltd.	Domenico Schiattarella Luca Badore	Lotus Elise GT1	Chevrolet LT5 6.0L V8
80	GT2	68	Saleen-Allen Speedlab	James Kaye	Saleen Mustang RRR	Ford 5.9L V8
81	GT2	72	Team Marcos Racing International	Chris Marsh François Migault Andy Purvis	Marcos Mantara LM600	Chevrolet 5.9L V8
82	GT2	82	Parr Motorsport	Hugh Price Stéphane Ortelli John Robinson	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
LMP	Michele Alboreto	Stefan Johansson	Tom Kristensen	TWR-Porsche WSC-95	Overall victory
GT1	Jean-Marc Gounon	Pierre-Henri Raphanel	Not so Olofsson	McLaren F1 GTR	Rank 2
GT2	Michel Neugarten	Guy Martinolle	Jean-Claude Lagniez	Porsche 911 GT2	Rank 9

Racing data

• Registered: 82
• Started: 48
• Valued: 17
• Race classes: 3
• Spectators: 170,000
• Honorary starter of the race: unknown
• Weather on the race weekend: warm and dry
• Route length: 13.605 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 02: 40.875 hours
• Rounds of the winning team: 361
• Distance of the winning team: 4909.600 km
• Winner's average: 204.186 km / h
• Pole position: Michele Alboreto - TWR-Porsche WSC-95 (# 7) - 3.41.581 = 220.958 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Tom Kristensen - TWR-Porsche WSC-95 (# 17) - 3: 45.068 = 217.534 km / h
• Racing series: did not belong to any racing series

literature

• Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre: Les 24 heures du Mans 1997. Editions IHM, Brussels 1997, ISBN 2-930120-15-0 .

Web links

Commons : 24 Hours of Le Mans 1997  - Collection of images, videos and audio files