1996 24 Hours of Le Mans

Last updated November 16, 2024

The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 15 and 16 June 1996. It was won by a Tom Walkinshaw-Porsche prototype run by Joest Racing with drivers Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter and Le Mans rookie Alexander Wurz completing 354 laps. While not being the fastest car on track, it hit the front in the first hour and aside from several pit-stop overlaps, was never headed as other teams hit mechanical troubles during the race. This was Reuter's second Le Mans victory, and the first for Jones (after finishing as runner-up in 1991 with Jaguar) and Wurz, who, at 22 years old, became the youngest ever Le Mans overall winner.

Regulations and Entries

Still very satisfied with its equivalency formulae between the prototypes and GTs, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) made only slight adjustments to its regulations, by including engine volume and turbo boost into its calculations. LMP1 and P2 got closer to the IMSA-WSC category with new, updated, bodywork dimensions.

The summary, as compared to the 1995 regulations was:^[1]

LM WSC (P1) max 5.1L or 3.0L (turbo), fuel tank 80L, max tyre width 16", min weight 875 kg
LM P2: max 3.4L or 2.0L (turbo), fuel tank 62L, max tyre width 14", min weight 650 kg
LM GT1: max 8.0L or 4.0L (turbo), fuel tank 100L, max tyre width 14" (front) & 12" (rear), min weight based on a sliding scale
LM GT2 had the same specifications as the LM GT1

In GT1, major engine modifications were now allowed while GT2 still had to use series-production engines.

This year the ACO halved the number of automatic entries from 20 to 10. They received an initial 107 applications and accepted 66 for pre-Qualifying in April on top of the automatic-10, to pare down to 53 for race week (48 starters + 5 reserves).

Still with no co-ordinated European sports car series after the demise of the World Sportscar Championship after the 1992 season, there were only 14 prototypes, albeit of a high quality. As expected, the bulk of the field was in GT: 27 cars in GT1 plus 12 in GT2. Many teams came from the thriving BPR Global series.

In prototypes, Kremer and Courage returned, this time challenged by a new Porsche prototype developed by Joest Racing in conjunction with TWR Motorsport. The TWR-Porsche WSC-95 was born from the shell of a TWR-designed Jaguar XJR-14 racing car, modified to an open top design by Tom Walkinshaw Racing, and fitted with the Porsche 962 engine.

Three IMSA-WSC cars turned up: two Ferrari 333 SP's run by Scandia Racing versus the much-improved Riley & Scott (winner of the Daytona and Sebring enduros). In another small LM P2 field of four cars, Welter and Bonnet were joined by a Kudzu-Mazda stepping across from WSC and now run directly by the Mazdaspeed works team.

In GT1, defending champions McLaren-BMW had updated 1996-spec cars, with tighter air restrictors dropping the power output slightly. This time they included a pair run as a BMW works team (through their Italian partners Bigazzi). The McLarens were joined again by Nissan, Toyota and Lister (now sponsored by Newcastle United Football Club). Chrysler-Dodge returned with a quartet of Vipers with their big rumbling 8-litre engines; one pair run by ORECA in the BPR and the second pair by Canaska-Southwind in the North American series.

But, perhaps as might be expected, the big news was with Porsche and the new 911 GT1 - yet again courting controversy. This was, quite literally, virtually a Porsche 911 in name only, with the visual similarity of a squashed, lengthened 911. This was Porsche's first ever mid-engined car, using a purpose-designed 3.2L flat-six, twin-turbo, water-cooled (another first for Porsche) engine.^[2] The first chassis was ready in March, and with only two road-going cars it got EU GT1 homologation (again, like the Dauer-Porsche of '94, using the "promised-production" clause).

Qualification

The fastest practice times this year were being done by the prototypes. In the first instance Eric van der Poele, this year in the Scandia Ferrari, set the initial pace. But it was Pierluigi Martini (just out of F1) who set the pole in his Joest TWR-Porsche, just a tenth of a second ahead of the Courage of Jérôme Policand. Van der Poele was third ahead of the 911 GT1s of Wendlinger and Wollek, and Taylor in the Riley & Scott.

In a novel change this year the ACO decided to line up the first dozen cars on the grid with the six fastest cars from each category two-by-two - prototypes on the left and GT cars on the right.^[3] With only a second between the first five cars this was not as skewed as might have seemed, giving further credence to the equivalency regulations. The first McLaren was Bigazzi's Steve Soper in 8th place (but starting 6th as the 3rd-fastest GT1 car). In LMP2 the WRs would be here for the last time (the ACO regulations for 1997 demanded 2-seater vehicles). They could not repeat the heroics of 1995, when they started on the front row of the grid. This year Gonin was 12th fastest, more than four seconds off last year's pole time. David in the other WR was a further 3 seconds slower. But their opposition fared worse - the new Kudzu was 23rd on the grid and the Debora, after electronics problems in Qualifying, then blew its engine on the morning warm-up and would not take the start.

In GT2, the predictable crowd of privateer Porsche 911s (in the current 993 GT2 version) were up against the Kunimitsu Honda NSX, back to defend its win last year. There was only a single Callaway (from Agusta) and a new Marcos from the small English company. Fastest was the Porsche of Roock Racing, a new team coming from the German GT series, setting the pace in the BPR series this year. It had a comfortable margin over the Callaway and the Porsche of the PARR Motorsport team from New Zealand (here celebrating 30 years since the three NZ drivers Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon and Denny Hulme finished first and second for Ford's first Le Mans win).

Race

Start

The start was brought forward to 3pm to accommodate the thousands of British fans on site to watch the England-Scotland football match at the Euro championships.^[1] Unlike last year's heavy rain, the race started in sunshine. Dalmas and Wollek in the works Porsche GT1s raced into the lead for the first four laps until overtaken in turn by the two Joest TWR-Porsches of Jones & Theys. With wider tyres, lower weights and better aerodynamics the TWRs were able to make a break on the field while others had their problems: Boutsen and Dalmas both fell off the track, losing minutes. Cottaz, in the fastest Courage, had kept up with the top four initially, but lost time in the second hour with electronics issues. Likewise the best Kremer was well in the top ten. Both cars in the Gulf and Bigazzi McLaren teams filled out the lower half of the top ten.

Night

The Joest cars maintained a comfortable 1–2 lead going into the night. The veteran team of Wollek/Stuck/Boutsen kept in touch in the Porsche GT1 and finally took back second place at half-race distance from Theys' pole-sitting TWR. After its delays, the Cottaz/Alliot/Policand Courage had quickly moved back up through the field and was fourth and fifth, until Alliot crashed the Courage at Tertre Rouge just after dawn. The remaining Ferrari prototype (sponsored by a charity of 1001 Belgian royalty, celebrities and citizens) had tyre problems at the start, but like the Courage it had steadily made up places to be fifth.

The Riley & Scott, American enduro-champ, had run well during the day despite being excessively thirsty, but after several offs it slipped down the board and at 2.30am it broke down marooning Pace on the Mulsanne.

At 4.30 Duez, running 7th, bought the first Bigazzi McLaren into the pits stuck in gear. After two gearbox changes during the next day, they eventually finished 11th. The Ferrari F40s were never as competitive as the previous year and by dawn all four cars had retired, including a short, sudden, spectacular fuel-fire in the pits for the Ratel entry.

Morning

A charging triple stint by Stuck almost got the Porsche GT1 to the front, but the leaders always had enough in hand. At 9.20 Martini dropped the second TWR in the gravel at the first Mulsanne chicane, and the time spent doing repairs dropped them to fourth, behind Ray Bellm's Gulf McLaren. But then the McLaren was stopped for a gearbox change at midday, taking 90 minutes, and dropping them in turn down to 10th. After several offs by Wendlinger and Goodyear in the night, the second Porsche GT1 had fallen down to 12th, but by early-morning had recovered back to fifth. The other Bigazzi McLaren of F1 champion Nelson Piquet, just like its sister car, was in 7th place when it too was stopped for an hour with a gearbox change. With race attrition they were able to get back to 8th by the finish, just ahead of Bellm's Gulf McLaren.^[4]

Just after dawn, the Ferrari needed a gearbox change, taking half an hour, dropping it to 10th. Van der Poele then took off, setting the race's fastest lap several times then at 7am, when back into fifth, Éric Bachelart crashed out at the Esses.

In GT2, the leading Roock Racing Porsche had to replace its driveshaft at midday, but had enough in hand to keep its lead.

Finish and Post-race

The Jones/Reuter/Wurz car never missed a beat, and was never headed on the scoring charts. In the end they won by a lap from the Porsche GT1, yet again Bob Wollek was beaten back to second place (and yet again, stymied by time lost to off-track excursions). At just 22 years of age, Alexander Wurz became the youngest ever Le Mans winner, starting an F1 career exactly a year later to the day, with Benetton at the Canadian Grand Prix. Reinhold Joest's deal with Porsche said that he could keep the car if it was a race-winner, and it was to reappear again for the 1997 race.^[5]

With only 40 minutes remaining, the driveshaft broke on the second TWR, stranding the unlucky Martini out on the circuit at Arnage. Third place fell into the lap of the other Porsche GT1, finishing a distant 13 laps behind the winners. McLarens took the next three places: the two troubled DPR-team cars and the second car from Gulf Racing. These included Derek Bell, finally drawing the curtain on an illustrious Le Mans career at the age of 54; a career of over 25 years, it included five outright victories and a pair of 2nd-places, as well as winning the Daytona 24 hours three times and twice winning the World Sportscar Championship, thus marking him as one of the all-time great sports car drivers.

Seventh was the Pescarolo/Lagorce/Collard Courage of the La Filière team (a motorsport academy at the Le Mans circuit), and the second prototype home. Down 27 laps they lost an hour replacing a clutch during the night.^[6]

The Roock Racing Porsche easily won the GT2 class finishing 12th overall and four laps ahead of the PARR Motorsport Porsche. The Kiwi Porsche had a trouble-free race, spending the least time in the pits of any car except for the winning TWR-Porsche.^[7] The Japanese GTs were uncompetitive against the Porsches and McLarens, and those that did finish were well down the board. The Kudzu-Mazda was the only LMP2 finisher, coming in at the back of the field nearly 100 laps behind the winners.

After Le Mans, the Porsche works team entered their GT1s in three races of the BPR Global series, winning all three. In the new year, they sold further cars to customer teams, usurping McLaren to become the new dominant force in GT racing.

Andy Evans, owner of the Scandia Team running the Ferrari prototypes, along with Roberto Muller (ex-CEO of Reebok) bought control of the American IMSA organisation, and the changes led to the resignation of a number of the board members and the formation of a breakaway series by the USRRC.

Official results

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyre	Laps
Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Engine	Tyre	Laps
1	LMP1	7	Joest Racing	Davy Jones Alexander Wurz Manuel Reuter	TWR Porsche WSC-95	G	354
1	LMP1	7	Joest Racing	Davy Jones Alexander Wurz Manuel Reuter	Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6	G	354
2	LMGT1	25	Porsche AG	Hans-Joachim Stuck Thierry Boutsen Bob Wollek	Porsche 911 GT1	M	353
2	LMGT1	25	Porsche AG	Hans-Joachim Stuck Thierry Boutsen Bob Wollek	Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6	M	353
3	LMGT1	26	Porsche AG	Karl Wendlinger Yannick Dalmas Scott Goodyear	Porsche 911 GT1	M	341
3	LMGT1	26	Porsche AG	Karl Wendlinger Yannick Dalmas Scott Goodyear	Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6	M	341
4	LMGT1	30	West Competition	John Nielsen Thomas Bscher Peter Kox	McLaren F1 GTR	G	338
4	LMGT1	30	West Competition	John Nielsen Thomas Bscher Peter Kox	BMW S70 6.1 L V12	G	338
5	LMGT1	34	Gulf Racing	Pierre-Henri Raphanel Lindsay Owen-Jones David Brabham	McLaren F1 GTR	M	335
5	LMGT1	34	Gulf Racing	Pierre-Henri Raphanel Lindsay Owen-Jones David Brabham	BMW S70 6.1 L V12	M	335
6	LMGT1	29	Harrods Mach One Racing	Andy Wallace Olivier Grouillard Derek Bell	McLaren F1 GTR	G	328
6	LMGT1	29	Harrods Mach One Racing	Andy Wallace Olivier Grouillard Derek Bell	BMW S70 6.1 L V12	G	328
7	LMP1	5	La Filière	Henri Pescarolo Franck Lagorce Emmanuel Collard	Courage C36	M	327
7	LMP1	5	La Filière	Henri Pescarolo Franck Lagorce Emmanuel Collard	Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6	M	327
8	LMGT1	39	Team Bigazzi SRL	Nelson Piquet Johnny Cecotto Danny Sullivan	McLaren F1 GTR	M	324
8	LMGT1	39	Team Bigazzi SRL	Nelson Piquet Johnny Cecotto Danny Sullivan	BMW S70 6.1 L V12	M	324
9	LMGT1	33	Gulf Racing	Ray Bellm James Weaver JJ Lehto	McLaren F1 GTR	M	323
9	LMGT1	33	Gulf Racing	Ray Bellm James Weaver JJ Lehto	BMW S70 6.1 L V12	M	323
10	LMGT1	48	Canaska Southwind Motorsport	Price Cobb Shawn Hendricks Mark Dismore	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	M	320
10	LMGT1	48	Canaska Southwind Motorsport	Price Cobb Shawn Hendricks Mark Dismore	Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10	M	320
11	LMGT1	38	Team Bigazzi SRL	Jacques Laffite Steve Soper Marc Duez	McLaren F1 GTR	M	318
11	LMGT1	38	Team Bigazzi SRL	Jacques Laffite Steve Soper Marc Duez	BMW S70 6.1 L V12	M	318
12	LMGT2	79	Roock Racing Team	Guy Martinolle Ralf Kelleners Bruno Eichmann	Porsche 911 GT2	M	317
12	LMGT2	79	Roock Racing Team	Guy Martinolle Ralf Kelleners Bruno Eichmann	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	M	317
13	LMP1	4	Courage Compétition	Mario Andretti Jan Lammers Derek Warwick	Courage C36	M	315
13	LMP1	4	Courage Compétition	Mario Andretti Jan Lammers Derek Warwick	Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6	M	315
14	LMGT2	71	New Hardware Racing/Parr Motorsport	Bill Farmer Greg Murphy Robert Nearn	Porsche 911 GT2	P	313
14	LMGT2	71	New Hardware Racing/Parr Motorsport	Bill Farmer Greg Murphy Robert Nearn	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	P	313
15	LMGT1	23	Nismo	Kazuyoshi Hoshino Masahiro Hasemi Toshio Suzuki	Nismo Skyline GT-R LM	B	307
15	LMGT1	23	Nismo	Kazuyoshi Hoshino Masahiro Hasemi Toshio Suzuki	Nissan 2.8 L Turbo I6	B	307
16	LMGT2	75	Team Kunimitsu	Kunimitsu Takahashi Keiichi Tsuchiya Akira Iida	Honda NSX	Y	305
16	LMGT2	75	Team Kunimitsu	Kunimitsu Takahashi Keiichi Tsuchiya Akira Iida	Honda 3.0 L V6	Y	305
17	LMGT2	83	New Hardware Racing/Parr Motorsport	Stéphane Ortelli Andy Pilgrim Andrew Bagnall	Porsche 911 GT2	P	299
17	LMGT2	83	New Hardware Racing/Parr Motorsport	Stéphane Ortelli Andy Pilgrim Andrew Bagnall	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	P	299
18	LMGT2	77	Seikel Motorsport	Guy Fuster Manfred Jurasz Takaji Suzuki	Porsche 911 GT2	P	297
18	LMGT2	77	Seikel Motorsport	Guy Fuster Manfred Jurasz Takaji Suzuki	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	P	297
19	LMGT1	28	Newcastle United Lister	Geoff Lees Tiff Needell Anthony Reid	Lister Storm GTS	M	295
19	LMGT1	28	Newcastle United Lister	Geoff Lees Tiff Needell Anthony Reid	Jaguar 7.0 L V12	M	295
20	LMGT2	82	Société Larbre Compétition	Patrice Goueslard André Ahrlé Patrick Bourdais	Porsche 911 GT2	M	284
20	LMGT2	82	Société Larbre Compétition	Patrice Goueslard André Ahrlé Patrick Bourdais	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	M	284
21	LMGT1	50	Société Viper Team Oreca	Philippe Gache Éric Hélary Olivier Beretta	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	M	283
21	LMGT1	50	Société Viper Team Oreca	Philippe Gache Éric Hélary Olivier Beretta	Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10	M	283
22	LMGT1	27	Société Chéreau Sports	Jean-Luc Chéreau Pierre Yver Jack Leconte	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	M	279
22	LMGT1	27	Société Chéreau Sports	Jean-Luc Chéreau Pierre Yver Jack Leconte	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	M	279
23	LMGT1	49	Canaska Southwind Motorsport	Alain Cudini Victor Sifton John Morton	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	M	269
23	LMGT1	49	Canaska Southwind Motorsport	Alain Cudini Victor Sifton John Morton	Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10	M	269
24	LMGT1	46	Team Menicon SARD	Alain Ferté Mauro Martini Pascal Fabre	SARD MC8-R	D	256
24	LMGT1	46	Team Menicon SARD	Alain Ferté Mauro Martini Pascal Fabre	Toyota 4.0 L Turbo V8	D	256
25	LMP2	20	Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.	Yojiro Terada Jim Downing Franck Fréon	Kudzu DLM	G	251
25	LMP2	20	Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.	Yojiro Terada Jim Downing Franck Fréon	Mazda R20B 2.0 L 3-Rotor	G	251
DNF	LMP1	8	Joest Racing	Michele Alboreto Pierluigi Martini Didier Theys	TWR Porsche WSC-95	G	300
DNF	LMP1	8	Joest Racing	Michele Alboreto Pierluigi Martini Didier Theys	Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6	G	300
DNF	LMP2	14	Welter Racing SARL	Patrick Gonin Pierre Petit Marc Rostan	WR LM96	M	221
DNF	LMP2	14	Welter Racing SARL	Patrick Gonin Pierre Petit Marc Rostan	Peugeot 2.0 L Turbo I4	M	221
DNF	LMP1	3	Courage Compétition	Didier Cottaz Philippe Alliot Jérôme Policand	Courage C36	M	215
DNF	LMP1	3	Courage Compétition	Didier Cottaz Philippe Alliot Jérôme Policand	Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6	M	215
DNF	LMGT1	22	Nismo	Aguri Suzuki Masahiko Kageyama Masahiko Kondo	Nismo Skyline GT-R LM	B	209
DNF	LMGT1	22	Nismo	Aguri Suzuki Masahiko Kageyama Masahiko Kondo	Nissan 2.8 L Turbo I6	B	209
DNF	WSC	17	Racing For Belgium Team Scandia	Eric van de Poele Marc Goossens Éric Bachelart	Ferrari 333 SP	P	208
DNF	WSC	17	Racing For Belgium Team Scandia	Eric van de Poele Marc Goossens Éric Bachelart	Ferrari F310E 4.0 L V12	P	208
DNF	LMGT1	57	Toyota Team SARD	Masanori Sekiya Hidetoshi Mitsusada Masami Kageyama	Toyota Supra LM	D	205
DNF	LMGT1	57	Toyota Team SARD	Masanori Sekiya Hidetoshi Mitsusada Masami Kageyama	Toyota 3S-GTE 2.1 L Turbo I4	D	205
DNF	LMP2	15	Welter Racing SARL	William David Sébastien Enjolras Arnaud Trévisiol	WR LM96	M	162
DNF	LMP2	15	Welter Racing SARL	William David Sébastien Enjolras Arnaud Trévisiol	Peugeot 2.0 L Turbo I4	M	162
DNF	WSC	19	Riley & Scott Cars Inc.	Wayne Taylor Scott Sharp Jim Pace	Riley & Scott Mk III	P	157
DNF	WSC	19	Riley & Scott Cars Inc.	Wayne Taylor Scott Sharp Jim Pace	Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 L V8	P	157
DNF	LMGT1	53	Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing	Fabien Giroix Jean-Denis Délétraz Maurizio Sandro Sala	McLaren F1 GTR	M	146
DNF	LMGT1	53	Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing	Fabien Giroix Jean-Denis Délétraz Maurizio Sandro Sala	BMW S70 6.1 L V12	M	146
DNF	LMGT1	59	Ennea SRL	Robin Donovan Piero Nappi Tetsuya Ota	Ferrari F40 GTE	P	129
DNF	LMGT1	59	Ennea SRL	Robin Donovan Piero Nappi Tetsuya Ota	Ferrari F120B 3.5 L Turbo V8	P	129
DNF	LMGT2	74	Agusta Racing Team	Rocky Agusta Almo Copelli Patrick Camus	Callaway Corvette LM600	D	114
DNF	LMGT2	74	Agusta Racing Team	Rocky Agusta Almo Copelli Patrick Camus	Chevrolet LT1 6.2 L V8	D	114
DNF	LMP1	1	Kremer Racing	Christophe Bouchut Jürgen Lässig Harri Toivonen	Kremer K8 Spyder	G	110
DNF	LMP1	1	Kremer Racing	Christophe Bouchut Jürgen Lässig Harri Toivonen	Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6	G	110
DNF	LMGT1	37	Konrad Motorsport	Franz Konrad Antonio Herrmann Wido Rössler	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	M	107
DNF	LMGT1	37	Konrad Motorsport	Franz Konrad Antonio Herrmann Wido Rössler	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	M	107
DNF	LMGT1	44	Ennea SRL Igol	Luciano Della Noce Anders Olofsson Carl Rosenblad	Ferrari F40 GTE	P	98
DNF	LMGT1	44	Ennea SRL Igol	Luciano Della Noce Anders Olofsson Carl Rosenblad	Ferrari F120B 3.5 L Turbo V8	P	98
DNF	LMGT1	51	Société Viper Team Oreca	Dominique Dupuy Perry McCarthy Justin Bell	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	M	96
DNF	LMGT1	51	Société Viper Team Oreca	Dominique Dupuy Perry McCarthy Justin Bell	Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10	M	96
DNF	LMGT1	55	Roock Racing Team	Jean-Pierre Jarier Jesús Pareja Dominic Chappell	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	M	93
DNF	LMGT1	55	Roock Racing Team	Jean-Pierre Jarier Jesús Pareja Dominic Chappell	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	M	93
DNF	LMGT1	56	Pilot Racing	Michel Ferté Olivier Thévenin Nicolas Leboissetier	Ferrari F40 LM	M	93
DNF	LMGT1	56	Pilot Racing	Michel Ferté Olivier Thévenin Nicolas Leboissetier	Ferrari F120B 3.5 L Turbo V8	M	93
DNF	LMP1	2	Kremer Racing	Steve Fossett George Fouché Stanley Dickens	Kremer K8 Spyder	G	58
DNF	LMP1	2	Kremer Racing	Steve Fossett George Fouché Stanley Dickens	Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6	G	58
DNF	LMGT2	73	Elf Haberthur Racing	Michel Neugarten Toni Seiler Bruno Ilien	Porsche 911 GT2	D	46
DNF	LMGT2	73	Elf Haberthur Racing	Michel Neugarten Toni Seiler Bruno Ilien	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	46
DNF	LMGT2	81	Team Marcos	Cor Euser Thomas Erdos Pascal Dro	Marcos LM600	D	40
DNF	LMGT2	81	Team Marcos	Cor Euser Thomas Erdos Pascal Dro	Chevrolet 6.1 L V8	D	40
DNF	LMGT1	45	Ennea SRL Igol	Jean-Marc Gounon Éric Bernard Paul Belmondo	Ferrari F40 GTE	P	40
DNF	LMGT1	45	Ennea SRL Igol	Jean-Marc Gounon Éric Bernard Paul Belmondo	Ferrari F120B 3.5 L Turbo V8	P	40
DNF	LMGT2	70	Steve O'Rourke	Steve O'Rourke Guy Holmes Soames Langston	Porsche 911 GT2	D	32
DNF	LMGT2	70	Steve O'Rourke	Steve O'Rourke Guy Holmes Soames Langston	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	32
DNF	WSC	18	Rocketsports Inc.	Andy Evans Yvan Muller Fermín Velez	Ferrari 333 SP	P	31
DNF	WSC	18	Rocketsports Inc.	Andy Evans Yvan Muller Fermín Velez	Ferrari F130E 4.0 L V12	P	31

Statistics

Pole Position - Pierluigi Martini, #8 Joest Racing - 3:46.682
Fastest Lap - Eric van de Poele, #17 Racing For Belgium / Team Scandia - 3:46.958
Distance - 4814.4 km
Average Speed - 200.6 km/h
Highest Trap Speed — Courage C36 - 332 km/h (race)
Attendance - 168000

Notes

1 2 Spurring 2014, p.226
↑ Spurring 2014, p.231
↑ Spurring 2014, p.225
↑ Spurring 2014, p.233
↑ Spurring 2014, p.230
↑ Spurring 2014, p.236
↑ Spurring 2014, p.239

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The 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 63rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 17 and 18 June 1995 in one of the wettest races in the event's history with about 17 hours of steady rain. The race was won by the #59 McLaren F1 GTR driven by JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya entered in the GT1 category. This was the first Le Mans win for a driver from Finland and for a driver from Japan. It was also McLaren's first win, at its first attempt - Ferrari had accomplished the same feat with its two cars in 1949, but other manufacturers like Jaguar, Porsche, Ford or Audi achieved their first Le Mans win only after 2, 3 or more attempts. As well as its outright win, the strength of the F1 GTR in the race was underlined by it ultimately filling four of the first five places.

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The 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 59th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, on the 22 and 23 June 1991. It was also the fourth round of the 1991 FIA Sportscar World Championship season. This was the inaugural season of the new 3.5-litre non-turbo regulations for Sports Cars, however the number of teams entering cars in that class was very limited, so the entry list was opened up to the old Group C category. However, to promote their new formula, FISA decreed that the top ten grid spots had to be taken by cars in the new class, regardless of their qualifying time, with the Group C cars arranged behind them. The piston-engine Group C cars were penalised to carry 100 kg extra ballast, however the rotary-engine Mazdas were not. The race was anticipated to be a final showdown between Jaguar and Sauber-Mercedes, with Porsche, Mazda and the new Peugeots playing supporting roles. Indeed, from the front of the grid, the Peugeots did lead for the first hour, but their reliability failed them, and they were soon in the pits to eventually retire. It was then the Mercedes cars that took up the lead, even running 1-2-3 for several hours. The Jaguars were being stymied by fuel consumption and had to temper their pace accordingly. However, the three cars stayed in the top-10, fighting with the two new Mazda 787Bs.

The 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 57th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, on the 10 and 11 June 1989. This year it was not included as a round of the 1989 World Sports-Prototype Championship. The entry list promised a strong contest between five manufacturers. Jaguar had won in 1988 and went on to win the championship; while Sauber had finished second and was now matching Jaguar on the track. New regulations were coming in 1991, and the first examples of the 3.5-litre normally-aspirated formula were entered by Spice Engineering.

The 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 55th Grand Prix of Endurance as well as the fifth round of the 1987 World Sports-Prototype Championship. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, on the 13 and 14 June 1987. Jaguar was a strong contender, have won the four preceding rounds of the Championship. The Porsche works team had installed a new 3-litre engine into their 962s but their turbo engines would test their fuel economy.

The 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 52nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 16 – 17 June 1984. It was also the third round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship. There were two big stories going into the race weekend: the absence of the Porsche works team and their drivers, and the return of Jaguar. Bob Tullius had commissioned the new Jaguar XJR-5 to run in the IMSA series and entered two for Le Mans. Earlier in the year, FISA had announced abrupt changes to the fuel regulations to bring them more in line with IMSA. Porsche and Lancia objected strongly because of their strong investment in the existing rules. In the absence of dominant Porsche works team, the race was left wide open between Lancia and the number of strong Porsche customer teams.

The 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 49th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 13 and 14 June 1981. It was also the eighth round of the World Endurance Championship of Drivers, and the fifth round of the World Championship for Makes.

Joest Racing is a German sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. Their headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany.

The McLaren F1 GTR is the racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It was powered by the naturally aspirated BMW S70/2 V12 engine. It is most famous for its overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it won against faster purpose-built prototypes in very wet conditions. The F1 GTR raced internationally until 2005 when the final race chassis was retired.

The 1998 Petit Le Mans was the seventh race for the 1998 IMSA GT Championship season, then known as the Professional SportsCar Racing series. It also served as a prelude to the first American Le Mans Series race held at Sebring in 1999. Don Panoz's American Le Mans Series was developed with the backing of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), the ruling body of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It took place on October 11, 1998.

The Porsche WSC-95 was a Le Mans Prototype originally built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing. It was modified by Porsche from the original Group C Jaguar XJR-14 from which it derived, and run by Joest Racing. Originally intended to race in the IMSA World Sportscar Championship, the WSC-95 saw very little race action even though it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 1996 and 1997 without being acknowledged as a factory supported project. It was later upgraded to the Porsche LMP1-98 before being retired. Only two cars were ever built.

The 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 76th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place on 14–15 June 2008 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The test day was on June 1. The race was attended by 258,000 spectators. The Audi team's progress and victory was documented in the 2008 film Truth in 24.

Johnny Mowlem is a professional British racing driver. During his career Mowlem was ranked amongst the best sports car/GT drivers in the world. Mowlem famously fell off his chair whilst commentating at the 2023 Le Mans 24hr race, having competed in every class of world championship sports car racing.

The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) over 13–14 June 2009 and was started by Fiat and Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo at 15:00 local time. A test day was initially scheduled for 31 May that year, but was canceled by the ACO due to economic concerns. The race was attended by 234,800 spectators.

The 2009 1000 km of Okayama was the inaugural event of Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) Asian Le Mans Series. It was held at the Okayama International Circuit, Japan and featured two 500 km races held on 30 October and 1 November 2009. The winning teams in each of the four categories earned an automatic invitation to the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. A second Asian Le Mans Series event, scheduled for the Shanghai International Circuit, China, on 7 and 8 November was cancelled by the ACO due to economic circumstances. The race weekend is being shared with the World Touring Car Championship's Race of Japan.

References

Spurring, Quentin (2014) Le Mans 1990-99 Sherborne, Dorset: Evro Publishing ISBN 978-0-9928209-1-6
Laban, Brian (2001) Le Mans 24 Hours London: Virgin Books ISBN 1-85227-971-0

External links

Racing Sports Cars – Le Mans 24 Hours 1996 entries, results, technical detail, photo gallery. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
Le Mans History – Le Mans History, hour-by-hour (incl. pictures, YouTube links). Retrieved 10 July 2016.
Formula 2 – Le Mans 1995 results & reserve entries. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
Motorsport Magazine – Motorsport Magazine archive. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
You-Tube – 40-minute review of the 1996 race. Retrieved 10 July 2016.

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[Spurring_2014,_p.226-1] 1 2 Spurring 2014, p.226

[Spurring_2014,_p.231-2] Spurring 2014, p.231

[3] Spurring 2014, p.225

[Spurring_2014,_p.233-4] Spurring 2014, p.233

[Spurring_2014,_p.230-5] Spurring 2014, p.230

[Spurring_2014,_p.236-6] Spurring 2014, p.236

[Spurring_2014,_p.239-7] Spurring 2014, p.239

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