1998 24 Hours of Le Mans

Last updated
1998 24 Hours of Le Mans
Previous: 1997 Next: 1999
Index: Races | Winners
Le Mans in 1998 Circuit de la Sarthe Le Mans 1990-2001.png
Le Mans in 1998

The 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 66th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 6 and 7 June 1998.

Contents

Schedule

Events for the 24 Hours of Le Mans began on 2 May with technical inspections, before initial pre-qualifying on 3 May. The race week began on Monday 1 June with renewed technical inspections. [1]

Schedule
DateTime (local)Event
Saturday, 2 MayUnknownPre-qualifying sporting checks and administrative scrutineering
Sunday, 3 May07:30 – 13:30Pre-qualifying
14:30 – 20:30
Monday, 1 June15:00 - 18:00Sporting checks and administrative scrutineering
Tuesday, 2 June9:00 - 17:00
Wednesday, 3 June19:00 – 00:30Qualifying Session 1 & 2
Thursday, 4 June19:00 – 00:30Qualifying Session 3 & 4
Saturday, 6 JuneMorningWarm-up
14:00Start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Sunday, 7 June14:00Finish of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Entries

1998 saw a significant increase in manufacturer involvement. Porsche and Mercedes-Benz remained, with upgraded cars in both GT1 and LMP. Toyota sent three of their new, extremely fast GT-One racing cars, while BMW, in association with WilliamsF1, launched the new BMW V12 LM. Nissan sent 4 of their new R390 GT1s. The United States was also represented properly with a two car team from Panoz, with Ford powered Esperante GTR-1s, and factory-backed Chrysler Viper GTS-R in the GT2 class entered by Oreca.

Automatic invitations

Automatic entry to the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was granted to teams that had performed well in the previous year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the 1997 season of the FIA GT Championship and the Le Mans Autumn Cup. [2] Entries with a blue background were granted entries, but did not accept their invitations.

Reason enteredLMP1GT1GT2
1st in 24 Hours of Le Mans Flag of Germany.svg Joest Racing GmbH 1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Elf Haberthur Racing
1st in Le Mans Autumn Cup Flag of France.svg Courage Compétition Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren Flag of France.svg Société Chereau
1st in 1997 FIA GT Championship Flag of Germany.svg AMG-Mercedes Flag of France.svg Viper Team Oreca
1. Joest Racing forfeited their automatic inclusion by racing under the works Porsche team (car number 7).

Scrutineering

A total of 63 entries, including those already automatically qualified, were presented for scrutineering on Saturday, May 2. 61 cars passed the scrutineering checks, but two entries - the #37 Newcastle United Lister Storm and the #59 Pilbeam Racing Designs Lotus Esprit, were denied on technical grounds. With no time to effect the necessary changes both entries would be unable to take part in pre-qualifying for the race.

Pre-qualifying

Pre-qualifying for the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans took place on Sunday, May 3. The entries were divided into two groups of qualifiers where the slowest entries in each class would be eliminated and thus not qualify for the race. A total of 49 starting slots were available for the entered cars, including those already automatically pre-qualified, and were divided on a session- and class-basis. The pre-qualifying results were as follows:

Morning session (7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.)

It was an expectedly tight session for the GT1 cars, with 7 strong entries competing for 5 slots on the grid. In the end it was the unfortunate Larbre and Zakspeed entries that were out of luck despite trying hard with in the case of number 38 spectacular moments. Slowest of all in GT1 was the GTC McLaren with the Mercedes (which had a stop on the Mulsanne at 12:30, reason unknown) splitting the two non pre-qualifiers.

In LMP1 8 entries battled for 6 slots on the grid, with the Moretti Ferrari setting the fastest time. The non-qualifiers were the number 17 Kremer K8 (4:02) and the WR (3:56) which suffered a spin into the gravel trap at the Dunlop curve early in the session. Slowest of the LMP1 cars was the already-qualified Courage #24.

The GT2 group consisted of 11 entries competing for 8 slots. The lone LMP2 entry to the race, the #22 Debora, had been grouped into this category in the absence of any other competition. The predicted Oreca Viper benefit, 4.3 seconds clear of the fastest 911 GT2. The non-qualifiers were two 911 GT2's and the Helem PRV V6.

PosNo.TeamCarDriversClassTimeGap
125 Porsche AG Porsche 911 GT1-98 Flag of Germany.svg Jörg Müller
Flag of Germany.svg Uwe Alzen
Flag of France.svg Pierre-Henri Raphanel
LMGT13:38.909
230 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen
Flag of France.svg Franck Lagorce
LMGT13:40.926+2.007
332 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 Flag of Japan.svg Aguri Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Kazuyoshi Hoshino
LMGT13:40.927+2.008
427 Toyota Motorsport Toyota GT-One Flag of Japan.svg Ukyo Katayama
Flag of Germany.svg Ralf Kelleners
LMGT13:41.301+2.382
545 Panoz Motor Sports Panoz GTR-1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Andy Wallace
LMGT13:41.667+2.748
63 Moretti Racing Inc. Ferrari 333 SP Flag of Italy.svg Gianpiero Moretti
Flag of Italy.svg Mauro Baldi
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Didier Theys
LMP13:43.735+4.816
738 Zakspeed Porsche 911 GT1-98 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Bartels
Flag of Germany.svg Armin Hahne
LMGT13:43.911+4.992
81 Team BMW Motorsport BMW V12 LM Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve Soper
Flag of Denmark.svg Tom Kristensen
LMP13:44.528+5.609
97 Porsche AG Porsche LMP1-98 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto
Flag of Sweden.svg Stefan Johansson
Flag of the United States.svg David Murry
LMP13:44.720+5.801
1036 AMG-Mercedes Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc Gounon
Flag of Brazil.svg Ricardo Zonta
Flag of France.svg Christophe Bouchut
LMGT13.46.020+7.101
1114 Courage Compétition Courage C51 Flag of Sweden.svg Fredrik Ekblom
Flag of France.svg Patrice Gay
LMP13:47.397+8.478
1215 La Filière Courage C36 Flag of France.svg Henri Pescarolo
Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard
Flag of France.svg Emmanuel Clérico
LMP13.49.061+10.142
1348 Larbre Compétition Porsche 911 GT1 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier
Flag of France.svg Patrice Goueslard
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robin Donovan
LMGT13:49.225+10.306
1410 Pilot Racing Ferrari 333 SP Flag of France.svg Michel Ferté LMP13:50.770+10.851
1540 Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren McLaren F1 GTR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve O'Rourke
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Sugden
LMGT13:51.842+12.923
1619 Gerard Welter WR LMP 98 Flag of France.svg Jean-Bernard Bouvet
Flag of France.svg Xavier Pompidou
Flag of France.svg Marc Rostan
LMP13:56.582+17.663
1752 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R Flag of Monaco.svg Olivier Beretta
Flag of Austria.svg Karl Wendlinger
Flag of Italy.svg Luca Drudi
LMGT2/LMP24:01.921+23.002
1817 Kremer Racing Kremer K8 Spyder Flag of Spain.svg Tomás Saldaña
Flag of Spain.svg Prince Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón
Flag of Italy.svg Enrico Bertaggia
LMP14:02.163+23.244
1924 Courage Compétition Courage C41 Flag of Japan.svg Yojiro Terada
Flag of France.svg Franck Fréon
LMP14:03.371+24.452
2073 Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Toni Seiler
Flag of the United States.svg Peter Kitchak
Flag of Italy.svg Angelo Zadra
LMGT2/LMP24:06.201+25.282
2167 Elf Haberthur Racing Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Michel Neugarten
Flag of France.svg David Smadja
LMGT2/LMP24:06.215+27.296
2255 Chamberlain Engineering Chrysler Viper GTS-R Flag of Portugal.svg Ni Amorim
Flag of Portugal.svg Gonçalo Gomes
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Hans Hugenholtz
LMGT2/LMP24:06.608+27.689
2371 Estoril Racing Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of France.svg Michel Maisonneuve
Flag of France.svg Manuel Monteiro
Flag of France.svg Michel Monteiro
LMGT2/LMP24:08.246+29.327
2474 Cirtek Motorsport Saleen Mustang SR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rob Schirle
Flag of France.svg Michel Ligonnet
LMGT2/LMP24:08.998+30.079
2522 Didier Bonnet Debora LMP296 Flag of France.svg Lionel Robert LMGT2/LMP24:09.059+30.140
2669 Michel Nourry Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of France.svg Michel Nourry
Flag of France.svg Thierry Perrier
Flag of France.svg Michel Quiniou
LMGT2/LMP24:10.716+31.797
2765 Roock Racing Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Andy Pilgrim
Flag of Germany.svg André Ahrlé
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Nearn
LMGT2/LMP24:14.452+35.533
2858 RJ Racing Helem PRV V6 Flag of France.svg Patrick Gonin
Flag of France.svg Benjamin Roy
LMGT2/LMP24:21.604+42.685
2963 Gerard MacQuillan Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of Brazil.svg Thomas Erdos
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gerard MacQuillan
LMGT2/LMP24:45.350+1:06.431

Note: Pink background denotes non-qualifiers, green background denotes entries automatically pre-qualified.

Afternoon session (2:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.)

The afternoon session saw the final 9 GT1 entries competing for the remaining 7 slots on the grid. Fastest overall and in GT1 was the number 26 Porsche in the hands of Allan McNish after a titanic battle with Martin Brundle's Toyota in the closing hour, the difference ending up at only 0.09 seconds. The two who go no further in GT1 for this session were Hybrid Panoz and the second Zakspeed Porsche (meaning neither Zakspeed entry made it through to the race). The two Nissans (one TWR, one Nova) and the 'conventional' Panoz made it comfortably, despite the #33 Nova Nissan spinning into a gravel trap after only 10 minutes of the session, later resuming with the spare rear bodywork from one of the TWR cars.

In LMP1 there were 9 entries competing for 7 slots. Again a Ferrari was fastest, as the JB Ferrari beat the factory BMW and Porsche entries with 0.4 and 2.7 seconds respectively. The second Kremer K8 scraped home ahead of the Konrad K8 by 0.08 seconds and thus made the race. The other prototype not to progress was the other WR which never managed to set a competitive laptime.

GT2 was again dominated by the Oreca Vipers. 8 of the 10 entries would make it through, with the two non-qualifiers being the second Cirtek Mustang and the third Roock Racing 911 GT2.

PosNo.TeamCarDriversClassTimeGap
126 Porsche AG Porsche 911 GT1-98 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish
Flag of Monaco.svg Stéphane Ortelli
LMGT13:37.689
228 Toyota Motorsport Toyota GT-One Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle
Flag of France.svg Emmanuel Collard
LMGT13:37.696+0.007
335 AMG-Mercedes Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM Flag of Germany.svg Bernd Schneider
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Webber
Flag of Germany.svg Klaus Ludwig
LMGT13:38.057+0.368
429 Toyota Motorsport Toyota GT-One Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen
Flag of France.svg Eric Hélary
LMGT13:39.649+1.960
531 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jan Lammers
Flag of France.svg Érik Comas
Flag of Italy.svg Andrea Montermini
LMGT13:40.778+3.116
65 Jabouille-Boursche Ferrari 333 SP Flag of Italy.svg Vincenzo Sospiri
Flag of France.svg Jean-Christophe Boullion
Flag of France.svg Jérôme Policand
LMP13:41.039+3.350
72 Team BMW Motorsport BMW V12 LM Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini
Flag of Venezuela.svg Johnny Cecotto
LMP13:41.412+3.732
844 Panoz Motor Sports Panoz GTR-1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham
Flag of France.svg Eric Bernard
LMGT13:42.347+4.658
913 Courage Compétition Courage C51 Flag of France.svg Didier Cottaz
Flag of France.svg Jean-Philippe Belloc
LMP13:43.588+5.899
1033 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 Flag of Japan.svg Satoshi Motoyama
Flag of Italy.svg Mauro Martini
LMGT13:43.739+6.050
118 Porsche AG Porsche LMP1-98 Flag of France.svg Pierre-Henri Raphanel
Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas
Flag of France.svg Bob Wollek
LMP13:43.786+6.097
1212 Doyle-Risi Racing Ferrari 333 SP Flag of South Africa.svg Wayne Taylor
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Eric van de Poele
LMP13:44.442+6.753
1339 Zakspeed Porsche 911 GT1-98 Flag of Germany.svg Alexander Grau
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jean-Denis Delétraz
Flag of France.svg Fabien Giroix
LMGT13:44.794+7.105
1441 Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren McLaren F1 GTR Flag of Germany.svg Dr. Thomas Bscher
Flag of Germany.svg Frank Biela
Flag of Italy.svg Rinaldo Capello
LMGT13:47.902+10.213
1521 Philippe Gache Riley & Scott Mk III Flag of France.svg Philippe Gache
Flag of France.svg Anthony Beltoise
LMP13:51.818+14.129
1646 Panoz Motor Sports Panoz GTR-1 Hybrid Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Weaver
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Perry McCarthy
LMGT13:54.199+16.510
1716 Kremer Racing Kremer K8 Spyder Flag of Italy.svg Rocky Agusta
Flag of Italy.svg Almo Coppelli
LMP13:54.617+16.928
1818 Konrad Motorsport Kremer K8 Spyder Flag of Austria.svg Franz Konrad LMP13:54.625+16.936
1951 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R Flag of Monaco.svg Olivier Beretta
Flag of France.svg Dominique Dupuy
Flag of Portugal.svg Pedro Lamy
LMGT24:00.120+22.431
2053 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Bell
Flag of France.svg Dominique Dupuy
Flag of Portugal.svg Pedro Lamy
LMGT24:00.665+22.976
2172 Larbre Compétition Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of France.svg Patrice Goueslard
Flag of France.svg Patrick Bourdais
Flag of France.svg Jean-Luc Chéreau
LMGT24:03.380+25.691
2264 Roock Racing Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Bruno Eichmann
Flag of Germany.svg Claudia Hürtgen
LMGT24:03.925+26.236
2370 Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of the United States.svg Larry Schumacher
Flag of the United States.svg Nick Ham
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Stretton
LMGT24:04.121+26.432
2456 Chamberlain Engineering Chrysler Viper GTS-R Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gary Ayles
Flag of the United States.svg Matt Turner
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Hans Hugenholtz
LMGT24:04.618+26.929
2562 CJ Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of the United States.svg John Morton
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg John Graham
Flag of Germany.svg Harald Grohs
LMGT24:06.814+29.125
2661 Krauss Race Sports International Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of Germany.svg Bernhard Müller
Flag of Germany.svg Michael Trunk
Flag of Germany.svg Ernst Palmberger
LMGT24:09.016+31.327
2774 Cirtek Motorsport Saleen Mustang SR Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rob Schirle
Flag of France.svg Michel Ligonnet
LMGT2/LMP24:09.895+32.206
2868 Elf Haberthur Racing Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of France.svg Éric Graham
Flag of France.svg Hervé Poulain
Flag of France.svg Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière
LMGT24:23.924+46.235
2920 JL Sonnier WR LMP 98 Flag of France.svg Pierre Bruneau
Flag of France.svg Dominique Lacaud
LMP14:48.010+1:10.321
3066 Roock Racing Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Robinson
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Hugh Price
Flag of Germany.svg Sascha Maassen
LMGT25:00.367+1:22.678

Note: Pink background denotes non-qualifiers, green background denotes entries automatically pre-qualified.

Reserve entries

The entries which failed to pre-qualify were placed on a reserve list, in case an entry from the list of 48 withdrew prior to the event. These entries were allowed to join the race entry list based on the fastest pre-qualifying times from the same group and class as the withdrawn entry.

Before the race, two LMGT2 entries from the first pre-qualifying session were withdrawn. First to be withdrawn was the lone Cirtek Mustang which had qualified, which promoted the #65 Roock Racing 911 GT2 into the race. [3] Secondly Viper Team Oreca, which had a total of four Vipers qualified for the race including their automatic entry, withdrew Viper #52. This promoted the #58 RJ Racing Helem into the race.

Qualifying

Of the 48 cars entered for the race 47 would take part in practice and qualifying. The Helem V6, which had been promoted following the withdrawal of the #52 Viper, ultimately failed race week scrutineering checks because of non-complying structural differences between the road car and the competition one entered in the 24 Hours. After barely scraping through on a reserve entry the car would thus not be allowed to take any further part in race proceedings. [4]

Qualifying took place over a combined four sessions held on Wednesday and Thursday evening, with the fastest times set at any time across all sessions determining the starting grid for the race.

Qualifying results

Class leaders are in bold. [5]

PosNo.TeamCarClassDriverTimeGap
135 AMG-Mercedes Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM LMGT1 Bernd Schneider 3:35.544
228 Toyota Motorsport Toyota GT-One LMGT1 Martin Brundle 3:36.552+1.038
336 AMG-Mercedes Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM LMGT1 Christophe Bouchut 3:36.901+1.367
425 Porsche AG Porsche 911 GT1-98 LMGT1 Jörg Müller 3:38.084+2.550
526 Porsche AG Porsche 911 GT1-98 LMGT1 Allan McNish 3:38.407+2.873
62 Team BMW Motorsport BMW V12 LM LMP1 Pierluigi Martini 3:38.829+3.295
729 Toyota Motorsport Toyota GT-One LMGT1 Thierry Boutsen 3:40.042+4.508
827 Toyota Motorsport Toyota GT-One LMGT1 Ukyo Katayama 3:40.472+4.938
97 Porsche AG Porsche LMP1-98 LMP1 Michele Alboreto 3:40.503+4.969
1030 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 LMGT1 Franck Lagorce 3:40.649+5.115
1145 Panoz Motor Sports Panoz GTR-1 LMGT1 David Brabham 3:40.730+5.196
121 Team BMW Motorsport BMW V12 LM LMP1 Tom Kristensen 3:41.599+6.065
1331 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 LMGT1 Jan Lammers 3:41.621+6.087
1432 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 LMGT1 Aguri Suzuki 3:42.397+6.863
1514 Courage Compétition Courage C51 LMP1 Fredrik Ekblom 3:43.244+7.710
1614 Courage Compétition Courage C51 LMP1 Didier Cottaz 3:43.471+7.937
175 Jabouille-Boursche Ferrari 333 SP LMP1 Jean-Christophe Boullion 3:44.458+8.924
1844 Panoz Motor Sports Panoz GTR-1 LMGT1 Éric Bernard 3:44.602+9.068
1933 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 LMGT1 Takuya Kurosawa 3:45.293+9.759
208 Porsche AG Porsche LMP1-98 LMP1 Pierre-Henri Raphanel 3:45.452+9.918
213 Moretti Racing Inc. Ferrari 333 SP LMP1 Didier Theys 3:45.755+10.261
2212 Doyle-Risi Racing Ferrari 333 SP LMP1 Eric van de Poele 3:46.289+10.755
2341Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren McLaren F1 GTR LMGT1 Rinaldo Capello 3:50.566+15.032
2440Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren McLaren F1 GTR LMGT1 Tim Sugden 3:50.863+15.329
2515 La Filière Courage C36 LMP1 Olivier Grouillard 3:51.535+16.001
2621Solution F Riley & Scott Mk III LMP1 Philippe Gache 3:54.274+18.740
2724 Courage Compétition Courage C41 LMP1 Olivier Thévenin 3:56.658+21.124
2810 Pilot Racing Ferrari 333 SP LMP1 Michel Ferté 3:57.546+22.012
2916 Kremer Racing Kremer K8 Spyder LMP1 Xavier Pompidou 3:57.814+22.280
3051 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 Olivier Beretta 3:59.981+24.447
3150 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 Karl Wendlinger 4:05.006+29.472
3260 Société Chereau Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2 Jean-Pierre Jarier 4:05.010+29.476
3353 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 Justin Bell 4:05.648+30.114
3470 Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2Nick Ham4:06.110+30.576
3564 Roock Racing Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2 Claudia Hürtgen 4:06.205+30.671
3672 Larbre Compétition Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2 Patrice Goueslard 4:06.511+30.977
3767Elf Haberthur Racing Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2Michel Neugarten4:08.326+32.792
3855 Chamberlain Engineering Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 Ni Amorim 4:08.958+33.424
3971Estoril Racing Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2Michel Maisonneuve4:09.263+33.729
4022Didier Bonnet Debora LMP296 LMP2 Lionel Robert 4:09.453+33.919
4156 Chamberlain Engineering Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 Gary Ayles 4:09.683+34.149
4262CJ Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2 Harald Grohs 4:10.215+34.681
4361Krauss Race Sports International Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2Michael Trunk4:11.606+36.072
4465 Roock Racing Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2Robert Schirle4:11.910+36.376
4569 Michel Nourry Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2 Thierry Perrier 4:19.476+43.566
4673 Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2Toni Seiler4:20.426+44.892
4768Elf Haberthur Racing Porsche 911 GT2 LMGT2 Éric Graham 4:23.655+48.121

Race

The overall winning #26 Porsche 911 GT1 '98 on display in the new Porsche Museum, Stuttgart. Porsche 911 GT1 Coupe 1998 frontleft 2009-03-14 A.JPG
The overall winning #26 Porsche 911 GT1 '98 on display in the new Porsche Museum, Stuttgart.

Porsche won the race as the faster cars from Mercedes, BMW and Toyota retired with mechanical difficulties and accident damage. The remaining Nissans and outdated McLarens were unable to match the pace of the upgraded 911 GT1s. Following this race, Porsche went into a sabbatical, rumored to be part of a plan to allow Porsche's partner Audi to develop their own sportscar without competition from within the alliance.

Porsche would return to Le Mans in 2014; they would eventually win the 2015 race.

The GT2 class win by the Chrysler Viper GTS-R was the first GT class win for an American made car since the Shelby Daytona Coupe won in 1964.

Official results

PosClassNoTeamDriversChassisTyreLaps
Engine
1LMGT126 Flag of Germany.svg Porsche AG Flag of France.svg Laurent Aïello
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish
Flag of Monaco.svg Stéphane Ortelli
Porsche 911 GT1-98 M 351
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
2LMGT125 Flag of Germany.svg Porsche AG Flag of Germany.svg Jörg Müller
Flag of Germany.svg Uwe Alzen
Flag of France.svg Bob Wollek
Porsche 911 GT1-98 M 350
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
3LMGT132 Flag of Japan.svg Nissan Motorsport Flag of Japan.svg Aguri Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Kazuyoshi Hoshino
Flag of Japan.svg Masahiko Kageyama
Nissan R390 GT1 B 348
Nissan VRH35L 3.5 L Turbo V8
4LMGT140 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve O'Rourke
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Sugden
Flag of the United States.svg Bill Auberlen
McLaren F1 GTR P 343
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
5LMGT130 Flag of Japan.svg Nissan Motorsport Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen
Flag of Germany.svg Michael Krumm
Flag of France.svg Franck Lagorce
Nissan R390 GT1 B 342
Nissan VRH35L 3.5 L Turbo V8
6LMGT131 Flag of Japan.svg Nissan Motorsport Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jan Lammers
Flag of France.svg Érik Comas
Flag of Italy.svg Andrea Montermini
Nissan R390 GT1 B 342
Nissan VRH35L 3.5L Turbo V8
7LMGT145 Flag of the United States.svg Panoz Motor Sports Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Andy Wallace
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jamie Davies
Panoz GTR-1 M 335
Ford-Roush 6.0 L V8
8LMP112 Flag of the United States.svg Doyle-Risi Racing Flag of South Africa.svg Wayne Taylor
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Eric van de Poele
Flag of Spain.svg Fermín Velez
Ferrari 333 SP P 332
Ferrari F130E 4.0 L V12
9LMGT127 Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Motorsport Flag of Japan.svg Ukyo Katayama
Flag of Japan.svg Toshio Suzuki
Flag of Japan.svg Keiichi Tsuchiya
Toyota GT-One M 326
Toyota R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8
10LMGT133 Flag of Japan.svg Nissan Motorsport Flag of Japan.svg Satoshi Motoyama
Flag of Japan.svg Takuya Kurosawa
Flag of Japan.svg Masami Kageyama
Nissan R390 GT1 B 319
Nissan VRH35L 3.5 L Turbo V8
11LMGT253 Flag of France.svg Viper Team Oreca Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Bell
Flag of the United States.svg David Donohue
Flag of Italy.svg Luca Drudi
Chrysler Viper GTS-R M 317
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
12LMP116 Flag of Germany.svg Kremer Racing Flag of Italy.svg Rocky Agusta
Flag of Italy.svg Almo Coppelli
Flag of France.svg Xavier Pompidou
Kremer K8/2 Spyder G 314
Porsche Type-935 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
13LMGT251 Flag of France.svg Viper Team Oreca Flag of Monaco.svg Olivier Beretta
Flag of Portugal.svg Pedro Lamy
Flag of the United States.svg Tommy Archer
Chrysler Viper GTS-R M 312
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
14LMP13 Flag of the United States.svg Moretti Racing Inc. Flag of Italy.svg Gianpiero Moretti
Flag of Italy.svg Mauro Baldi
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Didier Theys
Ferrari 333 SP Y 311
Ferrari F130E 4.0 L V12
15LMP124 Flag of France.svg Courage Compétition Flag of Japan.svg Yojiro Terada
Flag of France.svg Franck Fréon
Flag of France.svg Olivier Thévenin
Courage C41 M 304
Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
16LMP115 Flag of France.svg La Filière Flag of France.svg Henri Pescarolo
Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard
Flag of France.svg Franck Montagny
Courage C36 M 300
Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
17LMGT264 Flag of Germany.svg Roock Racing Motorsport Flag of Germany.svg Claudia Hürtgen
Flag of France.svg Michel Ligonnet
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Nearn
Porsche 911 GT2 Y 285
Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6
18LMGT269 Flag of France.svg Michel Nourry Flag of France.svg Michel Nourry
Flag of France.svg Thierry Perrier
Flag of France.svg Jean-Louis Ricci
Porsche 911 GT2 G 276
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
19LMGT256 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chamberlain Engineering Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gary Ayles
Flag of the United States.svg Matt Turner
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Hans Hugenholtz
Chrysler Viper GTS-R D 270
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
20LMGT268 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Elf Haberthur Racing Flag of France.svg Éric Graham
Flag of France.svg Hervé Poulain
Flag of France.svg Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière
Porsche 911 GT2 D 268
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
21LMGT255 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chamberlain Engineering Flag of Portugal.svg Ni Amorim
Flag of Portugal.svg Gonçalo Gomes
Flag of Portugal.svg Manuel Mello-Breyner
Chrysler Viper GTS-R D 264
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
22LMGT265 Flag of Germany.svg Roock Racing Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rob Schirle
Flag of Germany.svg André Ahrlé
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Warnock
Porsche 911 GT2 Y 247
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
23LMGT272 Flag of France.svg Larbre Compétition Flag of France.svg Patrice Goueslard
Flag of France.svg Jean-Luc Chéreau
Flag of France.svg Pierre Yver
Porsche 911 GT2 M 240
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMGT129 Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Motorsport Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen
Flag of Germany.svg Ralf Kelleners
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Geoff Lees
Toyota GT-One M 330
Toyota R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8
DNFLMGT271 Flag of Portugal.svg Estoril Racing Flag of France.svg Michel Maisonneuve
Flag of France.svg Manuel Monteiro
Flag of France.svg Michel Monteiro
Porsche 911 GT2 P 277
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMGT144 Flag of the United States.svg Panoz Motor Sports Flag of France.svg Éric Bernard
Flag of France.svg Christophe Tinseau
Flag of the United States.svg Johnny O'Connell
Panoz GTR-1 M 236
Ford-Roush 6.0 L V8
DNFLMP113 Flag of France.svg Courage Compétition Flag of France.svg Didier Cottaz
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Marc Goossens
Flag of France.svg Jean-Philippe Belloc
Courage C51 M 232
Nissan VRH35Z 3.0 L Turbo V8
DNFLMGT141 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren Flag of Germany.svg Dr. Thomas Bscher
Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro
Flag of Italy.svg Rinaldo Capello
McLaren F1 GTR G 228
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
DNFLMP18 Flag of Germany.svg Porsche AG Flag of France.svg Pierre-Henri Raphanel
Flag of the United States.svg David Murry
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Weaver
Porsche LMP1-98 M 218
Porsche Type-935 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMP110 Flag of France.svg Pilot Racing Flag of France.svg Michel Ferté
Flag of France.svg Pascal Fabre
Flag of France.svg François Migault
Ferrari 333 SP D [6] 203
Ferrari F130E 4.0 L V12
DNFLMGT267 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Elf Haberthur Racing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Michel Neugarten
Flag of France.svg Jean-Claude Lagniez
Flag of France.svg David Smadja
Porsche 911 GT2 D 198
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMGT128 Flag of Japan.svg Toyota Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle
Flag of France.svg Emmanuel Collard
Flag of France.svg Éric Hélary
Toyota GT-One M 191
Toyota R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8
DNFLMP15 Flag of France.svg Jabouille-Boursche Flag of Italy.svg Vincenzo Sospiri
Flag of France.svg Jean-Christophe Boullion
Flag of France.svg Jérôme Policand
Ferrari 333 SP M 187
Ferrari F130E 4.0 L V12
DNFLMGT260 Flag of France.svg Société Chereau Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier
Flag of Sweden.svg Carl Rosenblad
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robin Donovan
Porsche 911 GT2 M 164
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMGT262 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg CJ Motorsport Flag of the United States.svg John Morton
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg John Graham
Flag of Germany.svg Harald Grohs
Porsche 911 GT2 G 164
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMP121 Flag of France.svg Solution F Flag of France.svg Philippe Gache
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Gardner
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Didier de Radiguès
Riley & Scott Mk III P 155
Ford 5.1 L V8
DNFLMP114 Flag of France.svg Courage Compétition Flag of Sweden.svg Fredrik Ekblom
Flag of France.svg Patrice Gay
Flag of Japan.svg Takeshi Tsuchiya
Courage C51 M 126
Nissan VRH35Z 3.5 L Turbo V8
DNFLMP17 Flag of Germany.svg Porsche AG Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto
Flag of Sweden.svg Stefan Johansson
Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas
Porsche LMP1-98 M 107
Porsche Type-935 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMP222 Flag of France.svg Didier Bonnet Flag of France.svg Lionel Robert
Flag of France.svg Édouard Sezionale
Flag of France.svg Pierre Bruneau
Debora LMP296 M 106
BMW S50 3.2 L I6
DNFLMGT261 Flag of Germany.svg Krauss Race Sports International Flag of Germany.svg Bernhard Müller
Flag of Germany.svg Michael Trunk
Flag of Germany.svg Ernst Palmberger
Porsche 911 GT2 D 71
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMP11 Flag of Germany.svg Team BMW Motorsport Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve Soper
Flag of Denmark.svg Tom Kristensen
BMW V12 LM M 60
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
DNFLMP12 Flag of Germany.svg Team BMW Motorsport Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini
Flag of Germany.svg Joachim Winkelhock
Flag of Venezuela (1930-1954).svg Johnny Cecotto
BMW V12 LM M 43
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
DNFLMGT136 Flag of Germany.svg AMG-Mercedes Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc Gounon
Flag of Brazil.svg Ricardo Zonta
Flag of France.svg Christophe Bouchut
Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM B 31
Mercedes-Benz GT108B 5.0 L V8
DNFLMGT250 Flag of France.svg Viper Team Oreca Flag of Austria.svg Karl Wendlinger
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Marc Duez
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Patrick Huisman
Chrysler Viper GTS-R M 28
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
DNFLMGT270 Flag of Germany.svg Konrad Motorsport Flag of Austria.svg Franz Konrad
Flag of the United States.svg Larry Schumacher
Flag of the United States.svg Nick Ham
Porsche 911 GT2 D 24
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNFLMGT135 Flag of Germany.svg AMG-Mercedes Flag of Germany.svg Bernd Schneider
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Webber
Flag of Germany.svg Klaus Ludwig
Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM B 19
Mercedes-Benz GT108B 5.0 L V8
DNFLMGT273 Flag of Germany.svg Konrad Motorsport Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Toni Seiler
Flag of the United States.svg Peter Kitchak
Flag of Italy.svg Angelo Zadra
Porsche 911 GT2 D 2
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6

Statistics

References

  1. "Charles Quegunier: Le Mans 1998". Charles Quegunier. 1998-05-28. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  2. "Le Mans '98 Pre-Qual Results". Club Arnage. 1998-05-03. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  3. "Porsche 993 Roock for sale". Art and Revs. 2017. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  4. "24h du mans 1998 Le Pesage". les24heures.fr. 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  5. "Le Mans '98 Qualifying Results". Racing Sportscars. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  6. "1998 Le Mans 24 Hours | Motor Sport Magazine Database". Motor Sport Magazine. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  7. "The overall winners' list from the official site of Le Mans". Archived from the original on 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2010-05-10.