1970 24 Hours of Le Mans

38th 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race
the 1970 race

The 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 38th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 13 and 14 June 1970. It was the 8th stage of the 1970 World Sportscar Championship season. Once again Porsche had a dominant year in the championship and arrived as strong favourites to get their first outright victory. Their main opposition would come from Ferrari, now armed with the homologated 512S model. Fully nine 917s and eleven 512s from works supported teams and privateers were entered. However heavy rain through most of the race neutralised much of their power and contributed to a number of serious accidents. In a race of heavy attrition where only seven cars were classified as finishers it was won by race veteran Hans Herrmann and co driver Richard ‘Dickie’ Attwood. For Herrmann, a veteran of 13 Le Mans, it was particularly sweet having lost by the narrowest margin the previous year. All Porsche's main challengers (Ferrari, Matra, Alfa Romeo) were beaten in the first half of the race. Porsche's dominance was complete – winning all three prizes and taking all the class wins. The only dark spot was Ickx's accident at the Ford Chicane during the night which killed a track marshal. This was the year that Hollywood came to Le Mans. The race provided the background for the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans. Some of the racing footage (mainly the first moments of the race) of the motion picture was taken from on board a competing car, as the #29 Porsche 908 022 entered by Solar Productions had been fitted with movie cameras but most of the on board footage was useless due to technical issues.

After only four years, the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale the FIA’s regulations body) overhauled its FIA Appendix J, redefining again the motorsport categories. GT cars were now extended to Group 3 (minimum production of 1000 cars) and Group 4 for ‘Special GT cars’ (min. =500). The former Group 4 for Sports Cars became the new Group 5 (min. = 25) while Prototypes stayed as Group 6. The 5 litre engine limit on the Sports Cars remained – allowing the Porsche 917 and new Ferrari 512 to race, although they were on notice that this would fall to a 3 litre limit for the start of the 1972 season. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) was now fully aligned with the FIA's technical regulations. They also made changes to its race regulations. Three drivers were now permitted in each car, and a driver was allowed to switch (once) to another car of the same make during the race. Maximum drive times were set at 14 hours, in up to 240 minutes at a time with at least a one hour break between shifts. Night time, when headlights had to be used, was defined as between 21:00 & 04:30 and luminous car numbers were introduced. Mechanical restrictions remained – a 25 lap distance between oil replenishment and only 4 crew could work on a car on the pit apron. Finally, every car had to complete the final lap within fifteen minutes to be classified. The most significant change was the abolition of the famous “Le Mans start”: running across the track to get in and start the car. This year the cars would still line up in echelon however the drivers would start in the cars fully strapped in (a full race harness now became compulsory).

This year there were 96 entries for the race, to which the ACO accepted 62 for qualifying. In the end 57 arrived for scrutineering in a very even split between the Prototypes, Sports and GT cars. Nearly a third were just the very powerful Porsche 917 or Ferrari 512 strongly increasing public interest. Significant absentees this year were Ford and Alpine. During tests in Zeltweg, Wyer's engineer John Horsmann had the idea to increase downforce at the expense of drag, and so a new short tail was moulded with aluminium sheets taped together. This worked well as the new tail gave the 917 better stability. The new version was called the 917K (kurzheck or ‘short tail’). A new aerodynamic version was developed for Le Mans with support from the external consultant Robert Choulet. The 917 L (langheck) featured a spectacular new "long tail" body with a wing, which had very low drag. They were dubbed “batmobiles” by the media. Porsche's works drivers had been inherited by the JWAE team who fielded three 917Ks. The lead car was driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman who had already won two rounds in the championship. Pedro Rodriguez (Le Mans winner in 1968 for Wyer) and Leo Kinnunen, in the second car, had won three races. Brits David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood, who had driven Wyer's Ford the previous year, had the third car with a 4.5 litre engine. The car gained the nickname of the Hippie Car or the Psychedelic Porsche from the team and the media and started the Le Mans tradition of the “art car” special. The final 917 was co entered by its owner, the Finnish AAW Racing Team, and British privateer David Piper. With Gijs van Lennep as driver, that 917 had already proven very competitive through the championship year. In the other cars were Le Mans winner Nino Vaccarella with Ignazio Giunti and young F1 drivers Derek Bell and Ronnie Peterson. Bell replaced Jean Guichet who had been injured in a road accident and missing his first Le Mans since 1959. This year the 3 litre Prototypes were not expected to be able to keep up with the power of the big Porsche and Ferraris. Matra had kept away from the championship to concentrate on winning Le Mans. However, development of the new MS660 had been difficult and only one was ready entrusted to works drivers Henri Pescarolo and Jean Pierre Beltoise. Despite using an upgraded F1 V12 engine (detuned back to 420 bhp) it proved slower than the two MS650s entered. The long tail MS650 was driven by Jack Brabham/François Cevert, while Patrick Depailler/Jean Pierre Jabouille had a short tail version. A 908 spyder was entered by Solar Productions, which was actor Steve McQueen’s film production company. Driven by Herbert Linge/Jonathan Williams it was fitted with cameras to record race footage for McQueen’s film. NART had bought the 312P works cars from Ferrari and two were entered in the Prototype category. Healey returned with its prototype for a third (and final) time, now as an open top spyder, and with a bigger Repco 3 litre V8. It would be driven by Roger Enever and Andrew Hedges. In the smaller engine categories, there was a new manufacturer present. French racing driver turned car maker Guy Ligier had his new JS 1 prototype, with a 1.8 litre Ford Cosworth FVC engine that put out 240 bhp. Ligier drove it himself alongside Jean Claude Andruet. As well as a pair of privateer Porsche 910s there were also three Chevron B16s each with a different engine, the most interesting of which was the innovative Mazda Wankel rotary. The GT category was once again dominated by privateer Porsche 911s. Many had been uprated with the new 2.2 litre engine. There was also a new Porsche model, the 914/6. The 1991cc flat 6 engine put out 100 bhp and the car was 40kg lighter than the rival 911s. Entered by “Toto” Veuillet's French team Sonauto, it was driven by Guy Chasseuil/Claude Ballot Léna. Veuillet himself, as a driver, had given Porsche their first ever class win at Le Mans back in 1951. Rally specialist Henri Greder supplied the two Chevrolet Corvettes, the biggest cars in the entry list.

As expected the longtail 917s were extremely fast. But it was Pedro Rodriguez who set the initial pace in the Wyer 917K breaking Stommelen's lap record by a second with a 3:21.9. Though not as quick as the longtails, the Ferraris were still faster than the 917Ks and Nino Vaccarella caused quite a stir on the first night of practise when he clocked the fastest time of 3:20.0. Vic Elford then went out on Thursday and put in a 3:19.8, fractionally faster than Vaccarella to take the pole position. Just ahead of it, in 14th, was the fastest of the Prototypes – the Matra of Brabham/Cevert (3:32.2), ahead of Stommelen's Alfa Romeo in 17th. Yet, after a year of development the Matras were disappointing – coming in three seconds slower than the previous year's 3 litre Porsches. From 1971 onwards, races would begin with rolling starts. Reverting this year back to its normal start time of 4pm, the guest starter this year was Dr Ferry Porsche, marking Porsche's 20th year of participation. Everyone got away smoothly and at the end of the first lap Elford led Siffert and Rodriguez, then the Ferraris of Merzario and Vaccarella. At 1.45am Ickx's epic charge came to a tragic end. He was trying to unlap himself from Siffert when the Ferrari's rear brakes failed approaching the Ford chicane. He crashed into a sodden sandbank and was launched over it, bursting into flame and killing track marshal Jacques Argoud and injuring another. Ickx himself was unharmed. With all 4 works Ferraris out, the Ferrari challenge to Porsche was effectively over. The Siffert/Redman JWAE Porsche continued to run strongly, building up a huge 10 lap lead by 2am.

Going into the last hours, most of the leading positions remained unchanged. The two remaining Chevrons had been running at the back of the field for much of the latter half of the race after both needing engine rebuilds. After the BMW engine failed one, the faster Cosworth engined car carried on as the only survivor in the 2 litre Prototype class. However it was stopped with only 90 minutes to run. Outlasting the Matras and Alfas, the NART 312P had moved up to 6th but with 3 hours to go it developed a serious misfire. It took a long time to replace the sparkplugs and the team knew they would not reach their target distance. When the electrics finally packed up on the final lap approaching Maison Blanche, spectators jumped the fence and helped push Adamowicz to the line, the 10th car home. Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood in their red and white No. 23 Porsche Salzburg 917K won by five laps. In a great debut for the new Martini Racing team, Gérard Larrousse and Willi Kauhsen finished second in the psychedelic 917 longtail and the 908/02 of Rudi Lins and Helmut Marko was third. Despite sounding very rough and errant steering, the Posey/Bucknum NART Ferrari kept going and was rewarded with a fourth place. The Belgian Ferrari was fifth, meeting its required distance by a single lap. Although the French Corvette was the first GT home, it hadn’t achieved its required minimum distance, so the GT prize went to the 914/6 of Ballot Léna/Chasseuil finishing a lap behind. They had a remarkable run without having to change brakes or even tyres. However it was another terrible year for driver deaths and injuries. Just a fortnight before the race, former Le Mans winner Bruce McLaren had been killed testing his new car. Piers Courage, driving the Alfa Romeo in this race, died during the F1 Dutch GP. To underline the safety problem, Jochen Rindt, 1965 Le Mans winner, was killed at Monza becoming the only posthumous F1 World Champion. Thirty years later, the second placed Martini Porsche and its psychedelic paint scheme was voted by a public poll as the “Le Mans Car of the Century”.

A notable presence at this year's race was Solar Productions, Steve McQueen’s film company, at La Sarthe to make a feature film revolving around the race directed by John Sturges. McQueen, at that time one of Hollywood’s most bankable action stars, had purchased a Porsche 908 spyder to race. With Peter Revson as co driver, he had come second at the Sebring 12 Hours earlier in the year only 20 seconds behind the Ferrari winner. He was pencilled in to share a JWAE Porsche 917 with current F1 World Champion Jackie Stewart but his life insurance company refused to cover him for Le Mans. JWAE did however supply two of the cars and a number of mechanics for the film. The 908 was entered for the race and equipped with cameras to record on track race footage. Happy that the script had a Gulf Porsche victory, Porsche released their works driver Herbert Linge to drive the camera car, alongside Jonathan Williams. For the same reason, Enzo Ferrari declined to provide any cars for the film, and the Ferraris depicted in the film were supplied by the Jacques Swaters’ Ecurie Francorchamps. Class winners are in bold text. Class Team Drivers Chassis Engine Tyre 1 S5.0 23 Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg Hans Herrmann Richard Attwood Porsche 917K Porsche 4.5L F12 343 2 S5.0 3 Martini InternationalRacing Team Gérard Larrousse Willi Kauhsen Porsche 917L Porsche 4.5L F12 338 3 P3.0 27 Martini InternationalRacing Team Helmut Marko Rudi Lins Porsche 908/2LH Porsche 3.0L F8 335 4 S5.0 11 North American Racing Team Ronnie Bucknum Sam Posey Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 313 5 S5.0 12 Ecurie Francorchamps Baron Hughes de Fierlandt Alistair Walker Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 305 N/C * GT+5.0 2 Greder Racing(private entrant) Henri Greder Jean Pierre Rouget Chevrolet Corvette C3 Chevrolet 7.0L V8 286 6 GT2.0 40 Établissements Sonauto Claude Ballot Léna Guy Chasseuil Porsche 914/6 GT Porsche 1991cc F6 285 N/C * P3.0 29 Solar Productions Herbert Linge Jonathan Williams Porsche 908/2(Camera Car) Porsche 3.0L F8 282 7 GT2.5 47 Écurie Luxembourg Nicolas Koob Erwin Kremer Porsche 911S Porsche 2253cc F6 282 N/C * P3.0 57(reserve) North American Racing Team Tony Adamowicz Chuck Parsons Ferrari 312P Coupé Ferrari 3.0L V12 281 N/C * GT2.5 62(reserve) R. Mazzia(private entrant) René Mazzia Pierre Mauroy Porsche 911S Porsche 2195cc F6 275 N/C * GT2.0 42 Wicky Racing Team Sylvain Garant Guy Verrier Porsche 911T Porsche 1991cc F6 271 N/C * GT2.0 67(reserve) J. Dechaumel(private entrant) Jacques Dechaumel Jean Claude Parot Porsche 911S Porsche 1991cc F6 271 N/C * GT2.5 45 C. Laurent(private entrant) Claude Laurent Jacques Marché Porsche 911S Porsche 2195cc F6 262 N/C * GT2.0 64(reserve) C. Haldi(private entrant) Jean Sage Pierre Greub Porsche 911S Porsche 1991cc F6 254 N/C * GT2.0 66(reserve) R. Touroul(private entrant) Jean Claude Lagniez Claude Swietlik Porsche 911S Porsche 1991cc F6 231
'Note *: Not Classified because insufficient distance covered.

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Tyre Laps Reason DNF P3.0 34 Donald Healey Motor Company Roger Enever Andrew Hedges Healey SR XR37 Repco 740 3.0L V8 264 Electrics (24hr) DNF S5.0 25 Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg Vic Elford Kurt Ahrens Jr. Porsche 917L Porsche 4.9L F12 225 Engine (18hr) DNF P3.0 36 Autodelta SpA Piers Courage Andrea de Adamich Alfa Romeo T33/3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 222 Engine (20hr) DSQ P3.0 35 Autodelta SpA Rolf Stommelen Nanni Galli Alfa Romeo T33/3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 220 Outside Assistance (11hr) DNF P2.0 49 Chevron Racing Team Ian Skailes John Hine Chevron B16 Ford Cosworth FVC 1771cc S4 213 Engine (24hr) DNF P2.0 44 Chevron Racing Team Clive Baker Digby Martland Chevron B16 BMW 1992cc S4 187 Engine (20hr) DNF P2.5 61(reserve) Wicky Racing Team André Wicky Jean Pierre Hanrioud Porsche 907 Porsche 2195cc F6 161 Throttle (17hr) DNF S5.0 20 JW Automotive Engineering Jo Siffert Brian Redman Porsche 917K Porsche 4.9L F12 156 Engine (12hr) DNF S5.0 5 SpA Ferrari SEFAC Jacky Ickx Peter Schetty Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 142 Accident (11hr) DNF GT2.5 63(reserve) Rey Racing(private entrant) Jacques Rey Bernard Chenevière Porsche 911S Porsche 2247cc F6 132 Accident (13hr) DNF S5.0 9 Escuderia Montjuich José Juncadella Juan Fernandez Ferrari 512S Spyder Ferrari 5.0L V12 130 Accident (12hr) DNF P2.0 60(reserve) G. Verrier(private entrant) Daniel Rouveyran Willy Meier Porsche 910 Porsche 1991cc F6 128 Brakes (15hr) DNF GT2.5 65(reserve) Hart Ski Racing Claude Haldi Claude Haldi Arthur Blank Porsche 911S Porsche 2247cc F6 124 Transmission (19hr) DNF S2.0 46 C. Poirot(private entrant) Christian Poirot Ernst Kraus Porsche 910 Porsche 1991cc F6 120 Engine (14hr) DNF S5.0 18 David Piper Autorace AAW Racing Team David Piper Gijs van Lennep Porsche 917K Porsche 4.5L F12 112 Accident (11hr) DNF S5.0 16 Scuderia Filipinetti Scuderia Picchio Rosso Corrado Manfredini Gianpiero Moretti Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 111 Transmission (13hr) DNF S5.0 4 Racing Team VDS Teddy Pilette Gustave ‘Taf’ Gosselin Lola T70 Mk. IIIB Chevrolet 4.9L V8 109 Transmission (10hr) DNF GT2.5 43 J. P. Gaban(private entrant) Jean Pierre Gaban Willy Braillard Porsche 911S Porsche 2195cc F6 109 Transmission (11hr) DNF P3.0 31 Equipe Matra Elf Jean Pierre Beltoise Henri Pescarolo Matra Simca MS660 Matra 3.0L V12
79 Engine (7hr) DNF P3.0 32 Equipe Matra Elf Jack Brabham François Cevert Matra Simca MS650 Matra 3.0L V12 76 Engine (7hr) DNF P3.0 30 Equipe Matra Elf Patrick Depailler Jean Pierre Jabouille Matra Simca MS650 Matra 3.0L V12 70 Engine (7hr) DNF GT2.5 59(reserve) J. Égreteaud(private entrant) Jean Égreteaud Jean Mésange Porsche 911S Porsche 2247cc F6 70 Engine (8hr) DNF P2.0 50 Automobiles Ligier Guy Ligier Jean Claude Andruet Ligier JS1 Ford Cosworth FVC 1786cc S4 65 Electrics (8hr) DNF S5.0 10 North American Racing Team Gelo Racing Team Georg Loos Helmut Kelleners Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 54 Accident (7hr) DNF S5.0 22 JW Automotive Engineering David Hobbs Mike Hailwood Porsche 917K Porsche 4.5L F12 49 Accident (5hr) DNF P3.0 38 Autodelta SpA Teodoro Zeccoli Carlo Facetti Alfa Romeo T33/3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 43 Accident (5hr) DNF S5.0 7 SpA Ferrari SEFAC Derek Bell Ronnie Peterson Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 39 Accident (4hr) DNF S5.0 8 SpA Ferrari SEFAC Arturo Merzario Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 38 Accident (4hr) DNF GT+5.0 1 Écurie Léopard Jean Claude Aubriet Joseph Bourdon Chevrolet Corvette C3 Chevrolet 7.0L V8 37 Accident (5hr) DNF S5.0 15 Scuderia Filipinetti Mike Parkes Herbert Müller Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 37 Accident (4hr) DNF S5.0 14 Scuderia Filipinetti Jo Bonnier Reine Wisell Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 36 Accident (4hr) DNF S5.0 21 JW Automotive Engineering Pedro Rodriguez Leo Kinnunen Porsche 917K Porsche 4.9L F12 22 Engine (4hr) DNF P2.0 48 Levi's International Racing Team Julian Vernaeve Yves Deprez Chevron B16 Mazda 10A Twin Rotor (1964cc equivalent) 19 Engine (4hr) DNF S5.0 6 SpA Ferrari SEFAC Nino Vaccarella Ignazio Giunti Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 7 Engine (1hr) DNF P3.0 37 Autodelta SpA Toine Hezemans Masten Gregory Alfa Romeo T33/3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 5 Engine (2hr)Sources:

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Reason DNS S5.0 17 Grand Bahamas Racing Team Robin Ormes David Prophet Lola T70 Mk. IIIB Chevrolet 4.9L V8 Did not qualify DNS P3.0 28 Martini InternationalRacing Team André de Cortanze Dieter Spoerry Rudi Lins Porsche 908/2 Porsche 3.0L F8 Practice accident DNS P3.0 39 North American Racing Team Tony Adamowicz Sam Posey Ferrari 312P Coupé Ferrari 3.0L V12 Spare car DNS GT2.5 41 Wicky Racing Team Sylvain Garant Jean Mésange Porsche 911S Porsche 2195cc F6 Withdrawn DNQ S2.0 68 R. Johnson(private entrant) Roy Johnson Erwin Barnes Chevron B8 BMW 1991cc S4 Did not qualify DNA S5.0 24 Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg Hans Heinrich ‘Rico’ Steinemann Dieter Spoerry Porsche 917K Porsche 4.5L F12 Withdrawn DNA S5.0 26 JW Automotive Engineering Jackie Stewart Steve McQueen Porsche 917K Porsche 4.5L F12 Withdrawn DNA P2.5 54 G. Verrier(private entrant) Guy Verrier Frederic Mural Porsche 907 Porsche 2.2L F6 Reserve

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Score 1 S5.0 3 Martini InternationalRacing Team Gérard Larrousse Willi Kauhsen Porsche 917L 0.89 2 GT2.0 40 Établissements Sonauto Claude Ballot Léna Guy Chasseuil Porsche 914/6 GT 0.80 3 P3.0 27 Martini InternationalRacing Team Helmut Marko Rudi Lins Porsche 908/2LH 0.79 4 S5.0 23 Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg Hans Herrmann Richard Attwood Porsche 917K 0.77 5 GT2.5 47 Écurie Luxembourg Nicolas Koob Erwin Kremer Porsche 911S 0.75