40 FOR THE RECORD
Porsche famously won the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans with an experimental 917 based on a lightweight magnesium-alloy chassis. Less known is that out of forty-nine race starters that year, a record-setting thirty-three were Porsches. Moreover, from twelve classified finishers, all but three were Porsches, including the 917s taking first and second place, plus six privateer 911s and a lone 907, the latter entered by the Wicky Racing team. 1971 would be the last time the 917 would be seen at Le Mans. It was also the last time the traditional Sarthe circuit would be contested – the stretch between Arnage and the grandstands, including Mason Blanche, was redesigned as part of wide-ranging track renovation.
39 YOUNG GUNS
The sixty-fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans took place in 1996 and was won by the Porsche-powered TWR WSC-95, a sports-prototype developed by Tom Walkinshaw and campaigned by Joest Racing. The car was by no means the fastest on track, but it reached the front of the running order an hour into the race, only losing position during pitstops. The WSC-95’s excellent reliability saw it through to event end without drama, while other teams suffered mechanical failure or crashes. Joining seasoned Le Mans drivers, Manuel Reuter and Davy Jones, was Alexander Wurz, who, at twenty-two, became the youngest driver to bag overall victory at Sarthe.
38 FAME GAME
Hollywood stars have loved Le Mans for as far back as we care to remember. Patrick Dempsey famously kicked off his Porsche seat time at the event with a 997 GT3 RSR in 2013 before going on to finish second in the GTE-AM class in 2015. Thirty-six years earlier, Paul Newman finished second overall in the Dick Barbour 935/77. Along with co-drivers, Barbour and Ralf Stommelen, Newman seemed destined to win until a stuck wheel nut cost the team twenty-three minutes in the pits. Stommelen fought hard to regain lost time, but an engine piston decided to throw in the towel, allowing Kremer Racing to take the win with a lead of six laps. The bright red Barbour beast remained a fan favourite, however, selling for $4.84m at Gooding and Company’s 2016 Pebble Beach auction.
37 DIGITAL DELIGHT
Sim racing is one of the world’s most popular sports. It’s serious business, with major manufacturers investing huge sums in establishing their own virtual single-make championships. Sim racing platforms, such as iRacing, also spend big, profiling the world’s most famous cars and tracks. Porsche is one of the leading lights and saw its newly founded eSports team win the first edition of the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020. In the hands of works driver, Nick Tandy, and Porsche Junior, Ayhancan Güven, as well as professional sim racers, Josh Rogers and Tommy Östgaard, the digital version of the 991 RSR took the flag in first place after a total of 339 laps.
36 BEAT THE TEACHER
1997 saw Tom Kristensen take his ninth Le Mans win, a record which stands to this day. Just as impressively, he (along with co-drivers, Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson), won the race with 1996’s winning TWR WSC-95 chassis, powered by the three-litre turbocharged Type 935 flat-six and run by Joest Racing. This was something of a slap in the face for Porsche, which was once again beaten by the TWR, despite the works team campaigning the all-singing, all-dancing 911 GT1 as a full-fat works entry for the second year running. In 1996, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Bob Wollek and Thierry Boutsen managed to bring the GT1 home in second place (a lap behind the TWR machine), but fifth is
