LeMans Diecast 1972-1977

1972

And then one day they were all gone. Yep. No more Porsche 917's, no Gulf, no Martini, and no Ferrari 512's. What a bummer of a year compared to 1971. For the story behind the changes see the Early 1970's FIA page.

But you must admit, the speeds of the 5.0-litre closed-cockpit "sportscars" were getting out of hand. And it was only a matter of time before someone was going to be killed. The irony is that Jo Bonnier was killed in one of the new "safer" 3.0 litre open-topped prototypes. The "swiss cheese" Lola was meant to be a whimsical ad for dairy producers, but tragedy struck and driver.

It has been said that there were "political" forces at work behind the scenes that wanted to give the French more influence at Le Mans. From the result, you can see that there may be something to this...

Ferrari sat out the race, leaving only the Matra and Alfa Romeo factory teams

The Speed Merchants - Vic Elford

This grainy, side-burny film is great on so many levels, and it shows some fabulous footage of the 1972 race. In an absolutely shocking sequence of footage, the accident in which Jo Bonnier is killed is semi-captured. He apparrantly hit a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 and "spun like a helicopter" into the woods. In the film, the Ferrari driver gets out of his burning car, closes the door, runs accross the live track, and jumps over the guard rail on the other side. Vic Elford pulls up a few seconds later in his Alfa Romeo prototype, parks across the road from the burning Ferrari, runs over to the car, opens the door, and to his utter amazement to finds an empty car...

Anyway, hats off to Vic Elford fo being a seriously brave mutherfucker.

1972 Le Mans Classes

Name

FIA Class

Description

Subclasses

S

Group 5

Open Sports Prototypes

3-litre

2-litre

GTS

Group 4

Modified production-based GT cars

Unlimited

5-litre

2.5-litre

TS

Group 2

Modified production-based Touring cars

24 Hours of Le Mans 1972 (Part of the World Championship for Makes)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Sportscar Class (3.0 Litre Prototypes) - F.I.A. Group 5
1Matra MS670 (Short Tail)
'Shell'
Henri Pescarolo
Graham Hill 		15
S 3.0		Ixo
(Le Mans Winners)		LM1972
Spark
(Le Mans Winners)		43LM1972
Solido
('100' Series)		13
2Matra MS670 (Long Tail)
'Shell'
François Cevert
Howden Ganley 		14
S 3.0		Solido
('100' Series)		14
3Porsche 908
Reinhold Joest
Michel Weber
Mario Casoni 		60
S 3.0		Spark
S3488
4Alfa Romeo 33 TT3
'Alitalia'
Nino Vaccarella
Andrea de Adamich 		18
S 3.0		M4
M47114
12Duckhams LM68
N/CPorsche 908/2 Flunder
'Esso'
Christian Poirot
Philippe Farjon 		67
S 3.0		Best
9110
DNFMatra MS660C16
S 3.0
DNFPorsche 908/3
Juan Fernandez
Francisco Torredemer
Eugenio Baturone 		5
S 3.0		Best
9433
DNFAlfa Romeo 33 TT3
'Alitalia'
Rolf Stommelen
Nanni Galli 		19
S 3.0		M4
M47116
DNFPorsche 908/2 Flunder
'Auto USDAU'
Hans-Dieter Weigel
Helmut Krause 		6
S 3.0		Best
9128
DNFAlfa Romeo 33 TT3
'Alitalia'
Vic Elford
Dr. Helmut Marko 		17
S 3.0		M4
M47115
DNFLola T280 Ford
'Switzerland'
Jo Bonnier
Gérard Larrousse
Gijs van Lennep 		8
S 3.0		Bizarre
BZ66
Solido
13
DNFLigier JS222
S 3.0		Spark
DNFPorsche 910
Louis Cosson
Jean-Louis Ravenel 		65
S 3.0		Spark
S3473
DNFLigier JS256
S 3.0		Spark
DNFPorsche 908/2 Flunder
Jean-Claude Lagniez
Raymond Touroul 		76
S 3.0		Best
9215
DNFLola T280 Ford
'Switzerland'
Hughes de Fierlandt
Jorge de Bagration
Mário de Araújo Cabral 		7
S 3.0		Bizarre
BZ67
DNFPorsche 908/2 Flunder58
S 3.0		Best
DNFLigier JS221
S 3.0		Spark
DNFMatra MS67012
Grand Touring Sport Class (5.0 Litre) FIA Group 4
5Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Jean-Claude Andruet
Claude Ballot-Léna 		39
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL077
Fabbri
Ferrari Racing Collection
6Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
'BP'
Sam Posey
Tony Adamowicz
74
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL078
Top Model
TMC009
7Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Mike Parkes
Jean-Louis Lafosse
Jean-Jacques Cochet
34
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL079
Rio
R10
8Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
'Feraud'
Derek Bell
Teddy Pilette
Richard Bond
36
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL080
Top Model
TMC008
Rio
R11/P
9Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Jean-Pierre Jarier
Claude Buchet
38
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL081
Rio
R13/P
DNFFerrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Luigi Chinetti Jr.
Masten Gregory
N.A.R.T		57
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL082
DNFFerrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Bernard Cheneviére
Florian Vetsch
Gérard Pillon 		35
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL083
DNFFerrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Peter Westbury
John Hine 		37
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL084
DNFFerrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
François Migault
Daniel Rouveyran 		75
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL085
Touring Sport Class (3.0 Liter)
10Ford Capri 2600RS
Gerry Birrell
Claude Bourgoignie 		54
T 3.0		Trofeu
2301
11Ford Capri 2600RS
Dieter Glemser
Alex Soler-Roig 		52
T 3.0		Trofeu
2302
DNFFord Capri 2600RS
Jochen Mass
Hans Joachim Stuck 		53
T 3.0		Trofeu
2303
DNFBMW 2800CS
Hans Heyer
René Herzog 		49
T 3.0		Spark
S1561
DNFFord Capri 2600RS
Jean-Claude Guérie
Jean-Pierre Rouget 		84
T 3.0		Trofeu
2315
Grand Touring Sport Class (2.5 Litre) Group 4
13Porsche 911S
Sylvain Garant
Jürgen Barth
Michael Keyser 		41
GTS 3.0		Spark
17Ferrari Dino 246GT
Jean-Pierre Laffeach
Gilles Doncieux
N.A.R.T		46
GTS 3.0		Bang
7168
DNFPorsche 911S
Claude Haldi
Paul Keller
Gérard Dantan-Merlin 		42
GTS 3.0		Spark
S1942
DNFPorsche 911S45
DNFPorsche 911S44
DNFPorsche 911S
Erwin Kremer
John Fitzpatrick
Juan Carlos Bolaños 		80
GTS 3.0		Spark
S0927
Eagle's Race
1044
DNFPorsche 911S
Hermes Delbar
Roger van der Schrick 		79
GTS 3.0		Spark
S0941
DNFPorsche 911S40
Sportscar Class (2.0 Litre Prototypes) - F.I.A. Group 5
14Lola T290
René Ligonnet
Barrie Smith 		27
S 2.0		Bizarre
BZ142
18Porsche 90724
S 2.0
DNFChevron 23
DNFChevron 69
Grand Touring Sport Class (Unlimited)
15Chevrolet Corvette
'BP'
Dave Heinz
Bob Johnson 		4
TrueScale
TSM104325
Vitesse
Limited Edition		L128
16De Tomaso Pantera30
GTS +5.0		Spark

DNF

Chevrolet Corvette 'BFG Lifesaver Radial'
John Greenwood
Dick Smothers

28

Vitesse
Limited Edition

L146A

DNF

Chevrolet Corvette 'femmes d'aujourd'hul'
Henri Greder
"Marie-Claude Beaumont"

29

Vitesse
Limited Edition

L134

DNF

Chevrolet Corvette
Jean-Claude Aubriet
"Depnic"

71

Vitesse
Limited Edition

L140

DNF

Chevrolet Corvette 'BFG Lifesaver Radial'
Bernard Darniche
Alain Cudini

72

Vitesse
Limited Edition

L146B
DNFDe Tomaso Pantera31Spark
DNFDe Tomaso Pantera32Spark
DNFDe Tomaso Pantera33Spark

1973

In 1973, the cars started displaying a marker designating class. Note how the Corvettes are classified as 'GTS', and the prototypes as 'S'. These classes were unique to Le Mans, and reflect the ACO rather than the FIA rules. These cars would be 'A4' and 'B5' respectively for all other races.

The Martini team ran Porsche Carerra RSR's in the Prototype class, even though they were relatively close to production road cars. Ferrari raced the longtail version of the 312PB and were beaten in a straight fight by the Matras. It was a sad end to the factory's last Le Mans Race.

Minichamps' version of these Matras are excellent


24 Hours of Le Mans 1973 (Part of the World Championship for Makes)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Sportscar Class (3.0 Litre Prototypes) - F.I.A. Group 5
1Matra 670B
Henri Pescarolo
Gérard Larrousse 		11
S 3.0		Minichamps
430 731111
2Ferrari 312PB
Arturo Merzario
Carlos Pace 		16
S 3.0		Red Line
RL021
3Matra 670B
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud 		12
S 3.0		Minichamps
430 731112
4Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
'Martini'
Herbert Müller
Gijs van Lennep 		46
S 3.0		Spark
S0931
5Porsche 908/3
'Toblerone'
Bernard Chenevière
Juan Fernandez
Francisco Torredemer 		3
S 3.0		Spark
S1987
7Porsche 908/2 Flunder
'Marlboro'
Guillermo Ortega
Fausto Merello 		4
S 3.0		Best
9159
15Alfa Romeo 33 TT3
Carlo Facetti
Sergio Morando
Teodoro Zeccoli 		60
S 3.0		M4
M47117
19Ligier 18
S 3.0		Spark
21Porsche 908/2 Flunder
'Camel Filters'
André Wicky
Max Cohen-Olivar
Philippe Carron 		52
S 3.0		Best
9642
DNFFerrari 312PB
Jacky Ickx
Brian Redman 		15
S 3.0		Red Line
RL022
DNFLola 7
S 3.0
DNFMirage M6 Ford
'Gulf'
Derek Bell
Howden Ganley 		8
S 3.0		Spark
STME09
DNFLigier 19
S 3.0
DNFDuckhams's 5
S 3.0
DNFFerrari 312PB
Tim Schenken
Carlos Reutemann 		17
S 3.0		Red Line
RL023
DNFMatra 670B
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
François Cevert 		10
S 3.0		Minichamps
430 731110
DNFMirage M6 Ford
'Gulf'
Mike Hailwood
John Watson
Vern Schuppan 		9
S 3.0		Spark
STME10
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RSR
'Martini'
Reinhold Joest
Claude Haldi 		47
S 3.0		Spark
S0932
DNFMatra-Simca MS670B
Patrick Depailler
Bob Wollek 		14
S 3.0		Spark
S3552
DNFLola T280
'Start-Pilote'
Daniel Rouveyran
Christian Mons
Christian Ethuin 		61
S 3.0		Verem
(Édition Limitée)
606
Bizarre
BZ145
   Solido
'Retro Le Mans'		2424
DNFLigier JS262
S 3.0
GTS Class (5.0 Litre) - F.I.A. Group 4
6Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
'Thomson'
Claude Ballot-Léna
Vic Elford 		39
GTS 5.0		Top Model
TMC013
9Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
'Thomson'
Alain Serpaggi
José Dolhem 		40
GTS 5.0		Solido
2409
Red LineRL087
13Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
François Migault
Luigi Chinetti Jr.

38
GTS 5.0		Top Model
TMC011
20Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
'Fisions'
Jean-Claude Andruet
Richard Bond 		34
GTS 5.0		Top Model
TMC012
Detail Cars
ART. 287
DNFFerrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Rubén Luis di Palma
Nestor Garcia Veiga 		38
GTS 5.0		Red Line
RL093
Top Model
(Eurocar Exclusive)
GTS Class (3.0 Litre) - F.I.A. Group 4
8Porsche Carrera RSR
Clemens Schickentanz
Paul Keller
Erwin Kremer
45
GTS 3.0		Minichamps
430 736945
10Porsche Carrera RSR
Georg Loos
Jürgen Barth 		63
GTS 3.0		Minichamps
430 736963  
GTS Class (Over 5.0 Litre) - F.I.A. Group 4

12

Chevrolet Corvette
Henri Greder
"Marie-Claude Beaumont"

30

Quartzo
Classic Le Mans

QLM024

18

Chevrolet Corvette 'BP'
Jean-Claude Aubriet
"Depnic"

69

Vitesse
Limited Edition

L153

DNF

Chevrolet Corvette 'BFG Lifesaver Street Radial'
John Greenwood
Bob Johnson

29

Vitesse
Limited Edition

L163
TS Class (5.0 Litre) - F.I.A. Group 3
11BMW 3.0 CSL
Dieter Quester
Toine Hezemans 		51
T 5.0		Solido
'Zero' Series		25
Sportscar Class (2.5 Litre Prototypes) - F.I.A. Group 5
DNFSigma MC-73
Tetsu Ikuzawa
Hiroshi Fushida
Patrick Dal Bo
(1st Japanese entry and 1st rotary entry)		26
S 2.5		Bizarre
BZ06
Test Days

Test

Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Martini

62

Solido
Racing

1920

1974

Turbo Porsches

The unhomologated turbo Martini Porsche Carerra cars had to run in the big-boy prototype class

Le Mans 1974 (Part of the World Championship for Makes

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Sportscar Class (3.0 Litre Prototypes) - F.I.A. Group 5
1Matra MS670B
'Gitanes'
Henri Pescarolo
Gérard Larrousse 		7
S 3.0		IXO
LMC013
   Altaya
24H #?
   Spark
2Porsche Carerra RSR Turbo
'Martini'
Gijs van Lennep
Herbert Müller 		22
S 3.0		Ebbro
43536
3Matra MS670B
'Gitanes'
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
François Migault


9
S 3.0		Ixo
LMC019
4Gulf-Mirage GR7 Ford
'Gulf'
Derek Bell
Mike Hailwood 		11
S 3.0		Spark
STME05
8Ligier JS2
'Total'
Jacques Laffite
Alain Serpaggi
15
S 3.0		Ixo
LMC137
   Spark
S5049
19Porsche 908/2 65
S 3.0		Best
9309
N/CSigma MC-74 Mazda
'Canon'
Yojiro Terada
Yasuhiro Okamoto
Harukuni Takahashi
25
S 3.0		Bizarre
BZ07
DNFMatra-Simca MS680
'Gitanes'
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Jean-Pierre Jarier 		6
S 3.0		Bizarre
BZ189
DNFMatra MS670B
'Gitanes'
Bob Wollek
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
José Dolhem

8
S 3.0		Ixo
LMC014
DNFLigier JS2
'Total'
Guy Chasseuil
Michel Leclère
14
S 3.0		Ixo
LMC136
   Spark
S5048
DNFLola 28
S 3.0		Bizarre
DNFPorsche Carerra RSR Turbo
'Martini'
Manfred Schurti
Helmut Koinigg 		21
S 3.0		Ebbro
43535
DNFGulf-Mirage GR7 Ford
'Gulf'
Vern Schuppan
Reine Wisell 		12
S 3.0		Spark
STME06
   Verem
(Édition Limitée)		611
GTS Class F.I.A. Group 4
5Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Cyril Grandet
Dominique Bardini 		71
GTS		Solido
('Retro Le Mans')		2410
   Solido
(Kit)		16K
6Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Dave Heinz
Alain Cudini 		54
GTS		Solido
('Gam 2')		16
7Porsche Carerra RSR
'Toblerone'
Bernard Cheneviére
Peter Zbinden
Michel Dubois 		66
GTS		Eagle's Race
1132
Spark
S2095
10Porsche Carerra RSR
'Darty Real'		70
GTS		Spark
S3428
11Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Christian Ethuin
Lucien Guitteny
N.A.R.T.		56
GTS		Top Model
('Limited Edition')		(Eurocar Exclusive)
18Chevrolet Corvette
'First National City Travelers Checks'
Henri Greder
"Marie-Claude Beaumont" 		51
GTS		Vitesse
('Limited Edition')		L173
DNFPorsche Carerra RSR
'Tissot'
Claude Ballot-Léna
Vic Elford 		61
GTS		Eagle's Race
1136
Sportscar Class (2.0 Litre Prototypes) - F.I.A. Group 5
DNFLola T292
Robert Mieusset
Fred Stalder
François Sérvanin 		43
S 2.0		Bizarre

1975

The 1975 race was not part of the "world championship" for the first time in nearly 20 years. The ACO (wisely) distanced themselves from the FIA, who were getting really good at annoying factory teams.

The bulk of the grid was made up of Porsche 911 Carreras, with the "2.8 and 3.0 RSR" versions in the Group 4 GT class, and the road-car based "2.7 RS" versions in what seems to be a Group 3 "Serial GT" class.

Le Mans 1975 (Independently organized by the ACO)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Sport Class (3.0 Litre) FIA Group 5
1Gulf GR8 Ford
'Gulf'
Derek Bell
Jacky Ickx
11
S 3.0		Spark
STME01
Altaya
('Les Plus Belles Voitures Des 24 Heures Du Mans')		(Issue #9)
Ixo
LM1975
Solido
('10' Series)		38
2Ligier JS2
'Gitanes'
Jean-Louis Lafosse
Guy Chasseuil
5
S 3.0		Ixo
LMC134
3Gulf GR8 Ford
'Gulf'
Vern Schuppan
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
10
S 3.0		Ixo
LMC059
Spark
STME02
4Porsche 908/3 LH
'Ovoro'
Reinhold Joest
Mario Casoni
Jürgen Barth
15
S 3.0		Spark
S1994
Top Model
14De Cadenet Lola T380 Ford
Alain de Cadenet
Chris Craft
4
S 3.0		Bizarre
BZ54
DNFPorsche 908/2 ('Flunder')
Christian Poirot
Gérard Cuynet
Guillermo Ortega
3
S 3.0		Best
9319
DNFPorsche
1
DNFLigier JS2
'Gitanes'
Henri Pescarolo
François Migault
6
S 3.0		Ixo
LMC133
Spark
DNFSigma MC75 Toyota
'Marlboro'
Harukuni Takahashi
Hiroshi Fushida
18
S 3.0		Bizarre
BZ08
DNFLigier JS2
'Gitanes'
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Jean-Pierre Jarier
97
S 3.0		Ixo
LMC135
DNFLola T284
12
Gran Touring Sport class (FIA Group 4)
5Porsche Carerra RSR
'GELO'
John Fitzpatrick
Gijs van Lennep
58
GTS		Universal Hobbies
3681
Minichamps
430756958
6Porsche Carerra RSR
'Harley Davidson'
"Jean Beurlys"
Nick Faure
John Cooper
69
GTS		Universal Hobbies
(Eagle Collectables) 1133
7Porsche Carerra RSR
53
8Porsche Carerra RSR
55
9Porsche Carerra RSR
'Vaillant'
Billy Sprowls
Juan-Carlos Bolanos
Andres Contreras
65
GTS		Universal Hobbies
1134
Spark
S3429
12Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Jean-Claude Andruet
Teddy Pilette
Hughes de Fierlandt
47
GTS		Top Model
TMC010
Red Line
RL100
13Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ('Daytona')
Marcel Mignot
Harry Jones
Philippe Gurdjian
48
GTS		Top Model
TMC007
Detail Cars
ART. 288
16De Tomaso Pantera
Pierre Rubens
Paolo Bozzetto
43
GTS		Spark
S0527
23Porsche 911 Carrera RSR61
25Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
71
26Datsun 240Z
72
28Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
50
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RSR
59
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RSR
52
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RSR
57
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RSR
60
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RSR
Guy Verrier
Florian Vetsch
Jean-Robert Corthay
68
GTS		Spark
S2096
DNFDe Tomaso Pantera
Pietro Polese
"Willer"
7
GTS		Spark
S0526
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RSR
Clemens Schickentanz
Hartwig Bertrams
16
GTS		Spark
S2097
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RSR
96
DNFChevrolet Corvette
'First National City Travelers Checks'
Henri Greder
Alain Cudini
42
GTS		Vitesse
('Limited Edition')		L183
Gran Touring Class
10Porsche 911 Carrera RS
11Porsche 911 Carrera RS
17Porsche 911 Carrera RS
18Porsche 911 Carrera RS
19Porsche 911 Carrera RS
20Porsche 911S
N/CPorsche 911 Carrera RS
78SparkS0286
DNFPorsche 911 Carrera RS
83
Gran Touring X Class
15Porsche 911 Carrera Turbo
TestFerrari 365 GT4/BB
Note: DNS - Withdrawn		99
GTX		Best
9407
Sport Class (2.0 Litre) FIA Group 5
21Moynet LM75
22Lola T292
24Lola T294
François Sérvanin
Jacques Henry
Albert Dufrène
28
S 2.0		Bizarre
BZ149
29Lola T292
Nigel Clarkson
Derek Worthington
38
S 2.0		Bizarre
BZ152
30March 75S
DNFLola T294
Laurent Ferrier
Xavier Lapeyre
Christian Ethuin
27
S 2.0		Bizarre
BZ153
DNFLola T292
DNFRenault-Alpine A441
Marie-Claude Charmasson
Lella Lombardi
26
S 2.0		Spark
S1549
DNFTecma 755
Touring Class - FIA Group 2
27BMW 2002Ti
Daniel Brillat
Giancarlo Gagliardi
Michel Degoumois
91
T		Spark
S1575
DNFMazda RX- 3
98
DNFBMW 3.0CSL
93
DNFFord Capri
95
DNFBMW 3.0CSL
90

1976

"I'm gonna separate you two!"

Beginning in 1976, the European-based World Championship for Makes split into distinct schedules for prototypes and GT cars. The Prototypes were a single class of B6 cars with 3-litre normally aspirated or 2.1L turbos. LeMans was the only race in which all classes competed together. Cars from the IMSA championship were also invited and ran to their own classes.

Le Mans 24 Hours

The Porsche 936 clobbered the field, and its only serious competition was the turbo Renault which dropped out early. In some 70's drug-induced moment of stupor, two NASCAR cars were allowed to start. Yeah, you read that right, NASCAR. A Grand Torino and Dodge Charger were seen lumbering down the Mulsanne straight. O the humanity! Please, somebody make models of these cars!

Porsche 936

This is a "Frankenstein" car if there ever was one. It was thrown together quickly to comply with the Group 6 rules. It is partially based on the 908, but with aerodynamic cues from the 917/30. The winning #20 is a very different car than the 1977 winner. Also, the car debuted in black without the famous "snorkel" air box.

1976 Le Mans Classes

Name

FIA Class

Description

Subclasses

B6

Group 6

Open Sports Prototypes

3-litre

GTP

N/A (?)

Closed-cockpit prototypes

?

A5

Group 5

"Sihlouette" Cars

IMSA

IMSA

GT Cars

GTX

?

GT Cars?

A4

Group 4

Modified production-based GT cars

NASCAR

N/A

Yeee Haaaaaw

A2

Group 2

Modified Touring cars

Le Mans 1976 (Independently organized by the ACO)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Sport Class (FIA Group 6)
1Porsche 936
'Martini'
Jacky Ickx
Gijs van Lennep
20
Gr. 6 +2.0		Trofeu
1901
2Mirage GR8 Ford
'Total'
Jean-Louis Lafosse
François Migault
10
Gr. 6 +2.0		Spark
STME03
3De Cadenet Lola T380 Ford
Alain de Cadenet
Chris Craft 		12
Gr. 6 +2.0		Bizarre
BZ55
5Mirage GR8 Ford
'Total'
Derek Bell
Vern Schuppan
11
Gr. 6 +2.0		Spark
STME04
7Porsche 908/3 Turbo
'Shell'
Günther Steckkönig
Ernst Kraus 		17
Gr. 6 +2.0		Spark
S1997
DNFPorsche 936
'Martini'
Reinhold Joest
Jürgen Barth 		18
Gr. 6 +2.0		Spark
S4169
DNFPorsche 908/3 Turbo16
Gr. 6 +2.0		Spark
DNFRenault Alpine A442
'elf'
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Patrick Tambay
19
Gr. 6 +2.0		IXO
LMC041
DNFLola T28621
Gr. 6 +2.0		Bizarre
Group 5 Class
14Porsche Carerra RSR
'Christine Laure'
Thierry Sabine
Philippe Dagoreau
Jean-Claude Andrue
53
Gr. 5		Universal Hobbies
1135
BMW 3.0 CSL
'Gosser Beer'
Dieter Quester
Albrecht Krebs
Alain Peltier
(Group 5 Bodywork by BMW)		43
Gr. 5		Ixo
LMC150
GT Class
19Porsche 934
'elf'
Bob Wollek
Didier Pironi
"Marie-Claude Beaumont" 		65
GT		Universal Hobbies
2310
IMSA Camel Class
DNFChevrolet Corvette
'Le Mans '76'
John Greenwood
Bernard Darniche
76
IMSA CAMEL		Bizarre
BZ10
GTP Class
DNFWM P76 Peugeot
'Batterie TS'
Guy Chasseuil
Claude Ballot-Léna
Xavier Mathiot
5
GTP		Bizarre
BZ16

1977

Star Wars. Nothing but Star Wars. That's the only thing that 1977 ever gets credit for. However, Jacky Ickx drove like a bat outta' hell to win in 1977, and he considers it his best race ever. There are several versions of the winning car available, but the Minichamps Porsche "Le Mans History Set" version suffers from inaccurate decals. The more recent version of from the "Martini History set" is the current best bet.

Renault Alpines

The Renault Alpines (pronounced al-PEEN) were back again. Note how this car is the just the A442 and not the A442A or A442B.

Classes

It is important to note the classes in which the cars raced. From time to time, a table like below will try to explain who was racing against whom. Thankfully, the NASCAR class was dropped for 1977

1977 Le Mans Classes

Name

Description

Subclasses

Group 6

Open Sports Prototypes

3-litre and 2.4 L turbos

2-litre

Group 5

Heavily modified production-based sihlouette cars

Group 4

Production-based

IMSA

IMSA GTO spec?

GTP

Closed Sports Prototypes

GTX

IMSA GTX GT-Based Prototypes???

 

Le Mans 1977 (Independently organized by the ACO)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Sport Class (3.0 Litre) FIA Group 6
Martini Porsche (Works Team)
1Porsche 936/77 'Martini'
Jürgen Barth
Hurley Haywood
Jacky Ickx 		4
Group 6		Minichamps
Porsche Dealer		WAP 020 044 97
   Minichamps
Porsche Dealer Martini History Set		WAP 020 SET 13 
   Solido
'Zero' Series		86
15WM P76 Peugeot
'Esso'
Max Mamers
Jean-Daniel Raulet
86
GTP		Bizarre
BZ20
GTC Team
2Mirage GR8 Ford 'Gitanes'
Vern Schuppan
Jean-Pierre Jarier 		10
B6		Spark
STME07
DNFMirage GR8 Ford 'Gitanes'
Sam Posey
Michel Leclére 		11
B6		Spark
STME08
Renault Works Team
DNFRenault Alpine A442 'elf'
Patrick Depailler
Jacques Laffite 		8
Group 6		IXO
Classic Le Mans		LMC043
DNFRenault Alpine A442 'elf'
Patrick Depailler
Jacques Laffite 		8
Group 6		Solido
100 Series		20
DNFRenault Alpine A442 'elf'
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Derek Bell 		9
Group 6		IXO
Classic Le Mans		LMC044
DNFRenault Alpine A442 'elf'
Patrick Tambay
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud 		7
Group 6		IXO
Classic Le Mans		LMC042
DNFRenault Alpine A442 'Bendix'
René Arnoux
Didier Pironi 		16
Group 6		IXO
Classic Le Mans		LMC058
13Inaltera Ford
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Al Holbert 		1
Group 6		Bizarre
BZ225
DNFSauber C5
Eugen Strähl
Peter Bernhard 		21
S 2.0		Bizarre
BZ436
FIA Group 5
3Porsche 935
Claude Ballot-Léna
Peter Gregg
(1977 Customer 935)		40
Gr. 5		Spark
S2021
18Porsche 911 Carrera RSR (3.0)
'BP'
Anne-Charlotte Verney
René Metge
Dany Snobeck
Hubert Striebig 		47
Gr. 5		Universal Hobbies
3717
DNFPorsche 935
Toine Hezemans
Tim Schenken
Hans Heyer
(1977 Customer 935)		39
Gr. 5		Spark
S4690
DNFPorsche 48
DNFPorsche 49
DNFPorsche 935/77
'Martini'
Rolf Stommelen
Manfred Schurti
(1977 Porsche Works 935 bodywork & engine)		41
Gr. 5		Trofeu
2401
Spark
S2022
DNFPorsche 935 K2
John Fitzpatrick
Guy Edwards
Nick Faure
(1977 Customer 935 with Kremer Bodywork)		42
Gr. 5		Spark
S2029
DNFPorsche 935
Tim Schenken
Toine Hezemans
Hans Heyer 		38
Gr. 5		Spark
S4428
FIA Group 4
7Porsche 934
'Burton'
Bob Wollek
"Steve"
Philippe Gurdjian 		58
GT		Universal Hobbies
UNHV2300
Spark
S3401
10Porsche Carrera RSR 3.0
Christian Gouttepifre
Philippe Malbran
Alain Leroux 		61
GT		Spark
S3427
19Porsche 934
'JMS Racing'
Jean-Louis Bousquet
Cyril Grandet
Philippe Dagoreau 		56
GT		Universal Hobbies
2301
Spark
S3403
Premium X
PRD412
DNFPorsche 93459
DNFPorsche 93460
DNFPorsche 93457
DNFPorsche 93455
DNFPorsche Carrera RSR 3.063
DNFPorsche Carrera RSR 3.062