1974 24 Hours of Le Mans
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The 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 42nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 15 and 16 June 1974. It was the fifth round of the 1974 World Championship for Makes. After Alfa Romeo had won the first race of the season at Monza, it had been Matra all the way and they came to Le Mans as firm favourites for a third consecutive outright victory, especially after Alfa Romeo withdrew its cars just before raceweek.
In a fairly lacklustre race, the Matra of Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse led virtually from start to finish for their second successive victory.[1] It was also the third in a row for Pescarolo and the Matra team. The race was enlivened on Sunday morning when the leading car was delayed for a long time by engine and gearbox troubles. But such was the lead they had built up that they were not headed. Second place, six laps back was the works-supported Martini Porsche 911 turbo of Gijs van Lennep and Herbert Müller while third went to another Matra of Jean-Pierre Jabouille and François Migault.
The Group 4 (GTS) category was a battle between Porsche and Ferrari. It was won by the French-privateer Ferrari of Cyril Grandet and Dominique Bardini as the leading Porsches fell out with problems.
Regulations
There was negligible change to the regulations this year. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) reduced the eligible classes back to six, removing the intermediate divisions of Group 2 and 5.[2] Qualification was tightened, such that each driver, not just each car, had to be within 133% of the fastest times of the top three different car types.[3]
Modern Motor magazine reported at the time that the event cost near to £1 million to hold. Of that, most was paid by Chrysler-France (£500000) and the French government (£300000) with the rest coming from sponsorship. It also noted the declining interest in the racing formula by the manufacturers and fans alike.[4] John Wyer had noted that it cost more than a full season of Formula One to put one of his cars on the grid.[5]
Entries
The fuel crisis triggered by the 1973 Yom Kippur War in the Middle East had dramatically affected motor-racing, including the cancellation of the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. The lack of interest in the 3-litre “universal race-engine” formula was evident and the ACO received only 81 applications, and just 50 turned up for qualification on race-week. Ferrari had quit Sports cars at the end of 1973 to focus on Formula One and Autodelta, the Alfa Romeo works team, again withdrew this time just days before the event. This left only eleven works entries, all from Group 5.[2] This year there were six female drivers across three teams, the most since 1938's six female starters.[6]
| Category | Sports-Prototype Group 5 |
Special GT Groups 4 |
Special Touring Group 2 |
Total Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large-engines >2.0L classes |
24 | 22 | 4 | 45 |
| Medium-engines < 2.0L classes |
10 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Total cars | 34 | 22 | 4 | 60 |
With the non-appearance of the Alfa Romeo works team, Matra became the strong favourites. They arrived confident, holding a firm command of the Manufacturers’ Championship, with a strong 4-car line-up. Three of them were the long-tail MS670B, while the fourth chassis was modified with side radiators allowing a more aerodynamic nose. It was called the MS680 and driven by Jean-Pierre Beltoise/Jean-Pierre Jarier. Although slower on the straights it made up time being quicker through the corners.[7] The others were also manned by all-French driver lines-ups, including the 1973 race-winners Henri Pescarolo/Gérard Larrousse and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud/Bob Wollek/José Dolhem, Jean-Pierre Jabouille/François Migault. The V12 engines got tuned down to 460 bhp to better preserve them, but still gave about 320 kp/h (200 mph).[8]
In Alfa Romeo's absence, Matra's biggest challenger would be from John Wyer’s Gulf Research Racing. The company had dropped the Mirage name and the new car was called the Gulf GR7 designed by Len Bailey,[9] a much lighter version of the M6, but still 40 kg heavier than the Matras.[10] Although the Cosworth V8 (with 450 bhp) gave away acceleration torque to the Matra V12,[11] reliability would be the biggest concern although they had traded up to stronger ZF gearboxes.[12] Two cars were at Le Mans, driven by team regulars Derek Bell/Mike Hailwood and joined by Vern Schuppan/Reine Wisell.
After a successful foray into the Can-Am scene, Porsche returned to Sports-car racing this year. The Martini-sponsored works team bought the evolution of the Carrera RSR. It was now powered by a new 2142cc flat-6 engine, augmented by the exhaust-driven KKK (Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch[13]) turbo used in their Can-Am cars, that pushed out 490 bhp (and was equivalent to 2999cc using the x1.4 equivalency). It also featured improved aerodynamics (front spoiler, wider wheel arches, full rear wing) and upgraded transmission and braking which all made them slightly quicker than the Matras in a straight line.[14][12] The two cars were driven by Gijs van Lennep/Herbert Müller and Manfred Schurti/Helmut Koinigg. There were also older Porsches in the Group 5 field: including a non-turbo RSR special from Mexican Héctor Rebaque and two 908/02s returning from the previous year run by Swiss André Wicky and Ecuadorian Guillermo Ortega.
Guy Ligier arrived with a much-improved version of his JS2 sports car, still running in the prototype class. Designer Michel Têtu had done much with the aerodynamics including a big rear aerofoil and flared wheel arches allowing wider tyres. The Maserati engine had been developed to put out 300 bhp. The team was also encouraged by finishing second in the two heats of the March Testing Weekend race, and being declared overall winner. This year the team-owner was not racing, and the two cars were driven by veteran Guy Chasseuil with Michel Leclère, and Jacques Laffite with Alain Serpaggi.[15]
There were also several one-off prototype specials: Alain de Cadenet was back at Le Mans, having fixed the aerodynamic problems that plagued him the year before. It was now in British racing green without its Duckhams Oil sponsorship. However, after being injured in a motorcycle accident, his place alongside Chris Craft was taken by McLaren and Cosworth-engine developer John Nicholson.[16][7] A new Lola, the T284 (also running a Cosworth engine), was entered by Michel Dupont Racing alongside his Chevron in the 2-litre category.[7] Unable to secure a new 312PB from the factory in 1971, the North American Racing Team (NART) had developed their own spyder version of the 312P. This was subsequently developed in-house to PB-specification in 1972 and arrived at this year's race for Jean-Claude Andruet/Teodoro Zeccoli.[16] The successor to the Dino 246 was the 308 GT4 and NART also prepared a special racing version using engine components taken from the 512BB and 365 GTB/4. The 3-litre engine now pushed out 250 bhp, capable of 285 kp/h (175 mph).[17] The Japanese Sigma rotary returned with an updated model, and now with stronger financial backing from Mazda. Their drivers included the debut race for future Le Mans stalwart Yojiro Terada.[18]
Once again there was a small turnout for the S2.0 class. One of the Chevrons featured the first all-female driver line-up since 1951, led by Belgian Christine Beckers. After getting frustrated with the unreliability of the 2-litre racing engines, French privateer Fred Stalder set up his own company, Société Racing Organisation Course (ROC) to build engines. His first engine, designed by Mario Illien and based on a Chrysler-Simca block,[7] could develop 280 bhp and was put into his Lola T292 as well as a French GRAC car.[19]
The Group 4 GT category would be a battle between Ferrari and Porsche. NART had three of the five 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” entries alongside Charles Pozzi, the French importer who had won the previous year's GT prize (using Raymond Touroul's entry-card).[20] With Porsche's refocus on production racing, they had manufactured the requisite 1000 copies of the Carrera RS cars to get homologation in Group 3. The Group 4 RSR version was very popular with privateers and no less than 13 arrived for the race. Cars included the now-regular team-entries from Kremer and Gelo (West Germany), ASA-Cachia and Claude Buchet (France), Porsche Club Romand and Claude Haldi (Switzerland), Ecurie Francorchamps of Belgium and the Spanish Escuderia Montjuïch.[21] Henri Greder again had his Corvette, now starting to show its age, and the Wicky team also entered a De Tomaso Pantera.[17]
With the withdrawal of the Ford and BMW works teams because of reduced racing budgets,[22] this year the Group 2 class comprised just four entries: two BMWs for the Italian Jolly Club team and Frenchman Jean-Claude Aubriet (giving up his Corvette), the Ford Capri of the Shark Team[22] and Claude Buchet's Mazda twin-rotary RX-3.
Practice
The Alfa Romeos had been the fastest cars at the March test weekend, with Arturo Merzario recording a 3:31.0, but then they failed to arrive.[12] So, unsurprisingly, the Matras were the fastest cars in qualification. Pescarolo got pole position as early as Wednesday night, with a lap of 3:35.8 and teammate Jarier in the new MS680 claimed second on Thursday with a 3:36.8. The Gulfs were third and fourth, Schuppan ahead of Bell with the other two Matras next.[23] There was then a sizeable eight-second gap back to Müller's Porsche turbo and Craft in the De Cadenet (both recording 3:52.4).[2] The Ligiers really impressed themselves, qualifying 10th and 12th on the grid with Chasseuil a full 27 seconds faster than the previous year proving the new aero pack was working and the run at the Test Weekend was no fluke.[15]
The Lola-ROC was quickest of the 2-litre class with 4:07.9 (14th). Fastest GT was the Kremer-Porsche (15th with 4:11.3) not far ahead of the Jolly Club Group 2 ex-works BMW (17th with 4:14.2).[24] Disappointments were the NART-Ferrari specials with the 312P recording 4:18.0 and the 308 GT4 down in 38th with 4:25.3. The big old Corvette was in the middle of the GT-pack (4:24.7 for 36th) while the De Tomaso was last qualifier with a sluggish 4:43.6. Of the two rotaries, the Sigma had a number of problems during practice and its 4:20.4 was nine seconds slower than the year before;[18] while the RX-3 was the only car too slow to qualify.[25]
Race
Start
Once again, like the previous year's race, the sunshine in race week became dark clouds on race-day.[26][24] Henri Pescarolo moved into the lead from the start but Jarier overtook him at Mulsanne corner just as the rain started on the first lap. But it didn’t last and no-one came in to change tyres. By the fourth lap, Matra were running 1-2-3-4 when Schuppan had already bought his Gulf in to change sparkplugs and Jabouille and Jaussaud had overtaken Bell in the other Gulf.[26] One of the NART Ferraris left its braking too late and clouted both barriers at the Esses putting it out.[20] Chasseuil also brought the leading Ligier in for a plug change early on.[24]
Pescarolo retook the lead and the Matras kept their positions beyond the first driver changes, a lap ahead of the Gulf. Schuppan's day never improved as the other Gulf's ongoing issues culminated in a broken CV-joint after three hours, stranding Wisell out on the track. In fact a number of cars had early mechanical issues, spreading the field wide apart.[24] The GT battle was very close, with the Buchet Porsche running just ahead of the Montjuïch, Kremer and ASA-Cachia cars. But the troubles that were to afflict most of the Porsches started early when Ballot-Lena and Haldi brought the leading two cars in for repairs.[21] Then in the fourth hour, just as Jarier blasted out of the pits to start his second stint, he collided with the GT-leading Kremer Porsche (leaving twin 22m lines of rubber as it tried to stop[27]). While the Matra was losing 45 minutes getting repaired, Jabouille's car also came in the pits with water leaking from its engine. When the remaining Gulf also broke its CV joint (fortunately, within coasting distance of the pits, but dropping it to 12th after 45 minutes), it was the turbo Porsches that moved up to 3rd and 5th, split by the De Cadenet now running well after an initial delay to fix a loose wheel.[24][26]
Night
At 11pm, the engine of Schurti/Koinigg's Porsche, running 5th, blew up on the Mulsanne Straight. Such was the smoke trail that officials initially put its retirement down to a fire.[14][27] Within the hour, the Matras of Jarier (12th) and Wollek (2nd) also lost their engines.[26] By 1am Pescarolo had a 6-lap lead over the Müller/van Lennep Porsche, with the De Cadenet four laps further back in third. After its delays, the Gulf of Bell/Hailwood had got back up to fourth, ahead of the Gelo Porsche of Loos/Schickentanz/Barth (leading the GT class in a surprising fifth overall) and the Jabouille/Migault Matra also coming back through the field. Consistency had got the Romand Porsche up to seventh ahead of the Pozzi Ferrari.[25]
Then shortly after 1.30am Craft brought the De Cadenet in with suspect handling. As he was leaving a suspension bolt broke but, not being allowed to reverse up the pitlane, Craft had to spend half an hour changing the steering arm himself. After some cautious laps and further repairs he resumed in 11th place and carried on through the night.[16][27] At 2am, the Gelo Porsche (now running 4th) was out with engine problems – when a loose screw fell into the distributor.[21][28]
So by halftime at 4am, Pescarolo/Larrousse had done 179 laps, with a comfortable lead over the Porsche (172) and the Gulf (166). Jabouille/Migault had fought back up to fourth (165 laps). Just two laps back the Swiss Romand Porsche was fifth, pursued by the Pozzi Ferrari and the Francorchamps Porsche. The NART Ferraris were eighth (312P) and tenth (365 GT) with the second Gelo Porsche splitting them.[28][25]
Morning
Just as dawn came at 5.30am, the De Cadenet's suspension broke again. However, this time Nicholson was travelling at speed down the pit straight and it slammed him into the pit-barriers and slid 200 metres down the road. Nicholson was able to get out unhurt.[16][27] The Jolly Club BMW had been the fastest of the Group 2 cars in practice but had been slowed in the very first hour with a gearbox issue. Having driven back through the field up to 17th, it was forced to retire just after dawn when the engine overheated.[22] The Ford Capri leading the class broke its clutch after 7am while running 13th overall.
The back-and-forth Porsche-Ferrari battle in GT got clearer at 7am when the 5th-placed Romand Porsche had to spend a half-hour repairing a universal joint, handing the class lead back to the Pozzi Ferrari.[21][28] After a four-hour engine rebuild, the Sigma got back into the race, much to the appreciation of the crowd. Although unlikely to be classified, the team were determined to get to the finish.[28]
At 8am, the trouble-free run of the leading Matra ended when Larrousse bought the car in with a misfire. Several stops were needed to fix the issue, costing three-quarters of an hour, but they were able to keep their lead.[29] The Gulf then also lost almost 45 minutes fixing its starter motor, dropping to fourth.[28] Around 10am the Porsche developed a steering problem and then lost all but its fourth and fifth gears. Running around 40 seconds a lap slower, it fell eleven laps behind the leading Matra.[14][23]
Then just before 11am, Pescarolo had a gearbox failure. The Porsche-designed Matra gearbox problem was easy to repair, but it still took 45 minutes. When Larrousse resumed, their 11-lap lead had been cut to just one.[26][30]
Finish and post-race
However, from then on, the Matra ran smoothly and between them Pescarolo and Larrousse rebuilt their lead over the ailing Porsche. Their pursuers were in damage-control mode, just trying to limp to the finish. The Gelo Porsche's engine finally gave out with less than three hours to go.[30] Even though rain briefly returned in the last hour, Larrousse took the chequered flag[31] a full six laps ahead of Müller and van Lennep. The remaining Matra of Jabouille/Migault, which had kept its third place since daybreak, was a further ten laps behind with a four-lap margin over the Bell/Hailwood Gulf. Both cars had endured troubles right through the race, and every pit-stop needed attention – extra water for the Matra's leaking engine and grease added to the Gulf's fragile CV-joint.[10]
First GT home from a close race-long battle was the Charles Pozzi Ferrari 365 of Cyril Grandet/Dominique Bardini finishing fifth. They had had a very reliable run, spending only 30 minutes in the pits over the whole race.[20] Sixth was the NART Ferrari of Dave Heinz/Alain Cudini that had managed to chase down and pass the ailing Porsche Club Romand car of Chenevière / Zbinden / Dubois in the last quarter-hour.[26]
Jacques Laffite and Alain Serpaggi gave Ligier its best finish to date coming in eighth,[15] despite a fuel-fire at the last pit-stop.[30] Ninth was the NART Ferrari 312 special, having endured six broken throttle cables. The sole surviving Group 2 car was Jean-Claude Aubriet's BMW finishing fifteenth.[16] Likewise, there was only a single finisher in the S-2000 class. The all-female crew in the third Dupont entry ran a conservative race but outlasted all their opposition to finish 17th and, perhaps more importantly, prove that the fragile engines could run 24 hours.[19] They finished ahead of the Corvette of Marie-Claude Beaumont, which had numerous issues and ran 49 laps less than it had completed the year before.[17]
Technically, the Matra mechanics had replaced the gearbox housing on the winning car, which was against regulations. The officials decided not to disqualify the car unless someone protested, and no team did. It was a Porsche gearbox.[32] Henri Pescarolo became only the third driver to win three Le Mans in a row, after Woolf Barnato (1928–30) and Olivier Gendebien (1960-62). Having won Le Mans those three years in a row, and then the World Championship (with nine wins out of ten), Matra announced its retirement from racing at the end of the season with mission accomplished.[23][29]
Official results
Finishers
Results taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO[33] Class winners are in Bold text.
| <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PosScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Class | <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />No.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />LapsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S 3.0 |
7 | Template:Flagicon Équipe Gitanes | Template:Flagicon Henri Pescarolo Template:Flagicon Gérard Larrousse |
Matra-Simca MS670C | Matra 3.0L V12 | G | 338 |
| 2 | S 3.0 |
22 | Template:Flagicon Martini Racing Porsche System | Template:Flagicon Gijs van Lennep Template:Flagicon Herbert Müller |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo | Porsche 2.1L F6 Turbo | D | 332 |
| 3 | S 3.0 |
9 | Template:Flagicon Équipe Gitanes | Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Jabouille Template:Flagicon François Migault |
Matra-Simca MS670C | Matra 3.0L V12 | G | 322 |
| 4 | S 3.0 |
11 | Template:Flagicon Gulf Research Racing | Template:Flagicon Derek Bell Template:Flagicon Mike Hailwood |
Gulf GR7 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | F | 318 |
| 5 | GTS 5.0 |
71 | Template:Flagicon Automobiles Charles Pozzi Template:Flagicon R. Touroul |
Template:Flagicon Cyril Grandet Template:Flagicon Dominique Bardini |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | Ferrari 4.4L V12 | M | 314 |
| 6 | GTS 5.0 |
54 | Template:Flagicon North American Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Dave Heinz Template:Flagicon Alain Cudini |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | Ferrari 4.4L V12 | G | 313 |
| 7 | GTS 3.0 |
66 | Template:Flagicon Porsche Club Romand | Template:Flagicon Bernard Chenevière Template:Flagicon Peter Zbinden Template:Flagicon Michel Dubois |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 313 |
| 8 | S 3.0 |
15 | Template:Flagicon Automobiles Ligier | Template:Flagicon Jacques Laffite Template:Flagicon Alain Serpaggi |
Ligier JS2 | Maserati 3.0L V6 | M | 311 |
| 9 | S 3.0 |
1 | Template:Flagicon North American Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Jean-Claude Andruet Template:Flagicon Teodoro Zeccoli |
NART-Ferrari 312P | Ferrari 3.0L V12 | G | 299 |
| 10 | GTS 3.0 |
70 | Template:Flagicon ASA Cachia-Bondy | Template:Flagicon Henri Cachia Template:Flagicon Raymound Touroul Template:Flagicon Dennis Rua |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 289 |
| 11 | GTS 5.0 |
56 | Template:Flagicon North American Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Christian Ethuin Template:Flagicon Lucien Guitteny |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | Ferrari 4.4L V12 | G | 286 |
| 12 | GTS 3.0 |
69 | Template:Flagicon C. Haldi (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Lucien Negeotte Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Laffeach Template:Flagicon Jean- François Jaunet |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 277 |
| 13 | GTS 3.0 |
59 | Template:Flagicon P. Mauroy (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Pierre Mauroy Template:Flagicon Anne-Charlotte Verney Template:Flagicon Martine Rénier |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 2.8L F6 | D | 277 |
| 14 | GTS 3.0 |
63 | Template:Flagicon J.-C. Lagniez (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Jean-Claude Lagniez Template:Flagicon Gérard Meo |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 275 |
| 15 | TS 5.0 |
86 | Template:Flagicon J.-C. Aubriet (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Jean-Claude Aubriet Template:Flagicon "Dépnic" (Jean-Claude Depince) |
BMW 3.0 CSL | BMW 3.5L S6 | M | 270 |
| 16 | GTS 5.0 |
57 | Template:Flagicon M. Mignot (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Marcel Mignot Template:Flagicon Harry Jones |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | Ferrari 4.4L V12 | M | 267 |
| 17 | S 2.0 |
30 | Template:Flagicon Michel Dupont Scato Template:Flagicon Écurie Seiko-Scato |
Template:Flagicon Christine Beckers Template:Flagicon Yvette Fontaine Template:Flagicon Marie Laurent |
Chevron B23 | Cosworth FVC 1790cc S4 | F | 266 |
| 18 | GTS +5.0 |
51 | Template:Flagicon Greder Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Henri Greder Template:Flagicon Marie-Claude Beaumont |
Chevrolet Corvette C3 | Chevrolet 7.0L V8 | M | 254 |
| 19 | S 3.0 |
65 | Template:Flagicon C. Poirot (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Christian Poirot Template:Flagicon Jean Rondeau |
Porsche 908/02 | Porsche 3.0L F8 | D | 252 |
| 20 | GTS 3.0 |
73 | Template:Flagicon Paul Blancpain Template:Flagicon Toad Hall Racing |
Template:Flagicon Paul Blancpain Template:Flagicon Michael Keyser Template:Flagicon Milt Minter |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | G | 247 |
| N/C * | S 3.0 |
25 | Template:Flagicon Sigma Automotive | Template:Flagicon Yasuhiro Okamoto Template:Flagicon Harukuni Takahashi Template:Flagicon Yojiro Terada |
Sigma MC74 | Mazda 12A 2-Rotor (2.3L equiv.) |
D | 156 |
- 'Note *: Not classified because did not cover sufficient distance (70% of winner’s = 236 laps).
Did not finish
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | Laps | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNF | GTS 3.0 |
72 | Template:Flagicon Polifac Gelo Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Jürgen Barth Template:Flagicon Franz Pesch |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | F | 232 | Engine (23hr) |
| DNF | GTS 3.0 |
62 | Template:Flagicon Ecurie Francorchamps | Template:Flagicon Baron Hughes de Fierlandt Template:Flagicon Richard Bond |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 227 | Transmission (19hr) |
| DNF | GTS 3.0 |
67 | Template:Flagicon Porsche Club Romand | Template:Flagicon William Vollery Template:Flagicon Eric Chapuis Template:Flagicon Roger Dorchy |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 225 | Engine (19hr) |
| DNF | TS 5.0 |
90 | Template:Flagicon Shark Racing Team (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Jean-Claude Guérie Template:Flagicon Serge Godard Template:Flagicon Dominique Fornage |
Ford Capri RS | Ford 3.0L V6 | D | 186 | Transmission (16hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
10 | Template:Flagicon A. de Cadenet (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Chris Craft Template:Flagicon John Nicholson |
De Cadenet LM72 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | F | 168 | Accident (15hr) |
| DNF | TS 5.0 |
87 | Template:Flagicon Scuderia Jolly Club | Template:Flagicon Martino Finotto Template:Flagicon Carlo Facetti Template:Flagicon Manfred Mohr |
BMW 3.0 CSL | BMW 3.5L S6 | D | 155 | Engine (14hr) |
| DNF | S 2.0 |
43 | Template:Flagicon Société Racing Organisation Course | Template:Flagicon Fred Stalder Template:Flagicon Robert Mieusset Template:Flagicon François Sérvanin |
Lola T292 | Simca-ROC 1994cc S4 | F | 145 | Electrics (13hr) |
| DNF | S 2.0 |
44 | Template:Flagicon G. Cuynet (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Gérard Cuynet Template:Flagicon Yves Evrard Template:Flagicon Jean-Louis Gama |
Porsche 910 | Porsche 1991cc F6 | G | 143 | Out of fuel (17hr) |
| DNF | GTS 3.0 |
64 | Template:Flagicon Polifac Gelo Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Georg Loos Template:Flagicon Clemens Schickentanz |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | F | 134 | Electrics (14hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
17 | Template:Flagicon Ecuador Marlboro Team (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Guillermo Ortega Template:Flagicon Fausto Merello Template:Flagicon Lothar Ranft |
Porsche 908/02K | Porsche 3.0L F8 | G | 122 | Accident (11hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
8 | Template:Flagicon Équipe Gitanes | Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Template:Flagicon Bob Wollek Template:Flagicon José Dolhem |
Matra-Simca MS670B | Matra 3.0L V12 | G | 120 | Engine (9hr) |
| DNF | GTS 3.0 |
61 | Template:Flagicon R. Buchet (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Vic Elford Template:Flagicon Claude Ballot-Léna |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 117 | Transmission (11hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
6 | Template:Flagicon Équipe Gitanes | Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Beltoise Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Matra-Simca MS680 | Matra 3.0L V12 | G | 104 | Engine (9hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
21 | Template:Flagicon Martini Racing Porsche System | Template:Flagicon Helmut Koinigg Template:Flagicon Manfred Schurti |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo | Porsche 2.1L F6 Turbo | D | 87 | Engine (8hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
14 | Template:Flagicon Automobiles Ligier | Template:Flagicon Guy Chasseuil Template:Flagicon Michel Leclère |
Ligier JS2 | Maserati 3.0L V6 | M | 82 | Engine (9hr) |
| DNF | GTS 3.0 |
68 | Template:Flagicon Samson Kremer Racing | Template:Flagicon Erwin Kremer Template:Flagicon Hans Heyer Template:Flagicon Paul Keller |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 65 | Engine (6hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
46 | Template:Flagicon Rebaque-Rojas Racing Team (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Héctor Rebaque Template:Flagicon Guillermo Rojas, Sr Template:Flagicon Freddy Van Beuren |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | G | 60 | Electrics (7hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
12 | Template:Flagicon Gulf Research Racing | Template:Flagicon Vern Schuppan Template:Flagicon Reine Wisell |
Gulf GR7 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | F | 49 | Engine (5hr) |
| DNF | S 2.0 |
23 | Template:Flagicon M. Mamers (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Marcel “Max” Mamers Template:Flagicon Xavier Lapeyre |
GRAC MT20 | Simca-ROC 1994cc S4 | G | 45 | Transmission (5hr) |
| DNF | GTS 3.0 |
58 | Template:Flagicon Escuderia Montjuïch | Template:Flagicon Claude Haldi Template:Flagicon José-Marie Fernández Template:Flagicon Jean-Marc Seguin |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 43 | Engine (4hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
19 | Template:Flagicon Wicky Racing Team | Template:Flagicon André Wicky Template:Flagicon Jacques Boucard Template:Flagicon “Nouvestille” (Louis Cosson) |
Porsche 908/02 | Porsche 3.0L F8 | F | 41 | Gearbox (6hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
28 | Template:Flagicon Michel Dupont Scato | Template:Flagicon Heinz Schulthess Template:Flagicon Michel Lateste |
Lola T280/284 | Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8 | F | 32 | Engine (8hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
18 | Template:Flagicon North American Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Jean-Louis Lafosse Template:Flagicon Giancarlo Gagliardi |
Dino 308 GT4 LM | Ferrari 3.0L V8 | G | 30 | Transmission (4hr) |
| DNF | GTS 3.0 |
60 | Template:Flagicon L. Meznarie (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Hubert Striebig Template:Flagicon Hugues Kirschoffer Template:Flagicon Jean-Louis Chateau |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | D | 23 | Accident (4hr) |
| DNF | GTS +5.0 |
52 | Template:Flagicon Wicky Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Max Cohen-Olivar Template:Flagicon Philippe Carron |
De Tomaso Pantera | Ford 5.8L V8 | F | 16 | Engine (4hr) |
| DNF | S 3.0 |
31 | Template:Flagicon Escuderia Tibidabo (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Francesco Torredemer Template:Flagicon Juan Fernández Template:Flagicon Bernard Tramont |
Porsche 908/03 | Porsche 3.0L F8 | G | 12 | Gearbox (3hr) |
| DNF | GTS 5.0 |
55 | Template:Flagicon North American Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Paoli Template:Flagicon Alain Couderc |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | Ferrari 4.4L V12 | G | 4 | Accident (2hr) |
| DNF | S 2.0 |
27 | Template:Flagicon Michel Dupont Scato | Template:Flagicon Michel Dupont Template:Flagicon Gregor Fischer Template:Flagicon Daniel Brillat |
Chevron B23/26 | Cosworth FVC 1790cc S4 | F | 3 | Engine (3hr) |
Did not start
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNQ | TS 5.0 |
98 | Template:Flagicon C. Buchet (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Claude Buchet Template:Flagicon Jean-Paul Agères Template:Flagicon Frederic Canal |
Mazda RX-3 Coupé | Mazda 124A 2-Rotor (2.3L equiv.) |
D | Did not qualify |
| DNA | S 3.0 |
3 | Template:Flagicon Autodelta SpA | Template:Flagicon Rolf Stommelen Template:Flagicon Andrea de Adamich |
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12 | Alfa Romeo 3.0L F12 | F | Withdrawn |
| DNA | S 3.0 |
4 | Template:Flagicon Autodelta SpA | Template:Flagicon Arturo Merzario Template:Flagicon Carlo Facetti |
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12 | Alfa Romeo 3.0L F12 | F | Withdrawn |
| DNA | S 3.0 |
5 | Template:Flagicon Autodelta SpA | Template:Flagicon Rolf Stommelen Template:Flagicon Carlo Facetti Template:Flagicon Teodoro Zeccoli |
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12 | Alfa Romeo 3.0L F12 | F | Withdrawn |
| DNA | S 3.0 |
24 | Template:Flagicon Lancia Marlboro Team | Template:Flagicon Jean-Claude Andruet Template:Flagicon Sandro Munari Template:Flagicon Umberto Maglioli |
Lancia Stratos | Ferrari 2.4L V6 | Withdrawn | |
| DNA | S 2.0 |
26 | Template:Flagicon P.-M. Painvin (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Pierre-Marie Painvin Template:Flagicon Lucien Guitteny Template:Flagicon Guy Fréquelin |
GRAC MT20 | Simca-JRD 1994cc S4 | Withdrawn | |
| DNA | S 2.0 |
29 | Template:Flagicon R. Touroul (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Raymond Touroul | March 74S | BMW 1994cc S4 | Withdrawn | |
| DNA | S 2.0 |
32 | Template:Flagicon J. Uriarte (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon José Uriarte Template:Flagicon Hervé LeGuellec |
Lola T292 | Cosworth FVC 1790cc S4 | Withdrawn | |
| DNA | S 2.0 |
33 | Template:Flagicon P. Blancpain (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Paul Blancpain | Chevron B23 | Cosworth FVC 1790cc S4 | Withdrawn | |
| DNA | S 2.0 |
34 | Template:Flagicon M.Lateste (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Michel Lateste Template:Flagicon Michel DufustTemplate:Flagicon Robert Nee |
A.C.E. PB2 | Cosworth FVC 1790cc S4 | Withdrawn |
Class winners
| Class | Group 5 Sports Winners |
Class | Group 4 Special GT Winners |
Class | Group 2 Special Touring Winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports 3000 |
GTS >5000 |
#51 Chevrolet Corvette C3 | Greder / Beaumont | |||||
| Sports 3000 |
#7 Matra-Simca MS670C | Pescarolo / Larrousse | GTS 5000 |
#71 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | Grandet / Bardini | TS 5000 |
#86 BMW 3.0 CSL | Aubriet / Depince |
| Sports 2000 |
#30 Chevron B23 | Beckers / Fontaine / Laurent | GTS 3000 |
#66 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Chenevière / Zbinden / Dubois | |||
- Note: setting a new class distance record.
Index of Thermal Efficiency
For Group 2 and Group 4 cars.[34]
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTS 5.0 |
71 | Template:Flagicon Automobiles Charles Pozzi Template:Flagicon R. Touroul |
Template:Flagicon Cyril Grandet Template:Flagicon Dominique Bardini |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | 1.05 |
| 2 | GTS 5.0 |
54 | Template:Flagicon North American Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Dave Heinz Template:Flagicon Alain Cudini |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | 0.94 |
| 3 | GTS 3.0 |
66 | Template:Flagicon Porsche Club Romand | Template:Flagicon Bernard Chenevière Template:Flagicon Peter Zbinden Template:Flagicon Michel Dubois |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | 0.90 |
| 4 | TS 5.0 |
86 | Template:Flagicon J.-C. Aubriet (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Jean-Claude Aubriet Template:Flagicon "Dépnic" (Jean-Claude Depince) |
BMW 3.0 CSL | 0.83 |
| 5 | GTS 3.0 |
69 | Template:Flagicon C. Haldi (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Lucien Negeotte Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Laffeach Template:Flagicon Jean- François Jaunet |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | 0.78 |
| 6 | GTS 3.0 |
63 | Template:Flagicon J.-C. Lagniez (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Jean-Claude Lagniez Template:Flagicon Gérard Meo |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | 0.74 |
| 7= | GTS 3.0 |
70 | Template:Flagicon ASA Cachia-Bondy | Template:Flagicon Henri Cachia Template:Flagicon Raymound Touroul Template:Flagicon Dennis Rua |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | 0.74 |
| 7= | GTS 3.0 |
59 | Template:Flagicon P. Mauroy (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Pierre Mauroy Template:Flagicon Anne-Charlotte Verney Template:Flagicon Martine Rénier |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | 0.74 |
| 9 | GTS 5.0 |
57 | Template:Flagicon M. Mignot (private entrant) |
Template:Flagicon Marcel Mignot Template:Flagicon Harry Jones |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | 0.69 |
| 10 | GTS 5.0 |
56 | Template:Flagicon North American Racing Team | Template:Flagicon Christian Ethuin Template:Flagicon Lucien Guitteny |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | 0.64 |
- Note: Only the top ten positions are included in this set of standings. A score of 1.00 means meeting the target fuel consumption for the car.
Statistics
Taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the ACO
- Fastest lap in practice –H.Pescarolo, #7 Matra-Simca MS670C – 3:35.8secs; Script error: No such module "convert".
- Fastest lap – J.-P. Jarier, #6 Matra-Simca MS680 – 3:42.7secs; Script error: No such module "convert".
- Winning Distance – Script error: No such module "convert".
- Winner's average speed – Script error: No such module "convert".
- Attendance – 200000[35]
World Championship for Makes Standings
As calculated after Le Mans, Round 5 of 10[36][37]
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Flagicon Matra-Simca | 80 |
| 2 | Template:Flagicon Alfa Romeo | 50 |
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Porsche | 49 |
| 4 | Template:Flagicon Gulf | 45 |
| 5 | Template:Flagicon Ferrari | 8 |
| 6= | Template:Flagicon Lola | 6 |
| 6= | Template:Flagicon Ligier | 6 |
| 6= | Template:Flagicon Chevron | 6 |
| 9 | Template:Flagicon BMW | 3 |
| 10= | Template:Flagicon Alpine-Renault | 1 |
| 10= | Template:Flagicon AMS | 1 |
- Note: Only the best 7 of 10 results counted to the final Championship points. The full total earned to date is given in brackets
- Citations
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Laban 2001, p.173-4
- ↑ a b c Spurring 2011, p.143
- ↑ Spurring 2011, p.144
- ↑ Clarke 1997, p.165: Modern Motor Aug 1974
- ↑ Clarke 1997, p.170: Motor Trend Sep 1974
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Clarke 1997, p.160: Autosport Jun20 1974
- ↑ Spurring 2011, p.146
- ↑ Wimpffen 2007, p.130
- ↑ a b Spurring 2011, p.150
- ↑ Automobile Year 1973, p.145
- ↑ a b c Clarke 1997, p.158: Autocar Jun15 1974
- ↑ Wimpffen 2007, p.126
- ↑ a b c Spurring 2011, p.152
- ↑ a b c Spurring 2011, p.156
- ↑ a b c d e Spurring 2011, p.154
- ↑ a b c Spurring 2011, p.162
- ↑ a b Spurring 2011, p.164
- ↑ a b Spurring 2011, p.160
- ↑ a b c Spurring 2011, p.151
- ↑ a b c d Spurring 2011, p.158
- ↑ a b c Spurring 2011, p.163
- ↑ a b c Clausager 1982, p.166-7
- ↑ a b c d e Clarke 1997, p.161: Autosport Jun20 1974
- ↑ a b c Spurring 2011, p.167
- ↑ a b c d e f Spurring 2011, p.145
- ↑ a b c d Clarke 1997, p.162: Autosport Jun20 1974
- ↑ a b c d e Clarke 1997, p.163: Autosport Jun20 1974
- ↑ a b Spurring 2011, p.148
- ↑ a b c Clarke 1997, p.164: Autosport Jun20 1974
- ↑ Clarke 1997, p.159: Autosport Jun20 1974
- ↑ Clarke 1997, p.165: Road & Track Oct 1974
- ↑ Spurring 2011, p.2
- ↑ Spurring 2011, p.9
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Automobile Year 1974, p.216
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
References
- Armstrong, Douglas – English editor (1975) Automobile Year #22 1974-75 Lausanne: Edita S.A.
- Clarke, R.M. - editor (1997) Le Mans 'The Ford and Matra Years 1966-1974' Cobham, Surrey: Brooklands Books Template:ISBN
- Clausager, Anders (1982) Le Mans London: Arthur Barker Ltd Template:ISBN
- Laban, Brian (2001) Le Mans 24 Hours London: Virgin Books Template:ISBN
- Spurring, Quentin (2011) Le Mans 1970-79 Yeovil, Somerset: Haynes Publishing Template:ISBN
- Wimpffen, János (2007) Spyders and Silhouettes Hong Kong: David Bull Publishing Template:ISBN
External links
- Racing Sports Cars – Le Mans 24 Hours 1974 entries, results, technical detail. Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
- Le Mans History – Le Mans History, hour-by-hour (incl. pictures, quotes, YouTube links). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
- World Sports Racing Prototypes – results, reserve entries & chassis numbers. Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
- Team Dan – results & reserve entries, explaining driver listings. Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
- Unique Cars & Parts – results & reserve entries. Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
- Formula 2 – Le Mans results & reserve entries. Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
- Motorsport Memorial – details of the year's fatal accidents. Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
- YouTube – Colour amateur footage (no sound), in three parts (30mins). Retrieved 18 Jul 2018
- YouTube – Colour amateur footage (music over top) (7mins). Retrieved 18 Jul 2018
Script error: No such module "Navbox".