1981 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 49th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 13 and 14 June 1981. It was also the eighth round of the 1981 World Endurance Championship of Drivers and the fifth round of the 1981 World Endurance Championship of Makes.

1981 24 Hours of Le Mans
Previous: 1980	Next: 1982
Index: Races | Winners

Pre-race

The circuit had been widened at the approach to the Esses, adding grass runoff after the Dunlop Curve.

Porsche had a new program for the future Group C regulations in 1982, and had persuaded Jacky Ickx out of retirement. The main reason for entering Le Mans was to test a new engine for the upcoming new car. This 2.6L engine was derived from an Indianapolis 500 engine which never raced. The new engines were fitted in a pair of 936 chassis. Ickx shared one of the updated 936s with Derek Bell; Jochen Mass, Vern Schuppan and Hurley Haywood drove the other.

Shortly after going into semi-retirement, NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough made his only start. This made Yarborough one of the few drivers in history to participate in the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Race

The race was run in very hot weather, but the engine test was successful: after the first hour, Ickx and Bell had built a large advance and remained at lead for the rest of the race. They won by an even greater margin than in 1976- 14 laps. Ickx had won Le Mans for the 5th time- surpassing a record set by fellow Belgian Olivier Gendebien in 1962.

The race was marred by the deaths of a driver and a marshal during the race in separate incidents, and also several marshals were injured in these incidents. 40-year old Jean-Louis Lafosse violently crashed his Rondeau in the early stages on the Mulsanne Straight while following the Lola T600 of de Villota/Edwards/Fernández and was killed instantly. No cause has ever been determined although a piece of debris is seen flying away from the car just before the Rondeau suddenly steers to the right, along with pre-crash photographs showing evidence of damage from an off-track excursion, suggesting suspension failure as a possible cause. Two marshals were seriously injured in Lafosse's fatal accident. Thierry Boutsen, who would go on to drive and win in Formula One, had earlier escaped a large accident in the second hour, destroying his WM-Peugeot but without causing injury to himself; race marshal Thierry Mabillat was killed in the accident after he was struck by a piece of the broken guard rail; and 2 of his colleagues, Claude Hertault and Serge David, were seriously injured but survived; the latter lost an arm.

Official results

Le Mans in 1981

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyres	Laps
					Engine
1	S +2.0	11	Porsche System	Jacky Ickx Derek Bell	Porsche 936/81	D	354
					Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
2	GTP 3.0	8	Jean Rondeau	Jacky Haran Jean-Louis Schlesser Philippe Streiff	Rondeau M379	G	340
					Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
3	GTP 3.0	7	Otis Jean Rondeau	Gordon Spice François Migault	Rondeau M379	G	335
					Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
4	Gr.5	55	Claude Bourgoignie Charles Ivey Racing	Claude Bourgoignie John Cooper Dudley Wood	Porsche 935 K3	D	330
					Porsche Type-935 3.1 L Turbo Flat-6
5	IMSA GTX	47	Charles Pozzi S.A.	Jean-Claude Andruet Claude Ballot-Léna Hervé Regout	Ferrari 512BB/LM	M	328
					Ferrari 4.9 L Flat-12
6	IMSA GTX	42	Cooke-Woods Racing	Anne-Charlotte Verney Bob Garretson Ralph Kent-Cooke	Porsche 935 K3	G	327
					Porsche Type-935 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
7	GTP +3.0	1	Porsche System	Jürgen Barth Walter Röhrl	Porsche 944 LM	D	323
					Porsche 2.5 L Turbo I4
8	Gr.5	65	Martini Racing	Michele Alboreto Eddie Cheever Carlo Facetti	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo	P	322
					Lancia 1.4 L Turbo I4
9	IMSA GTX	46	Rennod Racing	Pierre Dieudonné Jean Xhenceval Jean-Paul Libert	Ferrari 512BB/LM	G	320
					Ferrari 4.9 L Flat-12
10	Gr.5	60	Vegla Racing Team	Dieter Schornstein Harald Grohs Götz von Tschirnhaus	Porsche 935J	D	320
					Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
11	IMSA GTO	36	Porsche System	Manfred Schurti Andy Rouse	Porsche 924 Carrera GTR	D	315
					Porsche 2.0 L Turbo I4
12	S +2.0	12	Porsche System	Jochen Mass Vern Schuppan Hurley Haywood	Porsche 936/81	D	312
					Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
13	GTP +3.0	4	WM A.E.R.E.M.	Denis Morin Charles Mendez Xavier Mathiot	WM P79/80	M	307
					Peugeot PRV 2.7 L Turbo V6
14	Gr.5	68	Jolly Club	Martino Finotto Giorgio Pianta Giorgio Schön	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo	P	292
					Lancia 1.4 L Turbo I4
15	S +2.0	18	Team Lola	Emilio de Villota Guy Edwards Juan Fernández	Lola T600	G	287
					Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
16	Gr.5	51	BMW Italie-France	Philippe Alliot Bernard Darniche Johnny Cecotto	BMW M1 Gr.5	D	277
					BMW M88 3.5 L I6
17	GT	70	Thierry Perrier	Thierry Perrier Valentin Bertapelle Bernard Salam	Porsche 934	M	274
					Porsche 2.9 L Turbo Flat-6
18	S 2.0	31	Jean-Philippe Grand	Jean-Philippe Grand Yves Courage	Lola T298	G	272
					BMW 2.0 L I4
19 NC	S 2.0	33	Compagnie Primagaz	Pierre Yver Michel Dubois Jacques Heuclin	Lola T298	G	203
					BMW 2.0 L I4
20 NC	S 2.0	32	Écurie Renard-Delmas	Louis Descartes Hervé Bayard	Renard-Delmas D1	G	187
					ROC-Simca 2.0 L I4
21 DNF	IMSA GTX	43	Bob Akin Motor Racing	Bob Akin Paul Miller Craig Siebert	Porsche 935 K3	G	320
					Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
22 DNF	Gr.5	57	Claude Haldi Charles Ivey Racing	Claude Haldi Mark Thatcher Hervé Poulain	Porsche 935	D	260
					Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
23 DNF	IMSA GTX	49	NART	Alain Cudini Philippe Gurdjian John Morton	Ferrari 512BB/LM	M	247
					Ferrari 4.9 L Flat-12
24 DNF	Gr.5	53	EMKA Productions Limited	David Hobbs Eddie Jordan Steve O'Rourke	BMW M1 Gr.5	D	236
					BMW M88 3.5 L I6
25 DNF	GT	72	BMW Zol'Auto	Jean-François Rousselot François Sérvanin Laurent Ferrier	BMW M1	D	212
					BMW M88 3.5 L I6
26 DNF	S +2.0	20	Alain de Cadenet Belga	Alain de Cadenet Jean-Michel Martin Philippe Martin	De Cadenet-Lola LM	D	210
					Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
27 DNF	Gr.5	52	Würth-Lubrifilm Team Sauber	Dieter Quester Marc Surer David Deacon	BMW M1 Gr.5	D	207
					BMW M88 3.5 L I6
28 DNF	Gr.5	66	Martini Racing	Riccardo Patrese Hans Heyer Piercarlo Ghinzani	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo	P	186
					Lancia 1.4 L Turbo I4
29 DNF	S +2.0	21	Alain de Cadenet Dorset Racing Associates	Martin Birrane Nick Faure Vivian Candy	De Cadenet-Lola LM	D	171
					Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
30 DNF	S +2.0	23	Dome Co. Ltd.	Chris Craft Bob Evans	Dome RL81	D	154
					Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
31 DNF	IMSA GTX	40	Joest Racing	Mauricio de Narváez Kenper Miller Günther Steckkönig	Porsche 935J	D	152
					Porsche Type-935 2.8 L Turbo Flat-6
32 DNF	IMSA GTX	48	Simon Phillips	Simon Phillips Mike Salmon Steve Earle	Ferrari 512BB/LM	M	140
					Ferrari 4.9 L Flat-12
33 DNF	IMSA GTX	45	Scuderia Supercar Bellancauto SRL	Fabrizio Violati Maurizio Flammini Duilio Truffo	Ferrari 512BB/LM	M	118
					Ferrari 4.9L Flat-12
34 DNF	S +2.0	22	André Chevalley Racing	Patrick Gaillard André Chevalley Bruno Sotty	ACR 80B	G	114
					Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
35 DNF	IMSA GTO	37	Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.	Tetsu Ikuzawa Tom Walkinshaw Peter Lovett	Mazda RX-7	D	107
					Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor
36 DNF	S 2.0	30	Jean-Marie Lemerle	Jean-Marie Lemerle Max Cohen-Olivar Alain Levié	Lola T298	G	104
					BMW 2.0 L I4
37 DNF	S +2.0	27	Ian Bracey	Tiff Needell Tony Trimmer	Ibec-Hesketh 308LM	D	95
					Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
38 DNF	S +2.0	10	Porsche Kremer Racing	Bob Wollek Xavier Lapeyre Guy Chasseuil	Porsche 917K/81	D	82
					Porsche 4.9 L Flat-12
39 DNF	S +2.0	14	Joest Racing	Reinhold Joest Dale Whittington Klaus Niedzwiedz	Porsche 908/80	D	80
					Porsche 2.1 L Turbo Flat-6
40 DNF	S +2.0	24	Otis Jean Rondeau	Jean Rondeau Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Rondeau M379	G	58
					Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
41 DNF	Gr.5	59	Porsche Kremer Racing	Ted Field Bill Whittington Don Whittington	Porsche 935 K3	G	57
					Porsche Type-935 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
42 DNF	IMSA GTX	50	BASF Cassetten Team GS Sport	Hans-Joachim Stuck Jean-Pierre Jarier Helmut Henzler	BMW M1 Gr.5	D	57
					BMW M88 3.5 L I6
43 DNF	C	83	WM A.E.R.E.M.	Jean-Daniel Raulet Marcel Mamers	WM P81	M	50
					Peugeot PRV 2.7 L Turbo V6
44 DNF	Gr.5	69	Tuff-Kote Dinol Racing	Jan Lundgårdh Axel Plankenhorn Mike Wilds	Porsche 935 L1 "Baby"	D	49
					Porsche 1.4 L Turbo Flat-6
45 DNF	GT	71	Helmut Marko RSM	Christian Danner Peter Oberndofer Prince Leopold von Bayern	BMW M1	D	49
					BMW M88 3.5 L I6
46 DNF	Gr.5	61	Weralit Racing Team	Edgar Dören Jürgen Lässig Gerhard Holup	Porsche 935 K3	D	48
					Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
47 DNF	Gr.5	67	Martini Racing	Beppe Gabbiani Emanuele Pirro	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo	P	47
					Lancia 1.4 L Turbo I4
48 DNF	GTP +3.0	5	WM A.E.R.E.M.	Guy Fréquelin Roger Dorchy Xavier Mathiot	WM P79/80	M	46
					Peugeot PRV 2.7vL Turbo V6
49 DNF	IMSA GTX	41	Preston Henn Racing	Preston Henn Mike Chandler Marcel Mignot	Porsche 935 K3	D	45
					Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6
50 DNF	S +2.0	26	Oceanic Jean Rondeau	Henri Pescarolo Patrick Tambay	Rondeau M379	G	41
					Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
51 DNF	GT	73	Eminence Racing Team	Jean-Marie Alméras Jacques Alméras	Porsche 924 Carrera GTR	M	30
					Porsche 2.0 L Turbo I4
52 DNF	S +2.0	25	Calberson Jean Rondeau	Jean Ragnotti Jean-Louis Lafosse	Rondeau M379	G	28
					Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
53 DNF	IMSA GTO	38	Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.	Yojiro Terada Hiroshi Fushida Win Percy	Mazda RX-7	D	25
					Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor
54 DNF	C	82	WM A.E.R.E.M.	Thierry Boutsen Serge Saulnier Michel Pignard	WM P81	M	15
					Peugeot PRV 2.7 L Turbo V6
55 DNF	IMSA GTO	35	Stratagraph Inc.	Cale Yarborough Billy Hagan Bill Cooper	Chevrolet Camaro	G	13
					Chevrolet 6.4 L V8

Statistics

• Pole Position - #11 Porsche System (Jacky Ickx) - 3:29.44
• Fastest Lap - #12 Porsche System (Hurley Haywood) - 3:34.00
• Distance - 4825.348 km
• Average Speed - 201.056 km/h

Trophy Winners

• Index of Thermal Efficiency - #31 Jean-Philippe Grand