1984 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 52nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 16 – 17 June 1984. It was also the third round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship.

1984 24 Hours of Le Mans
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Index: Races | Winners
The Porsche 956 which placed second in the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans

The works Rothmans Porsche team boycotted the 1984 Le Mans race due to a disagreement between Porsche and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) over the fuel regulations, meaning that drivers such as multiple winners Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell were absent from the race for the first time in many years. Porsche originally stated that its contracted drivers would not be allowed to race with any other team, however they did relent only two or three weeks before the race. 1983 co-winner Vern Schuppan was the only member of the Rothmans team to race in 1984, eagerly snapped up by Kremer Racing to drive a Porsche 956B he would share with fellow Australian, 1980 Formula One World Champion Alan Jones, and experienced French driver Jean-Pierre Jarier. Surprisingly, Schuppan was the only regular Rothmans team driver to actually compete in the event with his 1983 co-winners Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood joining Ickx, Bell, Jochen Mass and Stefan Bellof (who would go on to win the 1984 World Endurance Championship) as non-starters.

1984 saw the largest ever influx of Australian drivers in the race, with not only defending race winner Schuppan and ex-World Champion Jones driving, but also star touring car driver Peter Brock and ex-F1 driver Larry Perkins in a 956 supplied by John Fitzpatrick Racing, Rusty French in the second Kremer Porsche 956 (French's drive was a reward from Porsche for winning the 1983 Australian GT Championship in a Porsche 935), Allan Grice in a Charles Ivey Racing 956, and regular Group C2 competitor Neil Crang in a Cosworth DFL powered Spice-Tiga Racing Tiga GC84.

Jaguar made its first official appearance at Le Mans for the first time since 1959 when Bob Tullius' Group 44 team brought over its two Jaguar XJR-5's powered by 6.0 litre Jaguar V12 engines from America. Group 44 racing, with the full backing of Jaguar, would compete in the IMSA GTP class. Before the decision to enter the race had been made, Jaguar had been concerned about the competitiveness of the XJR-5's against the turbocharged Porsche's and Ferrari powered Lancia's, especially with regard to top speed on the 6 km (3.7 mi) Mulsanne Straight. But those fears were put to rest when the 600 hp (447 kW) cars were clocked at over 200 mph (322 km/h) during the 24 Hours of Daytona in February.[1]

Reinhold Joest's privately entered 956 driven by Frenchman Henri Pescarolo and West German Klaus Ludwig won the race in the #7 Porsche 956B. For Pescarolo it was his fourth and last win at Le Mans, while for Ludwig it was his second win. After starting 3rd on the grid, the pair were only in 30th place after the first hour after pitting twice in the first 5 laps to fix a minor fuel feed problem after which the car ran almost faultlessly. The Porsche 956 dominated the final standings, taking the top seven places. The first non-Porsche 956 to finish was the Martini Racing Lancia LC2 of Bob Wollek and Alessandro Nannini. Wollek set the pole for the race with a 3:17.11 (248.873 km/h - 154.642 mp/h), some 11 seconds faster than Ludwig in the fastest Porsche. Formula 2 ace Nannini would set the races fastest lap and new lap record with a time of 3:28.90 (234.818 km/h - 145.908 mp/h) on lap 261, a time that would have been good enough for 5th place on the starting grid.[2]

During the race, a French marshal, Jacky Loiseau (42) was killed when British driver John Sheldon crashed massively in the Aston Martin powered Nimrod NRA/C2 at the flat out right-hand kink on the Mulsanne Straight, a crash that also involved the second Aston Martin Nimrod of American driver Drake Olson, who hit some of the strewn bodywork from Sheldon's Nimrod that had caught fire and crashed as well. He was unhurt. Another marshal, Andre-Guy Lefebvre (48) was seriously injured, but survived. Sheldon survived the 200 mph (322 km/h) crash, but he was severely burned, and the Nimrod's explosive impact against the Armco barriers was so violent, that some of the trees next to the track where the impact took place had been set on fire. The race was not stopped immediately, only that section of the straight was under caution, to protect the marshals and firefighters cleaning up the accident. Soon after, four pace cars were brought out under a full course caution, which lasted for 1 hour.[3]

Official results

Le Mans in 1984
Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps
Engine
1 C1 7 New-Man Joest Racing Henri Pescarolo
Klaus Ludwig
Porsche 956B D 360
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
2 C1 26 Henn's T-Bird Swap Shop Jean Rondeau
John Paul, Jr.
Porsche 956 G 358
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
3 C1 33 Skoal Bandit Porsche Team
John Fitzpatrick Racing
David Hobbs
Philippe Streiff
Sarel van der Merwe
Porsche 956B Y 351
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
4 C1 9 Brun Motorsport GmbH Walter Brun
Prince Leopold von Bayern
Bob Akin
Porsche 956B D 340
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
5 C1 12 New-Man Joest Racing
Schornstein Racing Team
Volkert Merl
Dieter Schornstein
"John Winter" (Louis Krages)
Porsche 956 D 340
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
6 C1 11 Porsche Kremer Racing Vern Schuppan
Alan Jones
Jean-Pierre Jarier
Porsche 956B D 337
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
7 C1 20 Brun Motorsport GmbH Massimo Sigala
Oscar Larrauri
Joël Gouhier
Porsche 956 D 335
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
8 C1 4 Martini Racing Bob Wollek
Alessandro Nannini
Lancia LC2 D 326
Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8
9 C1 17 Porsche Kremer Racing Tiff Needell
David Sutherland
Rusty French
Porsche 956 D 321
Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6
10 C2 68 B.F. Goodrich Company John O'Steen
John Morton
Yoshimi Katayama
Lola T616 BF 320
Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor
11 C2 93 Jean-Philippe Grand
Graff Racing
Jean-Philippe Grand
Jean-Paul Libert
Pascal Witmeur
Rondeau M379 A 310
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
12 C2 67 B.F. Goodrich Company Jim Busby
Boy Hayje
Rick Knoop
Lola T616 BF 295
Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor
13 C1 37 McCormack and Dodge Jim Mullen
Walt Bohren
Alain Ferté
Rondeau M482 G 293
Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
14 B 109 Helmut Gall Philippe Dagoreau
Jean-François Yvon
Pierre de Thoisy
BMW M1 D 292
BMW M88/1 3.5 L I6
15 C2 87 Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. David Kennedy
Jean-Michel Martin
Philippe Martin
Mazda 727C D 291
Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor
16 B 106 Claude Haldi Claude Haldi
Altfrid Heger
Jean Krucker
Porsche 930 M 285
Porsche 3.3 L Turbo Flat-6
17 IMSA
GTO
122 Raymond Touroul Raymond Touroul
Valentin Bertapelle
Thierry Perrier
Porsche 911 SC M 283
Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6
18 IMSA
GTO
123 Equipe Alméras Frères Jean-Marie Alméras
Jacques Alméras
Tom Winters
Porsche 930 M 268
Porsche 3.3 L Turbo Flat-6
19 C2 81 Scuderia Jolly Club Almo Coppelli
Davide Pavia
Guido Daccò
Alba AR2 A 262
Giannini Carma FF 2.0 L Turbo I4
20 C2 86 Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. Pierre Dieudonné
Takashi Yorino
Yojiro Terada
Mazda 727C D 261
Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor
21 C2 80 Scuderia Jolly Club Martino Finotto
Carlo Facetti
Marco Vanoli
Alba AR2 A 258
Giannini Carma FF 2.0 L Turbo I4
22 B 107 Raymond Boutinaud Raymond Boutinaud
Philippe Renault
Giles Guinand
Porsche 928S D 255
Porsche 4.7 L V8
23
DNF
IMSA
GTP
44 Jaguar Group 44 Brian Redman
Doc Bundy
Bob Tullius
Jaguar XJR-5 G 291
Jaguar 6.0 L V12
24
DNF
C1 5 Martini Racing Paolo Barilla
Hans Heyer
Mauro Baldi
Lancia LC2 D 275
Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8
25
DNF
C1 21 Charles Ivey Racing Alain de Cadenet
Allan Grice
Chris Craft
Porsche 956 D 274
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
26
DNF
IMSA
GTP
61 Henn's T-Bird Swap Shop Michel Ferté
Edgar Dören
Preston Henn
Porsche 962 G 247
Porsche Type-935 2.9 L Turbo Flat-6
27
DNF
C1 14 GTi Engineering Jan Lammers
Jonathan Palmer
Porsche 956 D 239
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
28
DNF
IMSA
GTP
40 Jaguar Group 44 Tony Adamowicz
John Watson
Claude Ballot-Léna
Jaguar XJR-5 G 212
Jaguar 6.0 L V12
29
DNF
C1 8 New-Man Joest Racing Stefan Johansson
Jean-Louis Schlesser
Mauricio de Narváez
Porsche 956 D 170
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
30
DNF
C1 38 Dorset Racing Associates Nick Faure
Mark Galvin
Richard Jones
Dome RC82 D 156
Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
31
DNF
C1 50 Primagaz Pierre Yver
Bernard de Dryver
Pierre-François Rousselot
Rondeau M382 M 155
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
32
DNF
C1 13 Primagaz Yves Courage
Michel Dubois
John Jellinek
Cougar C02 M 153
Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
33
DNF
C1 47 Obermaier Racing GmbH Jürgen Lässig
George Fouché
John Graham
Porsche 956 D 147
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
34
DNF
IMSA
GTO
121 Charles Ivey Racing David Ovey
Paul Smith
Margie Smith-Haas
Porsche 930 A 146
Porsche 3.3L Turbo Flat-6
35
DNF
C1 34 Team Australia
John Fitzpatrick Racing
Peter Brock
Larry Perkins
Porsche 956 D 145
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
36
DSQ
C1 16 GTi Engineering Richard Lloyd
Nick Mason
René Metge
Porsche 956 D 139
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
37
DNF
C1 23 WM Secateva Roger Dorchy
Alain Couderc
Gerard Patté
WM P83B M 122
Peugeot PRV 2.8 L Turbo V6
38
DNF
C1 6 BP Résidences Malardeau
Scuderia Jolly Club
Pierluigi Martini
Xavier Lapeyre
Beppe Gabbiani
Lancia LC2 D 117
Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8
39
DNF
B 101 Jens Winther Team Castrol Jens Winther
David Mercer
Lars-Viggo Jensen
BMW M1 A 96
BMW M88/1 3.5 L I6
40
DNF
IMSA
GTP
62 Pegasus Racing Ltd. Ken Marsden Jr.
Marion L. Speer
Wayne Pickering
March 84G G 95
Buick 3.3 L Turbo V6
41
DNF
C1 31 Viscount Downe Aston Martin Ray Mallock
Drake Olson
Nimrod NRA/C2B A 94
Aston Martin-Tickford DP1229 5.3 L V8
42
DNF
C1 32 Viscount Downe Aston Martin John Sheldon
Mike Salmon
Richard Attwood
Nimrod NRA/C2B A 92
Aston Martin-Tickford DP1229 5.3 L V8
43
DNF
C1 24 WM Secateva Michel Pignard
Jean-Daniel Raulet
Pascal Pessiot
WM P83B M 74
Peugeot PRV 2.8 L Turbo V6
44
DNF
C1 55 Skoal Bandit Porsche Team
John Fitzpatrick Racing
Rupert Keegan
Guy Edwards
Roberto Moreno
Porsche 962 Y 72
Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6
45
DNF
B 114 Michel Lateste Michel Lateste
Michel Bienvault
"Ségolen" (André Gahinet)
Porsche 930 M[4] 70
Porsche 3.3 L Turbo Flat-6
46
DNF
C2 70 Spice-Tiga Racing Gordon Spice
Ray Bellm
Neil Crang
Tiga GC84 A 69
Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
47
DNF
IMSA
GTX
27 Scuderia Bellancauto Roberto Marazzi
Maurizio Micangeli
Dominique Lacaud
Ferrari 512BB/LM D 65
Ferrari 5.0 L Flat-12
48
DNF
C2 48 John Bartlett Racing François Migault
Steve Kempton
François Sérvanin
Lola T610 D 52
Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
49
DNF
C1 45 Christian Bussi Christian Bussi
Jack Griffin
Bruno Ilien
Rondeau M382 D 49
Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
50
DNF
C2 79 A.D.A. Engineering Ian Harrower
Bill Wolff
Glen Smith
ADA 01 A 42
Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8
51
DNF
C2 85 Hubert Striebig Hubert Striebig
Jacques Heuclin
Noël del Bello
Sthemo SM C2 D[4] 41
BMW M88/1 3.5 L I6
52
DNF
C2 77 Ecurie Ecosse Mike Wilds
David Duffield
David Leslie
Ecosse C284 A 36
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8
53
DNF
C1 25 C.A.M.S.
Charles Ivey Racing
Dudley Wood
John Cooper
Barry Robinson
Grid S2 A 10
Porsche Type-935 2.9 L Turbo Flat-6
DNS C1 39 Uchida Dome Racing Team Eje Elgh
Stanley Dickens
Dome RC83 D -
Ford Cosworth DFL 4.0 L V8
DNS C2 99 J.Q.F. Engineering Ltd. Roy Baker
Jeremy Rossiter
François Duret
Tiga GC84 A -
Ford Cosworth BDT 1.8 L Turbo I4

† - The #16 GTi Engineering Porsche was disqualified during the race for receiving technical assistance while still on the track.

Statistics

  • Pole Position - Bob Wollek, #4 Martini Lancia - 3:17.11
  • Fastest Lap - Alessandro Nannini, #4 Martini Lancia - 3:28.90
  • Distance - 4,900.276 km (3,044.890 mi)
  • Average Speed - 204.178 km/h (126.870 mph)

Notes

  1. McKay, Peter; Naismith, Barry (August 1984). Le Mans 24 Heures Du Mans: The Australian Assault. Glen Waverley, Vic: Garry Sparke & Associates. p. 42 - The Contenders. ISBN 0 908081 02 2.
  2. Racing Sports Cars - Le Mans 1984
  3. "1984 - Le Mans — John Sheldon's massive crash". Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  4. "1984 Le Mans 24 Hours". Motor Sport Magazine. 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
gollark: Solution: competing Spanish design authority.
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gollark: They should start versioning it, too.
gollark: I suppose it's nice that you can go say something like "WHAT? I'm going to talk to the President of Spanish about this" about any issues you might have.
gollark: The internet gets rid of geographical differences to some extent, but now we get subcultural dialects of English.

References

World Sportscar Championship
Previous race:
1984 1000 km of Silverstone
1984 season Next race:
1984 1000 km of Nürburgring
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