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1996 24 Hours of Le Mans
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1996 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 15 and 16 June 1996. It was won by a Tom Walkinshaw-Porsche prototype run by Joest Racing with drivers Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter and Le Mans rookie Alexander Wurz. Like McLaren the year before, it won on its race debut, after tough competition from the works Porsche team and their own new design – the Porsche 911 GT1. Together, these two teams easily outpaced their rival prototypes and GT sports cars, leaving them in their wake. Evenly matched, in the end it came down to the metronomic reliability of the Joest car, and the drivers adhering to a steady schedule, that got the victory.
From the start it was the two TWR-Porsches and two works Porsches that set the pace, pulling away from the field. The expected challenges from the WSC Ferraris, the LMP1 Courages and the GT1 McLarens never eventuated as they fell away through mechanical troubles or off-track accidents. The only one to be close enough was the Gulf McLaren of team-owner Ray Bellm with James Weaver and 1995-winner JJ Lehto. They held down third place on Sunday morning, until forced to stop for a gearbox change. A strong weekend for Porsche was capped by the Roock Racing team comfortably winning the GT2 class on their Le Mans debut. Wurz, at 22 years of age, became the youngest ever overall winner of the Le Mans 24-Hours.
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) was still satisfied with its equivalency formulae between the prototypes and GTs. The only change was to include engine volume and turbo boost were added into its calculations (alongside weight, tank size, tyre width and air-inlet restrictors). Rather than modifying the American WSC regulations for their use, the ACO instead chose to rewrite its own prototype regulations, in parallel with the IMSA-WSC. They would be a minimum 875 kg, with a maximum 3.0-litre turbo or 5.1-litre regular engine.
In the GT classes, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) had endorsed the success of the SRO series and produced an official set of regulations to lead into a formal FIA Championship in 1997 – albeit very liberal in application. Major engine modifications were now allowed in GT1, while GT2 still had to use series-production engines. More aerodynamic assistance was permitted, using carbon-fibre and other specialised materials although driver-aids were still very limited. In GT1, only 25 street-legal examples had to be built, although a “proof-of-concept” promissory was accepted.
A summary of the classes:
The ACO now mandated that three drivers would have to qualify in each car. In an effort to throw the prototypes and GT1s into battle from the start, the ACO divided the grid into two halves. The left side would have the prototypes lined up in qualifying order, while on the righthand (pitward) side would be the GTs. Also, to accommodate the thousands of British fans, this year the race would start at 3pm to fit the TV scheduling broadcasting the England-Scotland football match at the Euro championships.
After introducing them the year before, the ACO halved the number of automatic entries from 20 to 10. They received 107 applications, of which 76 were accepted and therefore 66 had to go to the Pre-Qualifying session at the end of April, from which the remaining 38 starters would be selected with five Reserves. The ongoing strength of the BPR Global series, and the lack of organised sports car racing meant the race-week entry was stacked with GT cars: 39 of them versus only 14 prototypes - which included only three WSCs from the IMSA series, which was leading that revival of Sports Cars. Two new manufacturers joined the packed GT1 field – from the USA came Chrysler with its Viper muscle-car and its hefty 8-litre engine. Then there was Porsche's response to the McLaren F1, the 911 GT1. Journalists were picking the 1996 race as one of the most open in many years.
After their strong race the previous year, Courage Compétition was again a strong chance for the outright victory. The C41 WSC project was abandoned and three of the new C36 spyders were entered as yet another development of the Group C-based C30 model. Now fitted carbon brakes, it needed revised suspension and cooling ducts. Minor aerodynamic changes included a reshaped rear wing. The new regulations docked about 80 bhp on turbo cars, limiting the 3-litre Porsche flat-6 engine to 520 bhp. Mario Andretti returned for another shot at the Triple Crown, in an all-star car, with former winners Jan Lammers (1988) and Derek Warwick (1992). The second car, which had finished second the year before, had the all-French line-up of Philippe Alliot, Didier Cottaz and Jérôme Policand. The third car was sponsored by Elf La Filière, who ran the new motorsport academy based at the Le Mans Technoparc. It also had a very experienced driver line-up, with the indomitable Henri Pescarolo, back for his 30th start, alongside Franck Lagorce and Emmanuel Collard, neither of whom had been born when Henri started his Le Mans saga.
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1996 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 15 and 16 June 1996. It was won by a Tom Walkinshaw-Porsche prototype run by Joest Racing with drivers Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter and Le Mans rookie Alexander Wurz. Like McLaren the year before, it won on its race debut, after tough competition from the works Porsche team and their own new design – the Porsche 911 GT1. Together, these two teams easily outpaced their rival prototypes and GT sports cars, leaving them in their wake. Evenly matched, in the end it came down to the metronomic reliability of the Joest car, and the drivers adhering to a steady schedule, that got the victory.
From the start it was the two TWR-Porsches and two works Porsches that set the pace, pulling away from the field. The expected challenges from the WSC Ferraris, the LMP1 Courages and the GT1 McLarens never eventuated as they fell away through mechanical troubles or off-track accidents. The only one to be close enough was the Gulf McLaren of team-owner Ray Bellm with James Weaver and 1995-winner JJ Lehto. They held down third place on Sunday morning, until forced to stop for a gearbox change. A strong weekend for Porsche was capped by the Roock Racing team comfortably winning the GT2 class on their Le Mans debut. Wurz, at 22 years of age, became the youngest ever overall winner of the Le Mans 24-Hours.
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) was still satisfied with its equivalency formulae between the prototypes and GTs. The only change was to include engine volume and turbo boost were added into its calculations (alongside weight, tank size, tyre width and air-inlet restrictors). Rather than modifying the American WSC regulations for their use, the ACO instead chose to rewrite its own prototype regulations, in parallel with the IMSA-WSC. They would be a minimum 875 kg, with a maximum 3.0-litre turbo or 5.1-litre regular engine.
In the GT classes, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) had endorsed the success of the SRO series and produced an official set of regulations to lead into a formal FIA Championship in 1997 – albeit very liberal in application. Major engine modifications were now allowed in GT1, while GT2 still had to use series-production engines. More aerodynamic assistance was permitted, using carbon-fibre and other specialised materials although driver-aids were still very limited. In GT1, only 25 street-legal examples had to be built, although a “proof-of-concept” promissory was accepted.
A summary of the classes:
The ACO now mandated that three drivers would have to qualify in each car. In an effort to throw the prototypes and GT1s into battle from the start, the ACO divided the grid into two halves. The left side would have the prototypes lined up in qualifying order, while on the righthand (pitward) side would be the GTs. Also, to accommodate the thousands of British fans, this year the race would start at 3pm to fit the TV scheduling broadcasting the England-Scotland football match at the Euro championships.
After introducing them the year before, the ACO halved the number of automatic entries from 20 to 10. They received 107 applications, of which 76 were accepted and therefore 66 had to go to the Pre-Qualifying session at the end of April, from which the remaining 38 starters would be selected with five Reserves. The ongoing strength of the BPR Global series, and the lack of organised sports car racing meant the race-week entry was stacked with GT cars: 39 of them versus only 14 prototypes - which included only three WSCs from the IMSA series, which was leading that revival of Sports Cars. Two new manufacturers joined the packed GT1 field – from the USA came Chrysler with its Viper muscle-car and its hefty 8-litre engine. Then there was Porsche's response to the McLaren F1, the 911 GT1. Journalists were picking the 1996 race as one of the most open in many years.
After their strong race the previous year, Courage Compétition was again a strong chance for the outright victory. The C41 WSC project was abandoned and three of the new C36 spyders were entered as yet another development of the Group C-based C30 model. Now fitted carbon brakes, it needed revised suspension and cooling ducts. Minor aerodynamic changes included a reshaped rear wing. The new regulations docked about 80 bhp on turbo cars, limiting the 3-litre Porsche flat-6 engine to 520 bhp. Mario Andretti returned for another shot at the Triple Crown, in an all-star car, with former winners Jan Lammers (1988) and Derek Warwick (1992). The second car, which had finished second the year before, had the all-French line-up of Philippe Alliot, Didier Cottaz and Jérôme Policand. The third car was sponsored by Elf La Filière, who ran the new motorsport academy based at the Le Mans Technoparc. It also had a very experienced driver line-up, with the indomitable Henri Pescarolo, back for his 30th start, alongside Franck Lagorce and Emmanuel Collard, neither of whom had been born when Henri started his Le Mans saga.
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