24h Le Mans
24 HOURS CENTENARY – PEOPLE and MACHINES ⎮ Born in Chicago, during his extraordinary career Hurley Haywood earned a stunning eight wins at two of the world's top endurance races (three at Le Mans and five at Daytona).
Ten American-born drivers have clinched a total of 16 victories at Le Mans: Price Cobb, A.J. Foyt, Masten Gregory, Dan Gurney, Hurley Haywood, Phil Hill, Al Holbert, Davy Jones, Don Whittington and his brother Bill Whittington. Add a 17th by Luigi Chinetti, a naturalized American for two years at the time he earned his third win in 1949.
Hurley Haywood holds a special place among victors from across the Atlantic. Not only does he share with A.J. Foyt the distinction of reaching the top step on the podium at his rookie participation, but is also the only American to triumph at the race in three consecutive decades (1977, 1983 and 1994), like Danish driver Tom Kristensen (nine times between 1997 and 2013) and Belgian driver Jacky Ickx (six between 1969 and 1983). In fact, it was with the latter that Haywood won his first 24 Hours in 1977, a race Ickx has said should have beaten them.
On the heels of an early retirement for the #3 Porsche 936 shared with Henri Pescarolo, the Belgian driver switched to the #4 driven by Haywood and German teammate Jürgen Barth, itself pushed to fourth position due to mechanical troubles. After an incredible nighttime rise in the classification (during which Ickx beat the lap record three times), and nearly exhausting his allotted driving time, he handed over the wheel to his two teammates. "I was given the honour of starting the race, it was very emotional. In the first corner, the throttle stuck wide open. It surprised me so much that I turned the ignition off, stopped the car on the track and realised that if I restarted the car and got into gear, I would overrev the engine. So I had to take the bonnet off to fix the problem, which was a huge effort. I got back to the pits. Jacky’s car had had a problem, so he moved to our car. He came on board and was magnificent. Jacky was legendary in misty and damp weather. We fought our way back, Jacky ran 3 and 4-hour stints. It worked really good and we got back into the lead, that was odd and great. Then I felt trouble in the engine, looked in the mirror and could see a lot of smoke coming out of the left rear side of the car. The pit told me not to stop on the track and to get back to the pits. The mechanics plugged off a cylinder and put Jürgen in the car because he was mechanical-minded. When the car crossed the finish line, it literally blew up."
In 1983, the loss of a door and mechanical problems once again strained Haywood's nerves on Sunday, this time teamed up with fellow countryman Al Holbert and Australian driver Vern Schuppan: "The mechanics put a new door on, but the closing mechanism did not fit right and the door could not close. One mechanic took his belt off and used it to close the door. But the angle was just enough to divert the air from the intercooler and this burnt a piston. Al Holbert was in the car going down the Mulsanne Straight and felt the engine starting to seize. Luckily he slowed down, put the car in second gear and literally drove at 20 mph. The sister car driven by Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx was catching us up. We slipped under the chequered flag and once again the car expired right after crossing the finish line. At that moment, I think the sister car was only 20 or 30 seconds behind us."
In 13 participations with three wins and two other podiums (third in 1978 and 1982), Haywood took the start in the 24 Hours 11 times at the wheel of a Porsche. In 1985 and 1986, he was also involved in the return of a British legend: Jaguar, a five-time winner during the 1950s. He represented the two teams that brought the marque back to Le Mans: first American outfit Group 44 (a competitor at the time in the IMSA), then British team TWR who gave Jaguar two additional victories in 1988 and 1990.
Soon, however, Haywood would rejoin his favourite manufacturer, Porsche, for his third and final win at Le Mans in 1994 at the wheel of a Dauer-Porsche 962 LM. After the mechanical worries of 1977 and 1983, personalisation helped earn him the victory: "The funny thing about 1994 was that we pre-tested at the Paul Ricard circuit with a 24-hour simulation. I was going to drive with Hans-Joachim Stuck and Thierry Boutsen, and Danny Sullivan was supposed to drive with Yannick and Mauro. Both of them went back to the factory to have a special seat made. Sullivan could not sit in the car, so the team manager decided to move me to their car to have three drivers of the same size. And for the very first time since I raced at Le Mans, I had a seat, belts and shoulder straps fitting properly with no adjustments. It was a huge help for the race. I really enjoyed the Dauer-Porsche car, it really was fun to drive."
After qualifying seventh, the American drivers and his two teammates never slipped out of the top 6 overall during the race, despite running out of fuel early on and a transmission shaft change on Saturday evening. They snatched the top spot two hours from the finish thanks in part to gearbox troubles for the lead Toyota.
In addition to Jacky Ickx, Jürgen Barth, Vern Schuppan, Al Holbert, Mauro Baldi and Yannick Dalmas for his three wins, Haywood joined forces with four other 24 Hours winners during his career: brothers Don and Bill Whittington, Jochen Mass, Stanley Dickens and even two-time world rally champion Walter Röhrl.
Along with American driver Scott Pruett, he is also a joint holder of the win record (five) at Daytona. Haywood's exceptional track record in endurance racing earned him the accolade of serving as Grand Marshal at the 2019 24 Hours, a quarter of a century after his last victory.
PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO Archives): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. From top to bottom: Hurley Haywood (third from the left) during the pre-race ceremony in 2019 with (from left to right) ACO President Pierre Fillon, HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco (who gave the start), then-FIA President Jean Todt, and 1969 winners Jackie Oliver and Jacky Ickx; Hurley Haywood at the wheel of the winning Porsche 936 in 1977; smoke coming from the left rear exhaust of the car of Hurley Haywood/Al Holbert/Vern Schuppan's in 1983; after road homologation, the Dauer-Porsche 962 LM of Hurley Haywood/Yannick Dalmas/Mauro Baldi competed in the GT class in 1994.
