24h Le Mans
The 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans was the scene of a stunning duel between Renault-Alpine and Porsche that culminated in Jacky Ickx's fourth victory after a thrillingly suspenseful race. Today the Belgian champion considers the win one of the best of his prestigious career. Here are the important details of the edition that kept spectators on the edge of their seats until the very final moments.
- The highlight of the 45th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the Porsche-Renault duel for victory. Porsche entered two 936s and Renault-Alpine three A442s, all while entrusting a fourth car to Hugues de Chaunac and his ORECA team.
- Renault-Alpine dominated qualifying, with on the first row Jean Pierre Jabouille-Derek Bell (pole position) and Patrick Depailler-Jacques Laffite, followed by the Porsche 936 of Jacky Ickx-Henri Pescarolo and the third Renault-Alpine of Jean Pierre Jaussaud-Patrick Tambay.
- After three hours, the #3 Porsche 936 was forced to retire due to a broken rod. At the time, Pescarolo was at the wheel. Ickx then switched to the #4 driven by Jürgen Barth-Hurley Haywood, itself burdened with fuel supply troubles. When the Belgian took the wheel, he was past 40th position.
- During his stunning climb, Jacky Ickx beat (in three consecutive laps!) the lap record three times established in 1973 by François Cevert and his Matra. His best lap time was 3'36.8 at an average of 226.494 km/h.
- As Ickx was making his way back to the head of the field, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Derek Bell held the lead for 17 hours.
- In the 13th hour, Ickx-Barth-Haywood reached second position. Shortly after nine in the morning, they took the lead after the Renault-Alpine driven by Jabouille-Bell was forced to retire on piston failure.
- The #4 Porsche 936 seemed to have the race in the bag, but was hit with an engine problem less than an hour from the finish. The car slowly made it to the checkered flag with Jürgen Barth at the wheel after returning to the track with 10 minutes before the end of the race.
In addition to the duel for the lead, the 1977 24 Hours included, per usual at Le Mans, its fair share of surprises and exploits...to be continued in the second installment of this series.
Photo (Copyright - ACO Archives): The big favorite at the 1977 24 Hours, the #3 Porsche 936 driven by Henri Pescarolo (at the wheel) and Jacky Ickx was forced to retire after three hours, but Ickx won the race after joining Jürgen Barth and Hurley Haywood in the #4.
