Date: 10-11 June 1978

Number of competitors: 55

Number of retirements: 31

Weather: sunny and hot

Spectators: 180,000

Start given by French cyclist Raymond Poulidor

 

Key facts:

Renault had been beaten in 1976 and 1977 by Porsche and was therefore seeking a revenge win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The French marque fielded four Renault Alpines (#1 A443 for Jabouille-Depailler, #2 A442B for Jaussaud-Pironi, #3 A442A for Bell-Jarier and #4 A442A for Ragnotti-Frequelin) to compete against three 936s (#5 for Ickx-Pescarolo-Mass, #6 for Barth-Wollek, #7 for Haywood-Gregg-Joest) and one 935/78 (called "Moby Dick" with 750 hp for Schurti-Stommelen). Also participating were two Mirage M9 Renaults (#10 for Schuppan-Laffite-Posey, #11 for Posey-Leclère).

 

Brief overview of the race:

There was no infiltrating the battle between Porsche and Renault at the 1978 running of the 24 Hours. The all-new #1 A443 played the role of dangling carrot the entire race - despite worrisome vibrations early on - to wear down the Porsches. And it worked. The German cars tried to keep up, but instead fell victim to a host of problems (accelerator then gearbox for the #5 prior to an early morning incident, turbo change-out for the #7, 5th speed gear change for the #6) to the point Jacky Ickx switched cars and took the wheel of the #6 to chase down his French rivals. It wasn't all smooth sailing for Renault however. The #3 had an incident and was forced to retire, and the #1 that had been in the lead and beaten the lap record 10 times broke a piston late Sunday morning and was also forced to withdraw. In the end, the A442B managed to stave off Jacky Ickx and the other factory Porsches, but it wasn't easy. Jean-Pierre Jaussaud admitted after the race: "That last hour was longer than the 23 others!"

Key figures and anecdotes: 

- The last time the circuit measured 13.640 km
- Distance record established by the #6 in 370 laps (5,044.530 km)
- First and only win for Renault Alpine who paraded the next day on the Champs-Elysées
- First win for a V6 engine
- Renault won the race and immediately announced it would not participate in the 1979 running! The French marque has never returned to Le Mans
- 367 km/h clocked at the Mulsanne Straight during qualifying and 362 km/h clocked during the race by the Renault Alpines
- Turbo gaining steam: 27 at the start and eight in the top 8
- The Escra Award (given for best technical support) went to the #2 Renault Alpine A442B
- Second win for French tire manufacturer Michelin
- The #2 Renault Alpine A442B held the lead for 12 hours, the #1 Alpine A443 the other 12
- First edition with an official 24 Hours of Le Mans yearbook

 

The winners: 

Overall: #2 Renault Alpine A442B driven by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi

Distance: 5,044.530 km at an average of 210.188 km/h

Gap: The second place finisher trailed by 126.410 km (#6 Porsche 936/78)

Pole position: Porsche 936/78 driven by Jacky Ickx in 03:27:06

Best in-race lap: Jean Pierre Jabouille at the wheel of the #1 Renault Alpine A443 in 03:34:02 at an average of 229.244 km/h 

Energy efficiency winner: #6 Porsche 936/78 of Barth-Wollek-Ickx

Win in GTP: Rondeau, built by Le Mans local Jean Rondeau sharing the wheel with Bernard Darniche and Jacky Haran

Win in IMSA: #90 Porsche 935/77 shared by Brian Redman, Dick Barbour and John Paul, Sr. representing Dick Babour Racing (represented the following year by one Paul Newman!)

 

Source: Infos-Course

 

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, LE MANS CLASSIC: The #2 Renault Alpine A442B that won the 1978 edition took the start next to the #7 Porsche 936/78.