1979 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 47th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 9 and 10 1979.

Pre-race
Due to the construction of a new public road, the profile of Tetre Rouge had to be changed. This redesign led to a faster double-apex corner as well as requiring the removal of the second Dunlop Bridge.

Race
The Porsche 935 turbo, a high-powered version of the Porsche 911 road car, dominated endurance racing in the late 1970s, being entered by many Porsche customer teams all over the world. The German-based Kremer team managed to win Le Mans using a highly modified version of the 935, which is a remarkable success for a car based on a 15 year old road car design. Actor Paul Newman finished second in Dick Barbour's Porsche 935, while Kremer's second-string effort claimed the final spot on the podium.

Jacky Ickx's efforts to win his fifth Le Mans came to nothing when he was disqualified for receiving outside (and unwanted) assistance in repairing his stricken Porsche 936. Their Group 6 opposition consisted mainly of a pair of Ford M10s but this wasn't an official return of Ford; these cars were derived from the 1975 Gulf GR-8. Ford France and a consortium of French Ford dealers funded the ex-Wyer Team, a Cosworth DFV V8 was installed in the chassis for the occasion but neither M10 finished.

Statistics

 * Pole Position - #14 Essex Motorsport Porsche - 3:30.07
 * Fastest Lap - #12 Essex Motorsport Porsche - 3:36.10
 * Distance - 4173.930 km
 * Average Speed - 173.913 km/h