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1968 24 Hours of Le Mans
Previous: 1967 Next: 1969
Index: Races | Winners

The 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 36th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on September 28 and 29 1968. It was the tenth and final round of the World Sportscar Championship.

The race was originally planned for June 15 and 16, but had to be delayed until September due to workers strikes in France. The rescheduled race increased the chances of the Prototypes against the Sports, as the new Prototype cars had matured during the season.

Pre-race[]

Prior to the 1968 race, modifications were made in the run from Maison Blanche to the pit straight, involving the installation of the first Ford chicane to slow speeds along the open pit area. The changes added around 10 seconds to a lap.

In 1968, the rules of sports car racing were changed to reduce speed. Like in Formula One, 3.0 L engines were adopted in order to reduce costs by the use of similar engines for both kinds of racing. Thus, cars with engines larger than 5.0 L were banned from the World championship and from Le Mans, which was the end for the Big Block Ford (Mk II and Mk IV) and for the Chevrolet-powered Chaparral in Le Mans. Cars with up to 5.0 L engines were still allowed to compete in the Sport category if there were at least 50 cars built. This allowed old customer cars like the Ford GT40, the Lola T70 and the Ferrari 275LM to compete against factory prototypes powered by sophisticated 3.0 L engines.

Enzo Ferrari was disappointed to have to take his P4s to the museum, and refused to compete for 1968, despite having an F1 engine. John Wyer had to retire his GT40 derived 5.7 L Mirage M1 as well. Wyer chose to dismantle his M1s and to build new GT40s on the Mirage chassis which was close enough to the GT40 to comply with homologation. Gulf GT40s received some of the improvements of the Mirage, and a significant effort was made to reduce the weight of car using high-tech materials. A large part of the body was made of a very thin polyester sheet reinforced with carbon fibre. Wyer entered 3 GT40s but the team wasn't at its best. Its fastest driver, Jacky Ickx, had broken his leg practicing for the 1968 Canadian Grand Prix, and Brian Redman was still out after breaking his arm in a crash in the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

The competition was between Wyer's Ford GT40 and the new 3.0 L Matra 630, Alpine A220 and Porsche 908. The new 2.0 L Alfa Romeo 33/2 were outsiders.

The Renault-Gordini V8 engine that powered the Alpine A220s was disappointing, giving no more than 300 hp (220 kW). With 350 hp (260 kW), the new 3.0 L air-cooled flat-8 that powered the Porsche 908 was underpowered in comparison to the new Matra V12, but the car was light, had very low drag and the highest top speed. Porsche was much more experienced in Le Mans and had an advantage in numbers, thus Porsche was the favorite.

With Ferrari protesting, the marque was represented only by privateers. The best Ferrari was a green 275LM entered in the Sport category by David Piper. This car was obsolete despite being seriously updated; most of its body was made of polyester/fiberglass instead of aluminium.

Two turbine-powered Howmet TXs were also entered in the prototype class.

Race[]

The start was given at 15:00 by Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli.

The Porsches began in front. Jo Siffert took the lead on the fourth lap. Then, a litany of minor electric problems slowed the new Porsche 908s, and some were eventually disqualified as the new team management had not studied the rules about repairs properly. One of Wyer's cars had clutch failure at 17:00, the other had engine failure at 22:00. By midnight, Wyer had only one car still in race, but it was leading.

Henri Pescarolo had a stunning performance in the new Matra 630. The car started the race with mechanical problems, which sent it down to a 14th place. But Pescarolo drove the car to the second place under the rain, despite a windshield wiper failure and his teammate Johnny Servoz-Gavin refusing to drive the car in such conditions. However, during one of the last pitstops the car caught fire, and could not continue.

The victory went to the GT40 driven by Lucien Bianchi and Pedro Rodríguez. Porsche's best finisher was a private 2.2L Porsche 907 in second, followed by a works 908 in third, both just one lap behind the winning GT40. Alfa Romeo's performance was impressive with three cars finishing, the Nanni Galli/Ignazio Giunti T33 in fourth overall and winner of the 2.0L class. The two other followed as fifth and sixth.

Official results[]

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Laps
1 S
5.0
9 25px United Kingdom John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd. 25px Mexico Pedro Rodriguez
25px Belgium Lucien Bianchi
Ford GT40 Mk. I Ford 4.9 L V8 331
2 P
3.0
66 25px Switzerland Squadra Tartaruga 25px Switzerland Rico Steinemann
25px Switzerland Dieter Spoerry
Porsche 907L Porsche 2.2 L Flat-8 326
3 P
3.0
33 25px Germany Porsche System Engineering 25px Germany Jochen Neerpasch
25px Germany Rolf Stommelen
Porsche 908 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-8 325
4 P
2.0
39 25px Italy Autodelta SpA 25px Italy Ignazio Giunti
25px Italy Nanni Galli
Alfa Romeo T33/2 Alfa Romeo 2.0 L V8 322
5 P
2.0
38 25px Italy Autodelta SpA 25px Italy Carlo Facetti
25px Italy Spartaco Dini
Alfa Romeo T33/2 Alfa Romeo 2.0 L V8 315
6 P
2.0
40 25px Italy Autodelta SpA 25px Italy Mario Casoni
25px Italy Giampiero Biscaldi
Alfa Romeo T33/2 Alfa Romeo 2.0 L V8 305
7 S
5.0
21 25px United Kingdom David Piper Racing 25px United Kingdom David Piper
25px United Kingdom Richard Attwood
Ferrari 250LM Ferrari 3.3 L V12 302
8 P
3.0
30 25px France Société des Automobiles Alpine 25px France André de Cortanze
25px France Jean Vinatier
Alpine A220 Renault-Gordini 3.0 L V8 297
9 P
2.0
57 25px France Ecurie Savin-Calberson 25px France Alain LeGuellec
25px France Alain Serpaggi
Alpine A210 Renault-Gordini 1.5 L I4 289
10 P
1.3
52 25px France Société des Automobiles Alpine 25px France Jean-Luc Thérier
25px France Bernard Tramont
Alpine A210 Renault-Gordini 1.3 L I4 288
11 P
1.3
53 25px France Trophée Le Mans 25px France Christian Ethuin
25px France Bob Wollek
Alpine A210 Renault-Gordini 1.3 L I4 282
12 GT
2.0
43 25px Belgium Jean-Pierre Gaban 25px Belgium Jean-Pierre Gaban
25px Belgium Roger van der Schrick
Porsche 911T Porsche 2.0 L Flat-6 281
13 GT
2.0
64 25px France Claude Laurent 25px France Claude Laurent
25px France Jean-Claude Ogier
Porsche 911T Porsche 2.0 L Flat-6 276
14 P
1.3
55 25px France Société des Automobiles Alpine 25px France Jean-Pierre Nicolas
25px France Jean-Claude Andruet
Alpine A210 Renault-Gordini 1.0 L I4 272
15 P
1.3
50 25px United Kingdom Donald Healey Motor Company 25px United Kingdom Roger Enever
25px Flag of the Republic of Ireland Alec Poole
Austin-Healey Sprite Le Mans BMC 1.3 L I4 255
16 P
2.0
46 25px France Ecurie Fiat-Abarth France 25px France Marcel Martin
25px France Jean Mésange
Fiat Dino Ferrari 2.0 L V6 253

Not Classified[]

Failed to cover 70% of the winner's distance (231 laps)

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Laps
17 GT
1.3
61 25px France Ecurie Léopard 25px France Jacques Bourdon
25px France Maurice Nussbaumer
25px France Michel Pouteaux
Alpine A110 Renault-Gordini 1.3 L I4 215
18 GT
1.3
51 25px France Bernard Collomb 25px France Bernard Collomb
25px France François Lacarreau
Alpine A110 Renault-Gordini 1.3 L I4 167

Did Not Finish[]

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Laps
19 P
3.0
24 25px France Equipe Matra Sports 25px France Johnny Servoz-Gavin
25px France Henri Pescarolo
Matra MS630 Matra 3.0 L V12 283
20 P
3.0
27 25px France Ecurie Savin-Calberson 25px Belgium Mauro Bianchi
25px France Patrick Depailler
Alpine A220 Renault-Gordini 3.0 L V8 257
21 P
2.0
45 25px France Jean-Pierre Hanrioud 25px France Jean-Pierre Hanrioud
25px Switzerland André Wicky
Porsche 910 Porsche 2.0 L Flat-6 248
22 GT
2.0
44 25px France Auguste Veuillet 25px France Guy Chasseuil
25px France Claude Ballot-Léna
Porsche 911T Porsche 2.0 L Flat-6 224
23 S
5.0
20 25px Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti 25px Switzerland Herbert Müller
25px United Kingdom Jonathan Williams
Ferrari 250LM Ferrari 3.3 L V12 212
24 S
5.0
14 25px United States North American Racing Team (NART) 25px United States Masten Gregory
25px United States Charlie Kolb
Ferrari 250LM Ferrari 3.3 L V12 209
25 S
2.0
42 25px France Christian Poirot 25px France Christian Poirot
25px France Pierre Maublanc
Porsche 906 Carrera 6 Porsche 2.0 L Flat-6 202
26 P
3.0
29 25px France Société des Automobiles Alpine 25px France Jean Guichet
25px France Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Alpine A220 Renault-Gordini 3.0 L V8 185
27 GT
+2.0
4 25px Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti 25px Switzerland Jean-Michel Giorgi
25px France Sylvain Garant
Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet 7.0 L V8 157
28 P
2.0
41 25px Italy Autodelta SpA 25px Italy Nino Vaccarella
25px Italy Giancarlo Baghetti
Alfa Romeo T33/2 Alfa Romeo 2.0 L V8 150
29 P
3.0
35 25px Spain Alex Soler-Roig
25px Switzerland Squadra Tartaruga
25px Spain Alex Soler-Roig
25px Austria Rudi Lins
Porsche 907/8 Porsche 2.2 L Flat-8 145
30 S5.0 6 25px United Kingdom Jackie Epstein 25px United Kingdom Jackie Epstein
25px United Kingdom Edward Nelson
Lola T70 Mk. III Chevrolet 5.0 L V8 143
31 S
5.0
12 25px United Kingdom Strathaven Limited 25px United Kingdom Mike Salmon
25px United Kingdom Eric Liddell
Ford GT40 Mk. I Ford 4.7 L V8 131
32 P
3.0
34 25px Germany Porsche System Engineering 25px United States Joe Buzzetta
25px United States Scooter Patrick
Porsche 908 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-8 115
33 P
3.0
32 25px Germany Porsche System Engineering 25px Germany Gerhard Mitter
25px United Kingdom Vic Elford
Porsche 908 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-8 111
34 S
5.0
10 25px United Kingdom John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd. 25px Australia Paul Hawkins
25px United Kingdom David Hobbs
Ford GT40 Mk. I Ford 4.9 L V8 107
35 P
2.0
37 25px Belgium Racing Team VDS 25px Belgium Teddy Pilette
25px Netherlands Rob Slotemaker
Alfa Romeo T33/2 Alfa Romeo 2.0 L V8 104
36 P
3.0
67 25px France Philippe Farjon 25px France Robert Buchet
25px Germany Herbert Linge
Porsche 907/8 Porsche 2.2 L Flat-6 102
37 S
5.0
19 25px United Kingdom Paul Vestey 25px United Kingdom Paul Vestey
25px United States Roy Pike
Ferrari 250LM Ferrari 3.3 L V12 99
38 P
3.0
22 25px United States Howmet Corporation 25px United States Richard Thompson
25px United States Ray Heppenstal
Howmet TX Continental 3.0 L Turbine 84
39 GT
+2.0
17 25px Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti 25px Switzerland Jacques Rey
25px Switzerland Claude Haldi
Ferrari 275 GTB/C Ferrari 3.3 L V12 78
40 P
1.3
56 25px France Société des Automobiles Alpine 25px France Jean-Louis Marnat
25px France Jean-François Gerbault
Alpine A210 Renault-Gordini 1.0 L I4 71
41 P
3.0
23 25px United States Howmet Corporation 25px United States Bob Tullius
25px United Kingdom Hugh Dibley
Howmet TX Continental 3.0 L Turbine 60
42 P
3.0
28 25px France Société des Automobiles Alpine 25px France Henri Grandsire
25px France Gérard Larrousse
Alpine A220 Renault-Gordini 3.0 L V8 59
43 P
3.0
31 25px Germany Porsche System Engineering 25px Switzerland Jo Siffert
25px Germany Hans Herrmann
Porsche 908 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-8 59
44 P
2.0
36 25px United States North American Racing Team (NART) 25px France François Chevalier
25px France Bernard Lagier de Giuseppe
Ferrari Dino 206S Ferrari 2.0 L V6 54
45 GT
+2.0
3 25px Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti 25px Italy Umberto Maglioli
25px France Henri Greder
Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet 7.0 L V8 53
46 S
5.0
7 25px Switzerland Sportscars Unlimited 25px Sweden Ulf Norinder
25px Sweden Sten Axelsson
Lola T70 Mk. III Chevrolet 5.0 L V8 47
47 P
2.0
49 25px United Kingdom Chris J. Lawrence 25px United Kingdom Chris Lawrence
25px United Kingdom John Wingfield
Deep Sanderson 302 Ford 1.6 L I4 35
48 GT
2.0
60 25px Switzerland Wicky Racing Team 25px Germany Willy Meier
25px France Jean de Mortemart
Porsche 911T Porsche 2.0 L Flat-6 30
49 P
3.0
25 25px United Kingdom John Woolfe Racing 25px United Kingdom John Woolfe
25px United Kingdom Digby Martland
Chevron B12 Repco 3.0 L V8 27
50 P
2.0
47 25px United Kingdom Donald Healey Motor Company 25px United Kingdom Clive Baker
25px United Kingdom Andrew Hedges
Healey SR Coventry Climax 2.0 L V8 20
51 S
5.0
11 25px United Kingdom John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd. 25px Australia Brian Muir
25px United Kingdom Jackie Oliver
Ford GT40 Mk. I Ford 4.9 L V8 15
52 P
2.0
65 25px Belgium Racing Team VDS 25px Belgium Serge Trosch
25px Germany Karl von Wendt
Alfa Romeo T33/2 Alfa Romeo 2.0 L V8 7
53 P
1.3
54 25px France André Moynet 25px France Max Jean
25px France René Ligonnet
Moynet XS Simca 1.2 L I4 6
54 S
5.0
8 25px Belgium Claude Dubois 25px Belgium Willy Mairesse
25px Belgium Jean Blaton
Ford GT40 Mk. I Ford 4.7 L V8 0

Statistics[]

  • Pole Position - #31 Porsche System Engineering - 3:35.40
  • Fastest Lap - #33 Porsche System Engineering - 3:38.10
  • Distance - 4452.88 km
  • Average Speed - 185.536 km/h

Trophy Winners[]

  • Index of Performance - #55 Société des Automobiles Alpine
  • Index of Thermal Efficiency - #52 Société des Autombiles Alpine
24 Hours of Le Mans seasons

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Smallwikipedialogo.png This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


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