The 1973
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
was the 41st Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 9 and 10 June 1973. It was the eighth round of the
1973 World Championship of Makes.
![Circuit de la Sarthe Le Mans 1972-1978](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Circuit_de_la_Sarthe_Le_Mans_1972-1978.png)
The race promised to be close, with Ferrari, Matra and Porsche all having two wins in the championship along with a surprise victory for Mirage at Spa. It did indeed turn out to be one of the most tense Le Mans, with the race won in the pits as both Ferrari and Matra took turns in the lead only to be stymied by mechanical failures. All three Ferraris had time in the lead, but as mechanical issues overtook them it was the Matra of
Henri Pescarolo
Henri Jacques William Pescarolo (born 25 September 1942) is a former racing driver from France. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 33 times, winning on four occasions, and won a number of other major sports car events including the ...
and
Gérard Larrousse
Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse (born 23 May 1940) is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France. His greatest success as a driver was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1973 and 1974 24 ...
, despite its own tribulations, that took the chequered flag. In the end it was a comfortable six-lap margin over the second-placed Ferrari of
Merzario
Merzario was a Formula One and Formula Two team and constructor from Italy. The team participated in 38 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix but scored no championship points.
Formula One
1977
Merzario was set up in 1977 by former Ferrari, ...
and
Pace
Pace or paces may refer to:
Business
*Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US
* Pace Airlines, an American charter airline
*Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...
with the Matra of
Jabouille/
Jaussaud third.
There was a certain symmetry for a French car and a French team winning the fiftieth anniversary of the first 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari did win the GT category after a close tussle with Porsche, and BMW had the only finisher in the Group 2 Touring Car category.
Regulations
In the second year of the new regulations, there were no changes. This year the
Automobile Club de l'Ouest
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organ ...
(ACO) extended the eligible classes to eight with an extra one each in Group 5 and 2.
[Spurring 2011, p.113] Reserves were not kept, rather the ACO selected the 55 starters from those who arrived taking into account the results of the Four-Hour race at the Test Weekend.
[Moity 1974, p.135]
1973 was the 50th anniversary of the first race and there was much pomp and celebration. Included in this were races for pre-war and post-war cars and the first parade of historic Le Mans competitors. The French Post Office issued a special commemorative stamp.
Entries
The ACO received 112 applications. Even though
Autodelta
Autodelta SpA was the name of Alfa Romeo's competition department. Established in 1961 as Auto-Delta, the company was started by Carlo Chiti and Lodovico Chizzola, former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari engineers. The team was officially made a departm ...
, the Alfa Romeo works team withdrew just days before the event there were 61 cars present for practice on race-week. With Sports-prototypes from Matra, Ferrari, Mirage and Ligier as well as Ford and BMW in Group 2, there were 22 ‘works’ entries.
After a distinct lack of success,
Matra
Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and we ...
withdrew from
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
to concentrate on contesting the World Championship of Makes against Ferrari. Its new longtail MS670B was made lighter, more aerodynamic and, importantly, equipped with Porsche "Type 1983" gearboxes. The V12 engine was tuned back to put out 450 bhp.
[Spurring 2011, p.116-7] and the car now ran on 13” tyres instead of the former 15”.
[Clarke 1997, p.144-5: Autosport Jun14 1973]
Adding two cars to their regular Championship team made a strong 4-car challenge in an all-French driver line-up.
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (26 April 1937 – 5 January 2015) was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at th ...
and
François Cevert
Albert François Cevert Goldenberg (25 February 1944 – 6 October 1973) was a French racing driver who took part in the Formula One World Championship. He competed in 48 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one win, 13 podium finishes and 8 ...
were constantly quickest but pushed their car hard, whereas
Henri Pescarolo
Henri Jacques William Pescarolo (born 25 September 1942) is a former racing driver from France. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 33 times, winning on four occasions, and won a number of other major sports car events including the ...
/
Gérard Larrousse
Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse (born 23 May 1940) is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France. His greatest success as a driver was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1973 and 1974 24 ...
drove with endurance in mind, having got both of Matras victories to date. A third 670B was prepared for
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (born 1 October 1942) is a French former racing driver. He raced in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault's turbocharged programme in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabouil ...
/
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (3 June 1937 – 22 July 2021) was a French racing driver, noted for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 and 1980.
Jaussaud was born in Caen, Calvados, and started racing in automobiles in 1962, taking courses in the Jim ...
while
Patrick Depailler
Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (; 9 August 1944 – 1 August 1980) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-champi ...
/
Bob Wollek
Bob Wollek (4 November 1943 – 16 March 2001), nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on 16 March 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation afte ...
had an older MS670.
After a dominant 1972 season, Ferrari was having a much tougher time this year, despite having come from the latest round with a 1–2 victory at the Nürburgring. With the championship carefully balanced, the works team arrived in force with proven reliability. The latest iteration of the
312PB was wider and longer to take bigger tyres and improve handling. The aerodynamic longtail chassis increased speed on Le Mans’ big straights while the improved V12 was now capable of 460 bhp in race-trim.
[Spurring 2011, p.118-9] The regular team driver pairings of
Jacky Ickx
Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...
/
Brian Redman
Brian Herman Thomas Redman (born 9 March 1937 in Burnley, Lancashire and educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire), is a retired British racing driver.
Racing for Carl Haas and Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars, Brian Redman won the 1974, '7 ...
(who had both Ferrari victories this year) and
Arturo Merzario
Arturo Francesco "Art" Merzario (born 11 March 1943 in Civenna, Como) (erroneously registered as Arturio on his birth certificate) is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 85 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at the ...
/
Carlos Pace
José Carlos Pace (October 6, 1944 – March 18, 1977) was a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 73 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at the 1972 South African Grand Prix. He won one race, achieved six podiums, an ...
were augmented by
Carlos Reutemann
Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor of ...
/
Tim Schenken
Timothy Theodore Schenken (born 26 September 1943) is a former racing driver from Sydney, Australia. He participated in 36 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 August 1970. He achieved one career podium at the 1971 Austr ...
.
After 1971
John Wyer
John Wyer (11 December 1909 in Kidderminster, England – 8 April 1989 in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States), was an English automobile racing engineer and team manager. He is mainly associated with cars running in the light blue and orange ...
had retired from racing. However, he had started plans for his own car-design and convinced
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
to back the project. Former Ford engineer
Len Bailey
Leonard Bailey (25 July 1926 – 23 June 1997) was a British automobile designer.
Career
Leonard Bailey became an apprentice at Austin at Longbridge in 1942 which at that time were building Short Stirlings for the Royal Air Force of World War ...
designed the
Mirage M6 based around the
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...
engine. However, the engine was renowned for vibration and being hard on components so a V12 engine was commissioned from
Weslake
Weslake & Co also known as Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, described as England's greatest expert on cylinder head design, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake is most famous for its work with Bentley, ...
for a new coupé. But continual unreliability meant the Weslake project was shelved and the team focused on improving the V8 spyder refitted with ZF gearboxes,
[Automobile Year 1973, p.158] buoyed by a 1-2 result at Spa.
[Spurring 2011, p.120-1] Their drivers were
Derek Bell/
Howden Ganley
James Howden Ganley (born 24 December 1941 in Hamilton) is a former racing driver from New Zealand. From 1971 to 1974 he participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He placed 4th twice and scored points 5 times for a total of ...
and
Mike Hailwood
Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle ...
/
John Watson (nursing a broken leg
)/
Vern Schuppan
Vernon John Schuppan (born 19 March 1943) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.
Although he consider ...
.
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
was more affected than Ferrari by the strikes and social troubles in Italy.
Autodelta
Autodelta SpA was the name of Alfa Romeo's competition department. Established in 1961 as Auto-Delta, the company was started by Carlo Chiti and Lodovico Chizzola, former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari engineers. The team was officially made a departm ...
, the Alfa works team, felt their new 500 bhp flat-12 powered car was still unprepared for 24 hours and did not enter. But they were represented by their customer team, Scuderia Brescia Corse, with a V8 T33/3.
[Spurring 2011, p.126]
Lola
Lola may refer to:
Places
* Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama
* Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States
* Lola Prefecture, Guinea
* Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture
* Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands
People
* Lola (fo ...
did return to Le Mans after a promising, but tragic, race the previous year. The
Scuderia Filipinetti
Scuderia Filipinetti (also French name ''Ecurie Filipinetti'') was a Swiss motor racing team that competed in sports car racing and occasionally in Formula One between 1962 and 1973. It was founded by Georges Filipinetti (1907-1973) to support Swi ...
had taken over
Jo Bonnier
Joakim Bonnier (31 January 1930 – 11 June 1972) was a Swedish sportscar racing and Formula One driver who raced for various teams. He was the first Swede to both enter and win a Formula One Grand Prix.
Early life
Jo Bonnier was born in Stockh ...
’s team after his death. Despite the Swiss team’s owner Georges Filipinetti dying in May from a heart attack, a car was entered for
Jean-Louis Lafosse
Jean-Louis Lafosse (15 March 1941 – 13 June 1981) was a French racing driver. He was most closely associated with the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, in which he finished second in 1975 and 1976.
In the European Touring Car Championship, he won the 19 ...
and Hughes de Fierlandt.
[Spurring 2011, p.133][Wimpffen 2007, p.116-7] An ex-Bonnier Lola was also run by former
hill-climb
Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...
champion Daniel Rouveyran.
Alain de Cadenet
Alain de Cadenet (27 November 1945 – 1 July 2022) was an English television presenter and racing driver. He was noted for racing in 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the 1970s and 1980s, achieving one podium finish with third ...
also returned to Le Mans after a strong run the previous year in his
Duckhams-Cosworth, paired again with
Chris Craft. The body was redesigned to be more aerodynamic although no high-speed testing had been able to be done.
[Spurring 2011, p.131]
Ligier finally had the improved Citroen-Maserati V6 engine, now capable of 330 bhp and three cars were entered for the race, including one for
Guy Ligier
Guy Camille Ligier (12 July 1930 – 23 August 2015) was a French racing driver and team owner. He maintained many varied and successful careers over the course of his life, including rugby player, butcher, racing driver and Formula One team owner ...
himself, with
Jacques Laffite
Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1.
...
.
[Spurring 2011, p.132] Filling out the Group 5 field were four older Porsche 908s, including the regular entries from the Spanish Escuderia Montjuïch and Swiss
André Wicky
André Wicky (22 May 1928 – 14 May 2016) was a Swiss racing driver, active from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. He was mainly involved in sports car racing, as an entrant and team owner as well as a driver, but also took part in several no ...
.
The 2-litre Group 5 class was well represented this year. The Chevron chassis was designed to accommodate a variety of engines and five were entered.
Cosworth
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
recommended an engine rebuild of their 2-litre FVC engine after only four hours of racing, so running 24 hours was problematic. They were up against a French ACE, a Lola and an old Porsche 910.
[Spurring 2011, p.128] Perhaps the most interesting entry was the first Japanese car to race at Le Mans, and with the first Japanese drivers. Shin Kato’s Sigma was powered by a
Mazda
, commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan.
In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
Wankel twin-rotary engine. With a claimed performance of 260 bhp it was calculated as a 2292cc equivalent. Three were built for the Japanese series and one came to Le Mans.
Once again it was Ferrari versus Chevrolet in the GTS Group 4. The
365 GTB/4 “Daytona” now developed 440 bhp and nine were entered by the customer teams, many with works-prepared engines.
Vic Elford
Victor Henry Elford (10 June 1935 – 13 March 2022) was an English sports car racing, rallying, and Formula One driver. He participated in 13 World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1968. He scored a total of 8 championship poin ...
was coaxed out of semi-retirement by the French
Charles Pozzi
Charles Pozzi (27 August 1909 – 28 February 2001) was a French racing driver who participated in one World Championship Formula One race in 1950, the year of its inception.
Racing career
Born Carlo Alberto Pozzi in Paris, France of Itali ...
team and there were four from the
North American Racing Team
The North American Racing Team (NART) is a motorsport racing team founded in 1958. It was created by businessman Luigi Chinetti to promote the Ferrari marque in United States through success in endurance racing.
It was created in 1958 when Chin ...
(NART) including their young drivers’ Trofeo car (managed by
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...
).
[Spurring 2011, p.125] Four Corvettes were entered: the two French cars of Henri Greder and the Ecurie Léopard.
John Greenwood John Greenwood may refer to:
Sportspeople
* John Greenwood (cricketer, born 1851) (1851–1935), English cricketer
* John Eric Greenwood (1891–1975), rugby union international who represented England
* John Greenwood (footballer) (1921–1994) ...
arrived with two cars, one carrying a special alloy 7-litre engine boosted to put out 700 bhp.
[Spurring 2011, p.134]
Porsche came to Le Mans with its bigger, burlier version of the 911 to take on the big cars in Group 4. Before homologation was granted it had a surprise win at
Sebring beating the Group 5, and followed it up in what was to be the final
Targa Florio
The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...
.
[Spurring 2011, p.139] The Carrera RS was lightened, with a big rear spoiler and flared wheel-arches to take wider 11” tyres. The engine had been bored out to 2.7-litres, and now produced 240 bhp. The RSR-variant had a bigger 2.8-litre engine good for 300 bhp. The
Martini International
The Martini International was a men's professional golf tournament that was held from 1961 to 1983. It was hosted by several different golf clubs in England, Scotland and Wales. It was part of the British PGA tournament circuit, which evolved into ...
team returned, led by David Yorke (former team manager at JW Automotive) and with works support, had two experimental versions capable of 320 bhp in the Sports category.
[Spurring 2011, p.122] Further lightened, they had 14” tyres and were driven by
Gijs van Lennep
Gijsbert van Lennep (born 16 March 1942, in Aerdenhout, North Holland) is a Dutch racing driver who competed in eight Formula One races. However his main achievements were in sports car racing. He is a member of the untitled Dutch nobility.
Ca ...
/
Herbert Müller and
Reinhold Joest
Reinhold Joest (also spelt Reinhold Jöst; born 24 April 1937) is a former German race car driver and current team owner. During the last 25 years, Joest Racing has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans fifteen times.
Driving career
Joest's driving career ...
/
Claude Haldi
Claude Haldi (28 November 1942 – 25 December 2017) was a Swiss racing driver. He was known as a frequent competitor at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, entering the race 22 times between 1968 and 1993. His endurance racing career was associated with ...
. Additionally, a squadron of eleven standard 911 GTs arrived for practice from privateer teams.
[Spurring 2011, p.123]
In Group 2, the
European Touring Car Championship
The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World T ...
(ETCC) was again very popular with top drivers and close racing, and the mighty battle between the works teams of BMW and Ford spilled over into Le Mans. Ford Germany arrived with three 3-litre Capris for drivers
Dieter Glemser
Dieter Glemser (born 1938 in Stuttgart) is a former touring car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany.
He started his career in the early 1960s in rallying with a Porsche 356 and
In 1963 he won the Rally Poland with a Mercedes-Benz 220SE.
Overv ...
/
John Fitzpatrick,
Gerry Birrell
Gerald Hussey Buchanan Birrell (30 July 1944 – 23 June 1973) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who was killed in an accident during practice for a Formula Two race at Rouen-Les-Essarts.
Born in Milngavie near Glasgow, Birrell left s ...
/
Hans Heyer
Hans Heyer (born 16 March 1943) is a German racing driver who mainly raced touring cars, being popular with the fans for his rather funny style. He is better known for actions and antics during his only start in Formula One at the 1977 German Gr ...
and
Helmuth Koinigg
Helmuth Koinigg (3 November 1948 – 6 October 1974) was an Austrian racing driver who died in a crash in the 1974 United States Grand Prix, in his second Grand Prix start.
Racing career
Koinigg was born in Vienna. Like several other Formula One ...
/Jean Vinatier.
[Spurring 2011, p.130]
In response, BMW turned up with the
3.0 CSL run by its newly set up
BMW Motorsport
BMW M Motorsport (formerly BMW Motorsport) is the division of BMW responsible for motorsport-related activities, including works-run competition programmes in touring car racing, sports car racing, motorcycle racing and Formula E.
The current orga ...
works team under
Jochen Neerpasch
Jochen Neerpasch (born March 23, 1939 in Krefeld, Germany) is a former German racecar driver and motorsports manager.
Career
His racing career began in the 1960s, first on Borgward touring car, then with the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans as a first m ...
(formerly at Ford). The car had a more powerful 360 bhp over the Capri's 300 bhp.
Their drivers were
Chris Amon
Christopher Arthur Amon (20 July 1943 – 3 August 2016) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand ...
/
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1 January 1951), nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of pre-WW2 racing driver Hans Stuck
Life and career
He was born in Garmisch-Parte ...
and
Toine Hezemans
Antoine Emile "Toine" Hezemans (born 15 April 1943, in Eindhoven) is a Dutch former touring and prototype racing car driver in 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from racing, Hezemans spent some time as a manager of Phoenix Carsport team. One of the ...
/
Dieter Quester
Dieter Quester (born 30 May 1939 in Vienna) is an active touring car racing driver from Austria. Dieter has participated in 53 24-Hour Races. He competed in a single Formula One race in which he finished ninth.
Starting with motorboats in the 1950 ...
with a third for the Wicky Racing Team.
[Spurring 2011, p.129]
Practice
At the March test weekend, Beltoise put in a time for the Matra four seconds faster than Ferrari had 12 months earlier. Ferrari, citing labour strikes in Italy, did not attend. But Merzario and Ickx immediately set the pace on Wednesday night when official practice started.
The only other sub-3:40 time was from the Cevert/Beltoise Matra; in fact these two works teams filled the top seven spots on the grid. Next were the two Gulf Mirages and the Gitanes Lola in tenth. None of the teams had been trying too hard to compete for a top time.
[Clarke 1997, p.147: Autosport Jun14 1973]
The smaller teams had a far tougher time. Both the Duckhams and the Ligiers were suffering from unstable aerodynamics. The Duckhams was running over ten seconds slower than it had the previous year. In the small-engine class, the Spanish Chevron was 13th (4:11.0) just ahead of the Sigma rotary (4:11.1). The Porsche RSR prototypes were slower than their test weekend times, until van Lennep found performance improved with narrower rear tyres. Müller recorded a 4:14.9 to be 18th on the grid.
Several incidents gave the mechanics all-nighter repair jobs: John Watson's Mirage spun in the Porsche curves and the rear section lifted and clouted him on the head; Lola had a tyre blowout rip up the rear bodywork and Ferrari got an urgent call from the factory saying the valve springs were set wrong needing 48 changes per engine.
It was close in the Group 2 and 4 categories with only three seconds covering the best Ferraris, Porsches, Fords and BMWs. Quickest was Glemser in the Ford Capri (4:16.0 for 22nd) ahead of Elford's Ferrari. The Corvettes were off the pace with Greenwood's being the best with a 4:19.6. His special-engine car was disqualified by the officials after
Don Yenko
Donald "Don" Frank Yenko (May 27, 1927March 5, 1987) was an American car dealer and racecar driver best known for creating the Yenko Camaro, a high-performance version of the Chevrolet Camaro.
Biography Early life
Yenko grew up in Bentleyville, P ...
had had an accident doing illegal road-testing on public roads after a full differential change. His daughter, also in the car, was taken to the hospital for stitches.
The Kremer-Porsche caught fire when oil leaked onto the hot exhaust, necessitating a full engine-change, and
Walter Brun
Walter Brun (born 20 October 1942) is a Swiss former racing driver and founder of Brun Motorsport. He also co-founded the Formula One team EuroBrun with Giampaolo Pavanello.
Racing record 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete British Saloon C ...
put the Wicky-BMW into the Armco at the chicane.
Race
Start
Bright sunshine in race week became dark clouds on Saturday morning, however by 4pm it was sunny again.
[Clarke 1997, p.148-9: Autosport Jun14 1973] Honorary starter this year was Sylvain Floirat, President of Matra.
[Spurring 2011, p.115] From the first lap, Merzario was bolting ahead, sent out as the ‘hare’ to lead the Matras into a race – a role he relished.
However none of the other teams took the bait. A number of cars were coming in immediately with problems: Reinhold Joest's Martini Porsche with gearbox problems
and the Grossman Ferrari with a puncture.
Hailwood's Mirage had no clutch and Amon's BMW on had fifth gear. The Gitanes Lola, the Duckhams and the Sigma also all had early issues.
By the pit stops around the end of the first hour, Merzario had built a significant lead but already needed to change brakepads.
After the first driver changes, Carlos Pace only got six laps in the Ferrari until he had to stop, partly soaked in petrol from a split fuel tank, losing six laps.
[Clarke 1997, p.155-6: Road & Track Oct 1973] Matra was now 1-2-3 with Cevert leading from Larrousse and Wollek, chased by Reutemann in the Ferrari. While the Matras were all running at the same speed, the Ferraris had a variety of strategies.
Carlos Reutemann
Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor of ...
and
Tim Schenken
Timothy Theodore Schenken (born 26 September 1943) is a former racing driver from Sydney, Australia. He participated in 36 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 August 1970. He achieved one career podium at the 1971 Austr ...
were running among the Matras.
Jacky Ickx
Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...
and
Brian Redman
Brian Herman Thomas Redman (born 9 March 1937 in Burnley, Lancashire and educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire), is a retired British racing driver.
Racing for Carl Haas and Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars, Brian Redman won the 1974, '7 ...
were running with the slowest 3-litre cars, the
Lolas and the Alfa Romeo.
After four hours, Jaussaud's front tyre blew out while going down the Mulsanne Straight. Ten laps were lost repairing the suspension. Less than an hour later, Beltoise had almost the same thing happen, and his Matra lost eight laps.
As the Pescarolo/Larrousse car had been delayed fixing its brakes the lead fell to the Wollek/Depailler Matra. Then at 9.30pm, their car was in the pits with a terminal oil-pump problem and suddenly the Matra challenge was looking very shaky.
At the same time, the GT-leading
Sam Posey
Sam Posey (born May 26, 1944)) is an American former racing driver and sports broadcast journalist.
Early life and driving career
Posey's father was killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Posey grew up on his grandfather's Connecticut estate near Lime ...
’s NART Ferrari lost five minutes in a poor pitstop, allowing the Charles Pozzi car of Elford/Ballot-Léna to take the category lead.
These cars were all having a close running battle with the Martini Porsche, the Spanish 908, the Maublanc Chevron 2-litre and the fastest Capri.
Night
So by 10pm after six hours, it was now the Schenken/Reutemann Ferrari leading from Pescarolo/Larrousse. Third was Ickx/Redman, hitherto run conservatively, ahead of the Hailwood/Watson/Schuppan Mirage, Merzario's Ferrari and the Brescia Alfa Romeo. Wollek's Matra was 7th and the Müller/van Lennep Porsche 8th. Then when Pescarolo was delayed again, this time by a faulty gear selector, Ferrari was running 1–2. Both Merzario and Cevert were pushing their cars hard to make up lost time and just before midnight, Cevert put in the fastest lap of the race.
Soon after midnight, Schuppan went wide at Tertre Rouge, hit the barrier and rolled his Mirage.
The Merzario/Pace Ferrari was back in the pits, this time for 40 minutes replacing a slipping clutch.
The Elford/Ballot-Léna spent 11 minutes changing brakepads, allowing the NART Ferrari through to the GT-lead again.
In Group 2, all three Fords had been badly as night fell. The Birrell/Heyer car was out early, and its drivers transferred to the other team cars. The Glemser/Fitzpatrick car had got as high as tenth with the Hezemans/Quester BMW close by in 12th. Both cars were delayed before midnight and spent the rest of the night working back through the field.
Then at 2.30am the leader was stopped out on the track by a broken conrod, and soon after Beltoise's Matra (now running 5th) again had a tyre blow out on it but this time it threw him into the guard-rails.
[Clarke 1997, p.150-1: Autosport Jun14 1973] So at half-time, Ickx was leading Pescarolo by two laps, while 8 laps further back Facetti in the surprising Alfa Romeo was ahead of Merzario and the Martini Porsche.
After all the mechanical problems with the Group 5 cars, the NART Ferrari 365 was sixth leading the GTs, hounded by the Kremer and Sonauto Porsches and Elford's Ferrari. Ecuadorian Guillermo Ortega's privateer Porsche 908 rounded out the top-10.
[Spurring 2011, p.137]
Morning
Dawn came with mist and a light drizzle, but cleared to be another sunny day.
But then after leading for seven hours, the lead Ferrari started sounding rough and just after 9am Redman brought it in with a split exhaust header.
[Automobile Year 1973, p.163] Coincidentally, a lap later Pescarolo also came in, with brake problems.
It was the Matra that got back out into the lead just 15 seconds before the Ferrari.
Mid-morning the third-placed Alfa Romeo's gearbox's broke. Seventy minutes were spent repairing it.
In the GT race, the NART Ferrari was running sixth and still held a narrow lead over the Kremer Porsche, made easier when the Porsche lost time in the early morning with a jammed brake calliper and detached exhaust. The
Gregg/
Chasseuil Sonauto Porsche was in 8th overall at 6am when a puncture on the Mulsanne Straight damaged the suspension dropping down the order.
They were not alone, as most of the GT field had serious problems in the morning.
In Group 2, it was resolved when the remaining Ford of Glemser/Fitzpatrick/Heyer got a broken conrod at 10.40am, leaving the BMW as the last Group 2 car running.
Then at 11am Minter bought the GT-leading Ferrari from 7th, smoking badly from a cracked piston.
At the same time Ickx brought the pursuing Ferrari in with a split fuel cell like its sister-car had had earlier, costing 25 minutes and six laps to repair. But an hour later the Matra's starter motor failed in a regular pit-stop costing 20 minutes, and it was even once again.
Finish and post-race
Finally, with barely 90 minutes to go, the Ickx/Redman Ferrari was out – another conrod had broken and the car was wheeled away to a standing ovation from the crowd in the grandstand opposite.
After that Pescarolo and Larrousse were able to ease off and cruise to the finish. In the end they finished six laps ahead of the Merzario/Pace Ferrari.
Eighteen laps further back (and still not overtaken Ickx's retired Ferrari on distance) was the recovering Matra of Jabouille/Jaussaud.
In a very close finish, the French Ferrari of Elford/Ballot-Léna was sixth, barely a lap ahead of the hard-charging Kremer Porsche, with Ortega's privateer Porsche 908 between them. Ninth was the other Pozzi Ferrari of Serpaggi/Dolhem with Georg Loos’ Porsche RSR in tenth.
The Brescia Corse Alfa Romeo had had a troubled end to the race with gearbox, clutch then fuel-pump issues after a solid first half but eventually got home in 15th.
After the win at Le Mans, Matra stormed home in the Championship winning the next two rounds. The final round in Argentina was cancelled due to lack of support, giving Matra the championship with five victories (all to Pescarolo/Larrousse) to Ferrari's two.
In the European GT season it was Claude Ballot-Léna and Clemens Schickentanz, both driving Porsche RSRs who shared the championship on equal points.
[Automobile Year 1973, p.203] Toine Hezemans won the European Touring Car Championship for BMW.
[Automobile Year 1973, p.206]
Later in the summer, “Pesca” and Larrousse came back to Le Mans to be presented with the
''Legion d’Honneur'', France's highest order of merit.
Still to date, 1973 was the final time that both the Scuderia Ferrari works team and Alfa Romeo have raced at Le Mans.
Official results
Finishers
Results taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the
ACO[Spurring 2011, p.2] Class Winners are in Bold text.
Did Not Finish
Did Not Start
Class Winners
*
Note: setting a new class distance record.
Index of Thermal Efficiency
For Group 2 and Group 4 cars.
[Clausager 1982, p.164-5][Moity 1974, p.190]
*
Note: Only the top ten positions are included in this set of standings.
Statistics
Taken from Quentin Spurring's book, officially licensed by the
ACO
* Fastest Lap in practice –A.Merzario, #16 Ferrari 312 PB-73 – 3:37.5secs;
* Fastest Lap – F. Cevert, #10 Matra-Simca MS670B – 3:39.6secs;
* Winning Distance –
* Winner's Average Speed –
* Attendance – ?
International Championship for Makes Standings
As calculated after Le Mans, Round 8 of 10
*
Note: Only the best 7 of 10 results counted to the final Championship points. The full total earned to date is given in brackets
;Citations
References
* Armstrong, Douglas – English editor (1974) Automobile Year #21 1973-74 Lausanne: Edita S.A.
* Clarke, R.M. - editor (1997) Le Mans 'The Ford and Matra Years 1966-1974' Cobham, Surrey: Brooklands Books
* Clausager, Anders (1982) Le Mans London: Arthur Barker Ltd
* Laban, Brian (2001) Le Mans 24 Hours London: Virgin Books
* Moity, Christian (1974) The Le Mans 24 Hour Race 1949-1973 Radnor, Pennsylvania:
Chilton Book Co
Chilton Company (AKA Chilton Printing Co., Chilton Publishing Co., Chilton Book Co. and Chilton Research Services) is a former publishing company, most famous for its trade magazines, and automotive manuals. It also provided conference and market ...
* Spurring, Quentin (2011) Le Mans 1970-79 Yeovil, Somerset: Haynes Publishing
* Wimpffen, János (2007) Spyders and Silhouettes Hong Kong: David Bull Publishing
* ''24 heures du Mans 1973'' in ''Automobile Historique n°49, June/July 2005''
External links
Racing Sports Carsnbsp;– Le Mans 24 Hours 1973 entries, results, technical detail. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018
Le Mans Historynbsp;– Le Mans History, hour-by-hour (incl. pictures, quotes, YouTube links). Retrieved 25 Jun 2018
nbsp;– results, reserve entries & chassis numbers. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018
nbsp;– results & reserve entries, explaining driver listings. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018
Unique Cars & Partsnbsp;– results & reserve entries. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018
nbsp;– Le Mans results & reserve entries. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018
Motorsport Memorialnbsp;– details of the year's fatal accidents. Retrieved 25 Jun 2018
YouTubenbsp;– Colour amateur footage (no sound), in three parts (Pt 1 - 8mins). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
YouTubenbsp;– Colour amateur footage (no sound), in three parts (Pt 2 - 6mins). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
YouTubenbsp;– Colour amateur footage (no sound), in three parts (Pt 3 - 7mins). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
YouTubenbsp;– Colour amateur footage (no sound), of the vintage parade races (8mins). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
YouTubenbsp;– B/w French news report of race (1min). Retrieved 6 Jul 2018
{{DEFAULTSORT:1973 24 Hours Of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans races
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
1973 in French motorsport