1928 - Tim Birkin, multi-talented athlete

In 1928, Tim Birkin, one of the Bentley Boys, had a puncture at Arnage. He didn’t have a jack in the car, so he sprinted to the pits to get one. His teammate Jean Chassagne took the tools back to the car, made the repairs and re-started the race in 24th place. Birkin then took stint after stint and made up 19 places, pulverising the record in the last lap.

1977 - 37 places made up in 6 hours

Of course, the most spectacular recovery at the 24 hours of Le Mans is Jacky Ickx’s 1977 performance. In two three-hour stints, the Belgian champion gave a lesson in racing. If you weren’t there, here’s what happened: When the #3 Porsche he shared with Henri Pescarolo retired three hours into the race, Jacky Ickx was transferred to the sister car, with Jürgen Barth and Hurley Haywood. Plagued with mechanical issues by the second hour, it stood 41st, nine laps behind the leaders. By 01:00, the car had found a new lease of life and lay fourth. Ickx and his team had made up 37 places in nine hours!

On a roll, the Belgian beat the lap record three times on three consecutive laps. Unbelievable! He didn’t stop at that, for there were three Renault-Alpines to be beaten. In second place by the halfway stage, the Porsche was two laps down with five hours to go when the last Renault-Alpine retired. But the gremlins returned. Twenty hours of flat-out racing began to take their toll on the Porsche, which was found to have a hole in a piston with only an hour to go.

Engineer-driver Jürgen Barth coped ably with a tense ending to the race. The ignition and injection of the offending cylinder were removed but Barth had to coax the car around one more lap in order to be classified. At 15:50 everyone held their breath, only to gasp again at 16:03.19 when the car crossed the line.

1979 - Jean-Claude Andruet, the rally man

Driving one of the two Ferrari 512 BBLMs fielded by Pozzi/JMS Racing, Jean-Claude Andruet made up for lost time on a stormy night of 1979, with a little help from the car’s 480hp and Michelin tyres. Starting from the back of the pack, the #62 Ferrari clawed back to fifth place, going a full two hours without being overtaken. Alas, in the early hours of the morning the engine gave out and the adventure was over.

1980 - Claude Ballot-Léna: 24 places made up in two hours

In 1980, in the same car, Claude Ballot Léna pulled out all the stops to recover 24 places in two hours, which put him in third place in the IMSA class. Once again, the engine put an end to the demonstration of skilful counter-steering in the new portion of the track. Nobody else dared, yet Ballot relished the challenge.

1980 - Hans-Joachim Stuck, le "Regenmeister"

We couldn’t mention 1980 without paying tribute to Hans-Joachim Stuck at the wheel of the BMW M1. Like his fellow countrymen, the Regenmeisters (masters of the rain) of the 1930s, the German driver seemed ready to walk on water. He held second place in the race for three hours of unbearable climatic conditions. Spectators at the Forest Esses still rave at the way he took the corners, never decelerating and drifting like a rally driver.

2016 - Yannick Dalmas, another rain man

Sometimes the most spectacular moves come when they are least expected. Highly experienced racing driver Yannick Dalmas retired a while ago and is now an FIA official. At last year’s 24 hours of Le Mans, at the wheel of an Audi Safety car following torrential rain, Dalmas went out for a reconnaissance lap to give Race Control details of track conditions. Videos of his drift in the Porsche curves went viral on social media, with fans around the world saluting his skill on the wet track.

From the back of beyond

The most amazing comeback to date is Porsche’s relentless perseverance in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The crew recovered 54 places over 18 hours in a demonstration of true sportsmanship. At 18:30 the #2 Porsche entered the garage for mechanical repairs. When it emerged, over an hour later, defeat seemed a forgone conclusion. Brendon Hartley rejoined the race in 55th place, 18 laps behind the leaders. Yet, despite a penalty at 00:50, the #2 continued working its way back up through the ranks. When the #1 sister car retired at 11:09, all Porsche hopes hinged on the #2 and drivers Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber. At 13:52, they took the lead and the 19th victory for Porsche loomed large. Having regained 3 places per hour on average, the crew seemed to be racing with Jacky Ickx’s motto “Never give up” ringing in their ears. Of course, Porsche’s meticulous set-up, an excellent car and a talented crew were the ingredients of the triumph, but Lady Luck also lent a hand in climbing up from the depths.

Photo: Archives/ACO and Alexis Goure

Read about the moments of grace at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the first laps.