While Mauro Baldi only won the 24 Hours once, J.J. Lehto and Alex Wurz were able to secure a second Le Mans victory in the 2000s. In doing so, the latter earned quite a unique stat: the longest stretch of time between two wins at the legendary race (13 years).

Mauro Baldi, from Monaco to Le Mans - Formula 3 European Champion in 1981 with eight wins, Mauro Baldi won the F3 Grand Prix de Monaco three years prior to the title, a victory considered at the time a free pass to Formula 1. Though the Italian driver did join F1 in 1982, he was never able to find the car to give him success in the discipline. After 36 starts, he said goodbye to F1 and brilliantly switched to endurance, participating in his first 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1984. He served as a factory driver for Lancia, Sauber-Mercedes (second in 1989) and Peugeot (third in 1992 and 1993). In 1994, he won the race at the wheel of the "road" version of the Porsche 962 along with Yannick Dalmas (previous teammates with Peugeot) and American driver Hurley Haywood (winning his third victory after 1977 and 1983). Later, Mauro Baldi took the wheel of the 1995 Ferrari 333 SP, claiming the top step on the podium with the car in 1998 at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. He also drove the prototype at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans (14th) and 1999 (retirement).

Mauro Baldi (born July 31, 1954) - 13 participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1984 and 2000 (1 win in 1994), 36 Grand Prix from 1982 to 1985.

J.J. Lehto, the Finnish pioneer - Title-winner in the highly competitive British Formula 3 Championship in 1988, J.J. Lehto had a relatively disappointing career in Formula 1. In 1994, he became Michael Schumacher's teammate with Benetton. The victim of a cervical injury in an accident even before the season started, the Finn was unable to take advantage of the opportunity, while the German driver went on to win the first of his seven world titles. The zenith of J.J. Lehto's career happened in endurance. After his first 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990 and 1991 with a Porsche 962 C, he won the 1995 edition in deplorable weather conditions. Sharing the McLaren F1 GTR with Yannick Dalmas and Japanese driver Masanori Sekiya, Lehto was a major factor in the victory thanks to his nighttime stints in torrential rain, becoming the first citizen of his country to win Le Mans. In 1999 he seemed a cinch to win, but a problem with his BMW's accelerator caused the car to leave the track. Lehto had to wait until 2005 to secure his second Le Mans victory, at the wheel of an Audi R8 shared with Marco Werner and Tom Kristensen, who at that edition became the new win record-holder at the 24 Hours. Still with Audi, Lehto also won two consecutive victories at Petit Le Mans (2003 and 2004) and the title in the American Le Mans Series in 2004.

Jyrki Järvilehto, called J.J. Lehto (born January 31, 1966) - 10 participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1990 and 2005 (2 wins in 1995 and 2005), 62 Grand Prix from 1989 to 1994 (1 podium).

Alex Wurz, the rookie winner - Going back and forth between Formula 1 and endurance, Alex Wurz's journey began...by a win in 1996 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for his first participation! At the wheel of a TWR-Porsche prototype fielded by Reinhold Joest (also in charge of running Mauro Baldi's winning Dauer-Porsche in 1994), this rookie unlike any other, wearing one blue boot and one red, became the youngest winner since 1949 at just 22 years old. That victory opened the door to Formula 1, and the very next year Wurz joined the Benetton team after an invitation from team owner Flavio Briatore. After working thereafter with McLaren, Williams and Honda, he returned to endurance in 2008 with Peugeot and the following year won his second 24 Hours of Le Mans, along with the Spaniard Mark Gené and Australian driver David Brabham. He also won Sebring (2010) and Petit Le Mans (2011) before joining Toyota in 2012. That year, along with French driver Nicolas Lapierre, Wurz gave the Japanese marque its first victory in the new World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC). After retiring as a driver in 2015, he still serves as an advisor with Toyota and is also currently involved in recruitment efforts with the Mercedes team that has dominated Formula 1 since 2014.

Alex Wurz (born in February 15, 1974) - 9 participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1996 and 2015 (2 wins in 1996 and 2009), 69 Grand Prix from 1997 to 2007 (3 podiums).

 

Click below for previous installments in this series:

12 Formula One drivers at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1988-1999 (1) - '88 to '90

12 Formula One drivers at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1988-1999 (2) - 1992

 

PHOTO (Copyright - ACO Archives/Christian Vignon): Fourteen years after his win at the Formula 3 Grand Prix of Monaco, a very popular race with young motorsport hopefuls, Mauro Baldi secured another major win for his career at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.