24h Le Mans
As Porsche’s 70th-anniversary year draws to an end, we celebrate the magnificent exhibition currently at the 24 Hours of Le Mans museum (until 24 february 2019) with a series about the emblematic marque. In the run-up to the Porsche conference on 12 December, let’s get familiar with the numbers.
Porsche statistics make impressive reading. Dizzying even! For example: 106 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (including 19 outright), 893 drivers (including 12 women) and 816 cars on the start grid. We’ve hand-picked a list of eight fun statistics for you to impress friends and family during the festive season.
23 - Race number of the first Porsche to win Le Mans 24 Hours. It was in 1970 and the drivers were Briton Richard Attwood and German Hans Herrmann.
2 times 4 - Of the 36 drivers who have won at Le Mans in a Porsche, Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell are the most successful, with four wins each, including two together, in 1981 and 1982.
7 - In 1976, Jacky Ickx raced his seventh Le Mans, his third outright win and his first triumph at the wheel of a Porsche. He won in 1969 in a Ford and in 1975 in a Gulf-Mirage. He went on to claim three more victories, all with Porsche, in 1977, 1981 and 1982.
9 - Local woman Anny-Charlotte Verney, women’s record-holder for the number of Le Mans starts, raced in a Porsche nine out of her ten times. Her best result was sixth overall in 1981 in a 953 K3.
90 - Hans Herrmann, the oldest living Porsche Le Mans winner, celebrated his 90th birthday on 23 February 2018.
41 - Race number of the first Porsche 911 to finish in the top ten overall. The car, classed tenth, was driven by Frenchmen Christian Poirot and Pierre Maublanc.
54 - Age at which actor Paul Newman (1925-2008) finished his second 24 Hours of Le Mans (with a class win), in 1979 at the wheel of a Porsche 935 shared with Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen.
19 - The sky blue and orange Gulf livery sported by the Porsche 917s that raced at Le Mans in 1970 and 1971 is part of the legend of the famous race despite not winning. Richard Attwood and Herbert Müller came second in 1971 in the #19 Porsche 917.
Photos (Copyright - ACO Archives) - From top to bottom and from left to right, the 917 that triumphed in 1970 (#23) and the one that finished second in 1971 (#19), the 911 driven by Christian Poirot and Pierre Maublanc in 1969 (#41) and Paul Newman, Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen’s 935 (#70), runner-up in 1979.
