Since his first hill races in 1962, Reinhold Joest had mainly competed in his own car but got his first seat with a team in 1969 for one of the highlights of his driving career – his first 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Joest found himself at the wheel of a Ford GT40, three versions of which (Mk II, Mk IV, Mk I) had been unbeaten in La Sarthe since 1966. His #68 Ford sported the colours of motoring magazine Deutsche Auto Zeitung. The car and the magazine were both owned by Hans Lehman, and Joest shared driving duties with fellow German Helmut Kelleners (born on 29 December 1939). This was Kelleners’ first time at Le Mans too, but he already had sound experience in long-distance races: in 1968, he had won the 24 Hours of Spa in a Porsche 911, teamed with Willi Kauhsen and Erwin Kremer.

 He went on to enjoy a remarkable touring car racing career over the 1970s-80s. Before coming to the 1969 24 Hours, Joest and Kelleners shone in the World Sportscar Championship with two Top 10 finishes (4th and 6th at the 1000 km of Monza and Nürburgring) and two victories in the Sports class (cars restricted to 5-litre engine capacity, with a minimum production requirement of 25).

The #68 car set off from position 22 on the starting grid, the fourth of the six Ford GT40s fielded. The crew encountered a number of issues (vibrations, brakes, gearbox, an oil leak) but firmly held on to eighth place in the second half of the race. With three hours to go to the chequered flag, Joest and Kelleners moved up two spots after the leading two Porsches – the 917 driven by Richard Attwood and Vic Elford and the 908 driven by Willi Kauhsen and Rudi Lins – were forced to retire.

Joest was at the wheel as the end of the race approached and noticed the rear lights on Hermann’s car coming on more often than necessary, a sign of unusual brake wear. The associated wear indicator had also lit up inside the cockpit of the #64 Porsche 908. This was key to the outcome of the thrilling clash between Herrman and Ickx in the final hour: the Ford had changed its brake pads earlier, at 11:10 am, while the Porsche appeared to have a faulty wear indicator.

With 341 laps completed (4,592 kilometres), Joest and Kelleners finished sixth, coming third in the Sports class where they were beaten only by the two Gulf Ford GT40s driven by Ickx and Jackie Oliver (winners) and Mike Hailwood and David Hobbs (third).

Joest raced another eight times at Le Mans until 1981, remaining loyal to Porsche either as a works driver or a private entry with his own team Joest Racing. His outfit won four times (1984-85-96-97) before parterning Audi to take eleven of the German marque’s 13 Le Mans wins.

Photo (Copyright – ACO Archives): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, LE MANS 24 HOURS, SATURDAY 14 & SUNDAY 15 JUNE 1969. After finishing sixth on his first appearance at the wheel of this Ford GT40, Reinhold Joest went on to take four Top 5 places driving for Porsche (third in 1972, fourth in 1975, third in 1978 and second in 1980). He then clinched victory in 1984 thanks to Klaus Ludwig and Henri Pescarolo, the first of his fifteen wins as team owner.