1997 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 65th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1997.

1997 24 Hours of Le Mans
Previous: 1996 Next: 1998
Index: Races | Winners
Le Mans in 1997

It was won by teammates Michele Alboreto, Stefan Johansson, and Tom Kristensen.[1]

The race saw the first of a record (as of 2022) 9 wins at Le Mans for Danish driver Kristensen, on what was his La Sarthe debut.

Pre-race

The Dunlop chicane was modified slightly in order to slow speeds again but also accommodate larger gravel traps as runoff area for the protection of motorcycle riders using the Bugatti Circuit. Frenchman Sébastien Enjolras lost his life in a pre-qualifying accident in his Welter Racing WR LM97-Peugeot.

Qualifying

The race’s governing body, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), decided that the starting order would be decided by the fastest LMP cars lining up in the odd positions of the grid, and the fastest GT1 cars lining up in the even positions.

Class leaders are in bold.

Pos No. Team Car Class Time Gap Grid
1 7 Joest Racing GmbH TWR Porsche WSC-95 LMP 3:41.581 1
2 25 Porsche AG Porsche 911 GT1 LMGT1 3:43.363 +1.782 2
3 22 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 LMGT1 3:45.324 +3.743 4
4 42 BMW Motorsport McLaren F1 GTR LMGT1 3:45.402 +3.821 6
5 26 Porsche AG Porsche 911 GT1 LMGT1 3:45.490 +3.909 8
6 27 BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 911 GT1 LMGT1 3:45.913 +4.332 10
7 21 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 LMGT1 3:46.228 +4.647 12
8 30 Kremer Racing Porsche 911 GT1 LMGT1 3:46.389 +4.808 14
9 3 Moretti Racing Inc. Ferrari 333 SP LMP 3:46.431 +4.850 3
10 44 Team Lark McLaren McLaren F1 GTR LMGT1 3:47.108 +5.527 16
11 32 Roock Racing Motorsport Porsche 911 GT1 LMGT1 3:47.314 +5.733 18
12 33 Schübel Engineering Porsche 911 GT1 LMGT1 3:47.428 +5.847 20
13 13 Courage Compétition Courage C41 LMP 3:47.662 +6.081 5
14 23 Nissan Motorsport Nissan R390 GT1 LMGT1 3:47.745 +6.064 21
15 10 Courage Compétition Courage C36 LMP 3:48.011 +6.430 7
16 43 BMW Motorsport McLaren F1 GTR LMGT1 3:48.057 +6.476 22
17 52 Société DAMS Panoz GTR-1 LMGT1 3:48.123 +6.542 23
18 29 Scoiété JB Jabouille Bouresche Porsche 911 GT1 LMGT1 3:48.341 +6.760 24
19 41 Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren McLaren F1 GTR LMGT1 3:48.369 +6.788 25
20 49 GT1 Lotus Racing Lotus Elise GT1 LMGT1 3:48.395 + 6.814 26
21 8 La Filiére Elf Courage C36 LMP 3:48.651 +7.070 9
22 39 Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren McLaren F1 GTR LMGT1 3:48.665 +7.084 27
23 40 Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren McLaren F1 GTR LMGT1 3:49.330 +7.749 WD
24 28 Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT1 LMGT1 3:49.465 +7.884 28
25 46 Newcastle United Lister Storm Lister Storm GTL LMGT1 3:49.563 +7.982 29
26 55 David Price Racing Panoz GTR-1 LMGT1 3:49.699 +8.118 30
27 45 Newcastle United Lister Storm Lister Storm GTL LMGT1 3:50.398 +8.817 31
28 54 David Price Racing Panoz GTR-1 LMGT1 3:50.852 +9.271 32
29 4 Moretti Racing Inc. Ferrari 333 SP LMP 3:51.092 +9.511 11
30 50 GT1 Lotus Racing Lotus Elise GT1 LMGT1 3:51.373 +9.792 DNQ
31 9 Courage Compétition Courage C36 LMP 3:51.378 +9.797 13
32 5 Kremer Racing Kremer K8 LMP 3:55.981 +14.400 15
33 15 Team TDR Kudzu DLM-4 LMP 3:56.122 +14.541 17
34 14 Pacific Racing BRM P301 LMP 3:56.734 +15.153 19
35 6 Kremer Racing Kremer K8 LMP 3:56.929 +15.348 DNQ
36 62 Société Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 4:04.589 +23.008 33
37 61 Société Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 4:04.654 +23.073 34
38 67 Saleen/Allen Speedlab Saleen Mustang LMGT2 4:06.922 +25.341 35
39 77 Société Chereau Porsche 993 GT2 LMGT2 4:07.137 +25.556 36
40 74 Roock Racing Porsche 993 GT2 LMGT2 4:07.153 +25.572 37
41 63 Société Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 4:08.081 +26.500 38
42 66 Saleen/Allen Speedlab Saleen Mustang LMGT2 4:09.801 +28.220 39
43 60 Agusta Racing Team Callaway Corvette LM LMGT2 4:10.048 +28.467 40
44 84 Stadler Motorsport Porsche 993 GT2 LMGT2 4:10.094 +28.513 41
45 73 Roock Racing Porsche 993 GT2 LMGT2 4:10.479 +28.898 42
46 75 Société Larbre Compétition Porsche 993 GT2 LMGT2 4:10.903 +29.322 43
47 78 Elf Haberthur Racing Porsche 993 GT2 LMGT2 4:11.134 +29.553 44
48 80 GT Racing Team AG Porsche 993 GT2 LMGT2 4:11.630 +30.049 45
49 70 Team Marcos Marcos LM600 LMGT2 4:11.904 +30.323 46
50 79 Konrad Motorsport Porsche 993 GT2 LMGT2 4:11.911 +30.330 47
51 64 Chamberlain Engineering Chrysler Viper GTS-R LMGT2 4:12.696 +31.115 48
52 71 Team Marcos Marcos LM600 LMGT2 4:22.904 +41.323 DNQ
  • The no. 40 Team Davidoff McLaren was withdrawn from the race after being damaged in a fire during Saturday morning warm-up.

Race

The 1997 race was won by the same chassis as had won in 1996, marking the second time that Joest had won back-to-back Le Mans with the same chassis (previously done in 1984 and 1985). They were able to beat factory teams in the GT1 and LMP classes from Porsche, BMW and Nissan. The TWR-Porsche was not the fastest on track during the race, but was able to take advantage of the leading Porsche 911 GT1's and McLaren F1 GTR's mechanical problems, allowing the Joest Racing machine to claim victory by one lap.

Official results

Class winners in bold.[2][3][4]

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps
Engine
1 LMP 7 Germany Joest Racing GmbH Italy Michele Alboreto
Sweden Stefan Johansson
Denmark Tom Kristensen		 TWR Porsche WSC-95 G 361
Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
2 LMGT1 41 United Kingdom Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren France Jean-Marc Gounon
France Pierre-Henri Raphanel
Sweden Anders Olofsson		 McLaren F1 GTR M 360
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
3 LMGT1 43 Germany BMW Motorsport Netherlands Peter Kox
Italy Roberto Ravaglia
France Éric Hélary		 McLaren F1 GTR M 358
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
4 LMP 13 France Courage Compétition France Didier Cottaz
France Jérôme Policand
Belgium Marc Goossens		 Courage C41 M 336
Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6
5 LMGT1 33 Germany Schübel Engineering Portugal Pedro Lamy
Germany Armin Hahne
France Patrice Goueslard		 Porsche 911 GT1 M 331
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
6 LMP 3 Italy Moretti Racing Inc. Italy Gianpiero Moretti
Belgium Didier Theys
Italy Max Papis		 Ferrari 333 SP Y 321
Ferrari F310E 4.0 L V12
7 LMP 8 France La Filière Elf France Henri Pescarolo
France Jean-Philippe Belloc
France Emmanuel Clérico		 Courage C36 M 319
Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
8 LMGT1 27 Italy BMS Scuderia Italia Italy Pierluigi Martini
Italy Christian Pescatori
Brazil Antônio Hermann		 Porsche 911 GT1 P 317
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
9 LMGT2 78 Switzerland Elf Haberthur Racing Belgium Michel Neugarten
France Guy Martinolle
France Jean-Claude Lagniez		 Porsche 911 GT2 D 307
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
10 LMGT2 74 Germany Roock Racing Germany André Ahrlé
United States Andy Pilgrim
Switzerland Bruno Eichmann		 Porsche 911 GT2 M 306
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
11 LMGT2 73 Germany Roock Racing Portugal Manuel Mello-Breyner
Portugal Tomaz Mello-Breyner
Portugal Pedro Mello-Breyner		 Porsche 911 GT2 M 295
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
12 LMGT1 23 Japan Nissan Motorsport Japan Kazuyoshi Hoshino
France Érik Comas
Japan Masahiko Kageyama		 Nissan R390 GT1 B 294
Nissan VRH35L 3.5 L Turbo V8
13 LMGT2 80 Switzerland GT Racing Team AG Germany Claudia Hürtgen
United Kingdom John Robinson
United Kingdom Hugh Price		 Porsche 911 GT2 P 280
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
14 LMGT2 63 France Société Viper Team Oreca United Kingdom Justin Bell
France Pierre Yver
United States John Morton		 Chrysler Viper GTS-R M 278
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
15 LMGT2 64 United Kingdom Chamberlain Engineering Netherlands Hans Hugenholtz Jr.
Finland Jari Nurminen
United States Chris Gleason		 Chrysler Viper GTS-R G 269
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
16 LMP 10 France Courage Compétition Sweden Fredrik Ekblom
France Jean-Louis Ricci
Belgium Jean-Paul Libert		 Courage C36 M 265
Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
17 LMP 15 Japan Team TDR Japan Yojiro Terada
United States Jim Downing
France Franck Fréon		 Kudzu DLM-4 G 263
Mazda R26B 2.6 L 4-Rotor
DNF LMGT1 26 Germany Porsche AG France Emmanuel Collard
Germany Ralf Kelleners
France Yannick Dalmas		 Porsche 911 GT1 Evo G 327
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT1 39 United Kingdom Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren United Kingdom Ray Bellm
United Kingdom Andrew Gilbert-Scott
Japan Masanori Sekiya		 McLaren F1 GTR M 326
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
DNF LMGT2 61 France Société Viper Team Oreca France Philippe Gache
Monaco Olivier Beretta
France Dominique Dupuy		 Chrysler Viper GTS-R M 263
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
DNF LMGT1 25 Germany Porsche AG Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck
Belgium Thierry Boutsen
France Bob Wollek		 Porsche 911 GT1 Evo G 238
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT1 42 Germany BMW Motorsport Finland JJ Lehto
United Kingdom Steve Soper
Brazil Nelson Piquet		 McLaren F1 GTR M 236
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
DNF LMGT1 29 France Société JB Jabouille Bouresche Germany Jürgen von Gartzen
France Olivier Thévenin
France Alain Ferté		 Porsche 911 GT1 M 236
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT1 54 United Kingdom David Price Racing United Kingdom Andy Wallace
United Kingdom James Weaver
United States Butch Leitzinger		 Panoz GTR-1 G 236
Ford-Roush 6.0 L V8
DNF LMGT1 30 Germany Kremer Racing France Christophe Bouchut
United States Andy Evans
Belgium Bertrand Gachot		 Porsche 911 GT1 G 207
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT2 75 France Société Larbre Compétition France Patrick Bourdais
United States Peter Kitchak
Brazil André Lara-Rezende		 Porsche 911 GT2 M 205
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMP 9 France Courage Compétition United States Mario Andretti
United States Michael Andretti
France Olivier Grouillard		 Courage C36 M 197
Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT1 52 France Société DAMS France Franck Lagorce
France Éric Bernard
France Jean-Christophe Boullion		 Panoz GTR-1 M 149
Ford-Roush 6.0 L V8
DNF LMGT1 55 United Kingdom David Price Racing Australia David Brabham
United Kingdom Perry McCarthy
United States Doc Bundy		 Panoz GTR-1 G 145
Ford-Roush 6.0 L V8
DNF LMGT1 21 Japan Nissan Motorsport United Kingdom Martin Brundle
Germany Jörg Müller
South Africa Wayne Taylor		 Nissan R390 GT1 B 139
Nissan VRH35L 3.5 L Turbo V8
DNF LMGT1 28 Germany Konrad Motorsport Austria Franz Konrad
Italy Mauro Baldi
United Kingdom Robert Nearn		 Porsche 911 GT1 P 138
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT2 67 United States Saleen/Allen Speedlab United States Steve Saleen
United States Price Cobb
Spain Carlos Palau		 Saleen Mustang SR D 133
Ford 5.9 L V8
DNF LMGT2 79 Germany Konrad Motorsport Switzerland Toni Seiler
United States Larry Schumacher
France Michel Ligonnet		 Porsche 911 GT2 P 126
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT1 22 Japan Nissan Motorsport Italy Riccardo Patrese
Belgium Eric van de Poele
Japan Aguri Suzuki		 Nissan R390 GT1 B 121
Nissan VRH35L 3.5 L Turbo V8
DNF LMGT1 49 United Kingdom GT1 Lotus Racing Netherlands Jan Lammers
Netherlands Mike Hezemans
Germany Alexander Grau		 Lotus GT1 M 121
Chevrolet LT5 6.0 L V8
DNF LMP 5 Germany Kremer Racing Spain Tomás Saldaña
Sweden Carl Rosenblad
Germany Jürgen Lässig		 Kremer K8 Spyder G 103
Porsche Type-935 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT2 84 Switzerland Stadler Motorsport Switzerland Enzo Calderari
Switzerland Lilian Bryner
Italy Angelo Zadra		 Porsche 911 GT2 P 98
Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT1 44 Japan Team Lark McLaren Japan Akihiko Nakaya
Japan Keiichi Tsuchiya
United Kingdom Gary Ayles		 McLaren F1 GTR M 88
BMW S70 6.0 L V12
DNF LMGT2 77 France Société Chereau France Jean-Luc Chéreau
France Jack Leconte
France Jean-Pierre Jarier		 Porsche 911 GT2 M 77
Porsche 3.6L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMGT1 46 United Kingdom Newcastle United Lister Storm United Kingdom Julian Bailey
Brazil Thomas Erdos
Australia Mark Skaife		 Lister Storm GTL D 77
Jaguar 7.0 L V12
DNF LMGT2 62 France Société Viper Team Oreca United States Tommy Archer
France Soheil Ayari
Belgium Marc Duez		 Chrysler Viper GTS-R M 76
Chrysler 8.0 L V10
DNF LMGT2 60 United Kingdom Agusta Racing Team Italy Almo Coppelli
Italy Rocky Agusta
France Éric Graham		 Callaway Corvette LM-GT2 D 45
Chevrolet LT1 6.2 L V8
DNF LMGT2 66 United States Saleen/Allen Speedlab United Kingdom David Warnock
United Kingdom Rob Schirle
United Kingdom Allen Lloyd		 Saleen Mustang SR D 28
Ford 5.9 L V8
DNF LMGT1 45 United Kingdom Newcastle United Lister Storm United Kingdom Geoff Lees
United Kingdom Tiff Needell
South Africa George Fouché		 Lister Storm GTL D 21
Jaguar 7.0 L V12
DNF LMP 4 France Pilot Racing France Michel Ferté
Spain Adrián Campos
United States Charlie Nearburg		 Ferrari 333 SP D 18
Ferrari F310E 4.0 L V12
DNF LMGT2 70 United Kingdom Team Marcos Netherlands Cor Euser
Japan Takaji Suzuki
Germany Harald Becker		 Marcos Mantara LM600 D 15
Chevrolet 5.9 L V8
DNF LMGT1 32 Germany Roock Racing Motorsport Monaco Stéphane Ortelli
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Austria Karl Wendlinger		 Porsche 911 GT1 M 8
Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6
DNF LMP 14 United Kingdom Pacific Racing Finland Harri Toivonen
Chile Eliseo Salazar
Spain Jesús Pareja		 BRM P301 P 6
Nissan 3.0 L Turbo V6
DNS LMGT1 40 United Kingdom Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren Denmark John Nielsen
Germany Thomas Bscher
United Kingdom Chris Goodwin		 McLaren F1 GTR M -
BMW S70 6.0 L V12

Statistics
  • Pole Position - #7 Joest Racing - 3:41.581
  • Fastest Lap - #7 Joest Racing - 3:45.068
  • Distance - 4909.6 km
  • Average Speed - 207 km/h
  • Highest Trap Speed — Porsche GT1-Evo - 326 km/h (qualifying)

References
  1. "Michele Alboreto wins the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. "1997 24 Hours of Le Mans". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  3. "1997 Le Mans 24 Hours". Motor Sport. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  4. "24 Hours of Le Mans 1997 Le Mans 24h Classification". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
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