1982 24 Hours of Le Mans – Profile and Photo Gallery
Running in formation, the Rothmans Porsche 956 team cars drive past the pit lane en route to a perfect 1-2-3 finish.
Sports Car Digest has been running a series of photo retrospectives drawn from the film archive of Bob Harmeyer. The first installment looked at the 1977 Indianapolis 500, while the latest remembers the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1982 24 Hours of Le Mans
By Bob Harmeyer
Separated by three decades of time, a pair of German manufacturers swept the top finishing positions at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, competing under technical regulations focused on generationally-different approaches to combining high performance with improved fuel efficiency.
In 2012 the manufacturer was Audi, integrating their diesel expertise with hybrid technology developed by the Williams Formula 1 team. In 1982, it was Porsche, utilizing their first lightweight aluminum monocoque chassis, rear underbody tunnels, and superior aerodynamics.
The FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1982 featured new Group C regulations that were largely focused on fuel capacity and consumption, as well as an 800 kg weight limit combined with dimensional limitations to preclude special “long-tail” bodywork for Le Mans. Fuel tank capacity was restricted to 100 liters, with a limited amount of fuel available for each race on the schedule.
To meet the new regulations, designer Norbert Singer drew the legendary Porsche 956. Despite the new restrictions on fuel consumption, Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell won the 50th anniversary 24 Hours of Le Mans by breaking the distance record they had established the previous year. And, running in perfect formation, the other two Rothmans-sponsored team cars followed the winner across the finish line.
This first victory for the Porsche 956 was the beginning of one of the great eras in endurance sportscar racing. It also marked the end of another great era, being the sixth and final Le Mans victory for Belgian driver Jacky Ickx.
In addition to the headlines generated by Ickx and the Porsche 956, the 1982 event also included the usual variety of secondary stories.
In one of the more curious, Mario and Michael Andretti had qualified ninth in a Mirage M12 entered by Harley Cluxton but, while the car had passed pre-race inspection earlier in the week, it was pulled from the grid and disqualified on a technical infraction shortly before the start of the race.
Similarly frustrating, perhaps, was the experience shared by the driving trio of Bobby Rahal, Jim Trueman and Skeeter McKitterick. The three were co-driving a March 82G that arrived late for practice, was fitted with a down-on-power Chevy V8, and was slow on the straights…and the Le Mans circuit has miles of straights. Three hours into the race the fuel tank split, bringing a merciful end to an unpleasant affair.
Also occupying the V8 portion of the sound spectrum were two Chevrolet Camaros entered by NASCAR team owner Billy Hagan. This was an era when the Le Mans organizers were actively soliciting American entries from the IMSA series and, with their massive rear wings perched at roof level, exaggerated fender flairs and boisterous Chevy rumble, the incongruity of Hagan’s Camaros was striking even among the usual, eclectic Le Mans entry.
While a variety of Porsches won every Le Mans category in 1982, the IMSA GTO class was taken by a 924 that completed the race on street tires. BF Goodrich was heavily committed to racing on “street-legal” tires with partially-shaved tread depth and, for that year’s race, had entered a pair of Porsche 924 Carrera GTRs that had been tested and prepped by Jim Busby at Porsche’s test facility at Weissach, Germany. Remarkably, the car driven by Busby, Doc Bundy and Marcel Mignot ran the entire race and won the class using just five tires. One tire was changed early in the race simply to check the wear rate, and the car ran the rest of the way with no additional changes.
Regardless of the year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is not just a race, it’s an event characterized by headlines at the front of the grid, but filled with story lines throughout the field.
Derek Bill at the wheel of the Porsche 956 002 he shared with co-driver Jacky Ickx to score the first Le Mans victory for Norbert Singer’s legendary design.With the introduction of new technical regulations for the 1982 season, the Porsche CK5 01 driven by Danny Ongais, Ted Field and Bill Whittington was a one-off, stop-gap design raced by the Kremer brothers until the Porsche 956 was made available to privateer teams.The Sauber SHS C6/Ford Cosworth of Hans Stuck, Jean-Louis Schlesser and Dieter Quester leads the team car driven by Walter Brun and Siegfried Miler Jr. through the Ford Chicane during practice.Bobby Rahal watches as co-driver Jim Trueman checks seat belt adjustments in the March 82G/Chevrolet.Bobby Rahal waits to drive the March 82G/Chevrolet during practice.A pair of Porsche 924 Carreras were entered by BF Goodrich and run on street-legal tires with shaved tread depth.The crowded pit area of the BF Goodrich Porsche 924 team was not unusual in the narrow confines of the old pit lane at Le Mans.The rear bodywork is raised on a WM P82 Peugeot to allow access for a crew member, providing an excellent view of the tunnels that generated the massive downforce of the Group C cars.The WM P82 Peugeot of Alain Couderc, Guy Frequelin and Roger Dorchy is serviced in the pit lane before practice on Thursday evening.Tom Williams, Dick Brooks and Hershel McGriff drove one of the two Chevrolet Camaros entered by NASCAR team owner Billy Hagan.
1982 24 Hours of Le Mans Profile and Photo Gallery – Page Two
Ted Field drives the Porsche-Kremer CK5 during the Thursday practice session for the 1982 event.The Porsche 956 003 of Jochen Mass and Vern Schuppan is serviced in the pit lane before practice.The Lancia Martini LC1 of Hans Heyer, Riccardo Patrese and Piercarlo Ghinzani is checked in the pit lane before Thursday’s practice and qualifying sessions.Mario and Michael Andretti had qualified this Mirage M12 01/Ford in ninth, but the car was pulled from the grid and disqualified on a technical infraction immediately prior to the start of the race.The start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1982, with the Porsche factory cars leading from the front row of the grid.The Ferrari 512 BB driven by John Paul, Alain Cudini and John Morton runs ahead of the Ferrari 512 BB of Carson Baird, Pierre Dieudonne and Jean-Paul Libert early in the race.David Hobbs drives the Porsche 935/78-81 JR-002 en route to finishing 4th with co-driver and car owner John Fitzpatrick.The Garretson Development Porsche 935 K3 009 00030 of Bob Garretson, Ray Ratcliff and Anny-Charlotte Verney follows two other cars through the Mulsanne Corner.The Joest Racing Porsche 936C JR005 of Bob Wollek, Jean-Michel Martin and Philippe Martin in the early evening hours at Le Mans.This pair of Lancia Beta Montecarlos finished 2nd and 4th in the Group 5 class in the 1982 race at Le Mans.
1982 24 Hours of Le Mans Profile and Photo Gallery – Page Three
The Ford C100 03 of Manfred Winkelhock and Klaus Niedzwiedz leads the Porsche 935 K3 009 00030 driven by Bob Garretson, Ray Ratcliff and Anny-Charlotte Verney through the Mulsanne Corner.The Mirage M12 01/Ford of Mario and Michael Andretti had passed all pre-race inspections, but was disqualified for a technical infraction just minutes before the start.The BMW M1 driven by Steve O’Rourke, Richard Down and Nick Mason crests the rise at the esses and begins the run toward Tertre Rouge in 1982.The Lancia Martini LC1 001003 driven by Hans Heyer, Riccardo Patrese and Piercarlo Ghinzani was one of just three to contest the Group 6 category, and all three failed to finish.Jacky Ickx at the wheel of the Porsche 956 002 during the Thursday practice and qualifying sessions at Le Mans in 1982. Ickx and co-driver Derek Bell were the last two-driver team to win the 24 Hours, with subsequent winners using three, or even four, drivers to reach the finish.John Fitzpatrick and David Hobbs drove Fitzpatrick’s Porsche 935/78 “Moby Dick” entry, a long-tail version designed specifically for Le Mans, to a class victory in the IMSA GTX category, and a 4th place overall finish behind the factory Porsche 956s.This Porsche 936C driven by Bob Wollek, Jean-Michel Martin and Philippe Martin was Joest Racing’s single-season solution for the FIA’s new Group C regulations in 1982.The Porsche 935 K3 of Dany Snobeck, Rene Metge and Francois Servanin finished second in the IMSA GTX category and fifth overall.Jammed shoulder-to-shoulder on the hillside, and perched precariously on top of trackside billboards, a portion of the Le Mans crowd watches a pair of Group C cars exit the esses after the Dunlop Bridge and head for Tertre Rouge and the Mulsanne Straight.The Bob Akin Motor Racing Porsche 935L-1 of Bob Akin, Dave Cowart and Kenper Miller ran out of fuel early in the race and was the first retirement from the IMSA GTX category.Not your typical Le Mans entry — with its massive wing, pronounced body roll and deep rumble of a Chevy V8, the Camaro of Tom Williams, Dick Brooks and Hershel McGriff navigates the Ford Chicane.
1982 24 Hours of Le Mans Profile and Photo Gallery – Page Four
The Porsche 924 Carrera GTR of Jim Busby, Doc Bundy and Marcel Mignot turns into the Mulsanne Corner en route to a first place finish in the IMSA GTO class.Hans Heyer, Riccardo Patrese and Piercarlo Ghinzani completed the most laps in the Group 6 category — but weren’t running at the finish and weren’t credited with a class victory. There were only three Group 6 entries in 1982, and all had dropped out before half-distance.The Porsche CK5 01 of Bill Whittington, Danny Ongais and Ted Field is driven past the iconic Le Mans grandstand and into the Dunlop Curve.The Ferrari 512 BB of Carson Baird, Pierre Dieudonne and Jean-Paul Libert finished third in the IMSA GTX class and 6th overall, completing 322 laps around the 8.469 mile track.John Fitzpatrick drives his Porsche 935/78-81 JR-002 en route to a fourth place finish with co-driver David Hobbs. This “Moby Dick” version was the final development of the 935 series and was designed specifically for Le Mans. In addition to the longer tail, the car featured right-hand drive for better vision around Le Mans’ right turns like Tertre Rouge and the Mulsanne Corner.The Porsche 956 004 of Jurgen Barth, Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert is driven through the Mulsanne Corner ahead of the Sauber SHS C6/Ford of Hans Stuck, Jean-Louis Schlesser and Dieter Quester.The Lancia Martini LC1 001003 driven by Hans Heyer, Riccardo Patrese and Piercarlo Ghinzani approaches the Ford Chicane during the early evening hours of the race.An early-evening view of the front straight at Le Mans.The Rothmans Porsche 956 003 was driven by Jochen Mass and Vern Schuppan to 2nd place at Le Mans in 1982.A time-exposure photograph illustrating streaks from headlights during the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 20, 1982, at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France.Spitting fire from the turbo exhaust, the Joest Racing Porsche 936C JR005 driven by Bob Wollek, Jean-Michel Martin and Philippe Martin closes on slower traffic entering the Mulsanne Corner.
1982 24 Hours of Le Mans Profile and Photo Gallery – Page Five
The Chevrolet Camaro of Billy Hagan and Gene Felton finished second in the IMSA GTO class.While the 1982 race was the first race victory for Porsche’s 956 design, it also marked the sixth and final time Jacky Ickx would win on the long straights and sweeping curves of Circuit de la Sarthe.The Lancia Martini LC1 001003 of Hans Heyer, Riccardo Patrese and Piercarlo Ghinzani turns into the Ford Chicane during the early evening hours at Le Mans.The race-winning Porsche 956 002 driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell leads the Porsche 956 003 of Jochen Mass and Vern Schuppan and a pair of IMSA GTX/GTO entries down the hill after the Dunlop Bridge.The winning Porsche 956 002 of Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell works through slower traffic in the Mulsanne Corner.The #1 Porsche 956 002 driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell en route to winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1982, the first victory for Norbert Singer’s iconic design.The winning Porsche 956 driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell leads the other two Rothmans Porsche team cars near the finish of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1982.Running in formation, the Rothmans Porsche 956 team cars drive past the pit lane en route to a perfect 1-2-3 finish.The winning Porsche 956 driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell leads the other two Rothmans Porsche team cars past the pit lane near the finish.The Chevrolet Camaro driven by Tom Williams, Dick Brooks and Hershel McGriff is waved off the track at the finish of the 24 Hours.
This article is a racing fan’s treasure. The pictures are so sharp and make me feel like I was there. Today’s racing fans, especially us older ones, would love to see more articles and outstanding pictures by Bob Harmeyer.
There’s a rich history to be shared and an excellent bird’s eye view of racing history.