1969 24 Hours of Le Mans: A Traditional Statement Provides a Memorable Race

January 6, 2014 by Jeremy McMullen

What if a statement ended up costing one of the biggest victories of one's career? Would it be worth it? Jacky Ickx would come close to finding out as he approached the checkered flag on the afternoon of the 15th of June in 1969.

Ford had determined to defeat Ferrari on ground it had come to dominate throughout the early 1960s. By 1966, the mission would be complete. Ford would take the overall victory with their GT40 Mk II driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. However, the dominance would continue thereafter as Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt took overall victory the following year defeating a Ferrari 330 P4 driven by Ludovico Scarfiotti and Mike Parkes. The 1968 edition of the race would see more of the same as the J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. entered Ford GT40, driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi, would continue the GT40 dominance. The GT40 had now won three-straight 24 Hours of Le Mans races. It seemed entirely unlikely the reign could continue, but then again, the combination of the GT40 and one Jacky Ickx had the potential of serving up one more memorable performance.

Jacky Ickx had come to have a special relationship with Ford and this would end up landing him drives behind the wheel of the GT40 and Mirage M1 starting with a start in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Ickx's first forays with the GT40 and the Mirage M1 would not be successful ones as he would struggle to finish some early races. However, all of that would change on a rain-soaked Spa circuit in May of 1967.

Ickx and Dick Thompson would partner behind the wheel of a Mirage M1, chassis M.10003, in the Spa 1000 Kilometers on the 1st of May in 1967. The two would start the race from 2nd place on the grid. The wet conditions, however, was like a playground to Ickx and he would help the number 6 Mirage M1 come through to victory. It would be the first victory for Ickx in endurance sportscars and would be an impressive one at that as the margin of victory would end up more than a lap by the end of the race.

This victory in Spa would be followed by some early retirements, including an engine failure in the 1967 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, Jacky would put together no less than three-straight victories coming at Swerige, Paris and Kyalami. The Belgian would end the season on an incredible high and would demonstrate he was certainly a talented driver to watch in the future.

After an early retirement in the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours, Jacky would go on another run of success securing two-straight victories, one of those being the Le Mans Test in early April. With that victory Ickx appeared to be a favorite heading into the 24 Hour race a couple of months later. A class victory in the Nurburgring 1000 Kilometers seemed to confirm this suspicion. Unfortunately, Jacky would not take part in the 24 hour race in 1968. He would have to look to 1969 and another opportunity at victory.

Jacky would start the 1969 season off on a good note taking the overall victory in the Sebring 12 Hours. The next few races would see the Belgian struggle as the Mirage M2 would make its debut in the Brands Hatch 6 Hour race. Being a new car, teething problems could be expected and they would certainly come then.

---

Trending News

• PVGP Welcomes The Historic Stock Car Racing Association To 2024 Historics At Pitt Race
• Bonhams|Cars Presents An Unmissable Grid For Its Inaugural Miami Auction At The Formula 1 Crypto.Com Miami Grand Prix
• Carlisle Auctions Concludes First Auction of 2024 – Sells More than 50% of Consignments
• RM Sotheby's Announces Further Incredible Competiton And Rally Greats Coming To Monaco On 10 And 11 May
• BONHAMS|CARS SPRING STAFFORD MOTORCYCLE SALE ACHIEVES £3 MILLION WITH AN INDUSTRY-LEADING 95% SELL THROUGH RATE

---

Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver would start the Brands Hatch 6 Hour race from 11th on the grid. Unfortunately, the new car would not be able to complete the race distance as a result of a drive shaft failure. Furthermore, the top three finishers would all be Porsches. The GT40 and Mirage M1 were now pushing the end of their life. The Mirage M2, however, was not ready to compete. And, the Porsche threat was really coming on strong. It appeared victory at Le Mans would be a long shot for Ickx.

The M2 would continue to struggle and Ickx and Oliver would suffer three more early retirements. The problem was that it meant four-straight retirements, and the next race on the calendar would be the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was clear the new Mirage M2 was not ready to race. Le Mans was not a place for a fragile car. Reliability and speed was of two, almost equal, requirements in order to compete for victory at Le Mans.

John Wyer's team couldn't afford to be too conservative, however. Porsche had made a big commitment to win the 24 hour race developing its all-new 917 in a mere 10 months. Producing the car in such a short amount of time meant the Porsche factory team would have the time to test and thoroughly prepare its new car.

In addition to Porsche there would be Matra and Ferrari. Matra would run into trouble with its long-tailed Matra 640. The result would be a spectacular crash in which Henri Pescarolo was pulled out alive but badly burned. Ferrari returned to Le Mans with its evolved 312P.

Coming off four-straight early retirements, confidence and momentum was not on Ickx's side. However, the fast Belgian was not one to be overlooked heading into the race. It was a good thing, however, that the race was two trips around the clock because the lap times in practice suggested Porsche would run away with the race if it was a short-distance race.

The pole would be won by Rolf Stommelen and Kurt Ahrens, Jr. in a Porsche 917. They would set a lap time of 3:22.900 around the 8.35 mile circuit. Second place on the grid would go to yet another Porsche 917 driven by Vic Elford and Richard Attwood. In fact, the top four spots on the grid would all be occupied by Porsches. Seven out of the top ten would all be Porsches. It would appear, given practice lap times, the reign of the GT40 had come to an end, and therefore, by extension, Ickx would miss out on an opportunity at an overall victory.

The quickest of the Ford GT40s would be 1075 driven by Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver. They would end up 13th on the grid but would still have reason to be confident heading into the race as they would be driving the very same car that took victory in the race the year before.

In Formula One, Jacky Ickx was really beginning to make a name for himself. Just the week before, Ickx had come through to finish in 3rd place at the Belgian Grand Prix. While many fans of endurance sportscar racing were already well aware of the Belgian, Formula One was the place where he was really starting to gain world-wide acclaim. With the recognition came the influence and power.

In 1969, motor racing was still a very risky endeavor. The 1968 season had been particularly terrible for fatalities within motor racing. Just in grand prix racing there would be the loss of Jo Schlesser, Ludovico Scarfiotti and, of course, Jim Clark. It was clear something had to be done about safety measures, both around the track and within the car. But, there would be different approaches to the subject.

Some, like Jackie Stewart, would go on crusades covering the whole gamut of a racing event. This intense scrutiny, which even led to boycotts and other such endeavors, was seen by some as going too far. For those, there was another way of going about things. In their minds, what needed to be addressed were the unnecessary risks involved in motor racing. And to Jacky Ickx, there was nothing more unnecessary, and therefore, risky than the tradition Le Mans start.

From its first moments, the 24 Hours of Le Mans would begin with the drivers sprinting across the track to their cars and heading off in a mad scramble. This, in and of itself, was rather unnecessary considering the race was 24 hours in length. But, the tradition would start at a time when cars hit a maximum speed of 80mph. This was fast for the period, but the lack of harnesses was not really such a big deal at those speeds. By the 1960s, cars were exceeding 200mph down the long 3 ½ mile long Mulsanne. The circuit was no longer a place to attempt to navigate without the aid of harnesses.

The problem, in Ickx's mind, was the start, and a tradition that was the very definition of unnecessary risk. The race was a 24 hour event. The start was almost more for show than it was for the finish. Nearly all of the drivers that started the race would sprint across the track and would leap into their cars and immediately put their foot to the floor. The result was that most failed to buckle up, at least for the first stint of the race. The second problem was that these unbuckled drivers would then find themselves funneling together along the pit straight and up around the Dunlop Curve. Accidents and shunts at the start were all but commonplace. However, with the drivers mostly all unbuckled throughout that melee, it was amazing more drivers were not killed in those early stages of the race. This was an unnecessary risk Jacky believed needed to come to an end.

The problem was, as the race neared, he was bucking up against tradition, a tradition that was much older than even he. So what could the Belgian do? He was intent on making a statement, but what would be the most telling statement possible? Furthermore, he could make a statement, but only if it was backed up with a victory would the traditionalist take notice.

All of the starting drivers would line up across from their cars. The cars, aligned in formation with their backs up against the pit wall, stood poised for the beginning of the 24 hour enduro. The clocked continued to click, 4pm neared. What to do? Jacky had made up his mind. He would do something by himself, with no help of any of the other drivers.

The big hand swung to the twelve o'clock position. It was 4pm! Immediately, 44 drivers would set off across the track to their cars. However, one of those 44 would stand out while making the journey across the track his way. While every other driver would set off across the track in a sprint, leap into their cars and speed off toward the Dunlop Curve, likely without their seatbelts done up, Ickx would be seen slowly walking across the track. It was the determined, measured pace of a man looking to make a statement. In spite of the chaos, the Belgian would be noticed. He would seem a fool as he started 13th on the grid and would be dead-last by the time he got into the car, tightened his belts and set off. However, in just about four minute's time, the first effect of his demonstration would be realized.

John Woolfe was a rather inexperienced Briton co-driving a Porsche 917 with Herbert Linge. Linge was, by far, the more experienced driver, but, Woolfe would start the race. He had family and friends in the stands and it is believed he wanted to start the race to give them all a memorable moment. Unfortunately, he would give them a memorable moment, a moment all of them would rather forget for all time.

Sprinting across the track to get the best position possible, it was entirely likely Woolfe failed to strap himself in. Appoaching Maison Blanche, at the end of the very first lap, John would make a slight error putting a couple of wheels into the grass at the edge of the circuit. He would lose control of the Porsche. It would be stated that some of the drivers passing by Woolfe at the time noticed his door was not present on the side of the car and that the rear wing had been damaged. Could it had been because, in his haste, he did not take care of the door and the belts? While both elements would be sheer conjecture, the facts of the matter is that the Porsche would careen out of control and would end up smashing hard along the side of the track. Woolfe would be thrown clear of the car and would die almost instantly from wounds suffered.

Such events rarely effect just the perpetrator, and, as a result of the crash, the fuel tank on Woolfe's Porsche would become dislodged and thrown out onto the circuit. Chris Amon, at the wheel of a Ferrari 312P, would run over the tank causing it to explode. As a result of the explosion, Amon's race would come to a very early end as well. The end result would be a delay lasting nearly two hours as the two accidents were cleaned up and protective elements rebuilt.

The race hadn't completed a single lap and already Ickx's demonstration would have an audience. The final nail in the traditional start coffin would, likely, only come if Ickx could back up his performance with victory thereby proving there was no need to sprint across the track to be first at the start in order to end up first.

The delay would come to an end and the race would be restarted. Ickx would still be at the back of the field but would gradually begin to march up to the front. The reliable GT40 was helping to carry Ickx and Oliver to the front. It would take about four hours, but 1075 would be up to 7th place. Besides being careful to strap in, Ickx would also take great care of the car making conservative shifts at about 6,000rpm.

The conservative and careful strategy would work over the course of the race. The pole-sitting Porsche of Stommelen and Ahrens, Jr. would retire as would the other factory Porsche driven by Elford and Attwood. More retirements would come. The Porsche 908 driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman would fall afoul of problems right along with the Ferraris and Matras. The result would be that, by 11 in the morning, Ickx and Oliver would be in the lead of the race.

The conservative race was working. Ickx's statement was drawing more and more attention. What if the Belgian did come through to win? Was such a start necessary?

Though Ickx and Oliver were in the lead, another Porsche 908, this one driven by Hans Herrmann and Gerard Larrousse, would still be going strong and providing the GT40 drivers all they could handle.

The last few hours of the race would see a tremendous battle between the GT40 and the Porsche. The two cars would trade positions a number of times. Though Ickx and Oliver were remaining conservative with their rpms, the Porsche was suffering from problems of its own. A brake problem was nullifying the speed advantage of the Porsche. This would allow Ickx and Oliver to continue to look after their car, but it wouldn't allow them to pull away and win with some comfortable margin either.

It would be one of the most incredible races in Le Mans history. The titanic battle would never relent, not even through the last few hours of the race. In spite of their individual concerns, the Porsche and the GT40 would continue to duke it out around the 8 mile circuit.

The clock was nearing 4pm. Time, and laps, were running short. What was worse for the crew of the GT40 was that Herrmann's persistence meant Ickx, who was bringing the car home, would now have to forego conservative notions and would have to give the tired Ford everything it could handle.

Even heading around on the final lap of the race the two combatants would be wheel-to-wheel. The future of Le Mans was doggedly pursuing, and leading at times, the most dominant car at Le Mans. Could age and experience fend off the future?

The race was so tight that Ickx had to think strategically, even after nearly 24 hours. He needed to recognize the strengths, and weaknesses, of his car compared to the Porsche. This would result in Jacky allowing Herrmann to make his way by through Tetre Rouge in order that Ickx could slip-stream down the long Mulsanne. Toward the end of the straight, Jacky would pull out to pass and keep the Porsche behind throughout the rest of the lap. This, at least, was the plan.

The beginning part of the plan would work to perfection as Ickx would pull out of the slip-stream to take back the lead from Herrmann. Down to Indianapolis and out of Arnage, he would remain in front of Herrmann, but only just. Through the kink at Maison Blanche and heading into the Ford Chicane, the lead extended, but by mere lengths. Powering out of the chicane, everyone along the Pit Straight would be set to witness what would be, still to this very day, the closest finish in Le Mans history.

Ickx would succeed in his statement. After 24 hours the margin of victory would be a mere two seconds. He had backed up his statement, his demonstration. He had proven, beyond a doubt, the tradition needed to be thrown out, and could be thrown out, to achieve victory. His rouse had worked nearly to perfection. But what, pray tell, would have resulted had Ickx been the one in the Porsche?

Often times, great moments of change happen by the slimmest of margins. To eradicate a tradition as long standing as the start at Le Mans it would require descending to the depths of the leaderboard and coming out on top. Ickx's demonstration had come out on top, but only just. It was one tradition that wasn't about to go away without a fight. It had been a fight, one of the most memorable in Le Mans history, but the result would be that discretion proved to be the better part of recklessness.

Sources:
'Le Mans 24 Hours 1969', (http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Le_Mans-1969-06-15.html?sort=Grid). Racing Sports Cars. http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Le_Mans-1969-06-15.html?sort=Grid. Retrieved 2 January 2014.

'Complete Archive of Jacky Ickx', (http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/archive/Jacky-Ickx-B.html?page=2). Racing Sports Cars. http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/archive/Jacky-Ickx-B.html?page=2. Retrieved 2 January 2014.

'1969 24 Hours of Le Mans—La Ronde Infernale Video', (http://www.sportscardigest.com/1969-24-hours-of-le-mans-%E2%80%93-la-ronde-infernale-video/). Sports Car Digest: The Sports, Racing and Vintage Car Journal. http://www.sportscardigest.com/1969-24-hours-of-le-mans-%E2%80%93-la-ronde-infernale-video/. Retrieved 2 January 2014.

Owen, Oliver. 'The Last Le Mans Dash', (http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/may/31/le-man-series-motor-sports). The Guardian: The Observer. http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/may/31/le-man-series-motor-sports. Retrieved 2 January 2014.

Taylor, Simon. 'Lunch with…Jacky Ickx', (http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/halloffame/jacky-ickx/lunch-with-jacky-ickx/). MotorSport. http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/halloffame/jacky-ickx/lunch-with-jacky-ickx/. Retrieved 2 January 2014.

Wikipedia contributors, '1969 24 Hours of Le Mans', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 December 2013, 03:24 UTC, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1969_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans&oldid=588159394 accessed 2 January 2014

Wikipedia contributors, 'Jacky Ickx', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 26 December 2013, 20:35 UTC, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jacky_Ickx&oldid=587797701 accessed 2 January 2014