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Le Mans 1971 - Porsche dominance and an orgy of retirements

Name: Ferrari 512 S 1971
Brand: Ferrari

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Created on May 20, 2011

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Archivbild

Porsche Archiv

Porsche AG

Archiv

Archivbild

Porsche Archiv

Porsche AG

Archiv

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Le Mans 1971 - The overall winner Porsche 917 short-tail by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep

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Le Mans 1971 - The overall winner Porsche 917 short tail at the pit stop of Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep

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Overall winner Le Mans 1971: Porsche 917 K with Dr. Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep

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Porsche World Champion poster 1969, 1970, 1971

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Three Porsche 917 longtails in a row right after the famous Dunlop arch at Le Mans 1971

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The 12-cylinder engine of the Porsche 917 and the mythical 16-cylinder variant

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The 12-cylinder engine of the Porsche 917 and the mystical 16-cylinder variant (side view)

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Front view of the Porsche 917 'Sau' at Le Mans 1971

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Le Mans 1971 - Reinhold Jöst in the Porsche 917/20 'Die Sau'

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Porsche 917 K - Original construction plan

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Martini & Rossi Racing Team Portrait: The Porsche 917 Armada with Vic Elford and Gérard Larrousse

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Porsche 917 LH 1971 - Front view overall winner Le Mans 1971

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Porsche 917 LH 1971 - developed for the high speeds at Le Mans

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Movie poster Le Mans with Steve McQueen 1971

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Summary

You didn't need to be a prophet to predict the winner of the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans based on the practice results. The fastest Ferrari 512 M was already five seconds ahead of the Porsche 917, driven by Rodriguez. And the latter was even convinced that it could have been two seconds faster. At 17 laps per hour, this already meant a gap of more than a minute, after four hours one lap.

This article contains the following chapters

Superior Porsche 917
Surprising Ferrari 365 GTB/4
Almost a Porsche Cup
Unsuccessful "exotics"
The "sow"
Large Swiss participation
Without a Le Mans start
The final classification
Further information

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

You didn't need to be a prophet to predict the winner of the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans based on the practice results. The fastest Ferrari 512 M in third place on the grid was already separated by five seconds from the Porsche 917, driven to pole position by Rodriguez. And the latter was even convinced that it could have been two seconds faster. At 17 laps per hour, this already meant a gap of more than a minute, after four hours one lap. Superior Porsche 917 The numerous Ferrari 512s that had arrived were never really able to threaten the Porsche 917s. Thanks to a different pit stop strategy, the spirited Vaccarella at least made it to the top of the standings once in the 12th hour, but the car retired two hours later due to gearbox damage.

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