1984 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 52nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 16 – 17 June 1984. It was also the third round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship.
The works Rothmans Porsche team boycotted the 1984 Le Mans race due to a disagreement between Porsche and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest over the fuel regulations, meaning that drivers such as multiple winners Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell were absent from the race for the first time in many years. Porsche originally stated that its contracted drivers would not be allowed to race with any other team, however they did relent only two or three weeks before the race. 1983 co-winner Vern Schuppan was the only member of the Rothmans team to race in 1984, eagerly snapped up by Kremer Racing to drive a Porsche 956B he would share with fellow Australian, Formula One World Champion Alan Jones, and experienced French driver Jean-Pierre Jarier. Surprisingly, Schuppan was the only regular Rothmans team driver to actually compete in the event with his 1983 co-winners Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood joining Ickx, Bell, Jochen Mass and Stefan Bellof as non-starters.
1984 saw the largest ever influx of Australian drivers in the race, with not only defending race winner Schuppan and ex-World Champion Jones driving, but also star touring car driver Peter Brock and ex-F1 driver Larry Perkins in a 956 supplied by John Fitzpatrick Racing, Rusty French in the second Kremer Porsche 956, Allan Grice in a Charles Ivey Racing 956, and regular Group C2 competitor Neil Crang in a Cosworth DFL powered Spice-Tiga Racing Tiga GC84.
Jaguar made its first official appearance at Le Mans for the first time since 1959 when Bob Tullius' Group 44 team brought over its two Jaguar XJR-5's powered by 6.0 litre Jaguar V12 engines from America. Group 44 racing, with the full backing of Jaguar, would compete in the IMSA GTP class. Before the decision to enter the race had been made, Jaguar had been concerned about the competitiveness of the XJR-5's against the turbocharged Porsche's and Ferrari powered Lancia's, especially with regard to top speed on the 6 km Mulsanne Straight. But those fears were put to rest when the cars were clocked at over during the 24 Hours of Daytona in February.
Reinhold Joest's privately entered 956 driven by Frenchman Henri Pescarolo and West German Klaus Ludwig won the race in the #7 Porsche 956B. For Pescarolo it was his fourth and last win at Le Mans, while for Ludwig it was his second win. After starting 3rd on the grid, the pair were only in 30th place after the first hour after pitting twice in the first 5 laps to fix a minor fuel feed problem after which the car ran almost faultlessly. The Porsche 956 dominated the final standings, taking the top seven places. The first non-Porsche 956 to finish was the Martini Racing Lancia LC2 of Bob Wollek and Alessandro Nannini. Wollek set the pole for the race with a 3:17.11, some 11 seconds faster than Ludwig in the fastest Porsche. Formula 2 ace Nannini would set the races fastest lap and new lap record with a time of 3:28.90 on lap 261, a time that would have been good enough for 5th place on the starting grid.
During the race, a French marshal, Jacky Loiseau was killed when British driver John Sheldon crashed massively in the Aston Martin powered Nimrod NRA/C2 at the flat out right-hand kink on the Mulsanne Straight, a crash that also involved the second Aston Martin Nimrod of American driver Drake Olson, who hit some of the strewn bodywork from Sheldon's Nimrod that had caught fire and crashed as well. He was unhurt. Another marshal, Andre-Guy Lefebvre was seriously injured, but survived. Sheldon survived the crash, but he was severely burned, and the Nimrod's explosive impact against the Armco barriers was so violent, that some of the trees next to the track where the impact took place had been set on fire. The race was not stopped immediately, only that section of the straight was under caution, to protect the marshals and firefighters cleaning up the accident. Soon after, four pace cars were brought out under a full course caution, which lasted for 1 hour.
Official results
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Tyre | Laps |
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Engine | Tyre | Laps |
| 1 | C1 | 7 |  New-Man Joest Racing |  Henri Pescarolo Klaus Ludwig | Porsche 956B | 360 | |
| 1 | C1 | 7 | New-Man Joest Racing | Henri Pescarolo Klaus Ludwig | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 360 | |
| 2 | C1 | 26 |  Henn's T-Bird Swap Shop | Jean Rondeau John Paul, Jr. | Porsche 956 | 358 | |
| 2 | C1 | 26 | Henn's T-Bird Swap Shop | Jean Rondeau John Paul, Jr. | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 358 | |
| 3 | C1 | 33 |  Skoal Bandit Porsche Team John Fitzpatrick Racing | David Hobbs Philippe Streiff Sarel van der Merwe | Porsche 956B | 351 | |
| 3 | C1 | 33 | Skoal Bandit Porsche Team John Fitzpatrick Racing | David Hobbs Philippe Streiff Sarel van der Merwe | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 351 | |
| 4 | C1 | 9 |  Brun Motorsport GmbH | Walter Brun Prince Leopold von Bayern Bob Akin | Porsche 956B | 340 | |
| 4 | C1 | 9 | Brun Motorsport GmbH | Walter Brun Prince Leopold von Bayern Bob Akin | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 340 | |
| 5 | C1 | 12 | New-Man Joest Racing Schornstein Racing Team | Volkert Merl Dieter Schornstein "John Winter" | Porsche 956 | 340 | |
| 5 | C1 | 12 | New-Man Joest Racing Schornstein Racing Team | Volkert Merl Dieter Schornstein "John Winter" | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 340 | |
| 6 | C1 | 11 | Porsche Kremer Racing |  Vern Schuppan Alan Jones Jean-Pierre Jarier | Porsche 956B | 337 | |
| 6 | C1 | 11 | Porsche Kremer Racing | Vern Schuppan Alan Jones Jean-Pierre Jarier | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 337 | |
| 7 | C1 | 20 | Brun Motorsport GmbH |  Massimo Sigala Oscar Larrauri Joël Gouhier | Porsche 956 | 335 | |
| 7 | C1 | 20 | Brun Motorsport GmbH | Massimo Sigala Oscar Larrauri Joël Gouhier | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 335 | |
| 8 | C1 | 4 | Martini Racing | Bob Wollek Alessandro Nannini | Lancia LC2 | 326 | |
| 8 | C1 | 4 | Martini Racing | Bob Wollek Alessandro Nannini | Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8 | 326 | |
| 9 | C1 | 17 | Porsche Kremer Racing | Tiff Needell David Sutherland Rusty French | Porsche 956 | 321 | |
| 9 | C1 | 17 | Porsche Kremer Racing | Tiff Needell David Sutherland Rusty French | Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6 | 321 | |
| 10 | C2 | 68 | B.F. Goodrich Company | John O'Steen John Morton Yoshimi Katayama | Lola T616 | 320 | |
| 10 | C2 | 68 | B.F. Goodrich Company | John O'Steen John Morton Yoshimi Katayama | Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor | 320 | |
| 11 | C2 | 93 | Jean-Philippe Grand Graff Racing | Jean-Philippe Grand Jean-Paul Libert Pascal Witmeur | Rondeau M379 | 310 | |
| 11 | C2 | 93 | Jean-Philippe Grand Graff Racing | Jean-Philippe Grand Jean-Paul Libert Pascal Witmeur | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | 310 | |
| 12 | C2 | 67 | B.F. Goodrich Company | Jim Busby Boy Hayje Rick Knoop | Lola T616 | 295 | |
| 12 | C2 | 67 | B.F. Goodrich Company | Jim Busby Boy Hayje Rick Knoop | Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor | 295 | |
| 13 | C1 | 37 | McCormack and Dodge | Jim Mullen Walt Bohren Alain Ferté | Rondeau M482 | 293 | |
| 13 | C1 | 37 | McCormack and Dodge | Jim Mullen Walt Bohren Alain Ferté | Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | 293 | |
| 14 | B | 109 | Helmut Gall | Philippe Dagoreau Jean-François Yvon Pierre de Thoisy | BMW M1 | 292 | |
| 14 | B | 109 | Helmut Gall | Philippe Dagoreau Jean-François Yvon Pierre de Thoisy | BMW M88/1 3.5 L I6 | 292 | |
| 15 | C2 | 87 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. |  David Kennedy Jean-Michel Martin Philippe Martin | Mazda 727C | 291 | |
| 15 | C2 | 87 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. | David Kennedy Jean-Michel Martin Philippe Martin | Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor | 291 | |
| 16 | B | 106 | Claude Haldi | Claude Haldi Altfrid Heger Jean Krucker | Porsche 930 | 285 | |
| 16 | B | 106 | Claude Haldi | Claude Haldi Altfrid Heger Jean Krucker | Porsche 3.3 L Turbo Flat-6 | 285 | |
| 17 | IMSA GTO | 122 | Raymond Touroul | Raymond Touroul Valentin Bertapelle Thierry Perrier | Porsche 911 SC | 283 | |
| 17 | IMSA GTO | 122 | Raymond Touroul | Raymond Touroul Valentin Bertapelle Thierry Perrier | Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 | 283 | |
| 18 | IMSA GTO | 123 | Equipe Alméras Fréres | Jean-Marie Alméras Jacques Alméras Tom Winters | Porsche 930 | 268 | |
| 18 | IMSA GTO | 123 | Equipe Alméras Fréres | Jean-Marie Alméras Jacques Alméras Tom Winters | Porsche 3.3 L Turbo Flat-6 | 268 | |
| 19 | C2 | 81 | Scuderia Jolly Club | Almo Coppelli Davide Pavia Guido Daccò | Alba AR2 | 262 | |
| 19 | C2 | 81 | Scuderia Jolly Club | Almo Coppelli Davide Pavia Guido Daccò | Giannini Carma FF 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 262 | |
| 20 | C2 | 86 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. | Pierre Dieudonné Takashi Yorino Yojiro Terada | Mazda 727C | 261 | |
| 20 | C2 | 86 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. | Pierre Dieudonné Takashi Yorino Yojiro Terada | Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor | 261 | |
| 21 | C2 | 80 | Scuderia Jolly Club | Martino Finotto Carlo Facetti Marco Vanoli | Alba AR2 | 258 | |
| 21 | C2 | 80 | Scuderia Jolly Club | Martino Finotto Carlo Facetti Marco Vanoli | Giannini Carma FF 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 258 | |
| 22 | B | 107 | Raymond Boutinaud | Raymond Boutinaud Philippe Renault Giles Guinand | Porsche 928S | 255 | |
| 22 | B | 107 | Raymond Boutinaud | Raymond Boutinaud Philippe Renault Giles Guinand | Porsche 4.7 L V8 | 255 | |
| 23 DNF | IMSA GTP | 44 | Jaguar Group 44 | Brian Redman Doc Bundy Bob Tullius | Jaguar XJR-5 | 291 | |
| 23 DNF | IMSA GTP | 44 | Jaguar Group 44 | Brian Redman Doc Bundy Bob Tullius | Jaguar 6.0 L V12 | 291 | |
| 24 DNF | C1 | 5 | Martini Racing | Paolo Barilla Hans Heyer Mauro Baldi | Lancia LC2 | 275 | |
| 24 DNF | C1 | 5 | Martini Racing | Paolo Barilla Hans Heyer Mauro Baldi | Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8 | 275 | |
| 25 DNF | C1 | 21 | Charles Ivey Racing | Alain de Cadenet Allan Grice Chris Craft | Porsche 956 | 274 | |
| 25 DNF | C1 | 21 | Charles Ivey Racing | Alain de Cadenet Allan Grice Chris Craft | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 274 | |
| 26 DNF | IMSA GTP | 61 | Henn's T-Bird Swap Shop | Michel Ferté Edgar Dören Preston Henn | Porsche 962 | 247 | |
| 26 DNF | IMSA GTP | 61 | Henn's T-Bird Swap Shop | Michel Ferté Edgar Dören Preston Henn | Porsche Type-935 2.9 L Turbo Flat-6 | 247 | |
| 27 DNF | C1 | 14 | GTi Engineering | Jan Lammers Jonathan Palmer | Porsche 956 | 239 | |
| 27 DNF | C1 | 14 | GTi Engineering | Jan Lammers Jonathan Palmer | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 239 | |
| 28 DNF | IMSA GTP | 40 | Jaguar Group 44 | Tony Adamowicz John Watson Claude Ballot-Léna | Jaguar XJR-5 | 212 | |
| 28 DNF | IMSA GTP | 40 | Jaguar Group 44 | Tony Adamowicz John Watson Claude Ballot-Léna | Jaguar 6.0 L V12 | 212 | |
| 29 DNF | C1 | 8 | New-Man Joest Racing |  Stefan Johansson Jean-Louis Schlesser Mauricio de Narváez | Porsche 956 | 170 | |
| 29 DNF | C1 | 8 | New-Man Joest Racing | Stefan Johansson Jean-Louis Schlesser Mauricio de Narváez | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 170 | |
| 30 DNF | C1 | 38 | Dorset Racing Associates | Nick Faure Mark Galvin Richard Jones | Dome RC82 | 156 | |
| 30 DNF | C1 | 38 | Dorset Racing Associates | Nick Faure Mark Galvin Richard Jones | Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | 156 | |
| 31 DNF | C1 | 50 | Primagaz | Pierre Yver Bernard de Dryver Pierre-François Rousselot | Rondeau M382 | 155 | |
| 31 DNF | C1 | 50 | Primagaz | Pierre Yver Bernard de Dryver Pierre-François Rousselot | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | 155 | |
| 32 DNF | C1 | 13 | Primagaz | Yves Courage Michel Dubois John Jellinek | Cougar C02 | 153 | |
| 32 DNF | C1 | 13 | Primagaz | Yves Courage Michel Dubois John Jellinek | Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | 153 | |
| 33 DNF | C1 | 47 | Obermaier Racing GmbH | Jürgen Lässig George Fouché John Graham | Porsche 956 | 147 | |
| 33 DNF | C1 | 47 | Obermaier Racing GmbH | Jürgen Lässig George Fouché John Graham | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 147 | |
| 34 DNF | IMSA GTO | 121 | Charles Ivey Racing | David Ovey Paul Smith Margie Smith-Haas | Porsche 930 | 146 | |
| 34 DNF | IMSA GTO | 121 | Charles Ivey Racing | David Ovey Paul Smith Margie Smith-Haas | Porsche 3.3L Turbo Flat-6 | 146 | |
| 35 DNF | C1 | 34 | Team Australia John Fitzpatrick Racing | Peter Brock Larry Perkins | Porsche 956 | 145 | |
| 35 DNF | C1 | 34 | Team Australia John Fitzpatrick Racing | Peter Brock Larry Perkins | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 145 | |
| 36 DSQ† | C1 | 16 | GTi Engineering | Richard Lloyd Nick Mason René Metge | Porsche 956 | 139 | |
| 36 DSQ† | C1 | 16 | GTi Engineering | Richard Lloyd Nick Mason René Metge | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 139 | |
| 37 DNF | C1 | 23 | WM Secateva | Roger Dorchy Alain Couderc Gerard Patté | WM P83B | 122 | |
| 37 DNF | C1 | 23 | WM Secateva | Roger Dorchy Alain Couderc Gerard Patté | Peugeot PRV 2.8 L Turbo V6 | 122 | |
| 38 DNF | C1 | 6 | BP Résidences Malardeau Scuderia Jolly Club | Pierluigi Martini Xavier Lapeyre Beppe Gabbiani | Lancia LC2 | 117 | |
| 38 DNF | C1 | 6 | BP Résidences Malardeau Scuderia Jolly Club | Pierluigi Martini Xavier Lapeyre Beppe Gabbiani | Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8 | 117 | |
| 39 DNF | B | 101 |  Jens Winther Team Castrol | Jens Winther David Mercer Lars-Viggo Jensen | BMW M1 | 96 | |
| 39 DNF | B | 101 | Jens Winther Team Castrol | Jens Winther David Mercer Lars-Viggo Jensen | BMW M88/1 3.5 L I6 | 96 | |
| 40 DNF | IMSA GTP | 62 | Pegasus Racing Ltd. | Ken Marsden Jr. Marion L. Speer Wayne Pickering | March 84G | 95 | |
| 40 DNF | IMSA GTP | 62 | Pegasus Racing Ltd. | Ken Marsden Jr. Marion L. Speer Wayne Pickering | Buick 3.3 L Turbo V6 | 95 | |
| 41 DNF | C1 | 31 | Viscount Downe Aston Martin | Ray Mallock Drake Olson | Nimrod NRA/C2B | 94 | |
| 41 DNF | C1 | 31 | Viscount Downe Aston Martin | Ray Mallock Drake Olson | Aston Martin-Tickford DP1229 5.3 L V8 | 94 | |
| 42 DNF | C1 | 32 | Viscount Downe Aston Martin | John Sheldon Mike Salmon Richard Attwood | Nimrod NRA/C2B | 92 | |
| 42 DNF | C1 | 32 | Viscount Downe Aston Martin | John Sheldon Mike Salmon Richard Attwood | Aston Martin-Tickford DP1229 5.3 L V8 | 92 | |
| 43 DNF | C1 | 24 | WM Secateva | Michel Pignard Jean-Daniel Raulet Pascal Pessiot | WM P83B | 74 | |
| 43 DNF | C1 | 24 | WM Secateva | Michel Pignard Jean-Daniel Raulet Pascal Pessiot | Peugeot PRV 2.8 L Turbo V6 | 74 | |
| 44 DNF | C1 | 55 | Skoal Bandit Porsche Team John Fitzpatrick Racing | Rupert Keegan Guy Edwards Roberto Moreno | Porsche 962 | 72 | |
| 44 DNF | C1 | 55 | Skoal Bandit Porsche Team John Fitzpatrick Racing | Rupert Keegan Guy Edwards Roberto Moreno | Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 72 | |
| 45 DNF | B | 114 | Michel Lateste | Michel Lateste Michel Bienvault "Ségolen" | Porsche 930 | 70 | |
| 45 DNF | B | 114 | Michel Lateste | Michel Lateste Michel Bienvault "Ségolen" | Porsche 3.3 L Turbo Flat-6 | 70 | |
| 46 DNF | C2 | 70 | Spice-Tiga Racing | Gordon Spice Ray Bellm Neil Crang | Tiga GC84 | 69 | |
| 46 DNF | C2 | 70 | Spice-Tiga Racing | Gordon Spice Ray Bellm Neil Crang | Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | 69 | |
| 47 DNF | IMSA GTX | 27 | Scuderia Bellancauto | Roberto Marazzi Maurizio Micangeli Dominique Lacaud | Ferrari 512BB/LM | 65 | |
| 47 DNF | IMSA GTX | 27 | Scuderia Bellancauto | Roberto Marazzi Maurizio Micangeli Dominique Lacaud | Ferrari 5.0 L Flat-12 | 65 | |
| 48 DNF | C2 | 48 | John Bartlett Racing | François Migault Steve Kempton François Sérvanin | Lola T610 | 52 | |
| 48 DNF | C2 | 48 | John Bartlett Racing | François Migault Steve Kempton François Sérvanin | Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | 52 | |
| 49 DNF | C1 | 45 | Christian Bussi | Christian Bussi Jack Griffin Bruno Ilien | Rondeau M382 | 49 | |
| 49 DNF | C1 | 45 | Christian Bussi | Christian Bussi Jack Griffin Bruno Ilien | Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | 49 | |
| 50 DNF | C2 | 79 | A.D.A. Engineering | Ian Harrower Bill Wolff Glen Smith | ADA 01 | 42 | |
| 50 DNF | C2 | 79 | A.D.A. Engineering | Ian Harrower Bill Wolff Glen Smith | Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | 42 | |
| 51 DNF | C2 | 85 | Hubert Striebig | Hubert Striebig Jacques Heuclin Noël del Bello | Sthemo SM C2 | 41 | |
| 51 DNF | C2 | 85 | Hubert Striebig | Hubert Striebig Jacques Heuclin Noël del Bello | BMW M88/1 3.5 L I6 | 41 | |
| 52 DNF | C2 | 77 | Ecurie Ecosse | Mike Wilds David Duffield David Leslie | Ecosse C284 | 36 | |
| 52 DNF | C2 | 77 | Ecurie Ecosse | Mike Wilds David Duffield David Leslie | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | 36 | |
| 53 DNF | C1 | 25 | C.A.M.S. Charles Ivey Racing | Dudley Wood John Cooper Barry Robinson | Grid S2 | 10 | |
| 53 DNF | C1 | 25 | C.A.M.S. Charles Ivey Racing | Dudley Wood John Cooper Barry Robinson | Porsche Type-935 2.9 L Turbo Flat-6 | 10 | |
| DNS | C1 | 39 | Uchida Dome Racing Team | Eje Elgh Stanley Dickens | Dome RC83 | - | |
| DNS | C1 | 39 | Uchida Dome Racing Team | Eje Elgh Stanley Dickens | Ford Cosworth DFL 4.0 L V8 | - | |
| DNS | C2 | 99 | J.Q.F. Engineering Ltd. | Roy Baker Jeremy Rossiter François Duret | Tiga GC84 | - | |
| DNS | C2 | 99 | J.Q.F. Engineering Ltd. | Roy Baker Jeremy Rossiter François Duret | Ford Cosworth BDT 1.8 L Turbo I4 | - |
† - The #16 GTi Engineering Porsche was disqualified during the race for receiving technical assistance while still on the track.
Statistics
- Pole Position - Bob Wollek, #4 Martini Lancia - 3:17.11
- Fastest Lap - Alessandro Nannini, #4 Martini Lancia - 3:28.90
- Distance -
- Average Speed -