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54-528: The bridge is regarded as one of the most recognisable features at a motorsport venue, particularly the Circuit de la Sarthe and Donington Park , although the latter was removed during renovations for the failed attempt to stage the 2010 British F1 Grand Prix, and due to new racing safety regulations, cannot be restored. Radio and television personality Chris Evans bought the Donington Park bridge while visiting

108-623: A racing memorabilia auction in September 2012. Italics indicate that the bridge is no longer within the circuit. A Dunlop Bridge also exists in the Apricot Hill Raceway, a fictional racetrack in the Gran Turismo series , although the branding was removed in Gran Turismo 6 . Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans , also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after

162-409: A speed of 400 km/h (250 mph) on the famous straight), although the official team entry was named WM Secateva. Roger Dorchy and Claude Haldi would be the drivers of car 51 while Pascal Pessiot and Jean-Daniel Raulet would drive the team's other car (#52). The latter lasted only 22 laps, and car 51 went into the pits around 17:00 in the afternoon with engine problems. After spending 3.5 hours in

216-759: A suitable engine, Ferrari sat out the 1968 season, to return in 1969 with the Ferrari 312 P . In that year, Porsche had taken full advantage of a loop hole with the Porsche 917 , making the risky investment of building 25 examples of a five-litre car to allow homologation into the FIA 's Group 5 sports car category. Selling half of his business to Fiat , Enzo Ferrari raised the funds to match that investment. Surplus cars were intended to be sold to racing customers, which meant that several dozen high powered sports cars were available, and with each requiring two drivers in an endurance race, there

270-619: A weather station in Le Mans, which exhibits an oceanic climate ( Köppen Cfb ). With both the 24-hour races and the French MotoGP round being run before the peak of summer, high-profile races often have cool temperatures both in terms of ambient and track conditions with rainfall being a potential factor. Although nights cool off, sometimes into the single-digits, during the 24-hour car race, air frosts have never been recorded in June. The weather station

324-643: A win. At the end of the 1970 season, Ferrari had won the 12 hours of Sebring , while the Porsche 917 and 908 took the remaining nine wins of the championship season. At Le Mans , the Ferrari suffered from reliability problems, although it was considered to be equally fast to the 917. Four 512s were entered by Ferrari for that race, but the Vaccarella/Giunti car was out after seven laps, the Merzario/Regazzoni car

378-401: Is located at the local airport just a few hundred metres from the main grandstand and pit lane of the circuit. Ferrari 512 Ferrari 512 S was a sports prototype car produced by Italian manufacturer Ferrari from 1969 to 1970. As it name suggests, the car had a 5.0L V12 engine. A total 25 units were built. The car entered in the 1970 International Championship for Makes by

432-460: The 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans , Sarthe , France , is a semi-permanent motorsport race course , chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race . Comprising private, race-specific sections of track in addition to public roads which remain accessible most of the year, its present configuration is 13.626 km (8.467 mi) long, making it one of

486-493: The 1970 International Championship for Makes , as Ferrari had abandoned sports car racing after 1967, save for few entries in 1969. Clay Regazzoni and Jacky Ickx , who had returned from Brabham , were Ferrari's F1 men for 1970, but as endurance racing typically requires two drivers per car, at least six more drivers were needed to enter four cars, to match the four or more Porsche factory-backed entries. Also, Alfa entered factory prototype cars, and competed for drivers. Starting

540-577: The 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race , and a round of the MotoGP Championship . The circuit also holds French motor club races and in the past has hosted rounds of the International Formula 3000 Championship and DTM (German Touring Car series). In addition to motor racing, it is the venue for the 24 rollers , a 24h race on inline skates or quads. The Bugatti Circuit was used for the 1967 French Grand Prix , though it would prove to be

594-660: The Mulsanne Straight before the 1990 race to limit the maximum achievable speed. The chicanes were also added because the FIA decreed it would no longer sanction a circuit which had a straight longer than 2 km (1.2 mi), which is roughly the length of the Döttinger Höhe straight at the Nürburgring Nordschleife . The fastest qualifying lap average speed though only dropped from 249.826 to 243.329 km/h (155.235 to 151.198 mph) in 1992. In 1994,

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648-700: The Sarthe département ) D338 (formerly Route Nationale N138 ). As the Hunaudières leads to the village of Mulsanne, it is often called the Mulsanne Straight in English, even though the proper Route du Mulsanne is the one from or to Arnage. After exiting the Tertre Rouge corner, cars spent almost half of the lap at full throttle, before braking for Mulsanne Corner. The Porsche 917 long tail , used from 1969 to 1971, had reached 362 km/h (225 mph). After engine size

702-460: The 1022, bought by the last team, was destroyed at the 24 Hours of Daytona , they would use the 1032. During the 1970 race season several other Ferraris 512 Ss were destroyed. That was the case with the 1012 spyder after its crash at practice for the ADAC 1000km Nürburgring . Car number 1026, having been raced as factory car No. 7 by Derek Bell and Ronnie Peterson at the 1970 Le Mans 24 hours ,

756-448: The 1960s, pushing the limits of the "classic circuit" and sparking criticism of the track as being unsafe after several trials related fatalities occurred. In 1965, a smaller, but permanent, Bugatti Circuit was added which shares the pit lane facilities and the first corner (including the famous Dunlop bridge) with the full "Le Mans" circuit. For the 1968 race, the Ford chicane was added before

810-481: The 25 cars manufactured for the 1970 season were not raced that year. Number 1020 was converted to 512 M specifications at the end of the season and sold to NART, which entered it in competition in 1971. Number 1024 remained unsold in 1970, was transformed into a 512 M and sold one year later to the Scuderia Brescia Corse. Car number 1036 was used as test car by the racing division of Ferrari; later it

864-706: The Dunlop chicane was tightened. In 2002, the run to the Esses was reconfigured in the wake of renovations to the Bugatti Circuit. The Le Mans circuit was changed between the Dunlop Bridge and Esses, with the straight now becoming a set of fast sweeping turns. This layout allowed for a better transition from the Le Mans circuit to the Bugatti circuit. This layout change would also require the track's infamous carnival to be relocated near

918-615: The Ferrari 512 S and Porsche 917 seemed fairly evenly matched. At the beginning of 1970 the Ferrari 512s were hampered by predictable early problems, including a weak suspension and transmission problems, but the fact that Porsche already had six months of equally mixed experiences with its 917 in 1969 would be decisive for the rest of the season. Contrary to Porsche, Ferrari did not organise an intramural competition. At Porsche, JWA Gulf , KG Porsche Salzburg, and later Martini Racing all received direct factory support. Thus, at least four cars were real works cars, without putting strain on

972-605: The Porsche curves, and in 2006, the ACO redeveloped the area between the Dunlop Curve and Tertre Rouge, moving the Dunlop Chicane in even tighter to create more run-off area, while also turning the area after the Dunlop Chicane into an even larger set of fast, sweeping turns, known as the Esses en route to Tertre Rouge. As part of the development, a new extended pit lane exit was created for the Bugatti Circuit. This second pit exit re-enters

1026-463: The Porsche drivers. Vaccarella was "the man of the rocky mountains" at the Targa Florio and Schetty was the specialist of hillclimbing racing where Porsche was also a dominant factor. Derek Bell and Jackie Oliver were also unavailable at most endurance races, since they drove F1 for Brabham and BRM . John Surtees , who had quit Ferrari in 1966 after an argument with Eugenio Dragoni, returned for

1080-413: The brakes and suspension as cars must slow from over 322 km/h (200 mph) to around 100 km/h (62 mph) for the sharp corner at the village of Mulsanne . The road racing track, which was a triangle from Le Mans down south to Mulsanne , northwest to Arnage , and back north to Le Mans, has undergone many modifications over the years, with CIRCUIT N°15 being in use since 2018. Even with

1134-480: The circuit in 1929), before exiting the city again on the rather straight section now named Avenue Georges Durand after the race's founder. Then 17.261 km (10.725 mi) long and unpaved, a bypass within the city shortened the track in 1929, but the city was only bypassed completely in 1932, when the section from the pits via the Dunlop Bridge and the Esses to Tertre Rouge was added. This classic configuration

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1188-452: The exit of the slow Mulsanne corner, and the track being resurfaced. In 1979, due to the construction of a new public road, the profile of "Tertre Rouge" had to be changed. This redesign led to a faster double-apex corner and saw the removal of the second Dunlop Bridge. In 1986, construction of a new roundabout at the Mulsanne corner demanded the addition a new portion of track in order to avoid

1242-404: The factory Scuderia Ferrari and private teams. Later that year, modified versions resembling their main competitor, the Porsche 917 , were called Ferrari 512 M (for modificata ). In the 1971 International Championship for Makes , the factory focused on the new Ferrari 312 PB and abandoned the 512 which was only entered by privateers. From 1972 onwards, the 512 (as the 917) was withdrawn from

1296-413: The factory itself, as personnel and funds were provided by these professional teams. And even the privateers like AAW Shell Racing and David Piper Racing received much better support than Ferrari's clients. Ferrari did not adopt this modern scheme, but entered cars themselves in the traditional manner, as "Spa Ferrari SEFAC ". Having only a few Formula One drivers under contract in the previous years, with

1350-454: The fastest official race lap records at the Circuit de la Sarthe for different classes are listed as: In 1988 , Team WM Peugeot were well aware of their slim chance of winning the 24-hour endurance race outright, but they knew that their Welter Racing designed car had exceptional straight line aerodynamics. Thus they nicknamed their 1988 entry "Project 400" (aiming to be the first car to achieve

1404-524: The larger circuit and a separate, purpose-built section. The sections of track on the Bugatti Circuit that are on the Circuit des 24 Heures include the Ford Chicane at the end of the lap, the pit complex, and the straight where the Dunlop Tyres bridge is located. At this point in the overlapping section of the tracks there is a left-right sweep that was added for motorcycle safety in 2002. Vehicles turning to

1458-430: The left continue onto the Circuit des 24 Heures, toward Tertre Rouge and Mulsanne, vehicles turning to the right at La Chapelle will continue the Bugatti Circuit. The infield section features Garage Vert, a back straight, the 'S' du Garage Bleu, and Raccordement, which joins back at the Ford chicane. The track was home base for Pescarolo Sport , founded by famous French driver Henri Pescarolo . The circuit currently hosts

1512-425: The longest circuits in the world. The capacity of the race stadium, where the short Bugatti Circuit is situated, is 100,000. The Musée des 24 Heures du Mans is a motorsport museum located at the main entrance of the venue. Up to 85% of the lap time is spent on full throttle, putting immense stress on engine and drivetrain components. Additionally, the times spent reaching maximum speed also mean tremendous wear on

1566-513: The loop hole for the five litre sports cars became obsolete after 1971, Ferrari decided to abandon factory entries of the 512 in favor of developing a new three litre prototype, the 312 PB . In 1971, Penske entered an improved 512 M (No. 1040) in Sunoco livery which was able to challenge the 917, taking pole position several times. Just in time for the 24h of Daytona, Ferrari in January 1970 presented

1620-451: The modifications put in place over the years, the Sarthe circuit is still known for being very fast, with prototype cars achieving average lap speeds in excess of 240 km/h (150 mph). In the 1920s, the cars drove from the present pits on Rue de Laigné straight into the city, and after a sharp right-hand corner near the river Huisne Pontlieue bridge (a hairpin permanently removed from

1674-408: The new record as "405". This has led to many people mistakenly stating the record as only 405 km/h (252 mph), but Dorchy's best run down the Mulsanne straight was clocked at 407 km/h (253 mph). Bugatti Circuit is a 4.185 km (2.600 mi) permanent race track located within Circuit des 24 Heures, constructed in 1965 and named after Ettore Bugatti . The circuit uses a part of

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1728-680: The only time the Formula One World Championship would use the circuit, and is the current host of the French motorcycle Grand Prix . It also forms the final round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship , and was part of the World Series by Renault and 1988 Superbike World Championship seasons . As of May 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Bugatti Circuit are listed as: Météo France runs

1782-452: The pits to slow down the cars. The circuit was fitted with Armco barriers for the 1969 race. The "Maison Blanche" kink was particularly harrowing, claiming many cars over the years (including three Ferrari 512 variants) and several lives, including the legendary John Woolfe in 1969 behind the wheel of a Porsche 917 . The circuit has been modified ten more times — 1971, a year when prototypes were averaging over 240 km/h (150 mph),

1836-459: The pits, the team had the car back on the track and they decided to go for it. The plan worked: with Roger Dorchy behind the wheel the WM P87 achieved the speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). The Peugeot retired shortly after that (on lap 59) with an overheating engine. By then it had outlasted two other Group C1 entrants. Since Peugeot had just launched its new model 405, the team agreed to advertise

1890-509: The points tally of late Jochen Rindt , who had a fatal accident during practice for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix . Of the 12 works racers on Ferrari 512 S in 1970, nine are still alive. Ignazio Giunti was killed in Buenos Aires in January 1971, driving the brand new Ferrari 312PB. He was leading the 1971 1000 km Buenos Aires race when he collided with the Matra which Jean-Pierre Beltoise

1944-522: The races in Monza , Spa and at the Nürburgring . Whilst JWA Gulf, KG Salzburg and Martini Racing could count on stable pairings for the whole season, Ferrari's race director Mauro Forghieri had to change his pairings over and over. Eventually his top racer Mario Andretti could only be present for the three American rounds (Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen ). In total 12 different drivers were seen in 1970 at

1998-467: The required number of 25 512 S, as 17 complete cars and eight assembly kits, to the homologation authorities. Of those cars, fitted with the traditional even chassis numbers, ranging from 1002 to 1050, 19 were raced in 1970, five of them being spyders . Unlike Porsche, which built over 50 917s in total, Ferrari could not sell off all surplus cars. The only 512 chassis winning major races in 1970 were Nos. 1026 (Sebring) and 1010 (Kyalami). A number of

2052-423: The roundabout. This created a right hand kink prior to Mulsanne corner. In 1987, a chicane was added to the very fast Dunlop curve, where cars would go under the Dunlop bridge at 180 mph (290 km/h). Now they would be slowed to 110 mph (180 km/h). Le Mans was most famous for its 6 km (3.7 mi) long straight, called Ligne Droite des Hunaudières , a part of the route départementale (for

2106-517: The same heavy testing duties as most other F1 racers), who all could drive, for example, the ultra-fast Spa-Francorchamps in a 917K just as competently as they could drive the twisty, winding Targa Florio course in a 908/03. Ferrari only entered one car in the Targa Florio, driven by Giunti and Vaccarella, whereas Porsche entered 4 cars in the event and won it easily. Although all of the Ferrari drivers were just as capable, they were not as available as

2160-725: The season, former Ferrari works driver Pedro Rodríguez had been lost to Porsche's JWA Gulf Racing of John Wyer , and to BRM in F1, while another former works racer, Chris Amon was now involved in F1 with March , just like Mario Andretti . It was scheduled that Regazzoni, Ickx, Ignazio Giunti , Peter Schetty, Nino Vaccarella and Arturo Merzario should race as many rounds as possible. Only Vaccarella and Schetty were free from F1 obligations. Although fast, they were not such typical all-rounders as Jo Siffert , Brian Redman , Vic Elford , Hans Herrmann and Pedro Rodriguez (of them Siffert raced in F1 for March and Rodriguez raced F1 for BRM, but had not

2214-414: The sports car aces driving for Porsche, Ferrari could barely find qualified drivers for its entries. Besides the factory cars, there were the private cars of Scuderia Filipinetti , NART , Écurie Francorchamps , Scuderia Picchio Rosso, Gelo Racing Team and Escuderia Montjuich. Those private cars never received the same support from the factory. They were considered as field fillers, never as candidates for

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2268-423: The track just beyond the Dunlop Chicane and before the Dunlop Bridge. Following the fatal crash of Danish driver Allan Simonsen at the 2013 race at the exit of Tertre Rouge into D338, Tertre Rouge was re-profiled again. The radius was moved in approximately 200 m (220 yd) for safety reasons with new tyre barriers at the exit. The current version of the track has been in use since 2018. As of June 2024,

2322-464: The wheel of a factory 512 S . Of them the promising Ignazio Giunti did nine of the ten rounds, being only absent at the BOAC 1000 km. Merzario and Vaccarella made seven entries, Ickx and Schetty six of the ten. Only Vaccarella and Surtees were 35 years old or older. Except for Clay Regazzoni (31), all others were younger than 30 years, with Ickx (25), Peterson (26), Merzario (27) and Bell (28). Peterson

2376-619: The world championship following a change in the regulations; some 512s in private hands went on to compete in the CanAm and Interserie races. In the mid 1970s, Ferrari had competed in sports prototype racing with the Ferrari P series of cars, been regularly defeated by the Ford GT40 , which used a 7.0-litre engine. For 1968, the rules were changed limiting Group 6 prototypes to a maximum engine capacity of 3.0 litres, as in Formula One. Despite having

2430-499: Was 13.492 km (8.384 mi) long and remained almost unaltered even after the 1955 tragedy . Its frighteningly narrow pit straight was further narrowed to make room for the pits and was part of the road itself, without the road becoming wider around the pits, and no separation. The pit straight then was about 3.7 m (12 ft) wide, further widened in 1956 after the tragedy, but the race track and pits were not separated for another 15 years. Car speeds increased dramatically in

2484-431: Was a shortage of experienced pilots. The engine of the 512 S was a completely new 60° V12 with 560 PS (412 kW) output. Compared to Porsche's air-cooled flat-12, it needed a maze of cooling pipes and a heavy radiator. Since the chassis was of steel, reinforced with aluminium sheet, weight was 100 kg more than that of the alloy-framed 917. Notwithstanding the weight difference and higher center of gravity,

2538-429: Was clocked by radar travelling at 407 km/h (253 mph). Jean-Louis Lafosse and Jo Gartner would ultimately suffer from fatal high speed accidents in 1981 and 1986, respectively, leading to concerns with the growing speeds on the 3.7 mi (6.0 km) straight. As the combination of high speed and high downforce caused tyre and engine failures, two roughly equally spaced chicanes were consequently added to

2592-472: Was destroyed at the hands of Derek Bell during the Le Mans film productioin. Chassis number 1032 was subject of controversy in the 1980s, and even Christie's was involved. On the reconversion of the 1032 into a 512 M parts were used to rebuild it on the 1050 chassis. Compared to Porsche which since the mid-1960s strived to align the top sports car drivers of that era, Ferrari's Mauro Forghieri could not count exclusively on top racers in their quest to win

2646-488: Was limited, the top speed dropped until powerful turbo engines were allowed, like in the 1978 Porsche 935 , which was clocked at 367 km/h (228 mph). Speeds on the straight by the Group C prototypes reached over 400 km/h (250 mph) during the late 1980s. At the beginning of the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans race, Roger Dorchy driving for Welter Racing in a "Project 400" car, which sacrificed reliability for speed,

2700-540: Was not raced in 1970. Car number 1050 was sold to Corrado Manfredini (but only as chassis plus body); after it was combined with parts of Nos. 1022 and 1032, it was transformed into a 512 M and campaigned in 1971. In total, the factory team used nine cars for international endurance racing. The Scuderia Filipinetti (Switzerland, Herbert Müller ) and NART raced two cars each. Écurie Francorchamps (Belgian importer of Ferrari), Escuderia Montjuich (Spain), Gelo Racing Team (Germany) and Picchio Rosso raced one car each. After

2754-465: Was only hired for Le Mans, a serious mistake by Forghieri who should have offered him a full year contract. Another handicap for Ferrari was its full season commitment to F1 racing, so that the 512 S cars did not receive full technical help at all times. Ickx finished second in the F1 World Championship and won three races, while Regazzoni finished third and won once. Both failed to surpass

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2808-663: Was out after 38 laps and the Bell/Peterson car was out a lap later, and about five hours later the Ickx/Schetty car was out after 142 laps. For speed tracks such as Le Mans, Spa, Monza and the Osterrichring, an extra rear body panel designed to suit the 512 better was fitted on the car. The modified 512 M had proven to be fast at the end of the season, and Ickx/Giunti also won the Kyalami non-championship Springbok nine-hours race. As

2862-529: Was sold to Solar Productions for Steve McQueen 's Le Mans , also known as French Kiss with Death . Lastly, number 1036 was converted to an open-top version and raced in Can-Am in 1974. Car 1040, sold to Chris Cord and Steve Earle, was entered in 1971 by Penske at Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans and Watkins Glen, setting the pole positions at the American tracks. Number 1048 was sold as a test car to Scuderia Filipinetti and

2916-403: Was the last year the classic circuit was used. That year, an Armco barrier was added to the pit straight to separate the track from the pits. In 1972, the race track was considerably revamped, at a cost of 300 million francs , with modification of the pit area and the first and final straights, the addition of the quick Porsche curves bypassing "Maison Blanche", the signalling area being moved to

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