A race of records.
The 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans was a historic race and saw many records broken and set. It was also the last time the Porsche 917K and Ferrari 512M were eligible due to the FIA eliminating the “Sport” category, making this even more of an important battle between the two automotive powerhouses.
The race marked quite a few firsts for Porsche such as the first 917 with a magnesium frame that weighed only 42 kg., the 917 became the most photographed car, Dr. Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep recorded a distance record of 5,335.3 km (397 laps), and recorded an average speed of 222.304 km/h. The race ended with a 1-2 finish for Porsche with the No. 22 Martini Racing Team 917K taking first and the No 19 John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd. 917K taking second.
It certainly has us itching for Porsche’s 2014 return to Le Mans!
[Source: Porsche]
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