1994 24 Hours of Le Mans
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The 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 62nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 18 and 19 June 1994.
Contents
Race
The 1994 race was won by a car that had its roots in a 10-year-old design. Porsche exploited an unusual quirk in the GT regulations at the time, using German fashion magnate Jochen Dauer in a plan to have a street-legal version of the outdated and now illegal Porsche 962 built. Using this road car design, Porsche entered two racing modified Dauer 962s in the GT category. With factory support, the Dauer 962 was able to take the win, the other 962 coming in a close third. Toyota, having themselves dusted off a pair of Group C chassis after its 3.5-litre engined TS010 was no longer eligible, suffered transmission problems with 90 minutes to go, leaving Eddie Irvine to finish 2nd in his 94C-V.
This was also supposed to be Derek Bell's swansong Le Mans, driving a Porsche-powered Kremer with Gulf Oil sponsorship. However, the lure of driving a McLaren F1 GTR with son Justin the following year proved too strong. Additionally, Roland Ratzenberger was originally scheduled to drive the eventual second place-finishing Toyota before he was killed in qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix. Eddie Irvine took his place on the team, and Ratzenberger's name was left on the car in tribute.[1]
Official results
Statistics
- Pole Position - #2 Courage Compétition - 3:51.05
- Fastest Lap - #35 LeMans Porsche Team - 3:52.54
- Distance - 4678.4 km
- Average Speed - 195.238 km/h
- Highest Trap Speed — Dauer 962 Le Mans - 365 km/h (practice)
