1975 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 43rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1975. Colloquially called the “Le Mans Economy Run”, stringent refuelling regulations were put in place. Unable to match the requisite 7mpg fuel economy the manufacturer teams from Ferrari, Alfa Romeo withdrew and Matra had retired from the sport at the end of 1974. Therefore, this only left Gulf and Ligier as front-running works-teams.

The race was won by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell in their Gulf GR-8, finishing just a lap ahead of the Ligier of Jean-Louis Lafosse and Guy Chasseuil. It was the first victory for an all-British car since the Aston Martin in 1959, and for running at an ‘economic’ speed, the winner covered just one lap less than the winning car of the previous year.

The ongoing fuel-crisis was having a growing impact on international motor-racing, as critics saw the sport as a profligate waste of petrol. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), ever wanting to follow its original mandate to advance automobile technology, put in radical measures to provide a solution. All cars had to go 20 laps before refuelling with petrol and oil – roughly equivalent to 270 km (170 mi), around 7mpg, for a 25% improvement. As a reference, the Matras had only done 16 laps between their fuel stops in 1974. Fuel tanks were also limited in size.

These, however, put it out of step with the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale - the FIA’s regulations body) and the FIA therefore removed the Le Mans 24 Hours from the World Championship calendar. This had happened before when the FIA had excluded Le Mans in 1956 because of their stricter safety requirements. It can also be pointed out that Le Mans races prior to 1960 had run to refuelling restrictions. For its part, the CSI had postponed the introduction of its new Group 5 “silhouette” rules until 1976.

The ACO also introduced a new “GTX” (Le Mans Grand Touring Experimental) class for GT cars to use non-homologated equipment. It also opened up its entry list to Group 3 GTs, alongside the Group 5, 4 and 2 cars. Finally, the ACO allowed teams to replace any pieces of equipment during the race, but the defective parts had to be given to the ACO technical team. This year, the ACO also gave a prize to the car which used the smallest amount of fuel. Also the Index of Thermal Efficiency was now opened to all car classes.

Since the race's inception in 1923, the Le Mans circuit had incorporated using public highways. An ambitious plan in the early 1970s had been proposed to build a new Mulsanne Straight parallel to the main road and bypassing the Mulsanne corner. However, by 1975 with the economic recession and reduced interest in motor-racing, no work had been started, and in the end the project was cancelled later in the year.

Where we have not had a model of the car through the business as raced I've added another example of the car as an illustration (where I have one)

Pos	Car	No.	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
1		11	Gulf Research Racing	Jacky Ickx  Derek Bell	Gulf-Mirage GR8	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	337
2		5	Automobiles Ligier Gitanes	Jean-Louis Lafosse  Guy Chasseuil	Ligier JS2	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	336
3		10	Gulf Research Racing	Vern Schuppan  Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Gulf-Mirage GR8	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	331
4	(example)	15	Joest Racing	Reinhold Joest  Mario Casoni  Jürgen Barth	Porsche 908/03	Porsche 3.0L F8	326
5	(example)	58	Gelo Racing Team	Gijs van Lennep  John Fitzpatrick  Manfred Schurti  Toine Hezemans	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	316
6		69	"Beurlys" (private entrant)	“Beurlys” (Jean Blaton)  Nick Faure  John Cooper	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	312
7	(example)	53	ASA Cachia-Bondy	Henri Cachia  Jacques Borras  Pascal Moisson	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	310
8	(example)	55	Écurie Robert Buchet	Claude Ballot-Léna  Jacques Bienvenue	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	305
9	(example)	65	Porsche Kremer Racing Team	Juan Carlos Bolaños  Andres Contreras  Billy Sprowls	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	305
10	(example)	84	G. Maurer (private entrant)	Gerhard Maurer  Christian Baez  Eugen Strähl	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L F6	296
11	(example)	67	A.-C. Verney (private entrant)	Anne-Charlotte Verney  Yvette Fontaine  Corinne Tarnaud	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L F6	295
12		47	Ecurie Francorchamps	Jean-Claude Andruet  Teddy Pilette  Baron Hughes de Fierlandt	Ferrari 365 GTB/4	Ferrari 4.4L V12	294
13		48	M. Mignot (private entrant)	Marcel Mignot  Philippe Gurdjian  Harry Jones	Ferrari 365 GTB/4	Ferrari 4.4L V12	294
14	Still Looking	4	A. de Cadenet (private entrant)	Alain de Cadenet  Chris Craft	Lola T380 LM	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	292
15	(example)	20	Porsche Club Romand	Claude Haldi  Bernard Béguin  Peter Zbinden	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo	Porsche 2.2L F6 Turbo	291
16	(example)	43	Team Claude Dubois (private entrant)  Ecuador Marlboro Team	Pierre Rubens  Paolo Bozzetto	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8	291
17	(example)	77	P. Dagoreau (private entrant)	Philippe Dagoreau  Thierry Sabine  Jean-Pierre Aeschlimann	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L F6	285
18	(example)	80	X Racing	Raymond Touroul  Philippe Hesnault	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L F6	284
19	(example)	63	Porsche Club Romand	Jean-Claude Bering  Klaus Utz  Horst Godel	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L F6	284
20	(example)	87	X Racing	Philippe Demagne  René Boubet	Porsche 911 Carrera S	Porsche 2.7L F6	282
21		35	Société Esso (private entrant)	Michèle Mouton  Marianne Hoepfner  Christine Dacremont	Moynet LM75	Simca-JRD 1994cc S4	270
22	Still Looking	30	J.-M. Lemerle (private entrant)	Jean-Marie Lemerle  Patrick Daire  Alain Levié	Lola T292	Simca-ROC 1994cc S4	266
23	(example)	61	Écurie Armagnac Bogorre (private entrant)	Christian Bussi  Patrick Metral	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	266
24	Still Looking	28	Société Racing Organisation Course	François Sérvanin  Jacques Henry  Albert Dufrène	Lola T294	Simca-ROC 1994cc S4	258
25	(example)	71	J. Laplacette (private entrant)	Joël Laplacette  Alain Leroux  Claude Pigeon	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	258
26	(example)	72	A. Haller (private entrant)	André Haller  Hans Schuller  Benoit Maechler	Datsun 240Z	Datsun 2.4L S6	254
27	(example)	91	Heidegger Racing Team	Daniel Brillat  Giancarlo Gagliardi  Michel Degoumois	BMW 2002Ti	BMW 1990cc S4	252
N/C*	(example)	50	L. Meznarie (private entrant)	Hübert Striebig  Hugues Kirschoffer  Pierre Mauroy	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	243
N/C*	Still Looking	38	Rays Racing	Nigel Clarkson  Derek Worthington	Lola T292/294	Cosworth BDA 1950cc S4	241
N/C*	Still Looking	23	Madison Racing Team	Richard Knight  Mike Knight  “Cyprien” (Christian Mons]	March 75S	Cosworth BDG 1975cc S4	218
DSQ	(example)	78	Écurie Buchet  C. Grandet (private entrant)	Cyril Grandet  Bob Wollek	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	294
DNF	(example)	3	C. Poirot (private entrant)	Christian Poirot  Gérard Cuynet  Guillermo Ortega	Porsche 908/02	Porsche 3.0L F8	249
DNF	Still Looking	27	Société Racing Organisation Course	Xavier Lapeyre  Christian Ethuin  Laurent Ferrier	Lola T294	Simca-ROC 1994cc S4	223
DNF	Still Looking	29	Société Racing Organisation Course	Pierre-Marie Painvin  Franz Hummel	Lola T292	Simca-ROC 1994cc S4	206
DNF	(example)	1	Wicky Racing Team	Max Cohen-Olivar  Philippe Coran  Joël Brachet	Porsche 908/02K	Porsche 3.0L F8	161
DNF		6	Automobiles Ligier Gitanes	Henri Pescarolo  François Migault	Ligier JS2	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	146
DNF	(example)	59	Gelo Racing Team	Tim Schenken  Howden Ganley	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	106
DNF	(example)	52	Écurie du Nord	William Vollery  Roger Dorchy  Eric Chapuis	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	93
DNF	(example)	68	G. Verrier (private entrant)	Guy Verrier  Florian Vetsch  Jean-Robert Corthay	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L F6	91
DNF	Still Looking	98	Auto Mazda Claude Buchet	Claude Buchet  Jean Rondeau	Mazda RX-3 Coupé	Mazda 12A 2-Rotor (2.3L equiv.)	78
DNF	(example)	93	H. Poulain (private entrant)	Hervé Poulain  Sam Posey  Jean Guichet	BMW 3.0 CSL	BMW 3.5L S6	73
DNF	(example)	96	J. Bonnemaison (private entrant)	Lucien Nageotte  Gérard Picard	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L F6	48
DNF	(example)	16	Joest Racing  Tebernum Racing	Clemens Schickentanz  Hartwig Bertrams	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	42
DNF	(example)	60	Gelo Racing Team	Toine Hezemans  Manfred Schurti	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	41
DNF	Still Looking	18	Sigma Automotive	Hiroshi Fushida  Harukuni Takahashi	Sigma MC75	Toyota 1636cc S4 Turbo	37
DNF		97	Automobiles Ligier Gitanes	Jean-Pierre Beltoise  Jean-Pierre Jarier	Ligier JS2	Maserati 3.0L V6	36
DNF	(example)	95	Shark Team	Jean-Claude Guérie  Dominique Fornage	Ford Capri LV	Ford 3.0L V6	27
DNF	(example)	7	Beurlys International Auto (private entrant)	Pietro Polese  "Willer" (Germano Premol)	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8	22
DNF	(example)	26	Equipe Elf Switzerland	Marie-Claude Beaumont  Lella Lombardi	Renault-Alpine A441C	Renault 1997cc V6	20
DNF	(example)	57	Ganto Racing	John Rulon-Miller  Tom Waugh  Serge Godard	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	16
DNF	Still Looking	12	Racing Team Schulthess (private entrant)	Heinz Schulthess  Hervé Bayard  André Savary	Lola T284	Cosworth DFV 3.0L V8	16
DNF	Still Looking	40	P. Mettetal (private entrant)	Jean Ragnotti  Michel Lateste	Tecma 755	Ford-Hart 1790cc S4	11
DNF	(example)	83	J.-Y. Gadal (private entrant)	Jean-Yves Gadal  "Ségolen" (André Gahinet)	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 2.7L F6	6
DNF	(example)	90	J.-C. Aubriet (private entrant)	Jean-Claude Aubriet  "Dépnic" (Jean-Claude Depince)	BMW 3.0 CSL	BMW 3.5L S6	1
DNF		42	H. Greder (private entrant)	Henri Greder  Alain Cudini	Chevrolet Corvette C3	Chevrolet 7.0L V8	0
DNS	(example)	45	North American Racing Team	Ronnie Bucknum  Carlo Facetti	Ferrari 365 GTB/4	Ferrari 4.4L V12	0
DNS	(example)	46	North American Racing Team	Jean-Pierre Malcher  Patrick Langlois	Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Michelotti Spider	Ferrari 4.4L V12	0
DNS	(example)	62	Escuderia Montjuïch	Juan Fernández  Francisco Perez	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Porsche 3.0L F6	0
DNS	(example)	99	North American Racing Team	Lucien Guitteny  Jacky Haran	Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Berlinetta Boxe	Ferrari 4.4L V12	0
DNQ	(example)	2	Ecuador Marlboro Team (private entrant)	Guillermo Ortega  Lothar Ranft	Porsche 908/02	Porsche 3.0L F8	0
DNQ	(example)	9	Ecuador Marlboro Team (private entrant)	Fausto Merello  Francisco Madera  Louis Larrea	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0L F6	0
DNQ	(example)	17	North American Racing Team	Richard Bond  Giancarlo Gagliardi  Harley Cluxton	Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 LM	Ferrari 2.9L V8	0
DNQ	Still Looking	33	J.-L. Gama (private entrant)	Jean-Louis Gama  Franc Leclercq  “Deneulin”	GLD 910/6	Porsche 1991cc F6	0
DNQ	(example)	34	P. Rilly (private entrant)	Paul Rilly  Roger Le Veve	Lamborghini Islero	Lamborghini 3.9L V12	0
DNQ	Still Looking	39	M. Lateste (private entrant)	Michel Lateste  Gilbert Sedergo	Sederap	Cosworth BDG 1844cc S4	0
DNQ	(example)	54	A. Pallavicini (private entrant)	Angelo Pallavicini  Marco Vanoli	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0 F6	0
DNQ	(example)	70	Les Maisons de Week-End (private entrant)	Jean-Louis Ravenel  Jacky Ravenel  Dany Wauters	Porsche 911 Carrera RS	Porsche 3.0 F6	0
DNQ	(example)	73	T. Perrier (private entrant)	Thierry Perrier  Jean Belliard	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.3L F6	0
DNQ	(example)	75	Wicky Racing Team	André Wicky  José Thibault  Elio Cogo  Philippe Carron	De Tomaso Pantera	Ford 5.8L V8	0
DNQ	(example)	89	M. Guicherd (private entrant)	Michel Guicherd  Jean-Claude Géral  Christian Avril	Chrysler Hemicuda	Chrysler Hemi 7.0L V8	0
DNQ	(example)	94	Shark Team	Christian Gouttepifre  Jean-Pierre Bodin	Ford Capri RS	Ford 3.0L V6	0