[OC] The History of the #1 at Le Mans (Part 3)

Welcome to Part 3! Here is [Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/wec/comments/l40vqf/oc_the_history_of_the_1_at_le_mans_part_1/) and [Part 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/wec/comments/l4nst7/oc_the_history_of_the_1_at_le_mans_part_2/) if you missed them.

- ***1972-1981: The #1? It’s Just a Number.***

The idea of the largest engine carrying the #1 slowly began to disappear around this time. It took almost 50 years for people to start realizing that bigger wasn’t always better, especially for a 24 hour race. As far as I can tell, there wasn’t a specific reason for who claimed the #1 throughout these years. Some years, it was by class or country preference, other years it was by chance. These are the random years.

- **1972** – No #1. The #1 was so tired of being disrespected the last four years, it didn’t even show up. But seriously, [Ferrari](https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/car/154/Ferrari-312-PB-56727.jpg) had been using the #1 for most of the 1972 WSC season but didn’t show up to Le Mans. Their reasoning was that the 312 PB was designed to excel at the 1000 km races, not 24 hours, but this didn't convince anyone.

- **1973** – No #1. I’m not quite sure why there was no #1 this year, both [Matra](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1973/1973_10-11-14-12.jpg) (1972 Le Mans winners) and [Ferrari](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1973/1973_16[13].jpg) (1972 WSC Manufacturer’s Title winners) could have claimed the #1.

- **1974** – [North American Racing Team](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1974/1974_54-01.jpg) / Ferrari 312P (Jean-Claude Andruet, Teodoro Zeccoli) – How cool was motorsports back in the 70’s? NART couldn’t get their hands on an official 312P, so they built their own! The car finished 9th overall, far behind the [Matra’s](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1974/1974_07[06].jpg), [Mirage’s](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1974/11_a.jpg), and [Porsche’s](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1974/lemans1974porsche22db6.jpg).

- **1975** – [Wicky Racing Team](https://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1975/Le_Mans-1975-06-15-001.jpg) / Porsche 908/02 K (Joël Brachet, Max Cohen-Olivar, Philippe Coran) – Porsche finally laid their hands on the #1, although by an unexpected entry. A Swiss team that managed a 24th starting spot and a finish in the garage after 17 hours.

- **1976** – [Inaltéra](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1976/1976_01[03].jpg) / Inaltéra LM Ford Cosworth (Henri Pescarolo, Jean-Pierre Beltoise) – With the ACO’s new GTP class and of course a French entry in this class, being driven by two French greats, it was clear who was to carry the #1. The “French Rule” strikes again! The new Inaltéra finished 8th overall and claimed class honours, not bad.

- **1977** – [Inaltéra](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1977/42-19.jpg) / Inaltéra LM77 Ford Cosworth (Al Holbert, Jean-Pierre Beltoise) – Inaltéra returned with the #1 but couldn’t keep pace with the [Porsche 936/77](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1977/4.jpg), ultimately finishing 13th overall.

- **1978** – [Equipe Renault Elf Sport](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1978/49-43.jpg) / Alpine A443 (Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Patrick Depailler) – Alpine Renault had no claim to the #1 since Porsche won the WSC Manufacturers’ Title and Le Mans in 1977, but alas, the “French Rule” applied here. Renault’s program had thus far been largely disappointing, but they were finally able to conquer Le Mans with the #2 A442B. The #1 A443 variant was the class of the field until retiring in the 18th hour.

- **1979** – [Chevalley Racing](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1979/1979_01.jpg) / Lola T286 Ford (Andre Chevalley, Patrick Perrier, Xavier Lapeyre) – A very odd entry to use the #1. They aren’t even French! This privateer entry lasted 59 laps before retiring in 50th position. The 70's certainly were not a memorable decade for the #1, but things would get better in the 80's!

- **1980** – [Chevalley Racing](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1980/lm801posteroc4.jpg) / ACR 80 Ford (Andre Chevalley, Francois Trisconi, Patrick Gaillard) – Chevalley returned to Le Mans with the #1, this time with an in-house machine based off the [Lola T380](http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/2018/type_numbers/t380/t380.html). The team did better than the previous year but still retired in 41st position.

- **1981** – [Porsche System](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1981/1981_01.jpg) / Porsche 944 LM (Jurgen Barth, Walter Rohrl) – For this year, it looks like the GTP entries were prioritized numerically. [Rondeau](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1981/le_mans-1981-06-14-007.jpg) won Le Mans the previous year but used #7 and #8. Meanwhile, Porsche, who had won the 1980 WSC Manufacturer’s Title used the #1 on their new race variant of the 944. The car qualified 43rd, making it one of the worst starting positions for the #1, but finished a very impressive 7th overall.

- ***1982-1993: Running the #1 is Finally a Big Deal!***

Here we are, normalcy. With Group C taking hold of not only Le Mans but the entire sportscar world, it became clear that the #1 should be designated to the champions. All was perfect until the sportscar world was shattered into a million pieces.

- **1982** – [Rothmans Porsche](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1982/1982-01-02-04.jpg) / Porsche 956 (Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx) – 1981 Le Mans winners, Bell and Ickx, returned in the #1. The #1 was the class of the field as they won pole and the new 956 proved its capabilities [finishing 1-2-3](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1982/1982-1-2-3-ah.jpg). This marks the #1’s fourth overall victory after 1929, 1939, and 1967.

- **1983** – [Rothmans Porsche](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1983/1983_01[03].jpg) / Porsche 956 (Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx) – Bell and Ickx once again used the #1, looking to claim three straight Le Mans victories and they almost did it but were beaten by their teammates. The winning #3 limped to the finish line with overheating issues, 17 seconds ahead of the #1. [Nobody's perfect.](https://i.imgur.com/bYLARKu.png)

- **1984** – No #1. The factory Rothmans Porsche team boycotted the 1984 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to the fuel regulations imposed. As a consequence, the factory #1, #2, and #3 entries did not arrive. This allowed long-time Porsche customer, [Joest](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1984/1984_07[17].jpg), to claim overall honours with customer Porsche 956’s holding the top seven positions ahead of the [factory Lancia](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1984/lc2_4_lm84.jpg) entry.

- **1985** – [Rothmans Porsche](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1985/1985_01_start.jpg) / Porsche 962 C (Jacky Ickx, Jochen Mass) – Things were back to normal in 1985 with the factory Rothmans Porsche team returning to Le Mans with their new 962’s. What Rothmans Porsche hadn’t considered was that the *new* normal was a Joest entry taking victory. The #1 had been delayed by gearbox issues, ultimately finishing in 10th position.

- **1986** – [Rothmans Porsche](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1986/1986web.jpg) / Porsche 962 C (Al Holbert, Derek Bell, Hans-Joachim Stuck) – This would be Rothmans Porsche’s final year carrying the #1 and they went out in style, claiming overall honours. The #1’s fifth overall victory after 1929, 1939, 1967, and 1982.

- **1987** – [Brun Motorsport](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1987/le_mans-1987-06-14-001.jpg) / Porsche 962 C (Michel Trolle, Paul Belmondo, Pierre de Thoisy) – While the factory Rothmans Porsche team participated in this edition of Le Mans, it was Brun Motorsport who had won the WSC Teams’ Title in 1986 that carried the #1. In a very high attrition start to the race that saw nine of Porsche’s 962’s retire, the #1 was part of that group, retiring after 88 laps.

- **1988** – [Silk Cut Jaguar](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1988/scannedimage-26.jpg) / Jaguar XJR-9 LM (John Nielsen, Martin Brundle) – Jaguar had shown they could challenge Porsche, winning the WSC Driver’s and Teams’ Titles in 1987. With the honour of using the #1, and their new XJR-9, Porsche was finally defeated at Le Mans after 7 consecutive victories. But it wasn’t by the #1, as they retired Sunday morning with a broken head gasket while in 3rd position.

- **1989** – [Silk Cut Jaguar](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1989/jaguar_xjr9_7_89.jpg) / Jaguar XJR-9 LM (Andrew Gilbert-Scott, Jan Lammers, Patrick Tambay) – Jaguar returned to Le Mans in the #1, hungry to capture their second overall victory in as many years. The #1 proved to be the strongest XJR-9, leading for many parts of the race, until the 15th hour when the car was halted with gearbox issues. It took almost an hour to repair but by then, the trailing pair of [Sauber-Mercedes](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1989/lm890059qc.jpg) had acquired the lead. The #1 came home in 4th overall position.

- **1990** – [Silk Cut Jaguar](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1990/90jag101.jpg) / Jaguar XJR-12 LM (Alain Ferte, David Leslie, Martin Brundle) – With Mercedes skipping Le Mans due to its exclusion on the WSC calendar, the #1 was once again put on the body panels of a Jaguar. In the new XJR-12, [Jaguar secured a 1-2 victory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NSvZ88UAqY), but the #1 retired with a drive belt issue. After the #1 retired, Brundle was moved to the #3 Jaguar and helped the team nurse the ailing transmission to victory.

- **1991** – [Team Sauber-Mercedes](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1991/91_mercedes.jpg) / Mercedes-Benz C11 (Alain Ferte, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jochen Mass) – Although absent at Le Mans in 1990, Sauber-Mercedes dominated the WSC season, allowing them to continue to use the #1. The 1991 edition of Le Mans was bizarre to say the least. [Jaguar](https://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1991/Le_Mans-1991-06-23-004.jpg) and [Mercedes](http://www.dailysportscar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/merc06.jpg) ditched their new Category 1 machines in favour of their tried and tested Group C prototypes. The Mercedes #1 had the fastest qualifying time, yet started 11th on the grid as the FIA allowed Category 1 machinery to claim the top 10 positions. As for the race, the #1 was displaying Mercedes’ domination, holding a four lap lead over the rest of the field until the 21st hour. The car overheated, ending Mercedes’ challenge and allowing the lightweight, underpowered, rotary screeching [Mazda](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1991/1991_55\(1\).jpg) to claim a shocking overall victory.

- **1992** – [Peugeot Talbot Sport](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1992/92peugeot1.jpg) / Peugeot 905 Evo 1B (Derek Warwick, Mark Blundell, Yannick Dalmas) – After a dismal showing at Le Mans in 1991, Peugeot returned with their updated Category 1 machines. The competition had thinned as the new regulations proved unpopular with Jaguar and Mercedes ending their programs and Porsche nowhere to be seen. [Toyota](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1992/le_mans-1992-06-21-033.jpg) was the only real challenger. The #1 took control of the race in the early hours and never relinquished it, giving Peugeot their first ever Le Mans victory. It was the first time a French manufacturer had won overall since Rondeau in 1980. This marked the #1’s sixth overall victory after 1929, 1939, 1967, 1982, and 1986.

- **1993** – [Peugeot Talbot Sport](http://lemans-history.com/imagens//1993/1993_01-02-03.jpg) / Peugeot 905 Evo 1B (Teo Fabi, Thierry Boutsen, Yannick Dalmas) – The #1 finished 2nd overall, while Peugeot claimed a 1-2-3. Category 1 was a complete disaster.

- From the sports cars of the 50's to the sports prototypes of the 60's to the full-blown prototypes of the 70's, Le Mans and the #1 were continually evolving. Many consider the Group C era of the 80's as the Golden Age of sportscar racing and it was also a great decade for the #1. The early 90's, however, were not kind to Le Mans. With the FIA forcing Category 1 into existence, the grids vanished, culminating in the end of the World Sportscar Championship after 1992 and the abolition of Category 1 after 1993. The damage had already been done though, as Le Mans and the whole sportscar world had to reset. The Final Part of our journey with the #1 takes us through ***1994-1999: The Recovery Years*** and ***2000-Present: The Big Bang and a New Golden Age***.