1981 Le Mans

1981 — Your local Porsche dealer may have a copy of the VHS tape. It’s entitled "Hot Lap Le Mans"; a one lap slash around the pre-chicane Sarthe with Jurgen Barth in one of Porsche’s howling 936 Group 6 prototypes. It was a sales promo piece issued to all authorized dealers by Porsche Cars North America over a decade ago.

There’s no commentary – just velocity and the sound track – unless you’re lucky enough to watch it with someone who has been in that driver’s seat. The best bet is to go to Jacksonville, Fla., and stand beside Hurley Haywood in the Brumos Porsche showroom – they still have their copy – and listen to Hurley as Barth reels off the lap. Hurley loves Le Mans and the will tell anyone who asks that the 2.6-liter iteration of the 936 with the "Indy" engine is his favorite all-time racecar. High praise considering Haywood juicy CV that includes such monsters as the 935 and the 917/10.

Hurley called his No.12 936 for 1981 a "rocketship". There’s no hyperbole in it. Haywood set the fastest lap at Le Mans in '81: 142.438mph. And when he watches "Hot Lap Le Mans" you can hear that unmistakable short, sharp intake of breath that signifies deep pleasure when Barth bends the 936 through the linge droit, the Mulsanne Kink, with his foot on the floor. Danny Sullivan was absolutely correct: this is the drug they don’t sell.

Porsche returned to Le Mans in '81, armed with the engine that would have likely carried them to an Indy 500 victory. The 936’s troublesome 5-speed gearbox was replaced with a stout 4-speed, and Jacky Ickx was somehow persuaded to return to Le Mans. His partner was Derek Bell. It was a productive pairing (No. 11 pictured above). Ickx the Jules toiletries-sponsored car qualified at over 145mph, over three seconds clear of the Haywood/Vern Schuppan/Jochen Mass 936 sister ship. The A.C.O. had bagged their inflammatory average qualifying rules of '80 and let nature take its course. All the necessary components were in place.

There were other Porsches, too. Reinhold Joest had his turbo Group 6 908/80 from '80 qualified third. But the Porsche all were talking about was the replica 917K"81" of Bob Wollek/Guy Chasseuil/Xavier Lapeyre. The 917 had been banished from the Sarthe in '72 by reactionary rules. The Kremer-built replica never lived up to its pedigree and retired after 82 laps.

A safety car was even added to the mix, hoping to enhance safety. Unfortunately it was all too necessary. The race started at 3:00 o’clock, again the Monday elections the reason for the change of hour.

Ickx simply left the field at 3:00 p.m., but teammate Mass pitted immediately with a misfire. No diagnosis was forthcoming, and he returned to the course with the water-cooled six stuttering and belching. Two laps later, he called again. It was too simple: the ceramic of one spark plug was cracked and, once replaced, Mass carried on in last position at Ickx-speed.

Joest was anxious not to loose touch with Ickx and picked off Henri Pescarolo’s Rondeau and Ted Field’s 935. Joest needn’t have worried. His 908/80 bitsa was getting better fuel mileage than Ickx’s thirsty Jules 936 that was first to pit at 4:45 p.m. Ominously, the Rondeaus with their new 3.3-liter enduro DFVs were running 1:15 between stops. No matter. Ickx cycled back into the lead during the second hour. The Roger Dorchy/Guy Frequelin WM was on top as the first hourly was printed at 4:00 o’clock.

At a quarter past 4:00 o’clock, the pace cars were summoned. Thierry Boutsen's WM had crashed at linge droit at over 300kph. A suspension piece had failed at the worst moment. Boutsen survived without injury, but the debris field of hurled parts and bodywork was spread over 100 yards. Three marshals were injured, one fatally.

An hour later, the pace cars were back on Mulsanne. Jean-Louis Lafosse’s Rondeau had gone out of control at something over 200mph near the café on Haunaudiers. The coupe ricocheted between the barriers, and the force vectors tore the Le Mans-built car apart killing poor Lafosse almost instantly. Many of the drivers were horrified and sickened by what they saw driving through the accident scene behind the pace car.

Haywood took over from Mass and proceeded to have a large evening’s entertainment. The works 936 went from last place to the top 10 by early evening. Haywood had performed this catch-up routine before and romped gleefully around the Sarthe without having to factor in tire wear or fuel economy or any of the minutia that haunts any car too far in the lead. Raw speed was his deal, and it suited the mood of the American who was usually faster in the race than in qualifying. His pace kept the scoreboard stewards busy moving the No. 12 up the board at brisk clip.

Away from the 936 rocketships other Porsches were having troubles. Joest’s 908/80 retired, and the engine mount on the "917" broke and put Wollek out. Don Whittington’s pink 935 lost a wheel and crashed out of the show.

By 9:00 p.m., Haywood/Mass/Schuppan appeared in second place after a brilliant run from the back. By then the Ickx/Bell 936 was in a lead it would never loose. Behind the '75 winners’ Porsche, Haywood & Co. stayed second until breakfast.

The Rondeaus, heroes of '80, pounded around behind the works Porsches with their new 3.3-liter DFV engines. Alain De Cadenet behind them in fifth, also borne by 3.3-liter DFV power. All was calm and entirely too orderly.

Just after 6:00 a.m., Schuppan pitted the No.12 936 with a useless clutch. It took nearly an hour to fit a new one, and Haywood got dawn patrol duty in the No.12 that had dropped from second to 12th. By 10:00 a.m. and on a mission, they were back into fourth position. Ickx and Bell now led by 13 laps from the best Rondeau that was backed up by a stablemate one lap further back.

At 11:00 a.m., with four hours remaining Schuppan was again visited by mechanical gremlins in No.12 936. The fuel-metering unit went on full rich, cruelly in the middle of the Porsche Curves, and the electronics permitted the engine idle-only speed. It took Schuppan 45 agonizing minutes to get the car to the pits and another 40 for it to regain the course. Ickx and Bell had slowed their flight to ensure a winning finish and something approaching fuel economy.

Ninety minutes before the finish, Bell pitted the leading 936 utterly out of sequence for a new rear tire. That was the final jolt of excitement for the Porsche works team. The Briton finished the race for his second Le Mans victory. Haywood, Mass and Schuppan were 33 laps back in 13th, the 936 running just fine after its 90min late morning adventure.

Derek Bell never actually crossed the finish line. The mob of photogs barred his way, and he was removed from the car bodily, carried to the podium and feted with champagne. He needed water, but Moet was the only beverage available and Bell drank thirstily. That’s when he passed out.

Ickx had indeed returned to Le Mans to win his fifth in spite of his dour retirement announcement the year before. That night there were too many mandatory celebrations, and the winners didn’t get to their bunks until the small hours of Monday morning. No one really remembers how long the Porsche crew party lasted, but it was roaring right along into Monday morning.

Derek Bell arose just after sunrise to catch the first ferry out of Cherbourg.