1971 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 39th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1971. It was the ninth round of the 1971 International Championship for Makes.

This year would be the swansong of the mighty 5-litre engines – the incoming regulations would put a 3-litre limit on engine capacity for Group 5 Sports Cars. As it turned out, there was a perfect confluence of the fastest and most powerful racing cars yet seen at Le Mans, a long fast track and extended good weather to produce the fastest race in the event's history to date setting a record that would stand for almost 40 years.^[1]

Although there were few accidents this year, there were many cars delayed or forced to retire with mechanical problems and only twelve cars were classified at the finish. Winners, at a record speed, were Gijs van Lennep and Helmut Marko in their Team Martini Porsche 917.