1987 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 55th Grand Prix of Endurance as well as the fifth round of the 1987 World Sports-Prototype Championship. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, on the 13 and 14 June 1987. Jaguar was a strong contender, have won the four preceding rounds of the Championship. The Porsche works team had installed a new 3-litre engine into their 962s but their turbo engines would test their fuel economy.

Practice had been hampered by poor weather, and was notable for a big accident to Price Cobb who wrote off the third works Porsche. The rain continued into the race day and only eased as the race got underway. A chaotic first hour saw most teams diving into the pits to change off their rain-tyres. There was also a serious problem with the standard-grade fuel. Dropping from 105-octane, it played havoc with the engine-management systems of the Porsche turbo-engines, and the fancied teams from Joest and Kremer lost their cars with holed pistons. The second works Porsche was also afflicted, leaving just the single car hounded by the three Jaguars. Along with the Richard Lloyd car, these five cars jockeyed for position over the first quarter of the race, regularly swapping places. Rain returned as darkness fell, and a safety car came out when the Lloyd car caught fire at Mulsanne corner. Bell, Stuck and Holbert gradually pulled out a lead as the Jaguars had issues. Another safety came out when Win Percy had a huge accident on the Hunaudières straight. A tyre on his Jaguar blew out as he approached Mulsanne at over 350 kp/h. The car rolled and disintegrated, but Percy was able to walk away unhurt. The race resumed two hours later as dawn was breaking, removing any fuel concerns for the Porsches. The Jaguars both failed in the morning and suddenly the Porsche was out on its own, with a fifteen lap lead. From there it was a simple coast to the finish giving Bell, Holbert and Stuck consecutive victories. The small Obermaier Racing team had a reliable race and survived the attrition for a fine second place, with local owner-driver Yves Courage third in his Cougar. Gordon Spice had a similarly convincing victory in the C2 class in his Spice-Fiero, finishing sixth overall over the Écurie Écosse, who in turn won the Index for Energy Efficiency. The twelve classified finishers was the smallest number since 1970.