Gulf Team vs Martini Racing
TWR-Porsche wins on debut at Le Mans in 1996
The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 15 and 16 June 1996. It was won by a Tom Walkinshaw-Porsche prototype run by Joest Racing with drivers Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter and Le Mans rookie Alexander Wurz. Like McLaren the year before, it won on its race debut, after tough competition from the works Porsche team and their own new design – the Porsche 911 GT1.
Quick Facts
- Gulf manufacturer
- McLaren
Lore & Background
From the start it was the two TWR-Porsches and two works Porsches that set the pace, pulling away from the field. The expected challenges from the WSC Ferraris, the LMP1 Courages and the GT1 McLarens never eventuated as they fell away through mechanical troubles or off-track accidents. The only one to be close enough was the Gulf McLaren of team-owner Ray Bellm with James Weaver and 1995-winner JJ Lehto. They held down third place on Sunday morning, until forced to stop for a gearbox change. A strong weekend for Porsche was capped by the Roock Racing team comfortably winning the GT2 class on their Le Mans debut. Wurz, at 22 years of age, became the youngest ever overall winner of the Le Mans 24-Hours.
Reader's Guide
The 1996 race featured a grid divided into two halves: prototypes on the left side in qualifying order, GTs on the right (pitward) side. The race started at 3pm to accommodate British TV scheduling for the England-Scotland football match at the Euro championships. The ACO mandated that three drivers would have to qualify in each car. The winning car was a TWR-Porsche prototype, originally a Jaguar XJR-14 adapted with a Porsche 3.0-litre water-cooled, twin-turbo, straight-six engine and a new transmission casing for the 5-speed Porsche gearbox.
More in Famous Rivalries & Feuds
Elsewhere in 24 Hours of Le Mans
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced