Gulf Team vs Martini Racing
Porsche's debut victory and a new youngest winner at Le Mans.
The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance, held on 15 and 16 June. The race was won by a Tom Walkinshaw-Porsche prototype run by Joest Racing, driven by Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter, and rookie Alexander Wurz. It was the car's debut victory, following tough competition from the works Porsche team and their new Porsche 911 GT1.
- era
- Late 1960s to Early 1970s
- gulf_manufacturer
- Porsche
- martini_manufacturer
- Alfa Romeo
- primary_venue
- Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans
- status
- Historical / Retired
Lore & Background
The race featured a strong Porsche presence, with two TWR-Porsches and two works Porsches setting the pace from the start. The only close challenger was the Gulf McLaren of Ray Bellm, James Weaver, and JJ Lehto, which held third until a gearbox issue. Roock Racing won the GT2 class on their Le Mans debut. Alexander Wurz, at 22, became the youngest overall winner in Le Mans history.
In Their Own Story
The sun had just dipped below the horizon at Mulsanne when the roar of flat-twelve engines filled the air. A blur of Gulf blue and orange streaked past the grandstand, followed moments later by the sharp white flash of a Martini Alfa. Spectators leaned forward, knowing that tonight, history was being written not just in lap times, but in the colors they painted on their machines.
Reader's Guide
The ACO revised its prototype regulations, setting a minimum weight of 875 kg and maximum engine sizes of 3.0L turbo or 5.1L naturally aspirated. GT1 cars allowed major engine modifications and required only 25 street-legal examples. The grid was split with prototypes on the left and GTs on the right. The race started at 3pm to accommodate British TV scheduling for the England-Scotland football match.
Did You Know?
- Alexander Wurz, at 22, became the youngest ever overall winner of the Le Mans 24-Hours.
- The winning TWR-Porsche was originally a Jaguar XJR-14 adapted with a Porsche 3.0L twin-turbo engine.
- Only 14 prototypes entered against 39 GT cars, reflecting the strength of the BPR Global series.
- The ACO halved automatic entries from 20 to 10 for 1996.
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