1969 24 Hours of Le Mans

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1969 24 Hours of Le Mans
Previous: 1968	Next: 1970
Index: Races \| Winners

The 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 37th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 14 and 15, 1969. It was the eighth round of the World Sportscar Championship.

This race saw the death of British driver John Woolfe in lap 1 when his Porsche 917 crashed at Maison Blanche. Woolfe was killed, probably due the fact that he had not bothered to put on his safety belt. This was likely done because of the style of the traditional start used at Le Mans until that year, in which drivers were required to run across the track to their cars, climb in and get it started as quickly as possible to pull away from the grid. Woolfe likely sacrificed strapping his safety belts in order to gain a better start.

The fuel tank from Woolfe's car became dislodged and landed in front of the oncoming Ferrari 312P of Chris Amon. The race was stopped for 2 hours due to these two first lap incidents, but was eventually restarted.

The eventual winner, Jacky Ickx, had demonstrated against the start by walking slowly to his car, starting voluntarily at the back of the field. The use of the traditional Le Mans-style start was no longer used after this accident, as drivers started in 1970 when already properly strapped into their seats.

1 Official Results
2 Did Not Finish
3 Statistics
4 Trophy Winners

[edit] Official Results

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
1	S 5.0	6	John Wyer Automotive Engineering	Jacky Ickx Jackie Oliver	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.9L V8	372
2	P 3.0	64	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann Gerard Larrousse	Porsche 908 Coupe	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	372
3	S 5.0	7	John Wyer Automotive Engineering	David Hobbs Mike Hailwood	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.9L V8	368
4	P 3.0	33	Equipe Matra - Elf	Jean-Pierre Beltoise Piers Courage	Matra-Simca MS650	Matra 3.0L V12	368
5	P 3.0	32	Equipe Matra - Elf	Jean Guichet Nino Vaccarella	Matra-Simca MS630	Matra 3.0L V12	359
6	S 5.0	68	Deutsche Auto Zeitung	Helmut Kelleners Reinhold Joest	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.7L V8	341
7	P 3.0	35	Equipe Matra - Elf	Nanni Galli Robin Widdows	Matra-Simca MS630/650	Matra 3.0L V12	330
8	S 5.0	17	North American Racing Team (NART)	Teodore Zeccoli Sam Posey	Ferrari 250LM	Ferrari 3.3L V12	329
9	S 2.0	39	Christian Poirot	Christian Poirot Pierre Maublanc	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	312
10	GT 2.0	41	Jean-Pierre Gaban	Jean-Pierre Gaban Yves Deprez	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	306
11	GT 2.0	40	Auguste Veuillet	Claude Ballot-Léna Guy Chasseuil	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	301
12	P 1.15	50	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Alain Serpaggi Christian Ethuin	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 1.0L I4	292
13	GT 2.0	44	Claude Laurent	Claude Laurent Jacques Marché	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	287
14	GT 2.0	67	Philippe Farjon	Philippe Farjon Jacques Dechaumel	Porsche 911S	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	286

[edit] Did Not Finish

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
15	S 5.0	12	Porsche System Engineering	Vic Elford Richard Attwood	Porsche 917L	Porsche 4.5L Flat-12	327
16	P 3.0	22	Porsche System Engineering	Rudi Lins Willi Kauhsen	Porsche 908L	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	317
17	P 1.6	45	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Claude Killy Bob Wollek	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 1.5L I4	242
18	GT 2.0	66	Jean Egreteaud	Jean Edreteaud Raymond Lopez	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	241
19	P 3.0	18	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Pedro Rodriguez David Piper	Ferrari 312P Coupe	Ferrari 3.0L V12	223
20	P 3.0	29	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Patrick Depailler Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Alpine A220/69	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8	209
21	P 3.0	23	Porsche System Engineering	Udo Schütz Gerhard Mitter	Porsche 908L	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	199
22	GT +2.0	1	Scuderia Filipinetti	Henri Greder Reine Wisell	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet 7.0L V8	196
23	GT 2.0	63	Marcel Martin	René Mazzia Pierre Mauroy	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	174
24	P 3.0	31	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Pierre Nicholas Jean-Luc Thérier	Alpine A220/68	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8	160
25	P 3.0	34	Ecurie Matra - Elf	Johnny Servoz-Gavin Herbert Müller	Matra-Simca MS630/650	Matra 3.0L V12	158
26	S 5.0	14	Porsche System Engineering	Rolf Stommelen Kurt Ahrens Jr.	Porsche 917L	Porsche 4.5L Flat-12	148
27	S 5.0	2	Scuderia Filipinetti	Jo Bonnier Masten Gregory	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB	Chevrolet 5.0L V8	134
28	P 3.0	28	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean Vinatier André de Cortanze	Alpine A220/69	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8	133
29	S 5.0	8	Peter Sadler	Peter Sadler Paul Vestey	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.7L V8	106
30	S 2.0	43	J.C.B. Excavators Ltd.	Roger Enever Peter Brown	Chevron B8	BMW 2.0L I4	100
31	P 1.3	49	Trophée Le Mans Alpine	Jacques Foucteau Patrice Compain	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 1.3L I4	97
32	P 2.0	38	Racing Team VDS	Gustave Gosselin Claude Bourgoignie	Alfa Romeo T33/2	Alfa Romeo 2.0L V8	76
33	P 3.0	20	Hart Ski Racing	Jo Siffert Brian Redman	Porsche 908/2L	Porsche 3.0L Flat-8	60
34	P 3.0	30	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Claude Andruet Henri Grandsire	Alpine A220/69	Renault-Gordini 3.0L V8	48
35	S 5.0	9	Alan Mann Racing Ltd.	Frank Gardner Malcolm Guthrie	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.9L V8	42
36	GT +2.0	59	Scuderia Filipinetti	Claude Haldi Jacques Rey	Ferrari 275 GTB/C	Ferrari 3.3L V12	39
37	P 3.0	36	Racing Team VDS	Teddy Pilette Rob Slotemaker	Alfa Romeo T33/2.5	Alfa Romeo 2.5L V8	35
38	GT 2.0	42	Wicky Racing Team	André Wicky Edgar Berney	Porsche 911T	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	34
39	P 2.0	62	Mark Konig	Mark Konig Tony Lanfranchi	Nomad Mk.II	BRM 2.0L V8	28
40	P 2.0	37	Donald Healey Motor Company	Clive Baker Jeff Harris	Healey SR	Coventry Climax 2.0L V8	14
41	P 2.0	60	Robert Buchet	Jean de Mortemart Jean Mesange	Porsche 910	Porsche 2.0L Flat-6	10
42	P 1.15	51	Ecurie Fiat-Abarth France	Maurizio Zanetti Ugo Locatelli	Fiat-Abarth 1000SP	Fiat 1.0L I4	9
43	P 1.6	46	Ecurie Savin-Calberson	Alain LeGuellec Bernard Tramont	Alpine A210	Renault-Gordini 1.5L I4	1
44	S 5.0	10	John Woolfe Racing	John Woolfe Herbert Linge	Porsche 917	Porsche 4.5L Flat-12	0
45	P 3.0	19	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Chris Amon Peter Schetty	Ferrari 312P Coupe	Ferrari 3.0L V12	0