1997 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 65th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 14 and 15 June 1997. It was won by Michele Alboreto, Stefan Johansson, and Tom Kristensen, driving a TWR-Porsche WSC-95. The race was the first of a record 9 Le Mans wins for Kristensen, on what was his La Sarthe debut. This was only the third time in the races history that it was won by the same car and same chassis as the previous year, and in a unique ‘double-double’ one of those other times (1984-85) was also by Joest Racing.

Once again, it was at the expense of the works Porsche team who had dominated most of the race. But when the second team car stopped in flames with just two hours to go, it was the Joest team who had the fortune to be in the right place to pick up the pieces. New GT1 cars arrived from Nissan and the small new American Panoz company. Initially, the TWR held the lead for the first two hours, until the two works Porsches asserted their dominance and led into and through the night, with the TWR and the best of the McLarens gradually giving away ground. Come the new dawn though and the Porsche challenge faltered. Bob Wollek, hounded by his teammate, hit a curb and wrecked the suspension on their leading car. The other car took over and was looking comfortably at the front until, with two hours to go, Ralf Kelleners radioed the team to report an engine issue and then had to almost immediately pull over as the car burst into flames. From there, the TWR-Porsche moved up to the lead which it held to the finish, with the Gulf and works BMW McLarens coming home in second and third. The GT2 class was a battle between the Chrysler Vipers and Porsche 911s but in a race of attrition which, in the end, fell to the Haberthur Porsche team.