Article: Olympia Charger Returns To Le Mans

[Steve Holmes]

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Generally speaking, many tribute or replica race cars built by enthusiasts are modelled on original vehicles that either: (a), achieved enormous success during their careers, or: (b), were ground-breaking in their design.

In all honesty, the Olympia Beer Dodge Charger that contested the 1976 Le Mans 24 Hour race was neither of the above. In fact, it suffered the indignity of being the very first car to retire from that years race. But race success and ground breaking design are not emotional values, as: (c), emotion is probably the number one reason why tribute cars are created. This one included.

This story began back in 1972, a full four years before Hershel McGriff and his son Doug took their Dodge Charger to Le Mans. In 1972, Doug purchased the car, sans motor, from Ray Nichels and campaigned it in the NASCAR Grand National West division from 1973 through 1975.

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Meanwhile, over in Europe, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), organizers of the Le Mans 24 Hour race, decided to introduce two new classes for the 1976 event, aimed squarely at appealing to American race teams. The first of these was IMSA (International Motor Sport Association) GT, one of the classes from the new road racing organization run by John Bishop, the former SCCA Executive Director who created the Trans-Am series back in 1966. Bishop departed the SCCA in 1969, citing ongoing resistance and infighting within the club as his reasons for leaving.

Bill France Snr, who’d built NASCAR into a professional mega-power, wanted to do the same thing with a road racing series. He teamed up with Bishop, largely funded the new IMSA operation, and would own 75% of the organization, with Bishop owning the other 25%. Bishop was also assigned sole control.

Given the obvious connection to NASCAR, it came as no surprise that one of the categories devised for IMSA was a stock car class called IMSA Grand International. This was, essentially, a NASCAR stock car class, but with cars converted for endurance road racing, and fitted with headlights, brake lights, and other suitable additions not necessary in their more traditional habitat.

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For stock car teams looking for a little added variety, IMSA Grand International bought them a ticket to various high-profile events such as the Daytona 24 Hour and Sebring 12 Hour races. Indeed, eight Grand International cars started the 1976 Daytona 24 Hour race, including a Chevy Nova entered and driven by Hershel and Doug McGriff. They qualified 26th outright, but were classified 28th after the motor failed.

The small IMSA GT entry that started 1976 Le Mans 24 Hour race was really a shrunken down representation of the category back home; a couple of Porsche 911 RSR’s, John Greenwood’s latest magnificent wide-body Corvette, and a DeKon Chevy Monza, entered and driven by Michael Keyser, along with Eddie Wachs. Impressively, the Greenwood Corvette qualified 9th overall, well up among the sports prototype cars.

The second new class for the 1976 Le Mans race, was called NASCAR, but was essentially IMSA Grand International. And in it were two entries. One was a Ford Torino entered by Junie Donlavey, driven by Dick Hutcherson, Richard Brooks, and Frenchman Marcel Mignot, with sponsorship from Truxmore. The second entry was a Dodge Charger, entered by Hershel McGriff, and driven by Hershel and his son Doug. It was sponsored by Olympia Beer.

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The McGriff team had never intended to bring the Charger to France. They were going to bring the Nova, which had been purchased as the Chargers replacement in late 1975. However, it was involved in a bad wreck not long after Daytona, so the Dodge was re-purchased, and prepared for Le Mans.

[Steve Holmes]

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Of course, the pair of massive American stock cars had no chance of winning the race outright, or even qualifying near the front. But Le Mans is about much, much more than outright victory. For in among the large grid, usually consisting of close to sixty cars, are multiple classes, and to most teams, a class victory is just as important as an overall placing. Other than the achievement of winning your class, comes the achievement of simply finishing the race. This in itself is something to be celebrated.

While the pair of NASCARs might not have been a concern for Porsche Martini Racing, or Renault Sport, who’d come heavily armed with their latest glorious prototype sports cars and were gunning for outright glory, the race fans absolutely fell in love with the two unlikely American behemoths. From the moment they were unloaded at the track, they were swooped upon by large crowds of enthusiasts who marveled at their sheer scale, their charisma, and their monstrous, simple V8 motors. They quickly became the darlings of Le Mans 1976. Had a couple of green aliens been tractor-beamed into the middle of pit lane directly from Mars, its unlikely they’d have generated any greater bemusement than the pair of colorful American interlopers. The French media affectionately dubbed them ‘Les Deux Monstres’ (The Two Monsters).

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The McGriff team prepared well for Le Mans, having had three 426 cu.in big block motors (one Hemi and two Wedges) built by John Todd and Orv Rupp from Precision Engines. Todd would also serve as one of the pit crew for the team at Le Mans, along with other highly experienced personnel. One notable absentee at Le Mans, but a person who played a major role in preparing the Charger for Le Mans, was McGriff team member Dick Pierson. Hershal wanted Dick to remain at base camp, and be ready should the team urgently require parts be sent to France. The plan was to use the Hemi motor for practice, before swapping in one of the lighter Wedge motors for qualifying and the race. The Wedge motors had been dyno’d at 630 horsepower, at 6,200rpm, with 11:1 compression. They were built to run on 93 octane premium pump gas.

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However, despite their detailed preparation, the issues the team would suffer throughout their French adventure arose well before they actually arrived on French soil, although this was unbeknown to them until it was too late. Prior to leaving the US, they’d organized for 93 octane gas to be supplied locally in France. However, what they didn’t know, was that fuel octane levels are measured differently in France, and the fuel they’d receive at the track would be the equivalent of 88 octane in the US.

The Charger was shipped to France, along with 15 cases of Olympia beer, which, apparently, were labelled as ‘lubricant’. Not entirely the truth. But not really a lie either! 97 cars were entered for the race. 60 got to practice, and 55 started. The Charger qualified 47th, with a time nearly 1 minute slower than the pole winning factory Renault Alpine A442 sports prototype. Had the team found another 5 seconds in qualifying, they’d have leapt ten places up the grid.

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But coaxing every last fraction from the car in practice and qualifying was inconsequential compared to the serious detonation issues the motors were suffering, particularly on the 3.7 mile (6 kilometer) long Mulsanne Straight, where the Charger was said to be hitting speeds of around 215 mph. The first of the Wedge motors blew in qualifying, melting a couple of pistons. This was when the team discovered the misunderstanding between US and French octane measurements.

The second Wedge was installed for the race, while John Todd scrambled to find a quick-fix solution. He decided to richen the mixture and retard the timing in the hope the second motor would survive. It did…..for nearly two laps of the long La Sarthe circuit. As the other 54 cars started out on their third tour, the Olympia Beer Charger pulled into the pits, its race run.

[Steve Holmes]

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Incidentally, the Junie Donlavey Torino continued pounding around entertaining the crowd for 14 noisy hours, before it too retired for good, with gearbox failure. Neither the Greenwood Corvette nor the Keyser DeKon Monza went the distance either.

Hershel McGriff did return to Le Mans once more, in 1982, with Billy Hagan’s two car Stratagraph Camaro team. Neither car reached the finish.

Exactly what became of the Olympia Beer Charger on returning to the US is unclear. Essentially, it was sold, and has since disappeared. Perhaps it still exists somewhere. Perhaps it was wrecked, or scrapped, or re-skinned as something else. Likewise, it appears the Donlavey Torino has also vanished without trace. And with them, two iconic pieces of Le Mans racing history have also been lost.

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Fast forward in time, to 2002. A new event was established, called Classic Le Mans. This was to become a bi-annual event, held on the full 8.4 mile (13.6 kilometer) La Sarthe circuit, just as the traditional main race does, and taking place one month after the annual race, in July. Classic Le Mans is a 24 hour contest, and open to cars built from 1923 (this being the first year the Le Mans race was held) to 1979. Its open only to either the original cars that raced at Le Mans, or cars of the same type that raced at Le Mans. There are six classes, based on vehicle age;

1923 – 1939
1949 – 1956 (the race was cancelled from 1940, before resuming in 1949)
1957 – 1961
1962 – 1965
1966 – 1971
1972 – 1979

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Each class races for one hour, before the next class has their turn. This then cycles through until the first class hits the track once more. Overall, each car will get more than three hours of racing, which, for old machinery, is quite a challenge, just as it is for the drivers. Each class races both during daylight, and at night.

Christophe Schwartz is a French born racing enthusiast, who these days lives in Germany. For the French, Le Mans is like the Daytona 24 Hours, Daytona 500, and Indianapolis 500 all rolled into one. It is a significant event on a global scale, as evidenced by almost total manufacturer involvement from the beginning, including Ford Motor Companies hugely expensive and highly publicized attempt to win it in the 1960s. It took them three attempts to finally achieve success, and many millions of dollars.

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As well as being a keen amateur racer, Christophe is also big on American muscle cars, and in particular, Mopar muscle cars. His race car collection currently boasts a big block Hemi powered 1970 Plymouth Cuda, a Dodge Viper, and an impressive Hemi powered Dodge Charger, his personal tribute to the McGriff Olympia Beer machine that graced Le Mans in 1976.

You wouldn’t consider there to be a lot of history combining French motor racing and American muscle cars, and Mopar in particular. But, you’d be surprised. Several Plymouth Cudas made their way to France in the early 1970s, to compete in a variety of events, from touring car racing to rallying. Christophe’s Hemi powered Plymouth Cuda was inspired by one of the All American Racers factory team cars, that had been driven by team owner Dan Gurney in the final two rounds of the 1970 SCCA Trans-Am series. This was one of three cars raced by AAR in 1970, and on conclusion of the Trans-Am season, was sent to Chrysler France, where it contested both the French and European Touring Car Championships, headed and driven by Henri Chemin.

[Steve Holmes]

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Initially, the Cuda raced as supplied by AAR, and still running its Trans-Am spec 5 litre motor. But under the Group 2 rules used in Europe, greater freedom was allowed, and eventually the Cuda was upgraded with wider wheels and a 426 cu.in Hemi. A later owner, Michel Guicherd, attempted to qualify the car for the 1975 Le Mans 24 Hour race, but despite reaching nearly 200mph on the Mulsanne, could do no better than 69th fastest time and failed to make the cut. This car has since returned to the US, and restored back to its 1970 AAR guise. Christophe built himself a Hemi Cuda in its honor to contest European historic racing events.

The Charger, however, was far more specific. When Christophe started out on this project, it was purely with the view of contesting the Classic Le Mans, and the 2006 race in particular, as this would mark the 30th anniversary of the original Olympia Beer machine having raced there.

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Christophe first discovered details on the original Olympia Charger while studying Le Mans history on the internet, and stumbled upon information about NASCAR stock cars racing there. Being a Mopar guy, he became immediately fixated with the car, and the efforts of the McGriff team. Essentially, this car combined his two passions; Le Mans, and Mopar muscle cars.

As Christophe would find as he delved into the McGriff 1976 campaign, learning more about the team, and the individuals involved, it quickly became clear the 1976 Le Mans result was not an accurate representation of the sum of parts making up this effort. This team was capable of far greater things than two shaky laps and ultimate retirement. For a start, the man heading the operation, Hershel McGriff, was a hugely accomplished racer, being the first person to win La Carrera Panamericana, in 1950. He’d also go on to win four NASCAR Grand National races in 1954, and was invited by Carl Kiekhaefer to drive his Chrysler 300 in 1955. McGriff turned the offer down, opting instead to return home to concentrate on family and business. Tim Flock took the seat instead, and went on to win 18 races on his way to the championship. After a decade out of the sport, McGriff returned, and spent many years contesting the NASCAR Winston West series, winning the championship in 1986, and at age 61, became the oldest driver ever to win a NASCAR feature race in 1989. He was also inducted into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame in 2006.

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The idea to race a tribute Olympia Beer Charger at Classic Le Mans was sparked in December 2003, when Christophe was reading about the McGriff teams Le Mans efforts on a NASCAR Winston West online forum. The contributor of these writings was Kevin Pierson, Dick Pierson’s son. Through Kevin, Christophe was able to make contact with Dick, and very quickly, a strong friendship developed.

Christophe relayed to Dick how he’d like to race at the 2006 Classic Le Mans, marking 30 years since the McGriff team contested the event. Just as he did in 1976 with the McGriff team, Dick would be instrumental in this new project ultimately reaching fruition.

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Initially, efforts were made to try and find the original Olympia Beer Charger. All leads came to nothing, and to this day, the car, or its ultimate fate, are unknown. Christophe, however, is still hopeful that maybe it’ll be unearthed. But the Charger that would become the Olympia Beer tribute car enjoyed a rich and colorful career of its own. This was a Petty built car raced by Butch Hartman in USAC in 1975 and ’76. Hartman was already a four-time USAC stock car champion, having won the title from 1971 – ’74. He then won it again in 1976, before selling the Charger to Gary Wutke, for driver Paul Feldner. Feldner then used it to great effect, by winning the 1977 USAC stock car series.

[Steve Holmes]

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To keep the car current, and help attract sponsors, in 1978 Wutke had it re-bodied as a Dodge Magnum, which is how it continued to race until Feldner eventually retired. To that end, Wutke also retired the Dodge, and in 1993, had it retro-fitted with a Charger body, as it was when it won the 1977 USAC crown. In this guise, Larry Nau drove the car at a couple of vintage racing events at Road America in 1993 and ’94. Mopar collector and Silver State record holder Chuck Shafer then bought the Charger from Wutke in the late 1990s.

It was Dick Pierson who informed Christophe of the car, and Christophe was able to purchase the Charger from the Shafer in 2005, whereupon it was sent to Europe, and became the Olympia Beer Charger tribute car. Incidentally, Shafer also owned the McGriff 1971 Roadrunner, and was excited to see the Hartman/Feldner machine take up its new guise as the Olympia Beer car. Sadly, he was killed when operating machinery on his farm and never got to see the car in action at Classic Le Mans. To honor Chuck’s memory, a bronze plaque is affixed to the Chargers dash.

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With the funding in place, and the Charger decked out as the McGriff Olympia Beer machine, Christophe and his team finally achieved their goal of racing in the 2006 Classic Le Mans, and celebrated 30 years since the original car raced there. To further sweeten the pie, Dick Pierson was also present, and got to drive the great La Sarthe circuit, having missed out on the McGriff adventure back in 1976.

In 2007, Christophe invited Hershel McGriff, alongside his wife Sherrie, daughter Marilyn, and son in law Tex Powell (as in Tex Racing transmissions, shifters, and other racing components), to visit Le Mans. For Hershel, the visit marked 25 years since he was last at the track.

Christophe and the ‘Oly Charger’, as he affectionately calls it, have contested Classic Le Mans each time it has been run since 2006. The Charger has been continuously developed, and more recent acquisitions include purchasing a Ray Nichels Hemi, direct from the man himself. In addition, in 2010, Christophe was able to purchase one of the actual original Wedge motors from the Le Mans 1976 campaign, off Tom Hegbert of Rocket Restorations, in Olympia, WA. This motor is referred to as a Hemi-Wedge, due to being a 426 Hemi that was converted into a Wedge in period.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiczQ9L-1hs

As well as Le Mans, the Charger has also been raced at other legendary road courses, including Hockenheim, Monza, and the mighty Spa Francorchamps. But for Christophe, racing this magnificent and thunderous old monster is only a part of what has made this whole project so enjoyable. For him, the rewards have come through learning the history of the McGriff teams various efforts, and getting to meet and build strong friendships with many of those involved.

All told, when stripped back to its most simplest of forms, a race car is essentially an assortment of parts mated together as one. Aside from race history and success, what determines the character and intrigue separating one car from the next are the stories it reveals through the people involved in its creation and history. And the more fascinating the people, the more fascinating the history. As far as tribute cars go, the Olympia Beer Charger combines as many of the original pieces from that 1976 Le Mans challenger as its possible to muster. In addition, its also involved a great many of the original 1976 Le Mans cast as Christophe has been able to bring together. As far as tribute cars go, this one is pretty special.

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Story courtesy Muscle Car Digital Magazine: http://musclecardigitalmagazine.com/

[Roger Dowding]

Steve, never seen the car but have been to the Brewery at Tumwater where the Artesians live .. great looking car ..

[Spgeti]

Great read Steve, enjoyed...

[Dale Harvey]

In post #3,first photo,I would reckon that is the rear of the Brock BMW to the very left of the shot.
Dale.

[Howard Wood]

I was at Le Mans in 1976 helping run the deCadenet car (we finished 3rd overall) and clearly remember the American involvement, particularly the Greenwood Corvette. Le Mans had lost a bit of its pull at this stage and always had its own quirky take on the regulations, I guess they hoped the Americans would add some new dimension to the event.

The Greenwood car, let alone the NASCAR entries looked so incongruous in that setting although the noise of the Corvette was pretty hard to miss! "Les Deux Monstres" would not have been meant in a complementary way. I think the French used a similar term to describe the Briggs Cunningham Cadillac engined entry in 1950.

As 1976 was the beginning of the Turbo era, the Renaults and Porsches in particular were unbelievably quick in qualifying mode but they had to really turn down the wick for the race to have any chance of running for 24 hours let alone get around the refuelling frequency rules so the Charger's qualifying time nearly 1 minute slower is not nearly as bad as it sounds.

[seaqnmac27]

I reckon you are right Dale, I don't think there is anyone else it could be with the Bridgestone sticker so prominent over the rear arch.

http://www.lemans-history.com/equipas.php?_ordem=1&_evento=C&ano=1976

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[seaqnmac27]

I am quite surprised, Howard, at the number of 'Touring Car' entries many did not make it, Like the Hemicuda, there is even a Jolly Club Escort for Finotto and Facetti!

[seaqnmac27]

Qualifying times are interesting, the Dodge and Torino down in 48th and 55th, but the Greenwood Corvette and the Monza in 9th and 14th.

Qualifying Times
1975 1977

Pos Car Nº Drivers Car/Engine Time/
Average(Km/h) Lap/
Total laps Last lap
In Bold the driver who did the time in qualifying
1 19 Jean-Pierre Jabouille/Patrick Tambay/José Dolhem Alpine A 442/Renault 3:33.1
230.427 Km/h 0/0
2 20 Jacky Ickx/Gijs van Lennep Porsche 936 Spider/Porsche 3:39.8
223.403 Km/h 0/0
3 40 Rolf Stommelen/Manfred Schurti Porsche 935/Porsche 3:41.7
221.488 Km/h 0/0
4 21 Xavier Lapeyre/Bernard Chevanne Lola T 286/Ford 3:44.0
219.214 Km/h 0/0
5 18 Reinhold Jöst/Jürgen Barth Porsche 936 Spider/Porsche 3:45.4
217.853 Km/h 0/0
6 11 Derek Bell/Vern Schuppan Mirage GR 8/Ford 3:48.1
215.274 Km/h 0/0
7 10 Jean-Louis Lafosse/François Migault Mirage GR 8/Ford 3:51.1
212.479 Km/h 0/0
8 41 Brian Redman/Peter Gregg BMW 3.0 CSL Turbo/BMW 3:53.4
210.386 Km/h 0/0
9 76 John Greenwood/Bernard Darniche Chevrolet Corvette Stingray/Chevrolet 3:54.6
209.309 Km/h 0/0
10 12 Alain de Cadenet/Chris Craft De Cadenet T 380 LM/Ford 3:55.3
208.687 Km/h 0/0
11 47 Hans Heyer/Juan-Carlos Bolanos/Eduardo Lopez Negrette/Billy Sprowls Porsche 935/Porsche 3:55.7
208.333 Km/h 0/0
12 1 Henri Pescarolo/Jean-Pierre Beltoise Inaltera GT/Ford 3:56.9
207.277 Km/h 0/0
13 16 Leo Kinnunen/Egon Evertz Porsche 908/03/Porsche 4:00.5
204.175 Km/h 0/0
14 75 Michael Keyser/Eddie Wachs Chevrolet Monza GT/Chevrolet 4:00.8
203.920 Km/h 0/0
15 57 Toine Hezemans/Tim Schenken Porsche 934/Porsche 4:01.1
203.667 Km/h 0/0
16 43 Dieter Quester/Albrecht Krebs/Alain Peltier BMW 3.5 CSL/BMW 4:03.8
201.411 Km/h 0/0
17 2 Christine Beckers/Jean-Pierre Jaussaud/Jean Rondeau Inaltera GT/Ford 4:04.2
201.081 Km/h 0/0
18 42 Sam Posey/Hughes de Fierlandt/Harald Grohs BMW 3.5 CSL/BMW 4:04.4
200.917 Km/h 0/0
19 27 Francois Servanin/Laurent Ferrier/Fred Stalder Chevron B 36/ROC Chrysler 4:05.4
200.098 Km/h 0/0
20 55 Christian Poirot/René Boubet Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:05.5
200.016 Km/h 0/0
21 45 John Fitzpatrick/Tom Walkinshaw BMW 3.5 CSL/BMW 4:05.6
199.935 Km/h 0/0
22 26 Alain Flotard/Fred Stalder/Albert Dufréne Chevron B 36/ROC Chrysler 4:07.0
198.802 Km/h 0/0
23 17 Ernst Kraus/Günther Steckkönig Porsche 908/03/Porsche 4:07.7
198.240 Km/h 0/0
24 69 Claude Haldi/Florian Vetsch Porsche 934/Porsche 4:07.8
198.160 Km/h 0/0
25 35 Francois Trisconi/Georges Morand/André Chevalley Lola T 292/Ford 4:08.7
197.443 Km/h 0/0
26 54 Hübert Striebig/Anny Charlotte Verney/Helmut Kirschoffer Porsche 934/Porsche 4:12.7
194.317 Km/h 0/0
27 70 Jean Blaton/Nick Faure/John Goss Porsche 934/Porsche 4:13.2
193.934 Km/h 0/0
28 58 Bernard Cheneviére/Peter Zbinden/Nicolas Bührer Porsche 934/Porsche 4:14.9
192.640 Km/h 0/0
29 61 Jean-Claude Andruet/Henri Cachia/Jacques Borras Porsche 934/Porsche 4:15.3
192.338 Km/h 0/0
30 52 Raymond Touroul/Alain Cudini/René Boubet Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:17.0
191.066 Km/h 0/0
31 36 Daniel Brillat/Michel Degoumois/Jean Claude Depince Cheetah G 601/BMW 4:17.7
190.547 Km/h 0/0
32 31 Tony Birchenhough/Ian Bracey/Simon Phillips/Brian Joscelyne Lola T 294 S/Ford 4:19.5
189.225 Km/h 0/0
33 53 Thierry Sabine/Philippe Dagoreau/Jean-Claude Andruet Porsche Carrera RS/Porsche 4:22.0
187.420 Km/h 0/0
34 44 Jean-Claude Justice/Jean Bélin BMW 3.5 CSL/BMW 4:22.1
187.348 Km/h 0/0
35 30 Jean-Marie Lemerle/Alain Levié/Patrick Daire Lola T 294/ROC Chrysler 4:22.1
187.348 Km/h 0/0
36 78 Diego Febles/Alec Poole/Hiram Cruz/Derek McMahon Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:22.8
186.849 Km/h 0/0
37 72 Jean-Pierre Aeschlimann/Roger Dorchy/William Vollery Porsche Carrera RS/Porsche 4:23.4
186.424 Km/h 0/0
38 5 Guy Chasseuil/Claude Ballot-Léna/Xavier Mathiot WM P 76/PRV 4:24.1
185.930 Km/h 0/0
39 63 Hartwig Bertrams/Heinz Martin/Egon Evertz Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:25.2
185.158 Km/h 0/0
40 49 Clemens Schickentanz/Howden Ganley Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:25.3
185.089 Km/h 0/0
41 3 Lella Lombardi/Christine Dacremont Lancia Stratos Turbo/Ferrari 4:26.4
184.324 Km/h 0/0
42 50 Thierry Perrier/Guy de Saint-Pierre/Martine Rénier Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:26.7
184.117 Km/h 0/0
43 62 Christian Bussi/Philippe Gurdjian/Christian Gouttepifre Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:27.0
183.910 Km/h 0/0
44 71 Segolen/Maurice Ouviére/Jean-Yves Gadal Porsche Carrera RS/Porsche 4:28.0
183.224 Km/h 0/0
45 33 Georges Schäfer/Jean-Pierre Adatte/Riccardo Alabanesi Chevron B 26/Ford 4:28.6
182.815 Km/h 0/0
46 77 John Rulon-Miller/Tom Vaugh/Jean-Pierre Laffeach Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:29.3
182.339 Km/h 0/0
47 4 Herschel McGriff/Doug McGriff Dodge Charger/Dodge 4:29.7
182.069 Km/h 0/0
48 46 Peter Brock/Brian Muir/Jean-Claude Aubriet/Jean Claude Depince BMW 3.5 CSL/BMW 4:30.1
181.799 Km/h 0/0
49 73 Claude Buchet/André Haller/Jean-Luc Favresse Datsun 240 Z/Nissan 4:30.2
181.732 Km/h 0/0
50 67 Joël Laplacette/Alain Leroux/Georges Bourdillat Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:30.9
181.262 Km/h 0/0
51 55 Christian Poirot/René Boubet Porsche Carrera RSR/Porsche 4:31.9
180.596 Km/h 0/0
52 29 José Thibault/Alain Hubert/Michel Lateste Lenham /Ford 4:34.2
179.081 Km/h 0/0
53 82 Jacques Marché/Martial Delalande/Max Cohen-Olivar De Tomaso Pantera/Ford 4:36.4
177.656 Km/h 0/0
54 95 Jean-Louis Ravenel/Jacky Ravenel/Jean-Marie Détrin/Dany Wauters BMW 3.0 CSL/BMW 4:36.5
177.591 Km/h 0/0
55 90 Richard Brooks/Dick Hutcherson/Marcel Mignot Ford Torino/Ford 4:38.0
176.633 Km/h 0/0
56 48 Jean-Louis Chateau/Dominique Fornage/Jean-Claude Guérie Porsche 934/5/Porsche 4:38.1
176.570 Km/h 0/0
57 25 Jacques Marquet/C. Koppenhague/Jacky Haran TOJ SC 204/ROC Chrysler 5:14.0
156.382 Km/h 0/0
58 8 Heinz Schulthess/Jean-Claude Lagniez/Max Antichan TOJ SC 301/Ford - 0/0

[seaqnmac27]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmcLYRHjHxs

[seaqnmac27]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0x5-zCHMDA

[seaqnmac27]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRacrYoaz5k

[seaqnmac27]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw1TxM0ni34

[seaqnmac27]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVp6huDwIoM

[Steve Holmes]

Awesome vids Sean!

[Steve Holmes]

In post #3,first photo,I would reckon that is the rear of the Brock BMW to the very left of the shot.
Dale.

Good spotting Dale!

[Steve Holmes]

I was at Le Mans in 1976 helping run the deCadenet car (we finished 3rd overall) and clearly remember the American involvement, particularly the Greenwood Corvette. Le Mans had lost a bit of its pull at this stage and always had its own quirky take on the regulations, I guess they hoped the Americans would add some new dimension to the event.

The Greenwood car, let alone the NASCAR entries looked so incongruous in that setting although the noise of the Corvette was pretty hard to miss! "Les Deux Monstres" would not have been meant in a complementary way. I think the French used a similar term to describe the Briggs Cunningham Cadillac engined entry in 1950.

As 1976 was the beginning of the Turbo era, the Renaults and Porsches in particular were unbelievably quick in qualifying mode but they had to really turn down the wick for the race to have any chance of running for 24 hours let alone get around the refuelling frequency rules so the Charger's qualifying time nearly 1 minute slower is not nearly as bad as it sounds.

Thanks Howard. I always enjoy and appreciate your recollections.

[bry3500]

Great article - Thanks Steve

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Bry glad you enjoyed it

[Ray Bell]

Don Dulmage, the builder of the engine, is a very interesting character. He still plays with a slant 6-powered dragster.