The chateaus of the Loire Valley are symbols of the gorgeous countryside of western France. There is history and tradition, as the Loire River and it’s tributary, La Sarthe, cuts through the green, rolling fields, on their way to the Atlantic ocean. It’s a place time has nearly forgotten. In June each year, this quiet little spot in France is jolted to life with the sound of sports car engines, as the 24 Hours of Le Mans comes to town. The knights of the World Sports Car Championship come to joust on roads south of the city of Le Mans. Business never ends as the Café du Tertre Rouge and Restaurant de 24 Heures illustrates. Jaguar E Types and AC Cobras once raced here, but now we have the might of the Group C rocket ships. Porsche is back, looking for their fifth successive Le Mans win.
Rothmans Porsche, the factory squad, prepare three cars for the 24 hours. Two regular Porsche 962s are entered for Derek Bell, Hans Stuck, and Al Holbert, as well as Bob Wollek, Jochen Mass, and Vern Schuppan. The third Rothmans Porsche has the PDK automatic gearbox and will be driven by Vern Schuppan, the Australian, who won Le Mans in 1983 with Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert in a Rothmans Porsche, and American driver, Drake Olson. The two-time defending champions at Le Mans, Joest Racing, have entered two Porsche 956s. #7 in the hands of Klaus Ludwig, Paolo Barilla, and John Winter, and #8 to be driven by an all-American squad, hence the stars and stripes paint scheme, of George Follmer, John Morton, and Kenper Miller.
Brun Motorsports have entered three 962s. Kremer Porsche has done likewise, having three 962s. #17 will be shared by Argentina’s Oscar Larrauri, Spain’s Jesus Pareja, and France’s Joel Gouhier, while #18 has on the driver’s strength, team owner Walter Brun from Switzerland, Italy’s Massimo Sigala, and German Frank Jelinski. There is a third Brun entered Porsche, car #19, Belgian’s Thierry Boutsen and Didier Theys, sharing with Frenchman Alain Ferte. Kremer Porsche have two cars. The #10 Kenwood car audio sponsored car is to be driven by Austrian Jo Gartner, Sarel van der Merwe of South Africa, and Japan’s Kunimitsu Takahashi.
The sister Kremer Porsche, car #12 has Primagaz sponsorship, and will be driven by two Frenchmen and a Moroccan. Max Cohen-Olivar, one of the few racing drivers ever to hail from Morocco, is sharing with Frenchmen Pierre Yver and Hubert Striebig. Again, however, Jaguar is the center of attention, returning to Le Mans for the first time in almost 30 years, after Ecurie Ecosse had a 1-2-3 podium sweep in 1957. After winning their home race at Silverstone, three weeks ago, the three TWR Jaguars are indeed in with a chance at outright victory here at Le Mans.
The cats are back, prepared by Tom Walkinshaw Racing of course, and powered by their 6.0 liter V12 engines. In the #51 car, the lead Jaguar has a driver lineup of Derek Warwick, Jean Louis Schlesser, and Eddie Cheever. #52 is being shared by Hans Heyer of Germany, with two legends of sports car racing backing him up. Hurley Haywood from the United States, and Brian Redman from England are Heyer’s co-drivers. The third Jaguar, #53 is set to be piloted in part by Haywood, who will be sharing two cars, and two young drivers, Giancarlo Brancatelli from Italy, and England’s Win Percy.
A first time entry here at Le Mans, is Nissan. They are one of three Japanese automakers bidding for glory at Le Mans. Two cars are entered by the Nissan factory, with British March built chassis, and a reputed 1,000 horsepower available for qualifying from their twin turbocharged 3.0 liter V6 engines. An all Japanese lineup is present in the #23 Nissan R86V with Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Keiji Matsumoto, and Aguri Suzuki, while in the #32 car, it is Britain’s James Weaver, teaming up with Japanese pilots Masahiro Hasemi, Takao Wada, and Aguri Suzuki.
Toyota is also here. There is a single Dome 86C running the Toyota 2.0 liter 4 cylinder turbo motor, to be driven by Eje Elgh from Sweden, Beppe Gabbiani from Italy, and Toshio Suzuki from Japan. Mazda, after many years racing in C2, are in the IMSA class here at Le Mans with their triple rotor engines. They have two Mazda 757s with the 2.0 liter 13G rotary engines. One for David Kennedy and Mark Galvin of Ireland, sharing with Belgian Pierre Dieudonne, and the other for the all Japanese lineup of Takashi Yorino, Yojiro Terada, and Yoshimi Katayama.
We look at the Mazda’s, sponsored by Lucky Strike brand cigarettes. Yes, amid all the plumbing and parts, the motor is in there, somewhere. Mercedes have also returned, 34 years after their last victory at Le Mans in 1952 when Herman Lang and Fritz Reiss took the Mercedes Benz W194 to victory and their team mates Theo Helfrich and Helmut Niedermayr finished second. Two Sauber’s carry the 5 liter turbocharged V8’s to challenge Porsche and Jaguar. Car #61 has John Nielsen, Mike Thackwell, and Henri Pescarolo, and in the #62 car, Pescarolo is also entered with Austrian Dieter Quester and German Christian Danner. So, it is Pescarolo’s decision which car he may get into for the race.
Ecurie Ecosse has returned, but unlike at their 1957 win, they are no longer with Jaguar. Their allegiance is still to a British brand though, Austin Rover. They are running in C2, powered by the Austin Rover 3.0 liter V6. This car is one of two the team has entered, and has David Leslie, Ray Mallock, and Mike Wilds, an all British team. Their sister car is the year old Ecosse with the Ford Cosworth 3.3 liter V8 in it, to be shared by American drivers Les Delano, Andy Petery, and John Hotchkis.
On race morning, the Le Mans circuit is jam packed with fans. We’ve seen the contenders, and now, the time for talk is over, as we are nearly ready to get underway with the 54th running of the world’s greatest motor race. 20,000 British fans are here to support one marque. That’s Jaguar, who have returned to Le Mans, as stated, with a full factory team for the first time in almost 30 years. 169,000 fans are expected to be here for the race. In 1986, the race is a fortnight earlier (two weeks), to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
This brings cooler weather to northwestern France, but that doesn’t deter the fans from coming to see these sports cars in their shining moment, their biggest race on the calendar. The cars are formed up on the grid as royalty in the form of Prince Michael of England talks to sports car commissioner Pierre Aumonier. Beautiful ladies abound on the pre-grid from the Hawaiian Tropic girls to the ladies of Goodmans Sound posing with the Bardon Cosworth C2 car, #72. That car is being shared by the British trio of Nick Adams, Richard Jones, and Robin Donovan. Look out, too for the #66 Cosmik Racing Promotions March Porsche. Canadian John Graham and Frenchman Philippe Dermagne were listed on the entry, but their services were not required.
The full driving team in this car will be Costas Los from Greece, Australian Group C veteran Neil Crang, and Raymond Touroul of France. ADA Engineering are back with their Gebhardt Ford Cosworth for the British driving trio of Evan Clements, Tom Dodd-Noble, and Ian Harrower. Ecurie Ecosse, mentioned earlier, has two cars in the race. The aforementioned entry for the American drivers (Delano/Petery/Hotchkis). Plus, there’s the all British Leslie/Wilds/Mallock car. Martin Schanche’s Argo had issues in qualifying and may not last the whole race. Schanche is sharing with Irishman Martin Birrane and Norwegian driver, Torgye Kleppe.
Peugeot are here again, as another major manufacturer, represented in the C2 class by the Secateva team, with their #100 WM P83B with an all French driver team including Claude Haldi, Pascal Pessiot, and Roger Dorchy. The leading #32 Nissan is qualified by James Weaver, within the C2 grid. Two rows ahead of Weaver and company is the Dome Toyota, car #38. Eje Elgh from Sweden set the best time for that car, sharing with Beppe Gabbiani and Toshio Suzuki of course. Mazda, Gebhardt, and Rondeau are lined up together on the grid, Mazda in C1 while Gebhardt and Rondeau have more C2 entries.
We also have the evolutionary Porsche 961 supercar, a racing version of Porsche’s 959, with Paris Dakar Rally winner Rene Metge sharing with fellow Frenchman, Claude Ballot-Lena, and American IMSA racer Jim Busby sharing the driving chores, though Busby would not be needed to drive during the race in the twin turbocharged supercar. Nissan qualifies on the 12th row of the grid in 24th position. Kazuyoshi Hoshino qualified it and will share with Keiji Matsumoto and Aguri Suzuki. C2 polesitter is right next to the Nissan, the #70 Spice Engineering factory Spice Cosworth in the hands of Ray Bellm, Gordon Spice, and Jean-Michel Martin. Kremer have qualified two Porsche’s in this race as documented.
The #12 Primagaz Porsche will be driven by the aforementioned trio of Pierre Yver, Max Cohen-Olivar, and Hubert Striebig. A German artist has liveried another strong car we’ve mentioned already. The #63 Porsche 936C for Ernst Schuster, Sigfried Brunn, and Rudi Seher. Next up, John Fitzpatrick Racing has always shone at Le Mans, and their Porsche 956B is set to race with Spaniards Emilio de Villota and Fermin Velez, joined by South African George Fouche. The team finished fifth at Silverstone, and the Danone yogurt sponsored car, wants a higher position indeed. The oldest original Porsche 956 in the field is the #9 Topolino team Obermaier Racing car. German Jurgen Lassig is driving with Italian Fulvio Ballabio and Brit Dudley Wood in the Pagnossin, Burago, Bontempi sponsored car. The second John Fitzpatrick Porsche comes next, the #55 Porsche 962C with Spanish sponsorship from Elkron and Casino Marbella, with French drivers Philippe Alliot and Michel Trolle, joining Spaniard Paco Romero. As we go up the grid, we run into Richard Lloyd’s Liqui Moly Porsche 956, shared by Mauro Baldi from Italy, and American drivers from IMSA, Price Cobb and Rob Dyson.
Despite a blown engine, the second Kremer Porsche is also there. This is the #10 Kenwood car audio entry, with Austrian Jo Gartner, South African Sarel van der Merwe, and Japan’s Kunimitsu Takahashi on the driver lineup. This is the car that came in third in the previous race at Silverstone. Jaguar is next, and there are high hopes for victory among the British fans here at Le Mans this year. The first of them that we see, going up the grid is the #53 Win Percy, Gianfranco Brancatelli, Hurley Haywood driven car. They line up next to the second Sauber Mercedes of John Nielsen, Mike Thackwell, and Henri Pescarolo. Third of the three Brun Porsche’s is the #18 Torno liveried 962C of Sigala/Brun/Jelinski. This team finished third at the season opener at Monza.
Showing their American pride, with the stars and stripes painted on their Porsche, is the all-American driver squad for Joest Racing featuring Can Am and Trans Am legend George Follmer, IMSA stalwart John Morton, and Kenper Miller. Ahead of the #8, is the #3 Rpthmans Porsche 962 with the PDK automatic gearbox, slated to have just a two driver squad for the 24 hours, including American Drake Olson and Australia’s Vern Schuppan, who was on the 1983 Rothmans Porsche winning team here at Le Mans. Immediately behind is the sister Sauber Mercedes, the #62 car for Austrian Dieter Quester, France’s Henri Pescarolo, a four-time Le Mans winner, and Germany’s Christian Danner.
Then comes the #17 Brun Motorsport Fortuna sponsored Porsche 962, to be driven by Oscar Larrauri from Argentina, Spaniard Jesus Pareja, and Frenchman Joel Gouhier. It shares the same row as the Schuppan/Olson Porsche. Then comes another of the Jaguar’s, this one the #52 entry for Hans Heyer of Germany, sharing with two endurance racing legends, Brit Brian Redman, and three-time Le Mans winner, American, Hurley Haywood. The Heyer/Redman/Haywood car is immediately behind it’s sister car, the #51 entry of Derek Warwick, Jean Louis Schlesser, and Eddie Cheever.
Derek Warwick says he’d love to win Le Mans for Jaguar and it would be the end of a dream for him. Next up is the second of the Brun Porsche’s, the #19 Blanchet Locatop sponsored Porsche 956 for Belgian’s Thierry Boutsen and Didier Theys, sharing with Alain Ferte of France. Joest Porsche have their #7 Taka Q Porsche third fastest. Paolo Barilla set to co-drive with Klaus Ludwig and John Winter. Joest wants the Le Mans hat trick, having won here the past two years. Rothmans Porsche locks out the front row.
In second spot, the #1 Porsche 962 for Hans Stuck, Derek Bell, and Al Holbert, and on the pole, the #2 car of Bob Wollek, Jochen Mass, and Vern Schuppan. Derek Bell and Hans Stuck seem to be getting all the attention from the pretty Hawaiian Tropic girls. Derek Bell is going for his fourth Le Mans win. He misses his former co-driver, Jacky Ickx, now retired. But he says he has two of the best co-drivers he could ask for in Hans Stuck and Al Holbert. Hans Stuck feels good about the race. He wants to win Le Mans, but knows the whole race comes first.
There is definitely a rivalry between Jaguar and Porsche. Fastest of all are Jochen Mass and Bob Wollek in the #2 Porsche. OK. I’ll say it. “Dragons teeth! Is there nothing the French will stop at to clear the grid?” I wonder who the bloke is in the dragon suit. Just as long as he doesn’t breathe fire, with the high octane racing fuel around, I think we’ll be OK. Parachute man also drops in for the start. Let’s once again have a look at the top qualifiers for the 54th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- #2 Mass/Wollek/Schuppan Porsche 962C Rothmans Porsche
- #1 Stuck/Bell/Holbert Porsche 962C Rothmans Porsche
- #7 Ludwig/Barilla/Winter Porsche 956 Joest Racing
- #19 Boutsen/Ferte/Theys Porsche 956 Locatop Brun Porsche
- #51 Cheever/Warwick/Schlesser Jaguar XJR-6 Silk Cut Jaguar
- #17 Larrauri/Pareja/Gouhier Porsche 962C Brun Motorsport
- #52 Heyer/Redman/Haywood Jaguar XJR-6 Silk Cut Jaguar
- #3 Schuppan/Olson Porsche 962C Rothmans Porsche
- #62 Danner/Pescarolo/Quester Sauber C8 Mercedes Kouros Racing Team
- #13 de Cadenet/Courage/Raphanel Cougar C12 Porsche Primagaz Team Cougar
That’s the top ten in C1. C2 pole sitter is the British Spice chassis.
#70 Spice/Bellm/Martin Spice SE86 Pontiac Fiero Ford Cosworth Spice Engineering
The grid is set. 50 cars will take the start. There’s a 13% fuel limit increase this year. 2,550 liters for C1, and 1,650 for C2. The pace lap is underway, on a circuit shorter this year by 90 meters, after Mulsanne corner was remodeled. We’re set for a start! Jaguar Cars Chairman John Egan waves the flag, and away we go! The Rothmans Porsche are being attacked immediately by the customer cars as the field barrels towards Dunlop Curve for the first time. Vern Schuppan in seventh is following Oscar Larrauri as we go over the hump under the Dunlop bridge.
Klaus Ludwig leads on the downhill run to Tertre Rouge. The myriad of Porsche’s, and the three factory Jaguars are already mixing it up early on in this motor race. The cars are single file into Tertre Rouge. The cars swing onto the Mulsanne straight, 180 miles an hour and climbing towards a top speed that will be around 230-240 miles an hour at least. Flat out through the kink, and Vern Schuppan makes a fake to the right of Oscar Larrauri in the Brun Porsche. Larrauri holds off the challenge at 200+ miles an hour flashing past the cafes and the houses. Klaus Ludwig is opening his lead over Bob Wollek, Derek Warwick, Hans Stuck, Hans Heyer, Thierry Boutsen, Oscar Larrauri, Vern Schuppan, and both Sauber Mercedes.
Stuck is on the move, as Vern Schuppan dives after Oscar Larrauri another time. The Porsche is the meat in a Jaguar sandwich sweeping through the newly remodeled Mulsanne corner another time. Ludwig still leads this motor race, and the 340,000 fans here at Le Mans are focused on the scrap between Jaguar and Porsche. Hans Stuck wants by Derek Warwick for the lead. He does. Now, it’s mano e mano Rothmans factory Porsche vs. Joest Porsche. It’s the #7 Klaus Ludwig, Paolo Barilla, John Winter car leading, and trying to steal their thunder, the #1 Hans Stuck, Derek Bell, Al Holbert factory car.
Derek Warwick is catching up fast as Bob Wollek has taken the #2 Rothmans Porsche past Hans Heyer in the #52 Silk Cut Jaguar. Heyer, meanwhile has his hands full with the third Rothmans Porsche, Vern Schuppan at the wheel of it. Schuppan takes the Jaguar in the esses as a backmarker spins out at Mulsanne. This is the Group B class #111 MK Motorsport BMW M1 driven by Belgians Pascal Witmeur and Jean-Paul Libert, and German Michael Krankenberg. This BMW M1 is the only Group B spec car in the race this year.
After an hour of racing Ludwig and Stuck continue their scrap until it’s pit stop time for the New Man Porsche. Ludwig stops in the pit lane on a dime, handing the driving chores to Paolo Barilla for his first stint in the race. Fuel, tires, and routine service at Joest, allowing Bob Wollek to take over the race lead. Wollek has passed Stuck for the lead, and Stuck will head for pit lane, as Eddie Cheever now has the top running Jaguar, the #51 car. At dusk, it’s still a fair old ding dong scrap for the lead between Rothmans Porsche and Joest Porsche. Jaguar maintains the third spot, quietly hanging around if these other blokes should either bin it or run into mechanical problems.
Jaguar and Rothmans Porsche in the pit lane, and the #2 Rothmans Porsche is held for extra time in pit lane by an overly cautious marshal. Bob Wollek and Jochen Mass are none too pleased with this marshal who held their car, now with Vern Schuppan driving. Mass and Wollek vent their frustration, shoving the marshal out of the way. The purple light at the end of pit lane signals that night has fallen at Le Mans. So, the video game of lights, and the mesmerizing funhouse that is the Le Mans darkness has begun, in earnest. Old No. 7 keeps rolling on, continually playing the follow my leader game with the Rothmans Porsche.
Give a call, too, to the #17 Fortuna sponsored Brun Porsche as Oscar Larrauri, Jesus Pareja, and Joel Gouhier, are still in this thing. They are still competitive, driving into the darkness. Eight hours into the race, at midnight, the lead battle is still hot and heavy. Speeds are no slower even at night with headlights piercing the shroud of darkness around the French countryside, as speeds continually top nearly 220 miles an hour on the Mulsanne straight. These chaps are booking it at Le Mans tonight! For a lap anyway, Hans Stuck leads Paolo Barilla.
Derek Bell takes over the #1 Rothmans Porsche on a scheduled pit stop. Joest are also in pit lane for routine service, and now, Klaus Ludwig will start a stint in that automobile. The #51 Jaguar holds third, now with Jean Louis Schlesser at the wheel of it. But, after the pit stops, tragedy is going to strike the World Sports Car Championship, again. Remember Manfred Winkelhock’s and Stefan Bellof’s fatal wrecks at Mosport and Spa the year before? It has happened again, here at Le Mans, in the middle of the dark night. Jo Gartner has gone off the road at a high rate of speed on the Mulsanne straight, and after making contact with the barrier at high speed, Gartner is killed instantly, as his Porsche 962C, vaporizes in a way.
The safety car has been deployed and was originally called out for an earlier accident during the night that wrote off the #2 Rothmans Porsche 962 of Wollek, Mass, and Schuppan. Those three are out of the race. But, the barriers on the Mulsanne straight have to be rebuilt, too, after Gartner’s wreck. We’ve lost one of the rising stars of sports car racing. Rest in Peace, Jo Gartner, gone, but never forgotten, at the age of 32. In the slow, cold lapping during the night, the lead Joest Porsche blows a motor. Klaus Ludwig, Paolo Barilla, and John Winter, are out. Positions now after nearly 14 hours of the race are:
C1
- #1 Bell/Stuck/Holbert Rothmans Porsche Porsche 962C
- #51 Warwick/Cheever/Schlesser Silk Cut Jaguar Jaguar XJR6
- #17 Larrauri/Pareja/Gouhier Brun Motorsport Porsche 962C
- #33 de Villota/Velez/Fouche Danone Porsche España Porsche 956B
- #8 Follmer/Morton/Miller Joest Racing Porsche 956
- #63 Brunn/Schuster/Seher Ernst Schuster Porsche 936C
In Group C2, the all-conquering Spice team has had clutch maladies during the race, pushing them down the order. Here’s the top three in class.
C2
- #79 Mallock/Wilds/Leslie Ecurie Ecosse Ecosse Rover
- #75 Harrower/Clements/Dodd-Noble ADA Engineering Gebhardt JC843 Ford Cosworth
- #90 Mercer/Winther/Jensen Jens Winther URD C83 BMW
In C2, we have three different brands in the top three for chassis’ and engines. As we transition from nighttime to daytime on Sunday, the death of Jo Gartner hangs heavy over the circuit, and Le Mans has lost its joy. Once again, Rest in Peace, Jo Gartner, who has gone to the heavens, touching the face of God. We still have ten long hours of this motor race left to run. At dawn, Rothmans Porsche lead with Brun Porsche in second. Brun has gotten around the Jaguar. It is a certainty, that in this race, Derek Bell is headed towards what will be his fourth victory at Le Mans.
Uh oh! Problems for Ecurie Ecosse! The C2 leaders have had crash damage. David Leslie had a right rear tire delaminate, and that has blown the tail section off the Ecosse! Right now, Emilio de Vilotta, Fermin Velez, and George Fouche have the Danone yogurt Porsche up to fifth place in the overall. David Leslie will have to limp back to the pits, but, he will be disqualified by the stewards for taking on water. So, someone must have topped up the Ecosse’s radiator while he was sitting there, stranded. Warwick, Cheever, and Schlesser still have the #51 Jaguar third overall.
The Fortuna Porsche of Larrauri, Pareja, and Gouhier continues to run second. But Jaguar is soon in trouble! Just like we saw with Ecosse, a blown tire rips the tail section of the Jaguar to shreds! It’s game over. They may have won Silverstone, but they will have to try again to recapture their former Le Mans glory, in the future. Jaguar is out. Bell and Stuck are headed for a win with the assistance of Al Holbert. In the C2 class, the ADA Engineering Gebhardt, car #75, of Ian Harrower, Evan Clements, and Tom Dodd-Noble, are headed for a triumph as well. They will win the C2 class here at Le Mans. The final pit stop for Rothmans Porsche takes place. Derek Bell says, it is awful to win a race where you know a fellow competitor has been killed. It will be special for Bell to win his fourth Le Mans, and win with Porsche. But, Jo Gartner’s accident, has taken the joy out of this year’s race, as we spoke of after it occurred in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
In the IMSA division, Richard Cleare Racing and their March 85G Porsche will win. Cleare, the Briton, is joined by American Jack Newsum, and Lionel Robert of France. Bell heads for the win. Oscar Larrauri and company will finish second, and in third, the American driven Joest Porsche, with George Follmer at the controls to take it to the flag. Fourth is the oh so often mentioned #33 Danone yogurt Porsche. Finishing sixth will be the Porsche 936C of Siggi Brun and Ernst Schuster with Rudi Seher’s help. 4:00 PM Sunday, and Derek Bell wins his fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans, while it is the first victory for Hans Stuck and the second for Al Holbert. British fans will be happy about Derek Bell’s win, and the ADA win in C2 despite the Jaguar’s retirement.
Here are the results.
- #2 Bell/Stuck/Holbert Porsche 962C Rothmans Porsche
- #17 Larrauri/Pareja/Gouhier Porsche 962C Brun Motorsports Fortuna Porsche
- #8 Follmer/Morton/Miller Porsche 956 Joest Racing Porsche
- #33 de Villota/Velez/Fouche Porsche 956 Danone Porsche España
- #9 Lassig/Ballabio/Wood Porsche 956 Topolino/Obermaier Racing
- #63 Schuster/Brun/Seher Porsche 936C McGregor/Ernst Schuster
- #180 Ballot-Lena/Metge Porsche 961 4WD Porsche AG
- #75 Clements/Harrower/Dodd-Noble Gebhardt JC843 Ford Cosworth ADA Engineering
Claude Ballot-Lena and Rene Metge win GTX. Harrower, Clements, and Dodd-Noble win C2. Also, as mentioned, the IMSA GTP winners are:
#21 Cleare/Robert/Newsum March 85G Porsche Richard Cleare Racing
Here are the team’s points after Le Mans, too.
- Rothmans Porsche 35 points
- Silk Cut Jaguar 20 points
- Danone/John Fitzpatrick Racing 18 points
- Joest Racing 18 points
- Brun Motorsport 17 points
- LM Equipe 12 points
- Porsche Kremer Racing 12 points
Hans Stuck and Derek Bell extend their driver’s points lead, with half the season still remaining.
- Derek Bell 55 points
- Hans Stuck 55 points
- Oscar Larrauri 26 points
- Jesus Pareja 26 points
- Derek Warwick 20 points
- Eddie Cheever 20 points
- Al Holbert 20 points
Group C Sports Cars, the thunder of the '80s 