Results Qualifications

Results Race

In 1972 Americans have no interest for F1 racing, considered as a typical European speciality. Contrary to Europe - excited by endurance racing with cars using F1 engines - most Americans are not interested in FIA's new approach of long distance racing. Attendance at the Daytona Continental thus remains low: only 35,000 spectators show during the week-end. Bill France sr - the father of NASCAR racing - accepts FIA's prescriptions to reduce the length of the race from 24 to 6 hours. He hopes that a shorter race will be less boring than the traditional 24 hours. All by all number of spectators is 10,000 higher than the previous year.
Despite the disappearance of the Porsches 917K and Ferraris 512M, entry is up to 60 cars: 12 in S3000, 6 in S2000, 25 in GT (Group 4) and 17 in T (Group 2). Ferrari and Alfa Romeo show with a trio of works cars, having both shipped their Buenos Aires cars to the factory for revision and having received three new cars. At Autodelta - having won last year three rounds of the Manufacturer's Worlds - they know they have no chance to defeat the Ferraris 312PB since the old V8 power-plants must be used in the 33TT3 - the new 12-cylinder engine being not ready.  Écurie Bonnier - having not the same financial means of the two Italian giants - is present with the same two cars having raced at Buenos Aires. The new 3.0 Mirage Gulf M6 Ford of John Wyer is not ready and absent. Efforts to convince Jean-Luc Lagardère to show with his very professional Matras MS670 were of no avail: the French cars will only be raced at Le Mans. Rest of the entry in S3000 is limited to the 3.0 Porsche 908-03 of the Escuderia Montjuich, to the 3.0 Porsche 908-02 of Tony Dean, and to the four year old N.A.R.T. 3.0 Ferrari 312P (last year still fifth at the Daytona 24 hours). [One 3.0 Alfa Romeo 33TT3 will be eliminated by accident at practice after having realised the tenth best time.]
Qualifications are dominated by the three works Ferraris 312PB, realising the three best times, with a pole position for the #2 of Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx (together with Clay Regazzoni, Ferrari's 1972 F1 racers). The #12 Lola T280 Ford of Jo Bonnier and the #7 Alfa Romeo 33TT3 of Revson/Stommelen are the lonely other cars going nearly as fast as the Ferraris. In S2000 the new 2.0 Abarth-Osella SE-021 is no less than eight full seconds faster than its direct opponents, the two Chevrons B19 entered by Shierson-Opert Racing. In Group 4 the Corvette Roadster of Thompson/Weaver realises the tenth time, being six seconds faster than the Corvette L88 of John Greenwood and Tomy de Adamich. In Group 2 no less than four Camaros SS are faster than all other Corvettes than the roadster.
At the start Regazzoni in the #4 Ferrari 312PB is the fastest away, pursued by Bonnier in the #12 Lola T280 Ford. The second Lola refuses to start and looses seven laps in the pits with ignition problems. The car will retire after a very short run. Just before the one-hour mark the lead Ferrari begins to slow due to a gradually deflating tire. Just when Reine Wisell - having replaced Bonnier in the Lola T280 - makes his bid for the lead at lap 27 the Ferrari's tire lets go at 185mph (300kph) right before the entrance to pit road. The explosion blows away the car's rear end and sends it careening directly into Wisell's path. The impact destroys the rear end of the Lola, loosing 13 minutes in the pits for repair, and dropping the car in 15th position. Having avoided to hit anything Regazzoni can reach the Ferrari pit where he can join the race in ninth position.
That brings Andretti into the lead with the #2 Ferrari 312PB. His car, however, turns on eleven of its twelve cylinders, being underpowered at a limit of 10,000rpm instead of 10,800rpm.

Peterson/Schenken in the #6 Ferrari are now second, followed by the three Alfa Romeos 33TT3. Shortly before mid-race Bonnier's Lola T280, again seventh, is eliminated by fuel injection problems. The two Ferraris are closely followed by the #7 Revson/Stommelen Alfa Romeo 33TT3, catching at two occasions the lead during pit stops of the two Ferraris. Revson/Stommelen, They'll loose their fine third place with alternator bothers and steering vibration, sending them during more than two hours into the pits. When Regazzoni/Redman are already fifth, headed by two works Alfas,  the car makes a new spin, having to repair the rear section.
In S2000 Merzario/Soler Roig have a fabulous race. They move into fourth position overall with a half hour to go. Then the car refuses to start from the pits and is pushed, enough to be black flagged and disqualified. That offers the class win to the 2.0 Lola T212 of Tom Waugh and Hugh Kleinpeter. Meanwhile the #9 Alfa Romeo looses its fourth place to the miraculous Regazzoni/Redman Ferrari, having had a pit fire after its two spins when a brake was changed. Andretti and Ickx - going as hard as they can with their underpowered Ferrari - will reach the finish as winners, two laps ahead over Peterson/ Schenken and four over the #5 Alfa Romeo of Elford/Marko.
In Group 4 the Corvette Roadster leads during the 21 first laps, until being eliminated by accident after a puncture. Then the Dave Heinz hairy Corvette ZL1 takes over the lead, but is passed during the final stages of the race by the very regular Porsche 911S of Haywood and Gregg. Group 2 is won by the Bob Mitchell Camaro SS396.

Results Qualifications

Results Race

Results Qualifications

Results Race

Brands Hatch has always been a kind of a sanctuary for sports cars. Already last year the F1-powered Ferrari TQ-ed in 1'27"4, while Autodelta took victory with its 3.0 Alfa Romeo T33/3 covering the 1,000-kms in 6 hours 24 minutes. Great fanatics of sophisticated F1 technology a crowd of 80,000 spectators is out to watch the spectacle, exclusively reserved for Group 5 sports cars, since - just as in Buenos Aires - the organisers refused Group 4 and Group 2 cars at the start. Entry is restricted to 27 cars, three of them - two Darens Mk3 and a Lola T212 Ford - failing to qualify. Another car, John Lepp's Chevron B19, is eliminated by accident at practice. That results in 23 starters: 11 in S3000 and 12 in S2000.
Ferrari is present with three 312PBs and the same pairings as at the three previous rounds. Two of them are the 888 for Andretti/Ickx and the 890 for Regazzoni/Redman, both having already be raced at Daytona. Since the 884 has been destroyed by fire at Sebring, Peter Schetty decides to give Peterson/Revson the new 894. Autodelta is present with three Alfa Romeos 33TT3, always equipped with the V8, since the development of the 12-cylinder boxer is much more difficult than initially scheduled. Écurie Bonnier has its two Lolas T280 out and John Wyer shows with his Mirage Gulf M6. A Porsche 908-03 (the one having won in 1970 the Targa Florio and the Nürburgring) is entered by Reinhold Jöst. However with its 350bhp for 650 kg (the required minimum weight) it's no match for the factory cars. Same situation for the Porsche 908-02 entered by Bosch Racing.
Among the twelve S2000 cars Carlo Abarth is back with his super fast Abarth-Osella SE-021. Scuderia Brescia Corse has an Abarth 2000SP of previous year at the start. Chevron is present two B21s, two intermediate B19/21s and two B19s. Barclays International Racing has the new Lola T290 Ford at the start. Two handicraft cars, a Dulon DL11P and a Gropa CMC2-BMW complete the entry. There are no Lolas T212.
Qualifications are again dominated by the 312PB Ferraris. They take the three first places on the grid, all three improving the 1'27"4 realised last year by TQ-ing Jacky Ickx. Pole position goes this year to the #9 of Regazzoni/Redman in 1'26"6, followed by the #11 of Andretti/Ickx in 1'26"8 and by the #10 of Peterson/Revson in 1'27"3. Fastest Alfa is once more Rolf Stommelen's #8 in 1'28"1. That is three tenths of a second slower than done one year before at the wheel of a T33/3, what seems to confirm that Autodelta makes no progress. Then follow the two Lolas T280 with their Cosworth F1 engines. Biggest surprise comes from the 2.0 Abarth-Osella SE-021 clocking with 1'28"6 the seventh best time, letting no less than five S3000 cars behind. The Scorpion's car is three seconds faster than the new Lola T290, qualifying second in its class, followed by the two Chevrons B21. The Porsche 908-03 of Reinhold Jöst is, despite its 350bhp - against 260 for the Abarth-Osella - four full seconds behind the hot boiled Arturo Merzario and his fabulous SE-021. The Gropa CMC2 qualifies as twenty-first, the Dulon DL11P one rank further, but both within the 23 per cent limit imposed by the CSI.

At the start Clay Regazzoni in his #9 Ferrari takes immediately the lead, followed by Jacky Ickx in the #11 and Ronnie Peterson in the #10. Surprisingly not the Alfa Romeos but the #4 Lola 280 Ford of Reine Wisell is able to follow the pace set by the Ferraris. When after 50 laps (out of 235) the red cars come in for refuelling and switching drivers, Wisell takes the lead and can hold it until lap 59 when he too has to refuel. Having done their pit stop in twenty seconds, nearly a half minute faster than the #11, Andretti/Ickx are the new leaders, followed at 25 seconds by the #9 of Regazzoni/Redman and the #10 of Peterson/Schenken. Meanwhile the second Lola T280 is already out with a broken wishbone after 33 laps. More bad luck for Merzario, having hold the fifth place during the 16 first laps, when at once he has to abandon the #21 Abarth-Osella with melting valve springs. During the following hour Larousse/Wisell can stay in the same lap as the leaders, followed by the #8 Alfa Romeo of Stommelen/Revson and #6 Alfa of Elford/de Adamich.
After 112 laps the nice song is over for the #4 Lola T280 Ford of Larousse/Wisell when a shock absorber brakes. Out too is the Reinhold Jöst #1 Porsche 908-03, victim of a broken engine mounting. The three Ferraris are now followed at considerable distance of several laps by the trio Alfa Romeos.
After 150 laps, the three Ferraris finished their third routine stop, and maintain always their 1-2-3. The Mirage Gulf M6 Ford is already more than 30 minutes in the pits with electrical problems and drops to rank 15 in the standings.
Several S2000 cars are already out: the #30 Chevron B21 Ford of Fletcher/Watson with a broken brake pipe, the #38 Chevron B19 of Peter Humble/Nick May with a misfiring engine, the #37 Chevron B19/21 with a blown engine and the Gropa CMC2-BMW with failing electrics. Struggle for the first place in the class goes now between the #34 Chevron B21 of Robinson/Migault and the #29 Lola T290 Ford of Edwards/Hobbs. During a short time the Swiss #31 Chevron B19/21 Ford of the Squadra Tartaruga, shared by Peter Ettmüller and Walter Frey, seemed able to follow them, but ignition problems made them loosing several laps in the pits.

The 2.0 Dulon LD11P Porsche is one of the cars built by Maxperenco Products Ltd, founded by William Longley and Andy Duncam. Only two copies of the car have been made. Here we see one at International Supersports Cup of 1999, driven by Keith Martin.

With a last routine stop to go Clay Regazzoni, always second in the #9 Ferrari 312PB  comes in with an oil leak from the gearbox and a misfiring engine. He has to make three unscheduled stops and drops to the seventh place. In S2000 Robinson/Migault and their #34 Chevron B21 can pass the third Alfa Romeo (of Galli/Marko) to move into sixth position, with the #29 Lola T290 Ford nearly two full laps behind. Andretti/Ickx can maintain their first place until the finish, winning for the third consecutive time. Peterson/Schenken, having won the first round of the WCM are for the third consecutive time second, now one lap down to the winners. The Alfas of Stommelen/Revson and Elford/ de Adamich take the third and fourth place, res. two and four laps down to the winners. Having finished fifth, Robinson/Migault believe they won S2000, until they will be disqualified for underweight. So Edwards/Hobbs and their #29 Lola T290 Ford win the class, ahead of the #35 Chevron B21 of Bamford/McInnerey. Having passed the agonising Galli/Marko Alfa in the last lap, Regazzoni/Redman eventually take the fifth place.

It is not easy to find pictures of the Gropa CMC2, built in 1971. Tony Lanfranchi and John Markey drove at the 1972 such car, powered by BMW. Having qualified 21st they retired after 110 laps with electrical bothers. Here a Gropa CMC2 in 2001.

Results Qualifications

Results Race

Contested since 1960 on April 25, the Italian national holiday celebrating the nation's liberation from the Third Reich in 1944, this year's edition goes without the Alfa Romeos and without the Mirage Gulf M6 Ford. Indeed, Autodelta wishes above all to win again the more prestigious Targa Florio, just as last year, and will not show at rounds #5 and #6 of the WCM. John Wyer from his side understands that his car is still unreliable and uses his time to improve the M6. Although 43 cars practiced, the 100,000 spectators find only 20 of them at the start. Main reason for such a poor field is that 20 cars failed to qualify due to the 23 per cent rule. Among them two S3000 Group 5 cars: the 3.0 Porsche 908-02 of Walter Brun and the 3.0 Porsche 910 of Bernd Becker. Among the eighteen other non-qualifiers we find a Lola T212 Alfa Romeo, a Porsche 906, an Abarth-Osella SE-021,  a Chevron B19 Ford, one of the four 5.8 De Tomaso Panteras (the one of the Escuderia Montjuich, having realised the fifth time at the Le Mans Trials), all eleven the Porsches 911S (among them even the Erwin Kremer Porsche), a Ferrari 365 GTB-4 and a Porsche 914-6.
Among the cars having qualified we find in S3000 the three works Ferraris, the two Lolas T280, the Jöst Porsche 908-03 and two Porsches 908-02. That makes only eight cars and hardly five potential winners. Twelve other cars will be raced in S2000. Among them no works Abarth-Osella SE-021, since Abarth's works driver, Arturo Merzario, has been selected in the Ferrari works team to replace Mario Andretti. Scuderia Brescia Corse is present with two Abarths: a SE-021 and a 2000SP. Citta dei Mille has an Abarth 1600SP qualified. Among the other qualified cars there are two Lolas T290 Ford, a Porsche 907, a 1.6 Chevron B19 Ford (raced under the name Tondelli BT), a Chevron B19, a Chevron B19/21, a Lola T212 Ford and a seven years old Ferrari Dino 206S Spyder. Of the sixteen Group 4 cars having started only three De Tomaso Panteras survive the hell of the qualifications..

Only 20 cars of the 43 having practiced come at the start under horrible racing conditions, persisting during the whole race.               
Last show of a 2.0 Ferrari Dino 206S in a round at the Manufacturer's Worlds. Eventually the car will go off after a collision with Herbie Müller's De Tomaso Pantera, sending poor Lo Piccolo to hospital.

Eventually the three works Ferraris, all equipped with a semi-closed tail, take the three first places on the grid with Peterson/Schenken on the pole with the #2, Ickx/Regazzoni in second place with the #1 and Redman/Merzario in third place with the #3. Then follow the two Lolas T280. The sixth placed car, a Porsche 908-02, is already ten seconds slower than the car in pole position, what underlines the poverty of the field.
On Sunday weather conditions are horrible, with torrential rain coming down the whole day. So the organisers allow the 23 quali-fied cars an half hour session to familiarise with the appalling race conditions. Here we loose three more cars: two Porsches 908-02 and the Abarth 2000SP. During the same session under such terrible conditions Peterson goes off at Parabolica, damaging the nose of his #2 Ferrari. Peter Schetty, however, obtains that the organisers delay the start so that the nose-section can be changed.
At the start Ickx is the fastest away and after only one lap three cars are already out: the Swiss Chevron B19/21, Filipinetti's Lola T290 and the Lola T212. Five laps later, always under impossible racing conditions - similar to what happened in 1965 at the Sebring 12 hours - three more cars are out: Bonnier's Lola T280, the second Lola T290 and a Chevron B19. Then Redman, racing in second position, goes off at Parabolica, damaging the tail. After twelve laps Ickx comes into the pits where the mechanics try to dry out the electrics of the #1 Ferrari. During the stop the alternator catches fire and must be replaced. So Regazzoni joins the race eight laps down to Peterson, leading with the #2 Ferrari ahead of the #4 Lola T280. One lap later the Abarth-Osella SE-021, racing in fourth position, goes out after an accident, followed three laps later by the #4 Lola T280. We are only sixteen laps far and already eight of the twenty starters are out. After 32 laps Peterson comes in for refuelling and is followed in second position by the Porsche 908-03, followed by two Group 4 Panteras. Meanwhile Redman spins again at Vialone and has to abandon the car. The same is done by Michel Dupont writing off his #16 Chevron B19. We are only 32 laps (out of 174) far and half of the started cars are already out.
Then Peterson spins with the leading Ferrari #2 and comes into the pits to have his left rear suspension replaced. So Reinhold Joest is the new leader with his Porsche 908-03, followed by the two fastest Panteras. When he has to come in for refuelling Herbie Müller causes the biggest surprise, leading the race with his #41 De Tomaso Pantera GT4, ahead of the #43 sister car. Five laps after refuelling the Porsche 908-03 can pass both Panteras (Müller's falls out after 44 laps after having spun) and is leading again. At lap 73 Regazzoni, having undone his eight lap^arrears, snatches the lead from the 908-03. Four laps later he comes into the pits with wet electrics and rejoins the race one minute down to the Porsche. Six laps later he is again in the lead. Eventually he and Ickx will win, four laps ahead over the Porsche 908-03 and nine over the Peterson-Schenken Ferrari finishing third. For Ickx it is his fourth consecutive win at the WCM this year. Although the two remaining Panteras are slowing down, the #44 finishes fifth, winning GT4. Mattli/Bayard win S2000, finishing fourth with their five year old Porsche 907. Eventually only seven cars reach the finish.

Results Qualifications

Results Race

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This year the 8.761-mi (14.100-km) circuit of Francorchamps, using close road sections, is boycotted by the newly created GPDA (Grand Prix Driver's Association) with Joachim Bonnier (S) as president. In the past the circuit was the scene of several fatal accidents, and the boycott, launched at Sebring by Jackie Stewart, should be fully understandable should it not be that a clown is member of the GPDA. That clown is France's Jean Pierre Beltoise, fully responsible for the death of Ignazio Giunti at the 1971 Buenos Aires Temporada and probably the very last one to open his mouth over the security of race tracks. All by all most racers didn't respect the boycott, except for Bonnier, who refused to send his Lola T280 cars to Spa. But even that is nothing more than a farce, since we find a Bonnier Lola T280 at the start, officially entered for the regular Bonnier drivers Gérard Larousse and Baron Hughes de Fierlandt by a misty Belgian Racing Team.
All that cannot hide that the 60,000 spectators receive a very meagre dish. There are only six S3000 cars at the start: the three Ferraris (having been seen at Brands Hatch), the Mirage Gulf M6A, Bonnier's Lola T280 and Jöst's no longer competitive Porsche 908-03. In S2000 we find fourteen entries. This time, however, no exciting Abarth-Osella SE-021. Only ten Chevrons (B21, B19/21, B19 and B8), one Lola T212, two Dulons LD11P and one Daren Mk3. Much more interesting are the Group 4 cars with two semi-works De Tomaso Panteras, two Chevrolets Corvette, the Charles Pozzi Ferrari 365 GTB-4 and five Porsches 911S. Two Group 2 cars, a BMW CS2800 and a Mercedes-Benz 300SL (already seen at the Le Mans Trials) show as field fillers. Since three cars failed to qualify (one Dulon LG11P, the Lola T212 and the Chevron B8) and since AMG decides not to start the Mercedes (having qualified as low as 25th on 32 cars), only 28 cars will be found at the starting grid.
Fastest qualifier on the holy home ground is (of course) Jacky Ickx, having earlier won the four precedent rounds. His #1 Ferrari 312PB  with the yellow stripe turns in 3'20"4. In second position we find the #3 with the green stripe of Redman/Merzario with 3'23"5; in third position the #2 with the blue stripe of Peterson/Schenken with 3'25"4. Then follows the "Belgian" (sic) Lola T280. The Porsche 908-03 is fifth, but already 16 seconds slower, the Mirage M6 sixth and ...22 seconds slower. Fastest in S2000 and seventh on the grid is the Chevron B21 of Hine/Bridges in 3'49"8. Fastest Group 4 car is Herbie Müller's #43 De Tomaso Pantera, ten seconds ahead of the Belgian sister car entered by Pantera importer Claude Dubois.

The three Ferraris are equipped with the long tail and the full width rear wing as used at the Le Mans Trials - the wings having the same colour as the stripe over the nose. As usual Ickx is the fastest away with the #1 Ferrari, followed by Redman in the #3 and Schenken in the #2. Just as at Brands Hatch the Cosworth powered Lola T280 is able to follow the three Ferraris. Then follows a large gap and come the Porsche 908-03 and Mirage M6 through. During the following laps Ickx and Redman pull away from the slower Schenken, who cannot avoid to be passed by the Lola after eight laps. After seventeen laps the Ferraris pit in quick succession. Ickx is the first to hand over the #1 to Regazzoni. Redman takes fuel without changing tires and continues (knowing that the hot boiled Merzario hates the circuit). Schenken is last in for Peterson to take over. Ferrari team manager Schetty calls Regazonni and the leading #1 back into the pits to check a left rear hub nut, not sufficiently tightened. So Redman in the #3 is the new leader, followed by Regazzoni in the #1 and by Gérard Larousse in the Lola T280. When the Frenchman has to pit the #2 of Peterson and Schenken can move up to the third place. Meanwhile the two Corvettes, the BMW CS2800, the Porsche 908-03 and four Chevrons (among them the #30 having qualified as tenth) are already out.
After 35 laps, shortly before mid-race, the three Ferraris pit again for fuel, new tires and driver change? At this point Redman was 35 seconds ahead over Regazzoni, but once in hands of Jacky Ickx the #1 has no problem to catch and to pass the #3, especially since Merzario is ...twelve seconds per lap slower than team mate Redman. In the Lola T280 Hughes de Fierlandt can no longer avoid to be lapped a second time by the #2 Ferrari of Peterson/Schenken, having been lapped at his turn by the two other Ferraris. In S2000  the #11 Chevron B21 of Hine/Bridges is leading at rank 6. In Group 4 the two Panteras struggle on life or dead for the lead, with the Pozzi Ferrari 365GTB-4 unable to follow.
On lap 53 the Ferraris, always in 1-2-3, are in for their final routine stop. Regazzoni takes over from Ickx and continues the lead. By lap 55, however, Regazzoni has to come in the pits with a deflating left rear tire, having damaged the rear tail section and the oil tank. Repair costs two laps, so that Redman, who took over from the too slow Merzario, is the new leader. Ickx takes immediately over from Regazzoni and starts a hot pursuit. Towards the end it starts raining. At Les Combes Peterson seems not aware of the local shower, so typical for Francorchamps. With 15 laps to go he enters the corner at undiminished speed and crashes the car. Now the Lola T280, Mirage M6 and #11 Chevron B21 of Hine/Bridges are struggling for the third place. When the rain becomes heavier and heavier the better handling Chevron can pass the Lola and the Mirage to move up in third position, six laps down to the leading #3 Ferrari of Redman/Merzario. In Group 4 Müller lost his leading position by a flat tire so that Jacquemin/Deprez in the heavy Claude Dubois Pantera have all problems of the world to let Kremer's Porsche 911S behind in the wet. They can hold their position until the finish, offering the Pantera - finishing seventh - its second consecutive class win. Ahead Ickx strands at one lap of the winning #3 Redman/Mer-zario Ferrari 312PB, winning the race. In S32000 Hine/Bridges can maintain their third place, winning the class, whilst at the last lap the Mirage can take the fourth place from the Lola T280.

Results Qualifications

Results Race

On May 21 none of the more than 400,000 spectators of Italy's most popular race can imagine that this is the one but last edition of the Targa Florio as a road course counting for the long-distance racing world championship. Going over eleven laps of 44.74-mi (72.00-km) in the Sicilian mountains with some 720 curbs per lap, it is in nothing to compare with another race, especially after the Mille Miglia and the Panamerica disappeared from the international calendar.
On the small roads of the Little Madonie, linking the villages in the mountains, it is impossible to let start all cars together. The cars have to start one by one, the fastest starting as lasts. With 76 cars at the start, that implies that the first car starts one hour and fifteen minutes earlier than the last one. This year we find five S3000 cars at the start. Autodelta is present with four Alfa Romeos 33TT3, showing with no other intention than winning. Drivers are: Vaccarella/Stommelen with the #1, Elford/Van Lennep with the #2, de Adamich/Hezemans with the #4 and Marko/Galli with the #5. All cars show with a semi-closed rear tail. There is also a spare car.
In Modena Enzo Ferrari waits to the last week to decide if all or not he'll send one of his 312PBs to Piccolo Madonie. Eventually entry is reduced to one lone car: the 884, the one having caught fire at Sebring and having been rebuilt on a new 898 chassis. It shows in the configuration with a semi-closed rear with the fins at the outside ext-remities and with a full-width wing. There is also a muletto, the 880 having been present at the Le Mans Trials. That car has an open rear with two central stabilising fins. As racers Il Commendatore opts for a "second best", not his top racers, but Arturo Merzario coming from Abarth and Sandro Munari, a rally-driver coming from Lancia having never raced a three-litre prototype. The strategy is quite simple: if Ferrari looses they can tell that they had only one car out and none of its best drivers. If that lonely car can defeat the armada of Alfa Romeo the humiliation of the direct opponent can hardly be greater.

There are ten two-litre cars present. Scuderia Brescia Corse has the #6 Abarth-Osella SE-021, #12 Abarth 2000SP-71 and #8 Lola T290 Ford. Scuderia Citte de Mille has the #10 Chevron B21 Ford and Pegaso the #11 Abarth 2000SP-71. The other cars with among them the #7 Abarth-Osella SE-021 of Giuseppe Virgilio and the #9 Lola T290 Abarth are private cars. Jack Wheeler is present with his Daren Mk3-BRM.
The rest of the field are the traditional Alfa Romeos GTA, Alpine A110 Renaults, Lancia Fulvia HF, Opel GTs and several well prepared Porsches 911S and 911, among them the American #23 of Toad Hall Racing (already seen at Daytona and Sebring) and the Swiss Romand Racing #22.
The Autodelta troops are already present on Tuesday with the Alfa drivers testing every corner of the circuit in touring cars. But also Munari and Merzario are rumoured to do secret testing. Although Peter Schetty tells everyone that the race is without importance for the Prancing Horse, at Modena they prepared the car until the finest details. A part of the right side of the monocoque has been removed so that the spare wheel can be accommodated. The softest possible suspension has been mounted and extra large exhaust pipes have been fitted. The engine is tuned as smooth as possible in a power range from 5,000rmp to 11,800rmp.
Drama on Thursday when the official practice must be cancelled due to a strike of the firemen. So practice is postponed to Saturday with times not counting for the starting order. Nevertheless the Ferrari 312PB clocks the best time: 33'59"7, followed by the four Alfa Romeos. Sixth time is for the private owned #9 Lola T290 Abarth, being 3 to 4 minutes per lap slower than the five S3000 cars. In Group 4 the Swiss #22 Porsche 911S is fastest.

Lots are drawn for the start of the cars following the distinct classes. At 7.45am the first car runs away. At 9am it is up to the five S3000 cars with Elford (Alfa #2) starting first, followed by de Adamich (Alfa #4), Merzario (Ferrari #3), Galli (Alfa #5) and the local hero of the nation, Nino Vaccarella as last starter in the Alfa #1.
Vic Elford starts in his typical "all out" style, trying to make the gap with the four following cars as big as possible. Unfortunately he hurts a protection wall and writes off the #2 even before the first complete lap is finished. At the end of his first lap Merzario is already ahead of de Adamich, having started one minute earlier. Galli passes 1'42" later, what means that he lost 42 seconds on the Ferrari. After two laps the advantage has increased to 70 seconds. Behind, having started two minutes later than Merzario, Nino Vaccarella tries to reduce his arrear on the road. But it increases instead of diminishing.
At the end of lap 3 Merzario comes in the pit at Cerda with screaming tires to hand the car on Sandro Munari. Mechanics change the rear wheels and he nearly drives off without change of the front wheels. All that over-excitement costs 1 minute and 45 seconds, enough that on the road Marko sees the Ferrari in front, now leading in time. Having achieved a lap in 33'41" (the fastest time ever) the Alfa narrows the gap with the Ferrari. Being slower than Merzario Peter Schetty decides to shorten the stint of Munari to two laps instead of three. Meanwhile Autodelta looses a second Alfa, its best one, shared by Nino Vaccarella and Rolf Stommelen, its fastest racers. Indeed during lap 4 the overreved motor is death with broken valve springs.
When after five laps Merzario takes over, the #5 Alfa Romeo of Galli and Marko is leading on time, but not on the road, since the advance is less than one minute - the difference between both cars at the start around 9am. In third position, but already more than ten minutes behind the two leaders we find the second Alfa Romeo #4 of Andrea de Adamich and Toine Hezemans.

By the end of lap 6 Merzario is again leading in time, having an advance of 19 seconds over the Galli/Marko Alfa Romeo #5. Coming in for refuelling at the end of lap 7 Merzario collides with the #14 Chevron B21 Ford of Gianfranco Bonetto, breaking a head lamp cover and injuring Bonetto. The pit stop takes one minute and 40 seconds, bringing Nanni Galli again out at the lead in time, but not on the road. He has Munari in front of him and does what he can to pass him and to make the advance in time more than one minute.  Unfortunately, on passing a sinning Lancia Fulvia HF, he spins too, loosing two full minutes to fire up the very hot V8 motor. For Ferrari victory seems all at once acquired. But when Munari comes at the end of lap 9 in for the last driver change, Merzario is feeling unwell, having consumed too many ice drinks while waiting in the pits. Moreover his hands are badly blistered. Having had its last pit stop too, the #5 Alfa Romeo 33TT3 is now in hands of Helmut Marko, driving like a possessed. At the end of lap 10 the two minutes lost by Galli at the spin are undone and the Alfa is back on time, only 28 seconds down to the Ferrari. Merzario understands that without special effort he'll loose the race. During lap 11, the last one, the difference comes down under twenty seconds, but Merzario persists. He crosses the finish line at Cerda with an advance in time of 16"9. That implies that Ferrari not only won the race which was lost by Nanni Galli, but that with four rounds to go it is mathematically sure to have won the World Championship for Makes. Indeed, with only the eight best results considered Ferrari has now 140 points, against 63 for Alfa (4 x 12 = 15). Even if Alfa wins the four remaining rounds, and Ferrari wins not one single point, Alfa's maximum will be up to 131 points, against 40 for Ferrari.
The #4 Alfa finishes as third, 18'23"8 down to the winner. S2000 is won by the Scuderia Brescia Corse #8 Lola T290 Ford of Zadra/Pa-solini, letting Virgilio's private owned #7 Abarth-Osella SE-021, finishing seventh, a lap behind. The 1.3-litre class goes to the #56 1.3 Lola T212 Alfa Romeo of Locatelli/Zanetti, having finished on rank eight. The under-one litre class goes to the tiny #60 1.0 AMS SP Ford. Group 4 is won by the #38 Porsche 911S of Gottifredi/ Pica, having finished fifth, one lap ahead over the #25 Porsche 911S of Steckkönig/Pucci (having not finished the race, due to an accident in the last lap, but classified as sixth).

Results Qualifications

Results Race

Having already won the 1972 WCM, Ferrari shows at the Nürburgring with three works cars, all equipped with the longer tails as in Monza. Autodelta's Carlo Citi showed with three fresh Alfa Romeos 33TT3, but will only race two of them. John Wyer is present with the much improved Mirage Gulf M6 Ford. Joachim Bonnier came not with his two Lolas T280, officially because they are being prepared in view of Le Mans, but with two 2.0 Lolas T290 Ford. The truth, however, is that the GPDA president lost his sponsors and the financial help of Karl von Wendt, due to the poor results at the finish. Reinhold Jöst, having been absent at the Targa Florio shows with his Porsche 908-03. There is also a Porsche 908-03 of Ennio Bonelli and a Porsche 908-02 of André Wicky, but those two cars will fail to qualify.
There can be no doubt that the three-litre formula, using F1 engines, is too expensive for most teams. Again there are only six potential candidates to win, what is absolutely not enough to organise a thrilling competition. Moreover the supremacy of Ferrari, having won all seven the previous rounds, is so smashing, that FIA's new approach has little chances to survive long-time. At the Eifel ADAC-Sportpräsident Springer unveils that there were contacts with Sebring, the Targa Florio and Le Mans to opt for a much cheaper formula: racing with improved production cars. As soon as possible!
Of the 32 S2000 cars having practiced, only 20 will start. There are four Chevrons B21 (among them two fast ones entered by Red Rose Racing and the Canon Racing one). There are three Chevrons B19, four Lolas T290 (among them the two of Bonnier), one Lola T212, two Porsches 910, three Darens Mk3 and one Dulon LD11P. For the first time since years we find not a single Abarth at the start.
In Group 4 there are eleven starters, nearly all Porsches 911S. Very interesting is Group 2 with twelve starters, among them two works Capris Ford 2600RS, a works Alfa Romeo GTAm, three Alpina BMW 2800CS, three Alpina BMWs 2002TI, also a works BMW 2800CS.
With no Porsches at the start able to win attendance is the lowest since years: only 35,000 spectators show. The fact that it is bitterly cold and that race day dawns dark and grey is certainly another factor having contributed to such low attendance.  
The qualifications are perturbed by heavy rain. Having started before the showers Ronnie Peterson clocked 7'56"1 with the #3 Ferrari 312PB, the best time. Rolf Stommelen, having made more than half of his fastest lap on a dry track, brings his #4 Alfa Romeo 33TT3 (with semi closed rear tail) back in 8'09"7. While the other Ferraris and Alfas started on rain tires, John Horseman of Gulf Racing opts for intermediate tires. It is the good choice since Derek Bell realises with the Mirage M6 the second best time: 8'05'5. Having started under heavy rain Jacky Ickx is down to rank eight on the grid, even preceded by the fastest S2000 car, the Red Rose Racing Chevron B21 of Hine/Bridges, having won its class at Francorchamps. Biggest surprise come from the works Capris: one of them qualifies ahead of all Group 4 cars, including the top Porsches 911S of Erwin Kremer, Toad Hall Racing, Günter Steckkönig, Anton Fishhaber, etc. But also the Alpina BMW 2002 TI of Ernst Furtmayr is faster on the wet than all Porsches 911S.

At the start the track is still wet. Having chosen for 'wet' tires the three Ferraris are already in the three first places after the first lap. Ickx, having had to start from the fourth row is fully back during the second lap so that the cars pass now in the order of their race numbers, thus Ickx (#1) ahead of Merzario (having started with the #2 since Redman is suffering from a viral infection) and Schenken (#3). After eight laps the track starts to dry out and Bell, with the Mirage M6 on intermediate tires, begins to close, setting the fastest lap. After the first pit stop and driver change Bell can pass Redman too move into third position. Having not changed their tires the Ferraris are now under high pressure of the Mirage passing now also the Peterson/ Schenken Mirage. Difference with the #1 Regazzoni/Ickx machinery is down to 26 seconds after 15 laps. When the Gulf car comes closer and closer - first time this year that pressure is that great - Regazzoni makes a mistake, loosing control over the #1 at Hohe Acht, so that the John Wyer car is leading up from lap 17.
Having ordered Peterson to come in for intermediate tires the #3 Ferrari is closing the gap, passing the Mirage at its second pit stop. At half distance order is: Ferrari #3, Mirage, Ferrari #2, Alfa Romeo #4, Alfa Romeo #6, the only five cars within the lead lap. Then the Redman/Merzario Ferrari has clutch bothers, loosing at the beginning of lap 37 its second place on the Mirage. Meanwhile the #4 Alfa Romeo lost six laps in the pits and the #6 Alfa Romeo is on its way to be lapped by the leading trio. Struggle for the second place is very hot and during the one but last lap the Mirage blows up its engine, so that Redman/Merzario can catch the second place behind the winning Peterson/Schenken Ferrari. Marko/de Adamich are third with their #6 Alfa Romeo. In S2000 the Red Rose Racing Chevron B21 of Hine/Bridges wins again its class. Both Group 2 works Capris finish ahead of all Group 4 cars with Kremer/Fitzpatrick winning the GT class.

Results Qualifications

Results Race

The entry
What could be feared after Ferrari's triumph at the Targa Florio, effectively happened: having already won the WCM Enzo Ferrari took no risk and didn't send his cars to La Sarthe.  Several tests have shown that the Boxer engine is not suitable for a 24 hour race. Less than two weeks before the start Modena informed the organising ACO its no show. But also the hope that John Wyer - having won Le Mans in 1968 and 1969 - will be the challenger for Matra-Simca is vain. Despite the fact that the Mirage Gulf M6 is now fully competitive - what was proven at the Nürburgring - Wyer and Horseman are convinced that their Cosworth F1 motor is not reliable enough for a 24 hour test.
With the two most dangerous opponents being absent the pressure on the shoulders of Jean-Luc Lagardère and Gérard Ducarouge is immense: Having sacrificed the whole season in view of Le Mans, Matra-Simca has no other choice than winning the event. They are present with four cars: two MS670s with pedalo long tail, one MS670 with a short tail and one MS660C with pedalo long tail. Although there are sixteen other entrants in S3000 the only serious opposition can come from the three Alfa Romeos 33TT3 and from the two Lolas T280 Ford. The other cars are the Porsche 908-03 of the Escuderia Montjuich, four private Porsches 908-02, a four year old Porsche 908-01LH (entered by Reinhold Jöst), a 3.0 Porsche 910, three 3.0 Ligiers JS2 Maserati, and the strange 3.0 Duckhams LM of Alain de Cadenet. This car has been assembled in a London lock up with help from none other than soon-to-be-famous F1 superstar designer Gordon Murray. The Duckhams/Ford is strong and stiff and the lightest of the 3.0-liter cars at 1496 pounds for its 400hp 12-Series DFV to move. It is the lonely round of the WCM where no less than twenty three-litre sports cars are at the start.
In S2000 seven cars practiced, but only four will come at the start: a new Lola T290 Ford, a Porsche 907, a Chevron B21 Ford and a Chevron B19 Ford. Nobody believes that one of those cars will reach the finish.
Interesting are the Group 4 cars: there are no less than nine Ferraris 365 GTB-4 (three entered by NART, two by Charles Pozzi, two by Scuderia Filipinetti, one by Maranello Concessionaires, one by the Écurie Francorchamps). Their most direct opponents are perhaps not the 7.4 Chevrolet Corvette L88 of Dave Heinz or the two 7.0 Chevrolet Corvettes of John Greenwood or those of the Écurie Léopard  or of Henri Greder, but the four semi-works 5.8 De Tomaso Panteras, having all four received a special 470bhp engine for this race. Unfortunately Claude Dubois will have to start with a simple 330bhp standard engine after having blown up his works motor and the Scuderia Brescia Corse Pantera will fail to qualify. The other Group 4 cars are seven Porsches 911S and NARTs Ferrari Dino 246GT. That makes t26 entries in total.
In Group 2 - new at Le Mans - there are four entries: three works Fords Capri 2600 entered by Ford Deutschland and a BMW 2800CS entered by Schnitzer.
The qualifications
Although starting order is without importance at a 24-hour race, a good place on the grid is a question of prestige. Fastest time is for the #14 Matra-Simca MS670 of François Cévert with 3'42"2, which is slower than the 3'41"5 realised at the Trials (where Jacky Ickx realised even 3'40"4 at the wheel of a Ferrari 312PB). Then follow the two other Matras, the #15 Pescarolo-Graham Hill entry in 3'44"9 and the #12 Beltoise-Amon entry in 3'46"0. The last car is Matra's main weapon. After the qualifications Chris Amon complains at Lionel Hublet, the chief-mechanic, that the MS72 engine refuses to deliver all its power and that it provokes strange vibrations. After a meeting with Lagardère it's decided that nothing is wrong with the engine, so it is not replaced by one of the two other motors.

Having disappointed at the Nürburgring, Charles Pozzi's Ferrari 365 GTB-4 confirmed at Le Mans by finishing fifth overall and winning Group 4.

The 2.9 Ford Capris of Ford Deutschland confirmed at Le Mans their excellent performance at the Nürburgring. Here the cars of Birrell-Bourgoignie and Glemser-Soler Roig in action.

The qualifications (continued)
The following places on the grid go to the two Lolas T280, the three Alfa Romeos 33TT3 and the Matra-Simca MS660C. Behind them there is a gap of ten seconds with the Jöst Porsche 908-01LH, proving that the winner must be searched among the top-9 qualifiers. The Ligier-Maseratis J2 disappoint. Fastest is the #21 in 4'24"2 (23rd) what is even slower than the three fastest Group 4 cars. The Duckham's LM Ford causes a surprise: having never been raced Chris Craft clocks the eleventh time with it: 4'03"9, faster than all Porsches 908-02 and 908-03. Only the Jöst Porsche 908-01 is with its 4'03"3 (10th) faster.
Fastest S2000 is the Chevron B21 Ford of Brian Robinson with 4'17"0, that is slower than what Herbie Müller realised with his De Tomaso Pantera GT4 at the March Trials. Second best time in the group is for the 2.0 Lola T290 Ford with 4'20"1.
In Group 4 the #72 John Greenwood Racing Corvette sets the best time: 4'18"8, good for a fifteenth place on the grid. Then follows the #75 Charles Pozzi Ferrari 365 GTB-4 with 4'21"7 (20th), the N.A.R.T. #74 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 with 4'23"1 (22nd), the brown N.A.R.T. #38 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (25th) with 4'24"7 (25th), the yellow #36 Écurie Francorchamps Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (26th), the #37 Maranello Ferrari 365 GTB-4 with 4'25"3 (27th), the #39 Charles Pozzi Ferrari 365 GTB-4 with 4'25"5 (28th) and the third N.A.R.T. #57 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 with 4'25"7 (29th). Fastest Porsche 911S is Erwin Kremer's #80 with 4'25"9 (32nd). Terrible disappointment among the Panteras, all having problems with their new engines. Fastest is Herbie Müller's in a poor 4'36"7, twenty seconds slower than in March with the 440bhp engine.
In Group 2 the #53 Ford Capri 2600RS of Jochen Mass and Hans-Joachim Stück clocks 4'25"9 which is faster than what is done by the two Filipinetti Ferraris 365 GTB-4 and faster than all Panteras!
First hour
At 4p.m. Georges Pompidou, France's president, gives the start with the suitable patriotic vigour. The whole nation with him prays that les bleus - i.e. the Matras - may win this race they prepared so carefully. Pescarolo (#15 Matra), Cévert (#14 Matra) and Beltoise (#12 Matra) are the fastest away and pass in that order after one lap. Being THE favourite Beltoise urges to pass both his team mates. Having achieved that second lap in 3'49"7 he passes as first the start-finish line under excessive applause of the French crowd being massively present. But when he begins the third lap all at once a connecting-rod perforates the oil-soaked motor housing, provoking a heavy fire. So Beltoise makes it even not to the bridge and parks the #12 on the side of the road. At least the walk to the Matra pits goes downhill. Poor Beltoise passes under the crowd's hooting. Eventually team mate Chris Amon was right when he insisted to change the engine. 
Such a blow after even not three full laps predicts nothing good for the French arm manufacturer having come with no other goal than winning Le Mans. Meanwhile Joachim Bonnier, who followed both Matras in front, succeeds to pass them both, going out on the lead to the stupefaction of the yelling crowd. Then brave Hughes de Fierlandt - a Belgian baron, bounces the complete Matra squad one he makes it one-two for the Swiss cheese sponsored Lolas T280. He and Bonnier maintain their positions until it begins to rain after about a half hour.

Equipped with a 3-litre F1 Cosworth motor the Duckhams LM caused a stir by finishing the race in eleventh position, after having been in the top-5 with only three hours to go.

Before the start nobody believed that a fragile machinery as the Lola T290 could reach the finish. However, Roger Ligonnet and Barrie Smith achieved the performance by coming home as fourteenth, winning their S2000 class.

Hours two to six
The first hour is not only disastrous for Matra. One lap later than Beltoise the French #33 De Tomaso Pantera falls out with a broken cylinder head gasket. Four laps later the fastest Ligier (#21) goes off with a broken valve, and before the end of the first hour the Bosch Racing Porsche 908-02 (#58) is eliminated on accident.
The very thirsty Matras, consuming nearly 50 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, are the first to come in, now even passed by the #19 Alfa Romeo of Rolf Stommelen. Under the rain Bonnier lets team mate Hughes de Fierlandt setting the pace. When after thirty minutes the rain is over Cévert passes the #7 Lola, followed by Pescarolo in the #15, Stommelen in the #19 Alfa and Jabouille in the #16. After the second pit stop, where Cévert hands his #14 to Howden Ganley, Pes-carolo is the new leader, followed by Stommelen (Alfa), Cévert/ Ganley (Matra), Jabouille (Matra), de Fierlandt (Lola), de Adamich/ Vaccarella (Alfa), and Elford (Alfa). 
The crowd is wondering to find the four year old Porsche 908-01LH immediately behind those seven cars after two hours. What they don't know is that this is a car of the late Jo Siffert, prepared carefully at Zuffenhausen and with very work mechanics in the pits.
In Group 4 the #39 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 has passed the #72 John Greenwood Corvette before the end of the second hour and is already twelfth, followed by the #74 Daytona Ferrari of N.A.R.T.
During the third hour Pescarolo looses valuable time in the pits to fix the rear wing, so that Graham Hill joins the track in fourth position. He starts a hot pursuit and brings the car back in second position. Cévert/Ganley (#14 Matra) lead after three hours, followed by  Pescarolo/Hill (#15 Matra), de Fierlandt/Larousse (#7 Lola), two Alfas, the Siffert 908-01LH Porsche, a third Alfa, the #6 Hans-Dieter Weigel Porsche 908-02 and the astonishing #68 Duckhams.
During the three following hours the #14 and #15 switch a couple of times from place. Bonnier drops to rank 18 when a deflated tire has lathed trough the panels, requiring a new nose. Making his come-back his team mate Gijs van Lennep establishes the lap record in 3'46"9. Under a new shower Hughes de Fierlandt, already missing his first gear, and struggling with clutch problems, goes straight out at Mulsanne: over and out. Out too are not only the Porsches of Jean-Pierre Gaban (#79, gearbox), of René Mazzia (#40, crankshaft) and of Erwin Kremer (#80, crankshaft too), but also the #75 Pozzi Ferrari Daytona (clutch) and the two De Tomaso Panteras of the Escuderia Montjuich. After six hours positions are: 1. #14 Matra (Cévert/Ganley), 2. #15 Matra (Pescarolo/G.Hill), 3. #18 Alfa (de Adamich/Vaccarella), 4. #17 Alfa (Elford/Hezemans), 5. #19 Alfa (Galli/Stommelen), 6. #60 Porsche 908-01, 7. #16 Matra 660C, 8. #6 Porsche 908-02 (Weigel/Krause), 9. Porsche 910 (Coson/Rave-nel), 10. Duckhams LM, 11. #39 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Ballot-Léna/ Andruet), 12. #74 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Posey/Adamowicz), 16. #52 Ford Capri (Glemser/Soler Roig), etc.

The #35 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 of the Scuderia Filipinetti was one of the ten Daytona Ferraris at the start. The #54 Ford Capri 2600RS finished tenth overall, winning Group 2.

By finishing third overall with this four year old 3.0 Porsche 908-01LH Reinhold Jöst caused really a stir. Crowds forggot that this was a full works entry of Siffert's car in honour of the reat racer he was.

Hours seven to twelve
The night is misty and wet. Fight between Cévert/Ganley (#14 Matra) and Pescarolo/Hill (#15 Matra), both in the same lap, continues the whole night. When after nine hours Cévert comes in to replace his brake discs, Hill takes the lead and can maintain it nearly until mid-race. Until the eleventh hour the three Alfas follow on ranks 3-4-5, be it that only the #19, having been delayed by clutch problems, is able to go as fast as the Matras. But then, during the twelfth hour, all three they suffer from transmission problems, so that the #16 Matra MS660C - having lost 5 laps when ran out fuel - can make it 1-2-3 "pour les bleus". In S3000 fifteen of the twenty cars are still in the race after twelve hours. During the night we loose a second Porsche 908-02, the #76 of Touroul/Lagniez.  During the second quarter of the race the Lola T280 of Bonnier/Van Lennep can move-up into eighth position. But also the Escuderia Montjuich Porsche 908-03, coming back from the cellar, can move up to rank 13.
Before mid-night the two hairy John Greenwood Corvettes are already out with broken engines, followed by a fourth Porsche 911S (Gelo's) and a second Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Maranello's). That implies that in Group 4 the seven remaining Daytona Ferraris have only one Pantera, three Corvettes and three Porsches 911S as direct competitors. In S2000 the two Chevrons are already out, so that only the #27 Kodak Lola T290 and the #24 Porsche 907 remain in competition. In Group 2 the three works Capris have no more opponents now that a private entered Capri and the Schnitzer BMW 2800CS retired.
Positions at mid-race are: 1. #14 Matra 670 (Cévert/Ganley), 2. #15 Matra 670 (Pescarolo/G.Hill) at 40 secs, 3. #16 Matra 660C (Jabouille/Hobbs) at 7 laps, 4. #19 Alfa (Galli/Stommelen), 5. #17 Alfa (Elford/Hezemans), 6.  #18 Alfa (de Adamich/Vaccarella), 7. #60 Porsche 908-01, 8. #8 Lola T280 (Bonnier/Van Lennep) 9. #6 Porsche 908-02 (Weigel/Krause), 10. Duckhams LM (Craft/de Cadenet),  11. Porsche 910 (Coson/Rave-nel), 12. #39 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Ballot-Léna/ Andruet), 13. Porsche 908-03 (Fernandez/Torredemer), 14. #74 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Posey/ Adamowicz), 15. #36 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Pilette/Bell/Bond), 16. #52 Ford Capri (Glemser/Soler Roig), etc.

Of the three 3.0 Ligier-Maserati J2s not one reached the finish.

Although equipped with 470bhp engines, the De Tomaso Panteras, still so performing at Monza and Francorchamps, and still so fast at the March Trials, only one of the four reached the finish: the one having blown up its 470bhp rave motor during practice and having been raced with a standard 320bhp motor as used in the street cars.

Last twelve hours
With his three surviving cars in the three first positions, and the first Alfa Romeo seven laps down, Jean-Luc Lagardère is on his way to victory lane. Up to now the difference between the #14 and #15 was scarcely more than one minute. But at once, early during the 13th hour, Pescarolo comes in the pits without brakes (molten disk shoes). Replacement costs the #15 six minutes, enough to be one and a half lap behind the #15. Of the other cars only the #19 Alfa Romeo 33TT3 of Stommelen-Galli - having lost 12 laps in the pits for the replacement of its clutch - turns in nearly the same time of the Matras. Morning dawns already misty when Ford Deutschland looses its Group 2 leading #53 Ford Capri with a blown engine. But also its two other cars are in problems: the #52 looses 25 minutes and 13 places for the replacement of a differential and the #54 has problems with an overheating motor.
It is now 8.30 a.m. and in the yellow Lola T280 Joachim Bonnier fights like a devil to come closer to the Alfas in front of him. He is in eighth position and comes upon the #35 Filipinetti Ferrari Daytona on the big run to Indianapolis. He is in a hurry and decides not to wait for the little squirt between Indianapolis and Arnage to lap the Ferrari. Florian Vetsch sees in the mirrors of his #35 that the yellow car will hit his Ferrari. It's too late. Bonnier collides, gets over the barrier into the trees. He - having made 104 career F1 starts - dies in his car, 42 years old.
At no stand the racers of other cars are told that the great Bonnier is dead. It should take the soul out the race. The #35 is out too, so that six Daytona Ferraris are left. Before 10a.m. we loose also the two last Ligiers, the valiant Porsche 910 what reduces the survivors in S3000 to nine. In Group 4 only one Porsche 911S is left after the retirement of Haldi's. The #71 Corvette falls out, reducing the field to six Daytonas, one Pantera, two Corvettes and one Dino 246GT. Meanwhile the #17 is immobile in the pits with heavy transmission problems.  After 18 hours, at 8a.m. we note following positions: 1. #14 Matra 670 (Cévert/Ganley), 2. #15 Matra 670 (Pescarolo/G.Hill) at 1 lap, 3. #16 Matra 660C (Jabouille/Hobbs) at 8 laps, 4. #19 Alfa (Galli/Stommelen), 5. #60 Porsche 908-01,  6. #68 Duckhams LM (Craft/de Cadenet),  7. #18 Alfa (de Adamich/Vaccarella), 8. #74 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Posey/ Adamowicz),  9. #39 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Ballot-Léna/Andruet), 10. #17 Alfa (Elford/Hezemans), 11.#6 Por-sche 908-02 (Weigel/Krause), 12. Porsche 908-03 (Fernandez/ Torredemer), 13. #36 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 (Pilette/Bell/Bond), 17. #54 Ford Capri (Birrell/Bourgoignie), etc.
Having lost the lead in Group 4 Andruet/Ballot-Léna can pass during the following hour the #74 N.A.R.T. Ferrari Daytona and lead again. The #6 Porsche 908-02 of Team Auto Usdau, having been long-time in the top-10 is abandoned after an accident. The #57 N.A.R.T. Ferrari Daytona is retired with a broken cylinder head joint, reducing the cars in Group 4 to eight out of twenty-six. The #17 Elford/ Hezemans Alfa is withdrawn with clutch problems, so that only seven of the twenty cars of S3000 are still in the race. Meanwhile, under heavy rain, on 'wet' tires, Graham Hill can unlap the #15 Matra and comes closer to the #14 of Ganley on slicks. Difference between the two Matras is down to two minutes. It's already noon. When Ganley comes in to change his tires he looses the lead and is exactly one lap down to the #15. Rain becomes heavier and at Hunaudières, just behind Graham Hill in the #15, Ganley goes full in his brakes to avoid a collision with the sister car, enough to be hit in the rear by the one but last surviving Corvette - Greder's - with Marie-Claire Beaomont at the wheel. The Corvette is out and the #14 suffers from a flat tire and a broken suspension arm. Ganley needs 22'45" to reach the pits. When Cévert takes over, the #14 is ten full laps behind the Pescarolo/ Hill machinery.  
With less than four hours to go Auodelta looses its second Alfa, the #19, its fastest, with a broken gearbox. That means that the #60 ex-Siffert Porsche 908-01LH is now fourth and the Duckhams - having never raced 100 miles - is at an unbelievable fifth place. But with less than three hours to go Craft gets a river ride at Tertre Rouge and comes in with the nose gone and a bent wishbone. Reparation is impossible and all what the team can do is waiting 4 o'clock and going for a very slow last lap. Here the valiant car drops from fifth to eleventh. Meanwhile Jabouille in the #16 Matra MS660C attacks the second place of Cévert/Ganley. Just when he has passed the #14, with 1h30' to go, the gearbox blocks at the end of Mulsanne. Now the Porsche 908-03 moves up to rank 8, but during the last hour it will be eliminated by accident. The last remaining Alfa is agonising on the track, but will be able to secure its fourth place behind the ex-Siffert ¨Porsche 908-01LH. Winners are Pescarolo/Hill, ten laps ahead over Cévert/Ganley in the other Matra. Group 4 goes to the #39 Ferrari 365 GTB-4 of Charles Pozzi, finishing fifth, and heading four other Daytona Ferraris. Finishing tenth, the #54 Capri wins Group 2. S2000 goes to the Kodak Lola T290 Ford, the lonely survivor in its group.

An avoidable collision - avoidable since Ganley was much too close to the #15 Matra-Simca MS670 in front of him - with a Corvette made François Cévert and Howden Ganley loosing ten laps on bringing the car (with a flat tire and a broken suspension arm) back to the pits to let it be repared, enough to be beaten by the sister car of Henri Pescarolo and F1 world champion Graham Hill.

It's already Sunday 1.30p.m. when Henri Pescarolo is on his way, - here at Indianapolis Bend, to the first Le Mans win of a French car since 1950. Under heavy rain Pesca and Graham Hill did no longer respect the orders of their pit crew, going like devils after the #14 sister car in front of them. When at shortly after noon, under heavy rain, Graham Hill could use 'wet' tires at the moment that Ganley was on slicks, he could undo a two minute arrear to go out on the lead. When Ganley joined the track he was exactly one lap behind the #15. Being hardly one metre behind Hill, at the end of Hunaudières, Ganley had to go too deep in the brakes in order to avoid a collision with the #15, so that his car was hit from behind by the last surviving Corvette. It took 22'45" to come into the pits plus eight minutes for repairs. So the #15 went home with the win, the first in a consecutive row of three. We have to wait 1973 to see the Matras beating the Ferraris 312PB, under new race director Gaicomo Caliri, having replaced Peter Schetty, no longer the shadow of what they were one year earlier.

Results Qualifications

Results Race

Having the WCM already in the pocket since the Targa Florio, Enzo Ferrari sends four works Ferraris to Zeltweg. Indeed, rumours were going that John Wyer should show with his new Weslake V12 engine and that Matra should come over with a couple of its Le Mans cars. Nothing of that all was true. Matra doesn't show at all, and John Wyer is present with one Mirage Gulf M6 with a B8 Cosworth engine.  Alfa Romeo decided to stop further entries at the WMC after their defeats at the Targa Florio, the Nürburgring and Le Mans. Apart from the Mirage there is only one serious outsider, a Lola T280 Ford. Two other S3000 cars are simple field fillers: the Brazilian Porsche 908-02 of the Hollywood Team and a 2.7-litre Porsche 911S, not homologated as Group 4. So a very poor entry once more.
There are twelve S2000 cars: three Chevrons B21 (one of them powered by a BMW engine), three Chevrons B19, three Lolas T290 (one of them powered by Abarth), one Lola T212, one Abarth 2000SP-71 and one old Porsche 910. Four Group 4 cars close the row: a De Tomaso Pantera with standard 320bhp engine, and three Porsches 911S, among them Erwin Kremer's.
The Ferraris at the start are all long tail versions with a full-width wing and a closed rear. Only the #1 is equipped with the 480bhp at 11,000rpm not detuned F1 engine. The three others have the 460bhp detuned engine at 10,800rpm. Major problem for team director Peter Schetty is to find a substitute for Clay Regazzoni, having broken a bone in his left wrist while playing soccer during the Wednesday testing. So Jacky Ickx will find Brian Redman as team mate, whilst the Austrian Helmut Marko - normally an Alfa Romeo works driver, but free since Autodelta withdrew from competition - will have Carlos Pace as team mate. The pairings Peterson/Schenken and Merzario/Munari are left unchanged.
On Saturday, during the qualifications, the weather is very unstable, influencing the rank order on the grid. Gijs van Lennep (Mirage M6) clocks the pole, ahead of the Lola T280 of Vic Elford (free after the withdrawal of Autodelta). The Ferraris spend a lot of time sorting themselves out in changing weather. On Sunday there are hardly 20,000 spectators, the lowest figure of the series. They see the four Ferraris overwhelming the two cars on the first row (Mirage M6 and Lola T280) taking the four first places immediately after the start. Later the Bell and his Mirage will pass Merzario in the #4 Ferrari to take the fourth place. After the first pit stop (lap 40) Redman takes over from Ickx but has to come in 28 laps later since the tanks are not properly filled. Despite all kinds of bothers on the cars of Peterson/Schenken (slipping clutch at high revs and a flat tire), of Merzario/Munari (dead battery) and of Marko/Pace (deflating rear tire whilst abusively the front tires were changed) the four Ferraris can maintain the four first places, the fourth one being menaced by the fast Chevron B21 BMW of Stommelen/Hezemans, finishing fifth as S2000 winner. Earlier both the Mirage and the Lola T280 are retires, res. with a blown engine and ignition problems. Ickx will win his fifth WCM round with Redman as team mate, followed by Marko/Pace, Peterson/Schenken and Munari/Merzario. A perfect 1-2-3-4. In Group 4 the De Tomaso Pantera will beat Erwin Kremer's Porsche 911S to win its third WCM round.

Results Qualifications

Results Race

Attendance for the last round of the 1972 WCM is again low, some 20,000 spectators, much more interested in the plump American "big bangers" of the CANAM race than in the sophisticated European Group 5 cars with their three litre-engines. Ferrari is present with three cars, all with the closed long tail as used at Zeltweg. Mario Andretti, having won earlier three rounds, is (again) team mate of Jacky Ickx. John Wyer is present with two Mirages M6 and the Écurie Bonnier with one Lola T280. Rest of the S3000 entry is made up by a private entered Alfa Romeo T33/3, Reinhold Jöst's Porsche 908-03, Tony Dean's Porsche 908-02 and the hero of Le Mans, the Duckhams LM Ford (suffering from engine troubles during practice). Fastest qualifier is Tim Schenken in the #86 Ferrari 312PB in 1'47"4 followed by Mario Andretti in the #85 Ferrari 312PB in 1'47"9 and Derek Bell in the #10 Mirage M6. The #85 Ferrari is already equipped with a higher rear wing and with a 470bhp engine.
S2000 has only seven starters of the ten cars having practiced. Fastest among them is the #29 Chevron B21, which will not start due to engine problems. Except for one Lola T212 all two-litre cars are Chevrons. In Group 4 Bob Grossman is present with a 440bhp De Tomaso Pantera, however without starting. Fastest here is the #66 Chevrolet Corvette of Murray/Knupp. That car too will not start, together with seven Porsches 911S, all having practiced. Eventually only nine Group 4 cars will be seen on the grid: Corvettes, Daytona Ferraris and Porsches 911S.
At the start Ronnie Peterson is the fastest away, followed by Andretti and Derek Bell (Mirage M6). Those three cars pull away from the rest of the field, including the Redman Ferrari following in fourth place with the Lola T280 close behind. This situation persists until the first pit stop. Joining the track the engine of the Mirage shows overheating signs so that team mate Carlos Pace drops in fourth position behind the #87 Redman/Merzario Ferrari. The #85 suffers from a deficient fuel metering, so that the engine can only be used above 8,000rpm.

That means that Mario Andretti has to let go the #86 Ferrari of Ronnie Peterson. After twenty laps the difference between both cars is already up to twenty seconds.
In Group 4 the battle goes between Sam Posey/David Hobbs in the #21 N.A.R.T. Ferrari 365 GTB-4 and the Bobby Rinzler's #23 Chevrolet Corvette StingRay, shared by Wilbur Pickett and Charlie Kemp. In S2000 both Shierson-Opert Chevrons are struggling for the first place.
Shortly after mid-race both Mirages have brakes troubles and are slowed by small pit fires when fuel is spilled on the red hot discs. With one hour left the #87 Ferrari 312PB of Redman/Merzario has its engine gone and is abandoned. However, the car will be qualified, initially in rank 14, later in rank 12. The Mirage M6 of Bell/Pace moves thus into third position, but having lost more than ten laps in the pits with brake problems, it is no threat for the Ferraris #86 and #85, always in the same lap. It's obvious that the Peterson/Schenken machinery has serious brake problems since Andretti, in the #85, can reduce his deficit from 80 seconds to 56 seconds in a period of fifteen laps. Eventually he'll take the lead at lap 159, when Peterson is in the pits to have his brake discs changed. He even extends the lead to 35 seconds, setting a new lap record of 1'47"4.
In Group 4 the #21 N.A.R.T. Ferrari 365 GTB-4 is abandoned after 117 laps with a blown engine, followed three laps later by the #23 Rinzler Corvette. The new leaders are now Jarier/Young in the #22 N.A.R.T. Ferrari 365 GTB-4, involved in a sharp combat with the Toad Hall Motor Racing Porsche 911S of Michael Keyser and Bob Beasley. In S2000 Douglas Shierson and his #29 are the lonely survivors after the withdrawal of the last competitor, the #37 Sherman/Lo Bianco Chevron B19, abandoned after 113 laps.
When Andretti comes in for his last pit stop Peterson is again out on the lead, followed at 7.6 seconds by the #85 Ferrari, now driven by Jacky Ickx. After having made a slow lap to warm up his new tires, Ickx sets off in pursuit on the #86 Ferrari. He realises a new lap record of 1'47"204, which is faster than the fastest qualifying time. In his efforts the Belgian ace goes twice off, but at lap 188 both Ferraris are side by side. With seven laps to go Ickx takes the lead to win, letting the #86 Peterson/Schenken Ferrari 312PB 13.9 seconds behind. The Mirage finishes as third at fourteen laps. Jarier/Young win Group 4, one lap ahead over the Toad Hall Porsche 911S.

Results Qualifications

Results Race