24 Hours of Le Mans 1970-2015 - 45 Porsche stories (29)

In 1977, for his seventh 24 Hours, Jürgen Barth teamed up with American driver Hurley Haywood at the wheel of the No. 4 Porsche 936, which lost 30 minutes early in the race due to engine trouble. When Henri Pescarolo, in the other 936, was forced to retire, his teammate Jacky Ickx put the pedal to the metal. Beating several lap records, the Belgian driver achieved a stunning climb back, bringing the 936 into the lead on Sunday morning after the Renault-Alpine of Jabouille-Bell was forced to retire. But, 45 minutes from the finish, Haywood returned to the pit with a perforated piston. At that moment, the No. 4 936 had a 17-lap lead on the Mirage of Jarier-Schuppan. The decision was then made to disconnect the corresponding cylinder and to complete, in compliance with regulations, a timed lap (with first one lap to cross the timing line) to pass under the checkered flag. At 3:30 p.m., Barth retook the track slowly, with a big stopwatch placed within easy view right in the middle of his steering wheel, to win his only victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 1977, Barth was a part of, with Ickx and Haywood, one of the most amazing stories in Porsche's saga at Le Mans, 14 years after another extraordinary exploit was achieved by his father, Eddie. After losing his right rear wheel at the Maison Blanche, he pushed (all while supporting the weight, given the absence of a wheel) the 764 kg of his Porsche 718/8 WRS Spyder all the way to its pit. In the end, Eddie Barth and Herbert Linge gave up a few places (they finished eighth overall) but Edgar "Eddie" Barth's tour de force saved the win in the 2-liter Prototypes class! Throughout their history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Eddie and his son Jürgen raced exclusively for Porsche, with eight and 12 starts, respectively.

Click here for the preceding 45 Porsche stories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans article.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 12 1977, RACE. The final intensely suspenseful moment at the 1977 24 Hours: 30 minutes from the checkered flag, Jürgen Barth retook the track at the wheel of his ailing 936 (visible is a light plume of smoke in its wake) to complete a final timed lap and cross the finish line the winner.