Date: 14-15 June 1969

Number of competitors: 45

Number classified as finishers: 14

Winners: Jacky Ickx/Jackie Oliver (#6 Ford GT40)

Distance covered by the winners and average speed: 4,997 km (372 laps) at an average 208 kph

Pole position: Rolf Stommelen (#14 Porsche 917 LH) with a time of 3:22.9 at an average 238 kph

N.B. The time-based qualifying system was introduced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1963. Before that, the cars lined up according to engine capacity, with the largest at the front of the grid.

Highlights:

- At the start of the race, as all the other drivers ran over to their car, Jacky Ickx strolled over to his Ford GT40. After a dramatic fight-back with his teammate Jackie Oliver, the young Belgian took the lead in the final lap. As the chequered flag was waved, Ickx was just 120 metres ahead of Hans Herrmann’s Porsche 908. The next year, for the start of the race, instead of running to their cars, the drivers were already strapped in as they waited for the flag to be lowered. In 1971? the rolling start was introduced and is still the procedure used today.

- This was the first Le Mans outing for the Porsche 917, which showed just how powerful it was as it beat the previous lap record. The cars failed to make the chequered flag but in 1970 and 1971, the 917 earned Porsche its first two 24 Hours wins.

- French manufacturer Matra placed three cars in the top ten, with Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Piers Courage (4th), Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella (5th) and Nanni Galli/Robin Widdows (7th).

- Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella had not raced together at Le Mans since their joint victory with Ferrari in 1964. It was Guichet who asked to be paired with Vaccarella again at Matra, and the duo came away with fifth place.

Motorsport in 1969:

- In addition to its 24 Hours of Le Mans success, Matra also took the Formula One manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles, the first of a series of three for Jackie Stewart.

- Two future Le Mans winners were born in 1969: Laurent Aiello (23 May) and Allan McNish (29 December) shared the win in a Porsche 911 GT1, teamed with Stéphane Ortelli), in 1998.    

What else happened in 1969?

- Jacky Ickx wasn’t the only Belgian sportsman to make the news that year. His fellow countryman cyclist Eddy Merckx took the first of his five Tour de France wins in 1969.

- In the night of 20-21 July, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. The Apollo 11 mission fulfilled the promise of putting a man on the moon made by President Kennedy on 12 September 1962.

- With performances by The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and Carlos Santana, the Woodstock Festival was undoubtedly the musical highlight of the year. It features in a documentary film directed by Michael Wadleigh. The film crew included a very promising 27-year-old director: Martin Scorsese.

PHOTO (copyright ACO archives) - LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY 14 & SUNDAY 15 JUNE 1969. The #6 Ford GT40 chassis that triumphed in 1969 had also won the previous year, when it was driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi (#9).