917 Exhibition – Two Le Mans victories
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917 Exhibition – Two Le Mans victories

In 1970, seven 917s lined up on the grid: three for JWA Engineering sporting Gulf colours, two for Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg, the “psychedelic” Martini version and a private entry from British driver David Piper and Finnish businessman Antti Aarnio-Wihuri.

The race kicked off with a tussle between the 917 LH driven by Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens (Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg) and the 917 K with Jo Siffert and Brian Redman at the wheel (JWA Engineering). The latter moved ahead in the fourth hour and by the eleventh hour had a seven-lap lead, but it was forced to retire. The 917 K driven by Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann (Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg) was second at that point. It thus moved into the lead and stayed there until the chequered flag to clinch Porsche’s first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 917 LH Martini driven by Gérard Larrousse and Willi Kauhsen took second place. Those two cars were the only 917s to finish.

In 1971, there were again seven 917s at the start: three for JWA Engineering, three for Martini Racing International and a private entry fielded by the Swiss team Zitro. And in a repeat of 1970, two cars finished, taking the top two podium spots. Pedro Rodríguez and Jackie Oliver started from pole position and stayed out in front until the eleventh hour when they ran into issues with a hub carrier, relegating them to fourth place. They eventually had to retire at 5 am due to an oil line fracture. In the fifteenth hour, the 917 K driven by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep (Martini Racing International) took the lead and stayed there for the win, crossing the line two laps ahead of the other 917 K (Richard Attwood and Herbert Müller for JWA Engineering) and setting a new distance record.

The '917, made for Le Mans' exhibition tells the story of one of the greatest machines ever built to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Authentic 917s can be admired in an outstanding setting at the Museum until 10 January 2021.

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