1985 24 Hours of Le Mans
| 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans | |
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The 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 53rd Grand Prix of Endurance as well as the fourth round of the 1985 World Endurance Championship. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, on 15 and 16 June 1985.
During Thursday's practice, Briton driver Dudley Wood in a John Fitzpatrick entered Porsche 962C tangled with the Swiss driver Jean-Pierre Frey in an Alba AR2 on the Mulsanne Straight at 200 mph (320 km/h). They crashed, and they both went over the barriers and into the trees, similar to John Sheldon's crash the year before. The impact was so hard, it even cracked the Porsche's engine. No one was killed. As a result, neither car started the race.[1]
During qualifying, German driver Hans-Joachim Stuck recorded the fastest ever lap of Le Mans- at an average speed of 156.471 mph (251.815 km/h).
Klaus Ludwig took his third overall win, and his second in a row, in the same 956B chassis, 956B-117, which had won the 1984 race.
6-time winner Jacky Ickx finished his final 24 Hours of Le Mans in 10th place.
Official results

| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Tyre | Laps | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | |||||||
| 1 | C1 | 7 |  New-Man Joest Racing |  Klaus Ludwig  Paolo Barilla  "John Winter" | Porsche 956B | D | 374 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 2 | C1 | 14 |  Richard Lloyd Racing |  Jonathan Palmer  James Weaver  Richard Lloyd | Porsche 956 GTi | G | 371 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 3 | C1 | 2 |  Rothmans Porsche |  Derek Bell  Hans-Joachim Stuck | Porsche 962C | D | 367 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 4 | C1 | 33 |  John Fitzpatrick Racing |  Jo Gartner  David Hobbs  Guy Edwards | Porsche 956B | Y | 366 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 5 | C1 | 10 |  Porsche Kremer Racing |  Mario Hytten .svg.png) George Fouché .svg.png) Sarel van der Merwe | Porsche 956B | G | 361 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 6 | C1 | 4 |  Martini Lancia |  Bob Wollek  Alessandro Nannini  Lucio Cesario | Lancia LC2 | M | 360 | 
| Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8 | |||||||
| 7 | C1 | 5 |  Martini Lancia |  Henri Pescarolo  Mauro Baldi | Lancia LC2 | M | 358 | 
| Ferrari 308C 3.0 L Turbo V8 | |||||||
| 8 | C1 | 26 |  Obermaier Racing Team |  Jürgen Lässig  Jesús Pareja .svg.png) Hervé Regout | Porsche 956 | G | 357 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 9 | C1 | 11 |  Porsche Kremer Racing |  Jean-Pierre Jarier  Mike Thackwell  Franz Konrad | Porsche 962C | G | 356 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 10 | C1 | 1 |  Rothmans Porsche | .svg.png) Jacky Ickx  Jochen Mass | Porsche 962C | D | 348 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 11 | C1 | 66 |  EMKA Productions, Ltd. |  Tiff Needell  Steve O'Rourke  Nick Faure | EMKA C84/1 | D | 338 | 
| Aston Martin-Tickford 5.3 L V8 | |||||||
| 12 | C1 | 36 |  Tom's Team |  Satoru Nakajima  Masanori Sekiya  Kaoru Hoshino | Tom's 85C-L | B | 330 | 
| Toyota 4T-GT 2.1 L Turbo I4 | |||||||
| 13 | GTP | 44 |  Jaguar Group 44 |  Bob Tullius  Chip Robinson  Claude Ballot-Léna | Jaguar XJR-5 | G | 324 | 
| Jaguar 6.0 L V12 | |||||||
| 14 | C2 | 70 |  Spice Engineering |  Gordon Spice  Ray Bellm  Mark Galvin | Spice-Tiga GC85 | A | 312 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | |||||||
| 15 | B | 151 |  Helmut Gall |  Edgar Dören  Martin Birrane .svg.png) Jean-Paul Libert | BMW M1 | A | 307 | 
| BMW M88 3.5 L I6 | |||||||
| 16 | C2 | 75 |  ADA Engineering |  Ian Harrower  Steve Earle  John Sheldon | Gebhardt JC843 | A | 299 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | |||||||
| 17 | C1 | 42 |  WM Peugeot |  Michel Pignard  Jean-Daniel Raulet  Jean Rondeau | WM P83B | M | 299 | 
| Peugeot PRV 2.6 L Turbo V6 | |||||||
| 18 | C1 | 39 |  Bussi Racing |  Bruno Sotty  Jean-Claude Justice  Patrick Oudet | Rondeau M382 | D | 291 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | |||||||
| 19 | C2 | 86 |  Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. |  David Kennedy .svg.png) Philippe Martin .svg.png) Jean-Michel Martin | Mazda 737C | D | 283 | 
| Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor | |||||||
| 20 | C1 | 13 |  Primagaz |  Yves Courage  Alain de Cadenet  Jean-François Yvon | Cougar C12 | M | 279 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 21 | C2 | 99 |  Roy Baker Promotions Ford |  Paul Smith  Will Hoy  Nick Nicholson | Tiga GC285 | A | 274 | 
| Ford Cosworth BDT 1.7 L Turbo I4 | |||||||
| 22 | C1 | 34 | .svg.png) Kreepy Krauly Racing | .svg.png) Graham Duxbury  Christian Danner  Almo Coppelli | March 85G | Y | 270 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 23 | C2 | 95 |  Roland Bassaler |  Roland Bassaler  Dominique Lacaud  Yvon Tapy | Sauber SHS C6 | A | 268 | 
| BMW M88 3.5 L I6 | |||||||
| 24 | C2 | 85 |  Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. |  Yoshimi Katayama  Yojiro Terada  Takashi Yorino | Mazda 737C | D | 264 | 
| Mazda 13B 1.3 L 2-Rotor | |||||||
| 25 DSQ† | C1 | 41 |  WM Peugeot |  Patrick Gaillard  Pascal Pessiot  Dominique Fornage | WM P83B | M | 267 | 
| Peugeot PRV 2.6 L Turbo V6 | |||||||
| 26 NC | C2 | 77 |  Spice Engineering |  Tim Lee-Davey  Neil Crang  Tony Lanfranchi | Tiga GC84 | D | 226 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | |||||||
| 27 NC | C2 | 74 |  Team Labatt  Gebhardt Engineering |  Frank Jelinski  John Graham  Nick Adams | Gebhardt JC853 | A | 224 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | |||||||
| 28 NC | C2 | 98 |  Roy Baker Promotions Ford |  François Duret  David Andrews  Duncan Bain | Tiga GC284 | A | 150 | 
| Ford Cosworth BDT 1.7 L Turbo I4 | |||||||
| 29 NC | C2 | 93 |  Automobiles Louis Descartes |  Louis Descartes  Jacques Heuclin  Daniel Hubert | ALD 01 | A | 141 | 
| BMW M88 3.5 L I6 | |||||||
| 30 DNF | C1 | 18 |  Brun Motorsport |  Massimo Sigala  Oscar Larrauri  Gabriele Tarquini | Porsche 956 | D | 323 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 31 DNF | C1 | 19 |  Brun Motorsport |  Walter Brun  Joël Gouhier .svg.png) Didier Theys | Porsche 962C | D | 304 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 32 DNF | C1 | 3 |  Rothmans Porsche |  Al Holbert  Vern Schuppan  John Watson | Porsche 962C | D | 299 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 33 DNF | C1 | 31 |  Primagaz |  Pierre Yver  Pierre-François Rousselot  François Sérvanin | Rondeau M382 | D | 286 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | |||||||
| 34 DNF | C1 | 8 |  New-Man Joest Racing |  Paul Belmondo  Mauricio de Narváez  Kenper Miller | Porsche 956 | D | 277 | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| 35 DNF | C2 | 80 |  Carma F.F. |  Martino Finotto  Aldo Bertuzzi  Guido Daccò | Alba AR6 | A | 228 | 
| Carma FF 1.9 L Turbo I4 | |||||||
| 36 DNF | GTP | 40 |  Jaguar Group 44 |  Brian Redman  Hurley Haywood  Jim Adams | Jaguar XJR-5 | G | 151 | 
| Jaguar 6.0 L V12 | |||||||
| 37 DNF | C1 | 67 |  Jean-Philippe Grand |  Patrick Gonin .svg.png) Pascal Witmeur  Pierre de Thoisy | Rondeau M482 | M | 143 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | |||||||
| 38 DNF | C1 | 38 |  Dome Team |  Eje Elgh  Geoff Lees  Toshio Suzuki | Dome 85C-L | D | 141 | 
| Toyota 4T-GT 2.1 L Turbo I4 | |||||||
| 39 DNF | C2 | 90 |  Jens Winther Denmark |  Jens Winther  David Mercer  Margie Smith-Haas | URD C83 | A | 141 | 
| BMW M88 3.5 L I6 | |||||||
| 40 DNF | B | 157 |  Angelo Pallavicini |  Enzo Calderari  Angelo Pallavicini  Marco Vanoli | BMW M1 | A | 116 | 
| BMW M88 3.5 L I6 | |||||||
| 41 DNF | B | 156 |  Raymond Touroul Team |  Raymond Touroul  Thierry Perrier  Philippe Dermagne | Porsche 911SC | P | 107 | 
| Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 | |||||||
| 42 DNF | C1 | 43 |  WM Peugeot |  Claude Haldi  Roger Dorchy  Jean-Claude Andruet | WM P83B | M | 73 | 
| Peugeot PRV 2.8 L Turbo V6 | |||||||
| 43 DNF | C2 | 104 |  Ecurie Blanchet Locatop |  Michel Dubois  Hubert Striebig  Noël del Bello | Rondeau M379 | A | 65 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | |||||||
| 44 DNF | C1 | 24 |  Cheetah Automobiles Switzerland | .svg.png) Bernard de Dryver .svg.png) Claude Bourgoignie  John Cooper | Cheetah G604 | D | 53 | 
| Aston Martin-Tickford 5.3 L V8 | |||||||
| 45 DNF | C2 | 79 |  Ecurie Ecosse |  Mike Wilds  Ray Mallock  David Leslie | Ecosse C285 | A | 45 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | |||||||
| 46 DNF | C1 | 46 |  Bussi Racing  Roland Bassaler |  Christian Bussi  Jack Griffin  Marion L. Speer | Rondeau M482 | M | 36 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | |||||||
| 47 DNF | B | 152 |  Vogelsang |  Harald Grohs  Altfrid Heger  Kurt König | BMW M1 | A | 32 | 
| BMW M88 3.5 L I6 | |||||||
| 48 DNF | C2 | 100 |  Goodmands Sound  Bartlett Chevron Racing |  Richard Jones  Robin Smith  Max Cohen-Olivar | Chevron B62 | A | 19 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | |||||||
| 49 DNF | C2 | 82 |  Grifo Autoracing |  Paolo Giangrossi  Pasquale Barberio  Mario Radicella | Alba AR3 | D | 5 | 
| Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3 L V8 | |||||||
| DNS | C1 | 61 |  Sauber Racing |  John Nielsen  Dieter Quester  Max Welti | Sauber C8 | D | - | 
| Mercedes-Benz M117 5.0 L Turbo V8 | |||||||
| DNS | C2 | 81 |  Carma F.F. |  Loris Kessel  Ruggero Melgrati  Aldo Bertuzzi  Jean-Pierre Frey | Alba AR2 | A | - | 
| Carma FF 1.9 L Turbo I4 | |||||||
| DNS | C2 | 97 |  Strandell Porsche |  Stanley Dickens  Martin Schanche | Strandell 85 | A | - | 
| Porsche Type-934 3.3 L Turbo Flat-6 | |||||||
| DNQ | C2 | 106 |  Bruno Sotty |  Martin Wagenstetter  Kurt Hild | Lotec C302 | D | - | 
| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 L V8 | |||||||
| DNQ | C1 | 55 |  John Fitzpatrick Racing |  Kenny Acheson  Dudley Wood  Jean-Louis Schlesser | Porsche 962C | Y | - | 
| Porsche Type-935 2.6 L Turbo Flat-6 | 
† – #41 failed post-race inspection for being underweight. Finished 24th prior to disqualification.
Statistics
- Pole Position: #2 Rothmans Porsche - 3:14.80
- Fastest Lap: #1 Rothmans Porsche - 3:25.10
- Distance: 5088.507 km
- Average Speed: 212.021 km/h
References
- "FIA World Endurance Championship 1985 - 24 h Le Mans". World Sports Racing Prototypes. 2005-10-02. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
- "Le Mans 24 Hours 1985". Racing Sports Cars. 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
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