The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th 24 Hours of Le Mans, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1999. The race had a large number of entries in the fastest Le Mans Prototype classes, with Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lola Cars, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Panoz, Riley & Scott, and Toyota all represented.
Index: Races | Winners | |||
The BMW V12 LMR driven by Yannick Dalmas, Pierluigi Martini, and Joachim Winkelhock won overall, with their car's reliability and fuel economy allowing them to beat their faster rivals.
Pre-race
1999 saw another increase in manufacturers involvement. Although Porsche did not send a team to contest in the prototype classes, Toyota retained their three updated GT-Ones, now moved to the LMGTP class due to the demise of GT1, while Mercedes-Benz debuted three new CLR LMGTPs. Nissan instead moved from GT1 to an open cockpit LMP, as did Panoz.
Newcomer Audi attempted to try their hand at both classes, with two open cockpit R8Rs and two closed cockpit R8Cs. BMW continued with their open cockpit LMPs, updating to the new V12 LMR. The works V12 LMR's were run by Schnitzer Motorsport, while two of the previous year's cars were privately entered.
Mercedes-Benz CLR incidents
The event saw three major crashes involving the team of Mercedes-Benz CLRs during qualifying and the race itself. The CLR had a very short wheelbase and a large amount of overhang (the bodywork outside the wheelbase), resulting in high pitch sensitivity. In some conditions, especially when following another car and at the tops of hills, the front of the car generated enough lift to overcome the downforce and raise the front off the ground, letting even more air get under the floor and flip the car.
Mark Webber's CLR #4 went airborne at Indianapolis during Thursday night qualifying. On Friday, the team was allowed to rebuild #4 on a new chassis, with tweaks to the rear suspension, in an attempt by Mercedes to cure the problem. Winglets were fitted to the front to increase downforce. All cars had qualified, but during the brief warm-up on Saturday morning, Webber again went airborne when tailing his teammates over the hump of the Mulsanne, landing on his roof and skidding to a stop in the Mulsanne corner. This car was withdrawn from the race, but the two other CLRs continued on, again with emergency tweaks in yet another attempt to alleviate the instability.
A few hours into the race on lap 75, Peter Dumbreck's CLR #5 also went airborne at a crest just before the Indianapolis corner (a very bumpy section of the track), this time flying off the side of the track and landing in the trees. Dumbreck was unharmed in the incident. This incident, unlike the previous two, was actually caught by TV cameras and thus broadcast worldwide. Mercedes-Benz immediately withdrew the remaining CLR #6 and dropped out of sportscar racing for the immediate future.
This was the second time Mercedes-Benz had dropped out of Le Mans and sportscar racing following an incident with one of their cars becoming airborne and leaving the track, the first being the 1955 Le Mans disaster.
Race
Official results
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Tyre | Laps | Time/Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | ||||||||
| 1 | LMP | 15 | Team BMW Motorsport | Joachim Winkelhock Pierluigi Martini Yannick Dalmas | BMW V12 LMR | M | 365 | 24:00:00.000‡ |
| BMW S70 6.0 L V12 | ||||||||
| 2 | LMGTP | 3 | Toyota Motorsports | Ukyo Katayama Keiichi Tsuchiya Toshio Suzuki | Toyota GT-One | M | 364 | +1 lap |
| Toyota R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| 3 | LMP | 8 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Frank Biela Didier Theys Emanuele Pirro | Audi R8R | M | 360 | +5 laps |
| Audi 3.6 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| 4 | LMP | 7 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Michele Alboreto Rinaldo Capello Laurent Aïello | Audi R8R | M | 346 | +19 laps |
| Audi 3.6 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| 5 | LMP | 18 | Price+Bscher | Thomas Bscher Bill Auberlen Steve Soper | BMW V12 LM | Y | 345 | +20 laps |
| BMW S70 6.0 L V12 | ||||||||
| 6 | LMP | 13 | Courage Compétition | Alex Caffi Andrea Montermini Domenico Schiattarella | Courage C52 | B | 342 | +23 laps |
| Nissan VRH35L 3.5 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| 7 | LMP | 12 | Panoz Motor Sports | David Brabham Éric Bernard Butch Leitzinger | Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S | M | 336 | +29 laps |
| Ford-Élan 6.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| 8 | LMP | 21 | Nissan Motorsports | Didier Cottaz Marc Goossens Fredrik Ekblom | Courage C52 | B | 335 | +31 laps |
| Nissan VRH35L 3.5 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| 9 | LMP | 14 | Pescarolo Promotion Racing Team | Henri Pescarolo Michel Ferté Patrice Gay | Courage C50 | P | 327 | +38 laps |
| Porsche 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| 10 | LMGTS | 51 | Viper Team Oreca | Olivier Beretta Karl Wendlinger Dominique Dupuy | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | M | 325 | +40 laps |
| Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| 11 | LMP | 11 | Panoz Motor Sports | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen Max Angelelli | Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S | M | 323 | +42 laps |
| Ford-Élan 6.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| 12 | LMGTS | 52 | Viper Team Oreca | Tommy Archer Justin Bell Marc Duez | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | M | 318 | +47 laps |
| Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| 13 | LMGT | 81 | Manthey Racing GmbH | Uwe Alzen Patrick Huisman Luca Riccitelli | Porsche 911 GT3-R | P | 317 | +48 laps |
| Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6 | ||||||||
| 14 | LMGTS | 56 | Hugh Chamberlain | Ni Amorim Hans Hugenholtz Toni Seiler | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | M | 314 | +51 laps |
| Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| 15 | LMGTS | 50 | CICA Team Oreca | Manuel Mello-Breyner Pedro Mello-Breyner Tomaz Mello-Breyner | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | M | 312 | +53 laps |
| Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| 16 | LMGTS | 55 | Paul Belmondo Racing | Emmanuel Clérico Jean-Claude Lagniez Guy Martinolle | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | D | 309 | +56 laps |
| Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| 17 | LMGTS | 54 | Paul Belmondo Racing | Paul Belmondo Tiago Monteiro Marc Rostan | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | D | 299 | +66 laps |
| Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| 18 | LMGTS | 64 | Konrad Motorsport | Franz Konrad Peter Kitchak Charles Slater | Porsche 911 GT2 | D | 293 | +72 laps |
| Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| 19 | LMGT | 80 | Champion Racing Dave Maraj | Dirk Müller Bob Wollek Bernd Mayländer | Porsche 911 GT3-R | P | 292 | +73 laps |
| Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6 | ||||||||
| 20 | LMGTS | 62 | Roock Racing International Motorsport | Claudia Hürtgen André Ahrlé Vincent Vosse | Porsche 911 GT2 | Y | 290 | +75 laps |
| Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| 21 | LMGT | 84 | Perspective Racing | Thierry Perrier Jean-Louis Ricci Michel Nourry | Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | P | 288 | +77 laps |
| Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 | ||||||||
| 22 | LMGTS | 57 | Hugh Chamberlain | Thomas Erdos Christian Vann Christian Gläsel | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | M | 270 | +95 laps |
| Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| NC | LMGTS | 65 | Société Cheréau | Jean-Luc Chéreau Patrice Goueslard Pierre Yver | Porsche 911 GT2 | M | 240 | Not classified |
| Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 17 | Team BMW Motorsport | Tom Kristensen JJ Lehto Jörg Müller | BMW V12 LMR | M | 304 | Accident |
| BMW S70 6.0 L V12 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTS | 53 | Viper Team Oreca | David Donohue Jean-Philippe Belloc Soheil Ayari | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | M | 271 | Mechanical |
| Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTS | 63 | Roock Racing International Motorsport | Hubert Haupt John Robinson Hugh Price | Porsche 911 GT2 | Y | 232 | Engine |
| Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 19 | Team Goh | Hiro Matsushita Hiroki Katoh Akihiko Nakaya | BMW V12 LM | M | 223 | Gearbox |
| BMW S70 6.0 L V12 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 26 | Konrad Motorsport | Jan Lammers Peter Kox Tom Coronel | Lola B98/10 | D | 213 | Gearbox |
| Ford-Roush 6.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTP | 10 | Audi Sport UK | James Weaver Andy Wallace Perry McCarthy | Audi R8C | M | 198 | Gearbox |
| Audi 3.6 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTP | 2 | Toyota Motorsports | Thierry Boutsen Ralf Kelleners Allan McNish | Toyota GT-One | M | 173 | Accident |
| Toyota R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTS | 61 | Freisinger Motorsport | Ernst Palmberger Wolfgang Kaufmann Michel Ligonnet | Porsche 911 GT2 | D | 157 | Engine |
| Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 27 | Kremer Racing | Tomás Saldaña Grant Orbell Didier de Radiguès | Lola B98/10 | G | 146 | Gearbox |
| Ford-Roush 6.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTS | 67 | Larbre Compétition | Jean-Pierre Jarier Sébastien Bourdais Pierre de Thoisy | Porsche 911 GT2 | M | 134 | Engine |
| Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTS | 66 | Estoril Racing Communication | Manuel Monteiro Michel Monteiro Michel Maisonneuve | Porsche 911 GT2 | P | 123 | Accident damage |
| Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 22 | Nissan Motorsports | Michael Krumm Satoshi Motoyama Érik Comas | Nissan R391 | B | 110 | Engine |
| Nissan VRH50A 5.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTP | 1 | Toyota Motorsports | Martin Brundle Emmanuel Collard Vincenzo Sospiri | Toyota GT-One | M | 90 | Puncture |
| Toyota R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 25 | DAMS | Christophe Tinseau Franck Montagny David Terrien | Lola B98/10 | P | 77 | Engine |
| Judd GV4 4.0 L V10 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTP | 6 | AMG-Mercedes | Bernd Schneider Franck Lagorce Pedro Lamy | Mercedes-Benz CLR | B | 76 | Withdrawn |
| Mercedes-Benz GT108C 5.7 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTP | 5 | AMG-Mercedes | Christophe Bouchut Nick Heidfeld Peter Dumbreck | Mercedes-Benz CLR | B | 75 | Accident |
| Mercedes-Benz GT108C 5.7 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 24 | Autoexe Motorsports | Yojiro Terada Franck Fréon Robin Donovan | Autoexe LMP99 | Y | 74 | Engine |
| Ford 6.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 29 | JB Jabouille-Bouresche | Jérôme Policand Mauro Baldi Christian Pescatori | Ferrari 333 SP | P | 71 | Gearbox |
| Ferrari F130E 4.0 L V12 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 32 | Riley & Scott Europe | Marco Apicella Carl Rosenblad Shane Lewis | Riley & Scott Mk III/2 | P | 67 | Engine |
| Ford 6.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTP | 9 | Audi Sport UK | Stefan Johansson Stéphane Ortelli Christian Abt | Audi R8C | M | 55 | Gearbox |
| Audi 3.6 L Turbo V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMP | 31 | Riley & Scott Europe | Philippe Gache Gary Formato Olivier Thévenin | Riley & Scott Mk III/2 | P | 25 | Engine |
| Ford 6.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNF | LMGTS | 60 | Freisinger Motorsport | Ray Lintott Manfred Jurasz Katsunori Iketani | Porsche 911 GT2 | D | 24 | Accident |
| Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 | ||||||||
| DNS | LMGTP | 4 | AMG-Mercedes | Mark Webber Jean-Marc Gounon Marcel Tiemann | Mercedes-Benz CLR | B | - | Accident in Practice |
| Mercedes-Benz GT108C 5.7 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNS | LMP | 23 | Nissan Motorsports | Aguri Suzuki Masami Kageyama Eric van de Poele | Nissan R391 | B | - | Accident |
| Nissan VRH50A 5.0 L V8 | ||||||||
| DNS | LMGT | 83 | Gérard MacQuillan | Michel Neugarten Gérard MacQuillan Chris Gleason | Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Y | - | Did not qualify |
| Porsche 3.8L Flat-6 | ||||||||
Statistics
- Pole position - #1 Toyota Motorsport / TTE - 3:29.930
- Fastest lap - #3 Toyota Motorsport / TTE - 3:35.052
- Distance - 4968 km
- Average speed - 207 km/h
- Highest trap speed — Toyota GT-One - 352 km/h (practice)
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