1971 24 Hours of Le Mans

1971 24 Hours of Le Mans
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The 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 39th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1971. It was the ninth round of the 1971 International Championship for Makes.

At the end of the 1970 season, Ferrari had entered a new version of the 512 in some races, the 512M (Modificata). The 512M had a new bodywork built on the same aerodynamics doctrine of the Porsche 917K. During the 1971 season, the FIA decided to eliminate the Sport category for 1972, so the big 917s and 512s would have to retire at the end of a year. Ferrari decided to give up any official effort with the 512 in order to prepare the new 312PB for 1972, but many 512s were still raced by private teams and most of them converted to M specification.

Roger Penske bought a used 512M chassis that was totally dismantled and rebuilt. The car was specially tuned for long races receiving many unique features, among them were a large rear wing and an aviation inspired quick refueling system. The engine was tuned by Can-Am V8 specialist Traco; this engine was probably able to deliver more than 600 hp (450 kW). As of today it's impossible to know to what extent Penske's initiative was backed by Ferrari works. This 512 M, painted in a blue and yellow livery, was sponsored by Sunoco and the Californian Ferrari dealer Kirk F. White. This car made the pole position for the 24 Hours of Daytona and finished second despite an accident. For the 12 Hours of Sebring the Sunoco 512 won the pole, but finished the race in sixth position after making contact with Pedro Rodríguez's 917. Despite this misfortune, the car had proved to be a serious opponent for the 917. Not only this car was the fastest on track in Daytona and Sebring but it was also the car that had the shortest refueling time.

The presence of the Sunoco 512M forced Porsche to pursue his effort of research and development on the 917. The 917K tail was modified, and the 917 LH aerodynamics received further improvements. New magnesium chassis were developed. An entirely new car, the 917/20 was built as test-bed for future Can-Am parts and aerodynamic low-drag concepts. The chunky car was painted in pink for the race with names of pieces of meat written across it, earning it the nickname "Pink Pig". During the 1970-71 race period the 917 won 14 of the 21 races it entered and achieved second place in two of those races.

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