Behind the scenes: Le Mans 1983
The second year of Group C, 1983, brought a tense Le Mans finish, with Al Holbert’s overheating 956 chased by Derek Bell. For Geoff Mitchell’s first trip here, it was some debut
Undressed T-Bird Swap Shop 956 run by John Fitzpatrick Racing for Preston Henn, Jean-Louis Schlesser and Claude Ballot-Léna.
Vern Schuppan, Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert celebrate a close-run victory after their 956 engine seized but restarted
Pulse rates of crowd and drivers peak as the pace car leads the field towards the 4pm green flag
Spectator protection seems completely lacking as the stunt team of the legendary Rémy Julienne does its stuff in the pitlane
A view you don’t often see, taken from the middle of the empty track.
Citroën fire appliance obviously belonged to the local force, not to a specially trained extraction crew…
As this was his first Le Mans visit, Geoff has kept his precious stand tickets
Any vantage point is worth risking as the magic 4 o’clock approaches
In 1983 the famous circuit was still in its pre-chicane form, with the old pits buildings and paddock layout
Cooke Racing Lola T610 pursues the French-entered URD under the famous Dunlop Bridge. The Lola broke; the URD came 14th, albeit 88 laps down on the victors
Spectators cluster on the much loved old pits buildings as the Porsche 930 of Michel Lateste, Michel Bienvault and Raymond Touroul is worked on