June 14 1970 : a day written in bold in the Porsche history books. Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood took the checkered flag at the toughest endurance race in the world. For the first time, a Porsche takes outright victory in the Le Mans 24H. Motor Buch Verlag remembers this overall victory in the marvelous book “24 Hours of Le Mans 1970”. In this coffee-table book, you can take a look at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1970 from a different angle. You’ll learn to know what insiders experience during a race like the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
One could think that everything is known about a race over 50 years ago. But by flipping through the pages of “24 Hours of Le Mans 1970”, you’ll find out what an effort it takes to finally cross the finish line. And you can do so by just take a look at the pictures. The text, written by Peter Weidenhammer, just gives more detailed information of the pictures, all by the hand of Klaus Reichert. As a member of the Porsche press department, Reichert attended the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1970 from the very start to the end. Whatever happened in the 14 days’ time span, Reichert’s hawkeye noticed it and snapped it on picture.
Pictorial experience of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1970
“24 Hours of Le Mans 1970” is not only a tremendous pictorial of Porsche’s victory in the most important race in the world. Next to that, the book shows documents that remained hidden in the Porsche archives until now. An internal note shows the complete timetable of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1970, starting with the scrutineering of the Porsche Salzburg and Martini International Porsche 917s. The book reveals information from test reports and shows pictures of the aftermath of Dieter Spoerry’s crash during training.
Porsche’s home base at Le Mans is the Teloché garage, where the cars get the attention needed. Klaus Reichert follows Ferry Porsche when he visits the Château de Courtanvaux where the French Porsche importer Sonauto and the Porsche Club France invited customers, racing drivers, team managers, and organizers for an evening event.
Obviously, the book covers the full 2 days of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1970. Just by flipping the pages, the reader goes back in history to feel the vibes of the race. The final chapters of the book bring some insight on what happened the days after Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood took the Porsche 917 (chassis 917-023) to victory. The city of Stuttgart held a reception in the city hall in honor of the victorious Porsche Racing Team. 2 Porsche 917s are allowed to drive on the streets from the factory in Zuffenhausen across Schlossplatz to the town hall in the city centre.
Conclusion
Fabulous, great, marvelous. Those words come to mind by reviewing the book “24 Hours of Le Mans 1970”. Never before, a coffee-table book has brought me so much joy and so much information. The book is available in 3 languages (German, French, English). This is a masterpiece that needs a place on your bookshelf.
Buy the book at Amazon
24 Hours of Le Mans
Race
Motor Buch Verlag
June 2020
Hardcover
240 pages
German / English / French
978-3-613-30961-6 (German) / 978-3-613-30964 (English) / 978-3-613-30965-4 (French)
