Best Sportscar Drives

[chernaudi]

This is a thread for (in the posters' opinions) the best drives in sportscar history, at least that they've seen or remember. The stand outs for me were Allan McNish at Petit Le Mans in 2008, Dindo Capello vs Romain Dumas at PLM and Laguna Seca '07, and the whole #2 Audi team at Le Mans in 2011. Honorable mention would be Pirro at Lime Rock in '08 when by the first pit stop he lapped up to about the top 5 overall and had about a half a lap lead over second place. And McNish lapping the field at Sonoma in 2000.


Anything anyone else would want to add, including older or more recent events, or in different classes?

[Adam43]

JJ Lehto, Le Mans 1995. Specifically at Indianapolis in the dark and wet.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Adam43

JJ Lehto, Le Mans 1995. Specifically at Indianapolis in the dark and wet.

This one for me, and Johnny Herbert's final stint in the 787B in 1991.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

This one for me, and Johnny Herbert's final stint in the 787B in 1991.

Double yes!!

Also didn't JJ lap Spa several seconds quicker than the rest of the GT1 field in wet qualy in 1997

[Badlands99]

Dan Harper - British GT finale at Donington 2023. Awesome drive!

[Gerard C]

Thanks chernaudi, very good idea, great thread. My first is for my old bloke Jean-Claude Andruet at Le Mans in '79 he went back from ashes to the second place on very wet track making his BB512 literally dancing in the rain. Sorry, Le Mans again and another French, Henri Pescarolo in '68 driving his Matra in the dark and no wiper. Those two have in common that the co-drivers were not really brave (Dini/ Servoz-Gavin). The first I was at LM, the second I was not old enough!

[JoeW04]

Nick Tandy’s night stint Le Mans 2015.

[J Jay]

May I present a couple of second places - the best drives aren't always from the winners:

- Ukyo Katayama, Le Mans 1999
- Kevin Estre, Nurburgring 2019

[chernaudi]

I have to be honest on my end, as I'm sort of "stuck" back in 2000-2008 as far as the Audi Sport involvement in the ALMS and from then on out I progressively started to become more casual in my following of the sport, especially after 2016.


Also until we got satellite TV where I lived and my first own computer that I started to be able to really follow the sport, which we didn't get satellite TV until the late 1990s and my own computer until 2005. Which means that the R10 was the first LMP car whose development I was able to follow.


Granted, I've also been able to check out a lot of history since that time, too. But thus, I'm a bit biased, though admittedly, I didn't even think at the time that what McNish and Champion did at PLM '08 was even really possible given the odds with the other Audi and the Peugeot being there.

[rbs]

Got to be 1954 Sebring when Moss in an OSCA won, and how can anyone omit his Mille Miglia win in the no 722 Mercedes.

[Articus]

That GT Porsche that won Petit Le Mans overall a decade ago.
Andre Lotterer driving most of Le Mans (2008?) in the Kolles R10
2011 Le Mans winners

[broadrun96]

In fairness to everyone at Petit that year the ONLY tires that worked were the Michelin rains. It was SLOP out there and the Pirellis were garbage. All the GT guys would immediately swamp the DPs at each restart and only reason it wasn't all ALMS GTs at the front was the reset the field each caution.

Was a MISERABLE race and my toes still get cold thinking about that week, lost lots of kit that weekend

[chernaudi]

It was actually Continental/Hoosier tires on the DPs and everything other than the GTLM cars (all Michelin aside from the Falken Porsche). Though if it was Pirellis I don't know if it would've made much difference to the outcome.

[broadrun96]

That's the ones, they were absolutely a joke, could hear them completely off the throttle coming past us cause no grip at all on them, GTLM mostly driving like it was a regular day and passing every time they got even close

[seanyb505]

Fun fact - that Petit was a factor in some Daytona red flags the following year.

Estre has really come on my radar over the last few years. Some of his stints in 24 hour races are awesome.

Antonelli in the final Le mans stint this year was pretty good.