Petit Le Mans 1998
The first running of the Petit Le Mans was held on October 11th 1998. Based on the rules of the 24hrs of Le Mans, the Petit Le Mans is held at Road Atlanta, Georgia and routinely features the cars and teams that run the famous 24hr race in France.
In 1998 Porsche's factory team brought the #77 LMP1-98 and the Le Mans winning #26 Porsche 911-GT1 to the inaugural race in America. The #26 car was piloted by Yannick Dalmas, Allan McNish and Uwe Alzen, while Stefan Johansson, Jorg Muller and Michele Alboreto drove the #77 car.
During the race the #26 911-GT1 held a healthy lead up to lap 235 when Yannick Dalmas brought the car through turn 7 and over the crest of the hill through turn 8 in close pursuit to passing the #77 LMP1-98 that was being driven by Michele Alboreto.
As #26 crested the hill, the close proximity to the rear of #77 resulted in the loss of frontal down-force in the dirty air, coupled with the negative acceleration down the hill the #26 911-GT1 very gracefully lifted its front wheels and performed a near perfect back flip. The car came down hard on it's rear end and careened off into the wall on the left of the straight. Yannick Dalmas walked away from one of the most spectacular crashes in modern sports car history, while the #77 LMP1-98 went on to take 2nd overall in the race.
In 1998 Porsche's factory team brought the #77 LMP1-98 and the Le Mans winning #26 Porsche 911-GT1 to the inaugural race in America. The #26 car was piloted by Yannick Dalmas, Allan McNish and Uwe Alzen, while Stefan Johansson, Jorg Muller and Michele Alboreto drove the #77 car.
During the race the #26 911-GT1 held a healthy lead up to lap 235 when Yannick Dalmas brought the car through turn 7 and over the crest of the hill through turn 8 in close pursuit to passing the #77 LMP1-98 that was being driven by Michele Alboreto.
As #26 crested the hill, the close proximity to the rear of #77 resulted in the loss of frontal down-force in the dirty air, coupled with the negative acceleration down the hill the #26 911-GT1 very gracefully lifted its front wheels and performed a near perfect back flip. The car came down hard on it's rear end and careened off into the wall on the left of the straight. Yannick Dalmas walked away from one of the most spectacular crashes in modern sports car history, while the #77 LMP1-98 went on to take 2nd overall in the race.
