shrunk to three before they were back up to speed. The third Porsche had come back up the field, getting back up to fourth, still nine laps behind the ailing 935. A number of cars were starting to show signs of wear: the Nimrod was smoking, dropping to eighth; either side of midday, the Charles Ivey 935 that had been running 6th lost 18 laps in three pits-tops to repair the turbo. Thierry Perrier's BMW had got as high as 14th in the early morning but was disqualified for doing a full gearbox replacement, a fundamental component, not allowed to be changed in-race. Finish and post-race At midday, with four hours to go, Ickx/Bell (299) still had a 3-lap lead over Schuppan/Mass. Wollek and the Martin brothers were on their own in third (288) but with a worsening misfire. The third works Porsche was pushing, but well back (280). Unfortunately for the Joest team, the engine would not last, and the car stopped at Tertre Rouge with just 90 minutes to go. Another late retirement was the EMKA BMW. Having finally done the clutch replacement, that cost an hour, the car stopped at Mulsanne corner after an oil leak drained the motor with less than two hours to go. This left the works Porsches running 1-2-3, coincidentally in that numerical order, and that is how they finished without further incident. The Porsche marque took the top-five places for its best-ever finish, with the Fitzpatrick 935 making it home, in fourth, on five cylinders, thirty laps behind the winner, but still four laps ahead of the Cooke Racing 935 (also on five cylinders). Sixth was the Ferrari of the Prancing Horse Farm team, which had kept out of trouble and picked up three places in the last two hours. Despite scaring the Nimrod team when it stopped at the Porsche Curves at 1.30pm, Ray Mallock got enough fuel pressure in the engine to get moving again, and made it back to the pits to be repaired. Running on seven cylinders, the Aston Martin got home in seventh. The Ivey 935 was next, winning the Group 5 class by over 20 laps from the privateer Lancia. The NART Ferrari that had been running fourth, had lost its gearbox around 2pm. Cudini had stopped at the Ford Chicane but managed to get back to the pit where they waited for the final laps,