to 63 for qualifying, though only 53 cars arrived to practice. Noticeable was the very low turnout from manufacturers' works teams. Given the dominance of the big Sports Cars on fast tracks like Le Mans, there were few Prototypes entered. Ferrari and Alfa Romeo withdrew their works teams to concentrate on next year's models. However, a vast fleet of privateer Porsche 911s arrived to fill the gap, making the GT category the strongest-supported group. Over the winter, extensive development work was done on the 917L (langheck or 'long-tail'). Using the French SERA aerodynamics laboratory, the chassis was further streamlined. Now running 17" rear tyres made its handling almost as good as the K-version (kurzheck or 'short-tail') much to the drivers' satisfaction. Porsche also supplied a slightly larger 5.0-litre engine (vs 4.9L) using high-performance nickel-silicon cylinder-liners from NSU that improved oil consumption and reduced wear. This pushed its output up to 620 bhp. It also came with a new 4-speed gearbox, but as all the teams chose to use the tried-and-tested 5-speed gearbox the new engines were not used either. With four victories to date in the 1971 Championship, the JW Automotive team were favourites for outright victory. They certainly had the strongest driver line-up with Pedro Rodriguez/Jackie Oliver and by Jo Siffert and Derek Bell in langhecks. Their third team car, a 917K, was driven by 1970 race-winner Richard Attwood with Herbert Müller. The cars and equipment of the previous year's successful Porsche Salzburg team was purchased for the Martini Racing Team by Conte Gregorio Rossi di Montelera (of the Martini & Rossi company). They entered three cars – a long-tail for Vic Elford/Gérard Larrousse (winners at Sebring and the Nürburgring) and a magnesium-alloy chassis short-tail for Gijs van Lennep/Helmut Marko. (JWA was not offered these experimental options) The third was an experimental short-tail version. The 917/20 was built as a test-bed for future Can-Am parts and aerodynamic low-drag concepts. Shorter and much wider than the 917K, it was designed and tested by Robert Choulet and the SERA wind tunnel, after their other work on the 917. Nicknamed "the Pig" by the company, it was driven by Reinhold Joest/Willi Kauhsen. Following up the psychedelic paintjob of their car the previous year Martini, with tongue in cheek, had the chunky car painted in pink for the race with names of pieces of meat written across it. After the 1970 race, Ferrari