The 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 54th Grand Prix of Endurance as well as the third round of the 1986 World Sports-Prototype Championship. It took place on 31 May and 1 June 1986. Pre-race Due to construction of a new roundabout at the Mulsanne corner, a new portion of track had to be built in order to avoid the roundabout. This created a right hand kink prior to the new Mulsanne turn. Race For 1986, the new works 962C of Hans-Joachim Stuck, Derek Bell and Al Holbert was able to overcome the two-time defending winners at Joest Racing. The race itself was marred by the death of Jo Gartner in a crash on the Mulsanne Straight early on Sunday morning while running in 8th place. The sole remaining Kremer Racing Porsche retired soon after the accident. The Joest/Ludwig car suffered from engine bearing failure following the extended pace car laps. Official results Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC). † - #66 Cosmik Racing and #79 Ecurie Ecosse were both disqualified for receiving outside assistance. Statistics Pole Position - Jochen Mass, #2 Rothmans Porsche - 3:15.990 (154.402 mph/248.492 km/h) Fastest Lap - Klaus Ludwig, #7 Joest Racing - 3:23.300 Distance - 4972.731 km Average Speed - 207.197 km/h Notes References 24 Hours of Le Mans races Le Mans Le Mans Le Mans