of Andretti and McLaren with Parkes in 5th. Suddenly Mike Salmon's JWA Ford GT burst into flames at over 300 km/h down the back straight with a full tank of fuel. Salmon bravely got the car near to a marshal post at Mulsanne corner before jumping out but was taken to hospital with severe 2nd and 3rd-degree burns. After two hours, the three Americans Foyt, Hill and Andretti (33 laps) already had a lap on the Ferraris and the rest of the field. After his early delay, Hulme then set a new lap record of 3:23.6, faster than the record pole time. The Ferraris were playing a long game, driving within their capability to last the distance. The Porsches of Siffert/Herrmann and Mitter/Rindt, now up to 14th and 15th overall, had a comfortable lead in the Index of Performance. However the big British cars were all out before dark: both the Mirages and the second Lola gone with engine issues after running outside the top-10. Night Soon after 10pm, as night was falling, Amon's Ferrari suffered a puncture while running 5th. Because of a faulty mallet he could not change the tyre out on the track and while crawling back to the pits, sparks from the wheel hub started a fire in the engine. Amon was forced to bale out quickly (unharmed) at a distance from any marshal posts and the car was burnt to a wreck. Not long later the Chaparral had to pit with its aileron stuck in the brake position, making the car lose about 20 km/h off its top speed. Bucknum lost two hours to get a water-pipe rewelded then had to creep around for two laps to reach the mandatory 25-lap minimum for liquids replenishment Twice Lloyd Ruby ditched his Ford in the Mulsanne corner sandtrap, losing all the time Hulme had made up having to get repairs to the undertray. The second incident proved terminal. The Rodriguez/Baghetti NART Ferrari had slipped down the field and retired after 2am with a burnt piston. By 3am Ford was 1-2-3 with Gurney (182 laps) leading Andretti (who had recently matched Hulme's lap record) and McLaren by three laps. At 3:35 am, still running second, Andretti pitted J-7, the #3 Mk IV. A. J. Foyt, who had brought in J-5, the #1 Mk IV at the same time, was complaining loudly about his American rival's aggressive driving. Distracted