Whats wrong with this picture?

[Fax]

What's doesn't look right here?
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[rcutler]

A Renault Sports Car Prototype with evidence of having one (Number 1) on the front!!!

[chrisbeatty]

I'm guessing that it's something odd about the "cockpit" area

Or is it just a cover to keep the rain out?? It can't be the roof surely??

[Nordic]

I think its the 443 of Jabouille & Depailler at scrutineering for the 78 race. Its wearing the perspex bubble that was taken off the car for the race.

The Bubble was kept on by the winning car.

[Fax]

Right on the nose there Nordic.  That pic was taken at scrutineering with the bubble on, JP Jabouille and Patrick Depailler didn't like it, so they took it off for the race but left it on the sister 442B of Didier Pironi and JP Jassaud (the race winners).  I pulled that off the www.motorsport.com website, if you go to the photo archives they have a great selection of pics from the 1978 LM 24 Hours.  That was probably my favorite running of the great race, I always loved the Group 6 cars, the Alpine Renaults, Porsche 936's and Mirage Renaults.  And don't forget Moby Dick in Group 5!
That year was a epic fight between Alpine Renault and Porsche.
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[Nordic]

Yep I loved the grp 6 and 5 cars.

78 was the year my brother first went to Le Mans, next year will be the first he has missed in a while, the interest has gone from him i think.

As an aside, what does the winning 78 Renault have in common with a ferrari that won some 30 years before, and no one has managed since, overall at least?

[Fax]

I give Nordic, you've got me stumped on that one.  Try as a could to figure out anything that a 1978 Alpine Renault turbo would have in common with late forties-early fifties Ferrari, I can't come up with anything other than they have four wheels.
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[Nordic]

The 1949 winning Ferrari of Chinneti & Selsdon & the 1978 Renault 442 had an engine capacity of under 2 litres.
Ferrari 1995cc
Renault 1997cc (+ Turbo)

Happy new year

[Fax]

Well done Nordic!  Engine discplacement was one that eluded me.  Cheers,
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[Fax]

Nordic. I just noticed that your avatar photo is of the number 12 Jules Porsche 936-81, the sister to the Ickx-Bell winner.  Good trivia question about that car, it was driven in the race by Hurley Haywood, Vern Schuppan and Jochen Mass.  That wasn't the intended line-up though, who was supposed to drive but ended up not being able to and why?  ALSO, the engine and gearbox weren't actually designed for that car, The car ended up being a spare parts special that worked VERY well. Where did the engine & box come from?
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[Martini...LB]

...its all so clever you are making my head huuuuuuurt


Martini..

[Nordic]

The turbo flat six can trace its roots right back the RSR.
This motor also was the foundation of the 2600cc engine that was destined for the 1980 indy program and I think this is the version that found its way into the 81 936's and I guess the gearbox went with it.
It then went into the 956's.

I have no idea why the driving line up changed, but i guess it was due to someone getting hurt elsewhere.

[Fax]

Yep, the 2.65 liter engine came from the aborted CART Indycar program, the gearbox was a leftover from the Can-Am 917 turbo series, Porsche didn't think the original 936 box could cope with the extra BHP and torque of the bigger unit.  The gearbox (fifth gear in particular) was always the weak spot of the 936 previously.  Rick Mears was to have been one of the drivers of the 12 car but his painful burns sustained in a horrific pit fire during the Indy 500 two weeks earlier prevented him from driving, Vern Schuppan replaced him in the squad.
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[Nordic]

Never knew Mears was in the frame for a works Porsche drive.
Shame it never happened, If he had got his foot in the door, the driver line ups in the 956's could have been very different.

I remember reading once that Schuppan (or Haywood) and Bell never got on, any idea why?

[Fax]

Agreed it was a shame Rick never drove the 936 or 956, he did some IMSA races and would have been a natural for endurance racing, his mechanical sympathy is legendary.  Don't win four Indy 500's by just being lucky.  He was also a hell of a road racer before his his '84 Sanair shunt, after that he had some problems with his ankles.  After Gary Bettenhausen was badly injured in a sprint car accident in the mid 70's Roger Penske tended to be a bit stubborn about letting his drivers compete in non-Penske rides and I suspect this is probably why we didn't see much of Rick outside of Champcars.  I've always understood that Vern Schuppan could be difficult to get along with, heard that from time to time from IMSA and CART people.  Hurley's so laid back can't imagine anyone not getting along with him.
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