Roger Dorchy, who has died at the age of 78, will likely forever hold the record as the fastest driver on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. gazzasportscars pays tribute and recalls the remarkable story of his official 405km/h run in 1988 ⬇️
Roger Dorchy was a fixture on the Le Mans 24 Hours grid for much of the 1970s and ‘80s, though in 13 starts he made the finish only three times.Yet his place in the history of the French enduro was sealed when he hit more than 250mph on the Mulsanne Straight at the wheel of a Peugeot-powered WM Group C car during the race in 1988.
It is fact that Dorchy was clocked through the speed trap on the Mulsanne in ’88 at 407km/h , but WM and race organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest decided to declare the new record at 405km/h. The reason was that the team was largely made up of Peugeot employees working in their spare time and 1988 was the launch year of the French manufacturer's new 405 four-door saloon.
The P87 was the result, a low downforce special that had a rear wing only to balance the car. It had hit 416km/h in a TV stunt on an unopened section of French autoroute a few days before Le Mans in ’87 with Francois Migault driving. Come the race, however, the car never came close to the kind of speeds the team was sure it was capable of achieving.Photo by: LAT Photographic
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