Mirage Renault GR8 n°11

After the victory at LeMans 24 Hours in 1975, the promissing performances in 1976 Mirage GR8 Renault of 1977 are fitted with the same V6 engine as Alpine A442 Renault that are on the starting grid.

During practives, Mirage-Renault #10 and 11 set respectively the eleventh and twelfth time while Alpine Renault #9 of Jabouille / Bell takes pole behind Porsche 935 #41 of Stommelen / Schurti. Porsche suffers from the pressure put by A442, despite the premature withdrawal of Pironi. After 3 hours of racing, the 3 remaining A442 are in the lead followed by 2 Mirage in 4th and 5th positions.

When #11 retires after 4 hours of racing, #10 of Jarier / Schuppan succeeds in staying in the race partially thanks to the withdrawals of leaders and clocks always in 6th position on Sundays mornings. When the last one A442 n°8 of Depailler / Laffite definitively stops, the Mirage Gr8 #10 finds itself supernaturally in 2nd position 18 laps behind Porsche 936 #4 of Barth-Haywood and Ickx. In the agony, Porsche returns into the pit to take back the track only shortly before 4 pm, Mirage Renault of Jarier/Schuppan goes back to 7 laps and ends second.