24 Hours of Le Mans, June 13-14, 1981

In 1981, the "young gun" Pirro was part of the Martini Racing Team which was responsible for Lancia's engagement in the sportscar world championship. In Le Mans, he teamed-up with Gabbianni who badly crashed the car in the fourth hour. Up to that point of the race, a driver and a marshal had been killed in an accident; for the first time in his career, Emanuele had been confronted with the possibility of death in a race, hence he felt somehow eased by the fact that it was already over for him.