23rd and 24th of May 1923 : The kick off. The 33 competitors of the very first edition, known at the time as the "24 Hour Grand Prix of Endurance – Rudge-Whitworth cup". The initial intention was to test the reliability of the major grand touring cars of the era. The least we can say is that the "test" in question was unforgiving. The weather was apalling (hail, rain, wind), but André Lagache and René Léonard (Chenard & Walcker) overcame all obstacles and made history as the first winners of what would become the "24 Hours of Le Mans".
28th and 29th of July 1956 : The Jaguar era. The reconstruction of the pit complex and pit straight after the tragedy of the 11th of June 1955, delayed the 24th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to July. At the finish it was a British double success with the winning Jaguar D Type of Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson followed by the Aston Martin of Peter Collins and Stirling Moss. On the third step of the podium went to Ferrari, thanks to Maurice Trintignant and Olivier Gendebien. It was the second of the three consecutive victories for the Jaguar D Type in La Sarthe.
29th and 30th of September 1968 : Victory in blue and orange. As a result of the major political protests in France in May, the 24 Hours of Le Mans was put back three months, and as a result became the finale of the World Championship of Makes between Ford and Porsche. It was the former that won the race and the title, thanks to the reliability of the GT40, driven by the 'master' Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi. The Mexicain and the Belgian beat the Porsche of Dieter Spoerry, Rico Steinemann and that of Jochen Neerpasch and Rolf Stommelen. It was also the first victory for the sky blue and orange of the Gulf oil company that would become synonymous with the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Jean-Philippe Doret
Photo : CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES (LE MANS, SARTHE), 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, 29th and 30th OF SEPTEMBER 1968. Since the victory of the Ford GT40 of Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi, the 24 Hours has been held exclusively in the month of June.
