Photo : ACO archives

 

It was a very interesting driver line up that gave Ferrari its eighth and penultimate victory in La Sarthe. When not racing,  Jean Guichet was a naval yard director and Nino Vaccarella a math professor in Palermo (Sicily) ! Running in the top five in the first hour, the duo would take the lead for good when, at the halfway point, the lead Ferrari driven by John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini suffers from fuel system issues. In the end, their Ferrari 275P led a 1-2-3 finish for the prancing horse, rounded out by the two 330P entries of Jo Bonnier-Graham Hill (second) and Surtees-Bandini (third).

Following three participations and as many retirements (1956, 57 and 60),  Jean Guichet became a Ferrari regular in 1961. His first start in a red car ended with a third place finish, before claiming second place the following year in the legendary GTO and finally winning in 1964. His teammate, Nino Vaccarella won the 24 Hours of Le Mans on his third try. The Frenchman and Sicilian would race together again in 1969, this time behind the wheel of a Matra which they raced to a fifth place finish. Now 86 years old, Jean Guichet is still shown much respect whenever he is back at the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit (the Le Mans Classic for example). He was even part of La Sarthe history in a second way: driving the first BMW Art Car at Le Mans in 1975 decorated by Alexander Calder.  Guichet shared the car with Hervé Poulain, who spearheaded the project, and American Sam Posey. Unfortunately, they were forced to retire from the race. Three years earlier, Nino Vaccarella's last participation in the 24 Hours came with a fourth place finish in an Alfa Romeo prototype shared with Andrea de Adamich.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translated by Rainier Ehrhardt / ACO
 
Photo : LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, JUNE 20-21, 1964, RACE. The 275P gave Ferrari its eighth (and fifth in a row) victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella at the wheel. The car pictured here was driven by Ludovico Scarfiott-Michael Parkes and did not finish the race.