24h Le Mans
Though on May 26, 1923, there were two Bugattis at the start of the first edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it was during the 1930s the French constructor's legend took shape.
For its return in 1930, Bugatti wrote a page in history with the first fully female driver line-up: at the wheel of the No. 25 Type 40, Marguerite Mareuse and her teammate Odette Siko finished in stunning seventh place. They were once again at the start in 1931, but were forced to retire. Thereafter, Bugatti achieved mixed results, with sixth place for Georges Delaroche-Jean Sébilleau (1932), ninth for Jean Desvigne-Norbert Jean Mahé (1934) and 14th for Louis Villeneuve-André Vagniez (1935).
It was not until the arrival of the Type 57 (whose rounded profile earned it the nickname "Tank") that Bugatti was able to pull off a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Robert Benoist and Jean-Pierre Wimille in 1937. Wimille won again in 1939 along with Pierre Veyron and scored a new distance record (3,355 km). That was the last edition of the 24 Hours before World War II broke out early September. The 24 Hours of Le Mans wouldn't return to the international calendar until 1949.
rTibute will be paid to Bugatti's history in the 1930s on Sunday, September 6th at the Château de Chantilly for the second edition of Arts & Elégance.
Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 22 1930, FINISH. It was at the wheel of a Bugatti that Marguerite Mareuse and Odette Siko (from left to right) became the first female driver line-up in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in seventh place at the finish.
