24h Le Mans
Since the first edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, many drivers have elected to participate under a pseudonym in order to keep their extracurricular - and sometimes dangerous - activity secret from family, friends and the public. Their aliases have often been tinged with humor to defuse the reality behind the subterfuge.
Strangely enough, the real name of the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924 with Bentley, John Duff, seems possibly made up. Before the war, some drivers adopted a devil-may-care attitude, such as Prince Nicolas of Romania, Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh of Siam (now Thailand) who changed his name simply to Prince Bira and Marquis Raphael Bethenod de Las Casas who went by Raph.
The driver who most valued his anonymity is undoubtedly the banker Pierre Louis-Dreyfus. He became Ano in 1932 and teammates with Nime (actually Tony Schumann) in an Alfa-Romeo, before renaming himself Ferret and finally Helde in the early 1950s.
Then there was the industrialist Léon Dernier, Jacques Seylair also known as Lucien Langlois and Umberto Castiglioni who decided upon the moniker Ippocampo.
Another famous pseudonym was Géo Ham chosen by French native and painter Georges Hamel who immersed himself in the spirit of Le Mans by participating in the race in 1934.
Certain elite members of the aristocracy hid behind stage names as well, such as Philippe de Rothschild turned Philippe or Charles de Clareur, known as Rinen, not to mention the winner in 1949, Lord Peter Mitchell-Thompson alias Selsdon.
Some well-known figures in pop culture also opted for anonymity by way of now famous nicknames like Belgian jazz musician Jean Blaton, known at Le Mans as Beurlys (whose daughter Catherine married Jacky Ickx), with an impressive career and track record, primarily with Ferrari. His fellow countryman Pierre Dumay was called Loustel, and both competed in the heyday of gentlemen-drivers whose talent rivaled the best professional drivers of the era.
After the war, there was Marie Claude Beaumont (Charmasson), Christine (Christine Beckers) and Pierre Bouillin known as Levegh, whose tragic fate is forever linked to the catastrophy of 1955. Another terrible death took place three years later when Jean Marie Brousselet, alias Mary, had an accident in his Jaguar D.
In 1985, John Winter, real name Louis Krages, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 956. It may be bittersweet, but these days the increasing professionalism of the drivers has all but put to an end the use of catchy pseudonyms.
PHOTO (Copyright - Archives/ACO): The 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C, the queen of pre-war 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by Ano and Nime!
