24h Le Mans
Sixty years ago, Ferrari scored the first of its six consecutive wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1960 to 1965. An unmatched feat that – along with the successes of 1949, 1954 and 1958 – allowed the Italian marque to surpass Bentley and Jaguar (co-holders of the win record at the time with five each). The second installment in this series highlights the nine outstanding drivers responsible for this remarkable winning streak.
9 – Number of wins earned by Belgian driver Olivier Gendebien and his Ferrari teammates at the 24 Hours: four for Gendebien himself (1958-60-61-62), three for Phil Hill (1958-61-62), one each for Paul Frère (1960) and Maurice Trintignant (1954), Gendebien's first Ferrari teammate in 1956 (third) and 1957 (retirement).
8 – In eight starts in the 24 Hours as a factory Ferrari driver between 1955 and 1961, American driver Phil Hill only finished the race three times, but each time as winner with Olivier Gendebien.
1 – In 1960, the sole participation for Belgian driver Paul Frère at the wheel of a Ferrari ended in a victory shared with Olivier Gendebien. His eighth 24 Hours was also Frère's last after he retired as a driver to focus on his ambitions as a writer and engineer.
5 – Of the nine winners between 1960 and 1965, the Italian Lorenzo Bandini was the only driver to represent Ferrari exclusively at the 24 Hours. In five participations from 1962 to 1966, he won in 1963 with his fellow countryman Ludovic Scarfiotti, then finished second in the following year along with the Brit John Surtees.
16 – Number of laps in the lead (or 215 km) for the Ferrari 250 P of Ludovico Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini when they won the 1963 24 Hours ahead of the Ferrari GTO of Jean Blaton and Gérald Langlois von Ophem. It was the largest gap for a winning Ferrari at Le Mans between 1960 and 1965.
3 – From 1961 for his first 24 Hours at the wheel of a Ferrari to 1965, French driver Jean Guichet reached the podium three times: third in 1961, second in 1962 with Pierre Noblet and winner in 1964 with Nino Vaccarella.
4 – Sicilian driver Nino Vaccarella represented four different teams at the wheel of a Ferrari. In addition to the factory team (1964-67-70), he competed for Scuderia SSS Repubblica di Venezia in 1962, the North American Racing Team (NART) in 1965 and 1966, and Escuderia Montjuich in 1971.
6 – In 16 participations in the 24 Hours, Masten Gregory represented the NART six times, reaching the chequered flag twice at the wheel of Ferraris fielded by Luigi Chinetti's team: sixth in 1963 with the Brit David Piper and winner in 1965 with Jochen Rindt.
2 – For his first two participations in the 24 Hours, Austrian driver Jochen Rindt drove a Ferrari 250 LM for the NART. He was forced to retire in 1964 with David Piper, then won in 1965 with Masten Gregory. Rindt competed in the 24 Hours in 1966 at the wheel of a Ford GT40 then in 1967 as a factory Porsche driver.
In addition to Olivier Gendebien, Phil Hill, Paul Frère, Lorenzo Bandini, Ludovico Scarfiotti, Jean Guichet, Nino Vaccarella, Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt – the nine drivers to win the 24 Hours with Ferrari between 1960 to 1965 – five other previous and future winners drove Ferraris at the race from 1960 to 1965: Lucien Bianchi, Dan Gurney, Graham Hill, Pedro Rodríguez and Maurice Trintignant.
PHOTO (Copyright - ACO/ARCHIVES): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY 10 JUNE 1961. In the forefront, at the start of the 29th running of the race, the #10 Ferrari of future winners Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill.
