Photo : ACO / Nikon

 

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Henri Pescarolo has seen it all: victory (1972-73-74-84), the downside (in the night of the 24 hours in 1968 as the rain came down and his wipers failed), an accident (in 1969), a triple triumph with the french Matra team (1972-73-74), a surprise win  in a Porsche (1984) and a second life as team owner. For the man in the green helmet, he is also a great "breeder of champions." Two drivers from his team were on the podium at the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship 2013: Stéphane Sarrazin (second in a Toyota, three-time pole winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans) and Benoit Treluyer (third in a Audi, double winner at the 24 Hours), and a third, Nicolas Minassian, is vying for the drivers trophy  in the LM P2 category with Pecom Racing.

As a driver, Henri Pescarolo took part in 33 runnings of the Le Mans 24 Hours that have taken place so far. By comparison, Tom Kristensen, the record holder with nine victories at the Sarthe, has only taken seventeen starts ... which gives him a success rate of over 50%. For Henri Pescarolo, we must also add eleven additional interests as a team boss: therefore he has been involved  44 times out of the 81 runnings of the 24 Hours of Le Mans! He will be and remain for a long time, a memory and a living legend in the Sarthe, with a record that  spectators will respect for ever.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO

Photo: PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE (LE MANS, Sarthe) TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKS OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, June 10, 2012. To date, the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the last in which Henri Pescarolo has participated as a team owner.