Jose Froilan Gonzalez, the pioneer - Argentinian driver Jose Froilan Gonzalez (1922-2013) became the first South American driver to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After three participations and as many retirements - in 1950 (Simca Gordini), 1951 (Talbot) and 1953 (Lancia) - he reached the top step on the podium for his final appearance, in 1954, at the wheel of a Ferrari 375 Plus shared with French driver Maurice Trintignant.

Pedro Rodriguez, the first pole sitter - In 1963, the sequencing of the legendary Le Mans starting grid was modified. Until then, the grid was determined by descending order of engine size. That year, it was changed to timed qualifying sessions, and Mexican driver Pedro Rodriguez (1940-1971) became the first Latin American to score pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a Ferrari 330 TR. He won the race in 1968 with a Ford GT40 along with Belgian driver Lucien Bianchi, before securing another pole in 1971 at the wheel of the renowned Porsche 917, establishing a record (he was the first pole sitter to surpass the average of 250 km/h at the 24 Hours circuit) that held until 1985. To date, Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Pedro Rodriguez are the only two South American drivers to win at Le Mans.

Ricardo Rodriguez, the prodigy - Pedro's younger brother, Ricardo Rodriguez (1942-1962), finished second in 1960 with a Ferrari 250 TR along with Belgian driver André Pilette. At 18 years and 133 days old, he is still today the youngest driver to claim an overall podium finish at the 24 Hours. The following year, Ricardo and Pedro won the hearts of the spectators by challenging the long-standing domination of future winners Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill. The two brothers joined forces again in 1962 and were once again forced to retire, just a few months before the death of Ricardo who passed away on November 1st during a free practice session at the first edition of the Grand Prix of Mexico.

Juan Manuel Fangio and Nelson Piquet, the World Champions - Of the four South American drivers (Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio, Brazilians Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna) who became Formula 1 World Champions, only Fangio (1911-1995) and Piquet (born in 1952) competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In four participations between 1950 and 1955, Fangio never made it to the checkered flag, and even barely escaped the catastrophe of June 11, 1955 unscathed. Piquet took the start twice in 1996 and 1997. He finished eighth in 1996 along with Johnny Cecotto and Danny Sullivan at the wheel of a McLaren F1 GTR officially backed by BMW.

Johnny Cecotto, from moto to the 24 Hours - After two world titles in moto racing (1975 and 1978), the Venezuelan driver born in 1956 kicked off an impressive career on four wheels in the 1980s, primarily with BMW. In addition to victories at the 24 Hours of Spa (1990) and at the Nürburgring (1992), he participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times, finishing 16th (with Bernard Darniche and Philippe Alliot) in 1981 then eighth in 1996 (with Nelson Piquet and Danny Sullivan, see previous paragraph). In 1998, for his last appearance, he accompagnied BMW's arrival in prototypes, but his V12 LMR was forced to retire. Pierluigi Martini and Joachim Winkelhock, his two teammates that year, won the race in 1999 along with Yannick Dalmas.

This past June, the 85th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans also proved quite successful for Latin American drivers. Check out the second installment in this series to learn more...

 

PHOTO: Second in 2014, third in 2013 and 2016, today Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi is the last South American driver to claim an overall podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.