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The first 24 Hours of Le Mans, a century ago

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At 4 pm on May 27, 1923, the first edition of the Grand Prix d’Endurance de 24 Heures began in Le Mans, in northern France, the best known and most important endurance car race in the world, as well as the oldest “24 hours ” among those that still exist. The race, which over the years has become the The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of those in which, instead of looking at who takes the least time to complete a certain number of laps, one looks at how many laps can be done in a pre-established time: in this case, a whole day.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans arrived when both Grands Prix and races had already existed for several decades endurance, made to test the resistance of cars (and drivers) over longer times and distances. Even before that first 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1923 there were, for example, races over the distance of a thousand miles or endurance races of 6, 12 or 24 hours. In Italy there had already been the Coppa Florio and the Targa Florio for some years, both commissioned by the entrepreneur Vincenzo Florio. The first 24-hour automobile race was held in 1905 on a mile-long oval at the Driving Park in Columbus, Ohio.

The Le Mans race was organized on the initiative of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which had been founded in 1906 at Le Mans. It was organized on the Sarthe circuit, a track which had already hosted other races after the war and which only partially included the roads (all normally open to traffic) traveled in 1906 by the first French Grand Prix.

Over the years the circuit has undergone many changes but remains non-permanent: even today it passes on roads that at other times are open to traffic. The one used for the first 24 Hours of Le Mans was just over 17 kilometers long. In addition to being very long, the circuit had several mostly straight sections, which allowed the cars to reach their maximum speed on several occasions. However, the goal was to balance this possibility with the need to preserve the cars for 24 hours.

The organizers’ idea, immediately successful, was to offer car manufacturers an event in which to show the reliability of their products, with the premise that the cars had to be practically the same as those in production and on sale to the public , not prototypes or models designed specifically for the track. The cars, among other things, had to have special ballasts of about 60 kilos for each of the available seats in addition to that of the driver.

The rules were simple: each car could be driven by two drivers who would take turns with each other and it was up to them to fill up with petrol and manage the “changes”. Among the 33 cars at the start (of different engine sizes and “classes”, each with a different mileage target to reach during the 24 hours) most were French, as were the drivers: 59 of the 66 entered. Among the non-French cars were a couple of Belgians and a Bentley, British.

The race started on the afternoon of Saturday 26 May 1923, after a couple of days of bad weather and without the crews of the various cars being able to first make “official” practice laps. Only those who had arrived sufficiently in advance could in fact view and test parts of the track. Almost all the cars in the race were open, with the capote open and without windshield wipers: it was quite difficult to drive in the rain and on dirt roads that were increasingly wet and muddy and even more so when it got dark, with several cars that – also due to the water – had problems with their headlights .

Despite all these problems, especially those at night, the race continued without major incidents and without even too many retirements: only three cars retired before 24 hours had passed and thirty cars finished the race. For most of the race in the first positions there were some cars of the French car manufacturer Chenard & Walcker and the only Bentley in the race, which moreover had entered out of interest and on the initiative of its drivers rather than the car manufacturer.

In the end, the winner was Chenard & Walcker, driven by the French drivers André Lagache and René Léonard: the car did 128 laps in 24 hours, with an average speed of just over 92 kilometers per hour.

The match, which started at 4pm the day before, finished at 5pm on Sunday because in the meantime, the time had changed in France during the night between Saturday and Sunday. Furthermore, in addition to having another name, the first 24 Hours of Le Mans did not award any prizes: the race was in fact foreseen as the first part of a triennial trophy which was only awarded in 1925 (and which in any case was won by Chenard & Walcker ).

Over the years the circuit, the cars and the rules have changed (for example the one that now allows three different drivers to take turns on the same car) and over time the 24 Hours of Le Mans has established itself over the years as the reference race for those of this duration, as an event that is not only automotive but which, as an automotive event, is one of the best known and most coveted in the world: together with the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, it is in fact part of the so-called “Triple Corona” of motoring, an unofficial and intangible recognition (there is no crown) assigned to whoever wins all three: so far the only one to do so has been the British Graham Hill.

– Read also: Because Formula 1 likes to get stuck in Monaco

2023-05-27 15:37:09
#Hours #Mans #century

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