24 Heures du Mans – they made it to town, but not to the start

24 heures du Mans – they made it to town, but not to the start

I'd like to move the spotlight on to the entries that made it to the 24 heures du Mans race at Le Mans during race week, but for some reason didn't take the start. Cars rejected at scrutineering, intended as T-cars only, failed to qualify or ended in a state too sorry to make it to the grid or for some n'th reason didn't take the Tricolore/green light at 4 pm (3 pm, 2 pm, 5 pm) on Saturday afternoon.

The various sites covering these entries seems to either replicate or vary in terms of who was there and who were not as well as details such as number or drivers are missing in some instances too. What I like to achieve is to sort the details out of each of these entries year-by-year, entry-by-entry.

For a reference these are the sites I am quoting and have based my own notes on:
http://www.lemans.org/en/ (ACO used to have a database, that seems to be out of order - for now at least)
http://www.formula2.net/ (TNF'er Stefan Örnerdal's easily overviewed site, that seems to be copied quite a lot by others!)
http://www.lemans-hi....com/index2.php (site by Luis Henrique Santos that contains a bit of everything regarding the race)
http://www.racingspo.....title=du Mans (another TNF'er Martin Krejzi's site that covers a lot of data)

Legend is as follows:
Year:

#number team / car (driver / driver etc.)
Notes
.............................

1923:

None. Worth noting that two Voisins were allocated #3 and #4. Could this have been a late descision by the team to scratch Le Mans?

1924:

None.
..............................

1925:

#19 ? / Ravel 12 CV Sport (André Guilbert / _ Barra / _ Delhauvenne)
Guilbert suffering a fatal crash during practice and becomes the first casualty of the 24 heures du Mans. The team either withdraws out of respect of the diseased driver or damage to the car was too severe. The sister car #18 starts and finishes although not classified.Why did the #19 entry have three drivers on it, as only two would be allowed to race?
.............................................

1926:

#? Willis-Overland Co. / Overland 93 (no driver mentioned)
Withdrawn due to an accident in practice, but who were the drivers of this entry and what number did it carry? A sister car was numbered #15 with both #14 and #16 being available.
.............................

1927:

None, although the Tracta of Pierre Fenaille and _ Boussod deserves a mention as it crashed on its way to Le Mans. With an arriving sister car #20, #21 taken up by a S.A.R.A, this entry would likely be #19.
.................................

1928:

#? Bentley Motors Ltd. / Bentley 4½ (no drivers mentioned)
Entered as a T-car only I would pressume that Frank Clement, Dudley Benjafield, Henry Birkin, Jean Chassagne, Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin all had a go in this car during practice. With the starting Bentleys running #2, #3 and #4 and with both #1 and #5 taken by other entries, what number did this car have, if any at all?

#? F. E. Metcalfte / Lagonda OH 2L Speed (Bert Hammond / E. J. Hayes)
Said to have been in the ”Did not practice” catagory. Metcalfe did have three other Lagondas in the race: #15, #16 and #18 with Hayes racing the latter, while Hammond mentioned as a third and non-starting driver of #15. This would leave a gap for this car to be #17.
.....................................

1929:

#? Bentley Motors Ltd. / Bentley 4½ (no drivers mentioned)
Said to be a spare car, repeating the pattern of '28? The rest of the Bentleys were running #8, #9, #10 and #11 with #7 and #12 taken by other entries. Somehow I have a note that this car was entered in the 8 litre class opposed to the 5 litre class for the remaining cars suggesting a ”Blower-Bentley”?
....................................

1930:

#? Bollack, Netter et Cie / B.N.C. (no drivers mentioned)
No class mentioned either, but reported to have failed to start but no reason given. I pressume a late scratch from the race. No sister car to refer to here either.

#7 Hon. Miss Dorothy Paget / Bentley Blower (Beris Harcourt Wood / Jack Dunfee)
Fuel overheating given as the reason for this non start. Would this be indicative of a late scratch?

#? Bentley Motors Ltd. / Bentley 4½ (no drivers mentioned)
Reported to have run in practice so presumably the usual Bentley practice of having a T/spare car.

#15T unknown entrant / Talbot AO90 (no drivers mentioned)
Reported to have run in practice. Cars #15 and #16 were Talbots entered by Arthur W. Fox & Charles Nicholl Ltd. Driven by Brian Lewis and Hugh Eaton (#15) and Johnny Hindmarsh and Tim Rose-Richards (#16).
............................

1931:

#15 Soc. Anon. Alfa Romeo / Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM (Ferdinando Minoia / Giuseppe Campari)
Failed to start due to a broken engine in practice. Would this have been an Enzo Ferrari managed entry? What does the entry name actually stands for?

#? Earl Howe / Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 (Earl Howe / Tim Birkin)
T-car, so presumably wearing #16T with the starting car winning the race overall, although that car reported to be an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM. With numbers allocated to engine size the assumption of #16T is probably wrong.

#10 T. Fox & Nicholl / Talbot AV105 (no drivers mentioned)
Reported to be running in practice, just like the previous year for this team. Brian Lewis and Johnny Hindmarsh occupied the #10 entry in the race while Tim Rose-Richards and Owen Saunders Davies did equally so in the sister #11 car.
...............................

1932:

#? Raymond Sommer / Chrysler (no drivers mentioned)
Did not start. My notes says Chrysler, but Sommer and Luigi Chinetti Snr. won the race overall in an Alfa Romeo! But in 1931 a Sommer-Chrysler retired.

#6 T. Arthur W. Fox / Talbot AV105 (no drivers mentioned)
Did not practice. Brian Lewis and Tim Rose-Richards driving the sole Fox Talbot (no R. I. Nicholl this year as his entry was scratched). So the car was presumably OK'ed by scrutineering, but didn't enter the circuit at any point?
..........................

1933:

None
..............................

1934:

#1 Nicolas de Roumanie / Duesenberg SJ (Nicolas de Roumanie / Whitney Straight)
The car of Hollywood movie stars of the time and if I'm correctly informed Nicolas was the Prince of Rumania at the time. Reported to be a non-starter, but no reason given.
...................................

1935:

#? unknown entrant / Bugatti T50 (_ Richer-Delavau / Jacques de Valence de Minardiere)
Accident in practice prevented this entry from starting.
.................................

1936:

No race due to national strikes.
..............................

1937:

#? unknown team / Rally (no drivers mentioned)
Noted to be a non starter and in the 1.1 catagory but nothing else on this entry.

#16 unknown team / Bugatti T57S 45 (no drivers mentioned)
..........................

1938:

None.
..................................

1939:

#? unknown team / Adler (Huschke von Hanstein / _ Karkmann)
Did not start, but no reason given. The team that started wore #30 and both #29 and 31 were given to other teams.

#1T Jean-Pierre Wimille / Bugatti T37 (Jean-Pierre Wimille / Pierre Veyron)
T-car to the race winning Bugatti T57C, either placed in the 8 or 5 litre catagory?
..........................

End of part 1.

Jesper

Hello Jesper,

I propose to you a look at MOTORLEGEND the french forum about your research :
http://forums.motorl...ead.php?t=27759

With friends, we try to find pics about all the cars who never race the 24 Hours .

I hope you find some info.

Regards

Most famously, I guess, the Lotus 23 entered by Chapman in 1962...

From memory, the scrutineers found that there was a 4-stud wheel fixing at the front and 6-stud at the rear. The spare had to fit both, apparently, so Lotus went away and made up a 4-stud fixing for the rear.

The French then determined that if a 6-stud fixing was deemed necessary initially, they couldn't let it run with a 4-stud fixing as this would obviously be too weak.

This from the land of 3-stud wheels...

Norma Auto Concept didn't turn a wheel at all at the 1990 Le Mans.

They had a MGN V12 engine and their new M6 chassis but as there was a severe electrical problem and the engine was never able to fire up.

Ray:

Yes, I recall the saga of the 4=6 stud business of the Lotus 23's at LeMans from the pages of Road & Track magazine back in the day. I'm fairly sure that this was the very first of many R&T's that I purchased off the newstand shelf in the coming years. The LeMans coverage article also featured photos of the re-worked hubs and it was apparent that the original six-stud part was altered to four only. Of course, I'm sure that the four-stud arrangement was of larger diameter to match the six-stud pattern for strength but the scrutineers didn't see it that way.

While at the time, being a virtual debutant to motorsport and having no idea of the anomosity which ran between Chapman and the ACO, I suppose that it could be said that Chapman was just asking for it.

Hello Jesper,

I propose to you a look at MOTORLEGEND the french forum about your research :
http://forums.motorl...ead.php?t=27759

With friends, we try to find pics about all the cars who never race the 24 Hours .

I hope you find some info.

Regards

Looking at the page you linked too, I've been there but - pardon my French - don't know the language. I'm considering taking up French lessons in the fall - the language.
For some time this will be an English version of who nearly made it to Le Mans, and that might not be a bad thing as I have a feeling a lot of information has got lost in translation regarding this and many other races throughout time.

Jesper

Well Chapman didn't exactly ingratiate himself with the French by winning the Index of Performance in 1957, and then a 750 engined Elite led it for a long way in 1961. Coupled with Jimmy Clark's performance at the Nurburgring with a 23 a couple of weeks before it looked like a Lotus win to come which the French didn't want to see. So like the Monte Carlo Rally 1966, any excuse.

Of course that's the British viewpoint.

Most famously, I guess, the Lotus 23 entered by Chapman in 1962...

From memory, the scrutineers found that there was a 4-stud wheel fixing at the front and 6-stud at the rear. The spare had to fit both, apparently, so Lotus went away and made up a 4-stud fixing for the rear.

The French then determined that if a 6-stud fixing was deemed necessary initially, they couldn't let it run with a 4-stud fixing as this would obviously be too weak.

This from the land of 3-stud wheels...

How much publicity did Colin Chapman gain from his late 1950s Le Mans exploids? At a time when he was finding his feet in Grand Prix racing he was taking on the French in their coveted "index of performance".

Jesper

How much publicity did Colin Chapman gain from his late 1950s Le Mans exploids? At a time when he was finding his feet in Grand Prix racing he was taking on the French in their coveted "index of performance".

Jesper

Not much I would have thought. The Index was of little interest outside of France and at that time in Britain Le Mans was all about Jaguar and Aston Martin. Chapman and Lotus were much better known from national and club racing in the UK.

But didn't the Index pay as much as the overall win? I can see that might have interested ACBC.

Sounds like a very good incentive!

Talbot in 1930: Talbot had intended to use the Brooklands Double 12 as a "practice run" for Le Mans, but two of their three cars (registered PL3 and PL4) had crashed and the third (PL2) was withdrawn.

Both crashed cars needed extensive rebuilds before Le Mans, for which Talbot had filed two entries. The undamaged PL2 therefore necessarily became the spare and was run extensively at Brooklands, acting as a mobile test-bed and also providing the Le Mans drivers (of whom only Hindmarsh had been in the Double 12 team) with valuable experience.

Once they arrived at Le Mans, PL2 was used only as a practice car, usually in conjunction with one of the race cars, as the team were only insured to have two cars running on track at any one time.

Source: "Georges Roesch and the Invincible Talbot" by Anthony Blight, Part II, Chapter 3

It was a similar situation in 1931 - again two entries, the race cars being registered GO51 and GO53 and the spare - GO54 - being used for all driver training.

ibid Part II, Chapter 11

1932: GO 54 was the race car this year, with GO53 taken for practice only. Although not scrutineered, GO53 ran on the circuit, the drivers apparently using it extensively, while GO54 was rested for the race.

ibid Part II, Chapter 18

Edited by Vitesse2, 23 May 2010 - 14:00.

24 heures du Mans – they made it to town, but not to the start
...

1932:

#? Raymond Sommer / Chrysler (no drivers mentioned)
Did not start. My notes says Chrysler, but Sommer and Luigi Chinetti Snr. won the race overall in an Alfa Romeo! But in 1931 a Sommer-Chrysler retired.

...
Jesper

#4, Raymond Sommer has hired or sold his former Chrysler to Belgian drivers Jean Trasenster and Raymond Laloux. They were not at La Mans but raced at Spa 3 weeks after (early retirement). The car was indeed entered by Raymond Sommer.

Edited by Marc Ceulemans, 23 May 2010 - 16:16.

1925:

#19 ? / Ravel 12 CV Sport (André Guilbert / _ Barra / _ Delhauvenne)
Guilbert suffering a fatal crash during practice and becomes the first casualty of the 24 heures du Mans. The team either withdraws out of respect of the diseased driver or damage to the car was too severe. The sister car #18 starts and finishes although not classified.Why did the #19 entry have three drivers on it, as only two would be allowed to race?
.............................................

the car was really damage, and André GUILBERT died after 4 days in LE MANS hospital.

BARRA-DELHAUVENNE is the name but we don't have his Christian name

1926:

#? Willis-Overland Co. / Overland 93 (no driver mentioned)
Withdrawn due to an accident in practice, but who were the drivers of this entry and what number did it carry? A sister car was numbered #15 with both #14 and #16 being available.
.............................

#16 OVERLAND with HENNEGUET and ALADAME
Accident in practice
No more informations about the christian names of the drivers.


PS : in july during LE MANS CLASSIC a new book (3 in a slip case) will be edit with a lot of new informations.
I think we can found more news ...

Edited by Haine Kane, 24 May 2010 - 07:40.

1927:

None, although the Tracta of Pierre Fenaille and _ Boussod deserves a mention as it crashed on its way to Le Mans. With an arriving sister car #20, #21 taken up by a S.A.R.A, this entry would likely be #19.
.................................

#19 TRACTA Pierre FENAILLE and Eienne BOUSSOT
Accident on the road to LE MANS

1937:

#? unknown team / Rally (no drivers mentioned)
Noted to be a non starter and in the 1.1 catagory but nothing else on this entry.

#43 RALLY driven by Jean BREILLET and AUDEUX
No more information...

Part 2

1949:

#? John Gordon / Lancia Astura (no drivers mentioned)
A ”did not start” is the only reason given.

#37 Amedée Gordini / Simca Gordini T15S (Robert Manzon / Maurice Trintignant)
Another ”did not start”.
....................

1950:

None.
....................

1951:

#47 Porsche A. G. / Porsche 356SL (Rudolph Sauerwein / Robert Brunet)
Accident in practice by Sauerwein.

#? Maurice Faulkner / Aston Martin DB2 (TBA)
Did not qualify/reserve – qualifying wasn't a part of Le Mans by 1951 and wouldn't be so for a decade, so was entry at Le Mans at all?
..................

1952:

#? unknown team / Allard-Cadillac J2X (TBA)
T-car for entries #4 and #5?

#20T Daimler Benz AG / Mercedes-Benz 300SL (Theo Helfrich / Helmut Niedermayr)
T-car.

#21T Daimler Benz AG / Mercedes-Benz 300SL (Hermann Lang / Fritz Riess)
T-car.

#22T Daimler Benz AG / Mercedes-Benz 300SL (Karl Kling / Hans Klenk)
T-car. All in all six 300s at Le Mans during 1952.
............

1953:

By now Janos Wimpffen is part of the research thanks to his ”Time and Two Seats”.

#69 Peter C. T. Clark / Aston Martin DB2 (Peter C. T. Clark / Tom Meyer)
Reserve.

#68 S.P.A. Alfa Romeo / Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM (Antonio Stagnoli / Pietro Palmieri)
Reserve.

#70 Automobili Osca / Osca MT4 (Phil Stiles / Bob Said)
Reserve.

#72 Jean Hébert / Renault 4CV 1063 (Jean Hébert / James Scott / Arthur L. Jones)
Reserve.

#74 Jacques Faucher / Renault 4CV 1063 (Jacques Faucher / Pierre Laine)
Reserve.

#65 René Marchan / Jaguar XK120C (René Marchan / John Simone / Armand Roboly)
Reserve.

#24 Automobiles Gordini / Gordini T24S (Jean Behra / Jean Lucas)
Reserve.

#28 Pegaso / Pegaso Z102 (Juan Jover / Paul Metternich)
Withdrawn after accident in practice.

#29 Pegaso / Pegaso Z102 (Joaquin Palacio Pover / Pablo Julio Reh Cardona / Celso Fernandez)
Withdrawn after accident in practice for the sister entry #28.

#64 Automobiles Talbot / Talbot-Lago T26GS (Jean Blanc)
Withdrawn.

#18T Jaguar Cars Ltd. / Jaguar C (Norman Dewis)
T-car.

11 cars on the side line when le Tricolore fell on Saturday afternoon. How were the reserve entries eliminated from the race?
..................

1954:

#23 Nigel H. Mann / Aston Martin DB3S Mann (Nigel Mann / Charles Brackenbury)
Did not start. No reason given.
..................

1955:

#54 Moretti / Moretti 750S (Lino Fayen / Herman Rogenry)
Gridded too late.

#55 Moretti / Moretti 750S (Giorgio Ubezzi / Mesnest Bellanger)
Gridded too late.

#2 Ecurie Rosier / Talbot-Lago Sport ( Louis Rosier / Georges Grignard)
Did not start. No reason given.

#17 Automobiles Gordini / Gordini T24S ( Robert Manzon / Élie Bayol)
Accident in practice.

#45 Arnott Racing Cars / Arnott Sports (Jim Russell / Peter Taylor)
Accident in practice. This is the Jim Russell of racing school fame?

#70 Société Pierre Ferry / Ferry F750 (Jacques Blanché / Louis Pons)
Reserve.

#72 Automobiles VP / VP 155R Renault (Jean-Marie Dumazer / André Héchard / Jérôme Pourond)
Reserve.

#73 Louis Rosier / Renault 1063 (4CV?) (Jean-Louis Rosier / Jean Estager / Louis Rosier)
Reserve. Saloon cars at the Sarthe circuit was the norm by 1923, but what was the sence in 1955?

#T Aston Martin Ltd. / Aston Martin DB3S (Peter Collins / Paul Frere / Roy Salvadori / Peter Walker)
Did run practice.

#T Jaguar Cars Ltd. / Jaguar D (Mike Hawthorn)
Did run practice. Engine failure.
.....................

1956:

#2 Jaguar Cars Ltd. / Jaguar D (Paul Frere / Desmond Titterington)
Accident in practice.
..............................

1957:

#8 Scuderia Ferrari / Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (Stuart Lewis-Evans / Martino Severi)
This crew finished the race in a fine 5th in what is descriped as #8T. That would make this the supposed race car, that, because of an accident, didn't make the start.

#22 Ecurie Dubonnet / Talbot-Lago Maserati Sport 2500 (Franco Bordini / Georges Burggraff)
Did not start, but no reason given.

#37 Lotus Engineering / Lotus-Climax Eleven (Jay Chamberlain / Herbert Mackay-Fraser / Colin Chapman)
Did not start, but Chamberlain and Mackay-Fraser won the 1.1 litre class in 9th overall. This car reported to be intered in the 1.5 litre catagory.

#T A. C. Cars Ltd. / A. C.-Bristol Ace (Peter Bolton / Ken Rudd)
Did not start and no number given. Likely to have been #31T as Bolton and Rudd finished 10th overall in #31.
....................................................

1958:

#59 Leman / Porsche 550 RS (Heinz Schiller / Claude Tot)
Reserve, did not start.

#60 Automobili Stanguellini / Stanguellini Bialbero (Roger Castelain / Pierre Ros)
Reserve, did not start.

#61 Just-Emile Vernet /V. P.-Renault (Louis Chardin / Michel Heymel)
Reserve, did not start.

#63 Peerless Cars / Peerless GT Coupe (Ian Baillie / Dick Gibson)
Reserve, did not start. Late entries that were waiting on the bench for some one to fail before the race for these entries?
.........................................................

1959:

#58 J. R. Stoop / Lotus-Climax Elite (Douglas Graham / Mike McKee)
Did not start, no reason given.
...............................

1960:

#14 Scuderia Serenissima / Ferrari 250 GT SWB (Fritz D'Orey / Carlo Maria Abate / Gianni Balzarini)
Accident in practice. Who of the three drivers were supposed to step down for the race?

#31 Team Lotus / Lotus-Climax Elite (Innes Ireland / John Whitmore)
Withdrawn along sister car #62.

#62 Team Lotus / Lotus-Climax Elite (Jonathan Sieff / John Whitmore / Christopher Martyn)
Accident by Sieff who suffered for a long time after. Indications are that this is the case of different wheel studs on the spare wheel
.................................

1961:

Practice times recorded, but did not set the grid for another few years, I think.

#44 Equipe Nationale Belge / Fiat-Abarth 1000S (Claude Dubois / Gerard Langlois von Ophem)
Engine given as the reason for non-starting.

#57 Roger Delageneste / Ferrari 250 GT SWB (Roger Delageneste / Pierre Dumay)
Did not start - no reason given.

#61 Cambridge Racing / Austin-Healey 3000 (Jim Clark / Trevor Taylor)
Did not start - no reason given.

#62 Maurice Porthault / Lotus-Climax Elite (Maurice Porthault / Jean Devos)
Did not start - no reason given.

#63 Christian Faucher / BMW 700S (Christian Faucher / J. J. Petit)
Did not start - no reason given.
..............................

1962:

#49 Automobiles René Bonnet / René Bonnet Djet (Robert Bouharde / Jean Vinatier)
Accident.

#64 Sunbeam-Talbot / Sunbeam Alpine (Keith Ballisat / Jack Lewis)
Did not start – no reason given.

#65 TVR Cars / TVR Grantura (Rob Slotemaker / Ted Lund)
Did not start – no reason given.

#68 Guy Flayac / Fiat-Abarth 1000S (Guy Flayac / Georges Alexandrovitch)
Did not start – no reason given.

#70 Panhard & Levassor / C. D.-Panhard (Robert Neyret / Robert Mougin)
Did not start – no reason given.

#47 Lotus Engineering / Lotus-Ford 23 (Jim Clark / Trevor Taylor)
Did not practice.

#48 UTD Laystall Racing Team / Lotus-Climax 23 (Les Leston / Tony Shelly)
Did not practice. Wimpffen has both non-starting Lotuses as rejected (at scrutineering. ..being another source of the four and five stud wheel story?)
...........................

1963:

None.

For 1964 and beyond the grid would be set by qualifying times, which put in another parameter of who raced and who did not. So therefore I'm finishing a second installment of info by 1963. A big thank you to Haine Kane for his contributions, especially pointing out that the 1925 Darra and Delhauvenne were one and the same person.

Jesper

Edited by Jesper O. Hansen, 24 May 2010 - 11:00.

Part 2

1949:

#? John Gordon / Lancia Astura (no drivers mentioned)
A ”did not start” is the only reason given.


...

Jesper

The same car was entered by John Gordon raced at Spa (1948) and in the Mille Miglia (1949). Drivers were John Gordon and D. Lewis. But I have in my notes, X / X (drivers not nominated), do Not start (Lancia Asturia Spider JML 317 entered by J. S. Gordon) and no n° allocated.

Part 2

1949:



#37 Amedée Gordini / Simca Gordini T15S (Robert Manzon / Maurice Trintignant)
Another ”did not start”.
....................

#37 Amedée Gordini / Simca Gordini T15S Pierre VEYRON / Eugène MARTIN

#38 Amedée Gordini / Simca Gordini T15S José SCARON / Yves GIRAUD-CABANTOUS

#39 Amedée Gordini / Simca Gordini T15S Robert MANZON / Maurice TRINTIGNANT

For the 3 GORDINI the reason : not arrived at time to the scrutering

As well as carrying #18, the Jaguar spare car in 1953 also carried #17 at one stage, see this old question.. Same car- different numbers at different times.

(And I still can't scan stuff to show the pictures I referred to)

Edited by D-Type, 24 May 2010 - 16:45.

1964:

#36 Jean-Claude Mosnier / Porsche 904 GTS (André de Cortanze / Jean-Claude Mosnier)
Accident in practice.

#51 Société Automobiles Alpine / Alpine-Renault M63 (Jacques Féret / Jacques Cheinisse / Pierre Orsini)
Accident in practice by Cheinisse.

#66 Lawrence Tune Engineering / Deep Sanderson-BMC 301 (Chris Spender / Gordon Spice / Eamon Donnelly)
Accident (in practice, I presume).

#67 Roland J. Lutz / Elva Coucier (Roland J. Lutz / Richard O'Steen)
Reserve. Does Richard O'Steen have any relations to the 1980s John O'Steen?
..................................

1965:

#56 Abarth France / Fiat-Abarth 1000SP (Claude Ballot-Léna / Frank Ruata)
Did not qualify. Didn't expect to see the Ballot-Léna name in this regard, but there you go.

#34 Porsche System Engineering / Porsche 904/8 (Dieter Glemser / Günther Klass / Peter Nöcker / Gerhard Koch)
Did not practice.

#45 SEC Automobiles CD / CD-Alfa Romeo (Alain Bertaut / André Guilhaudin)
Did not practice. Doing 150 mph with a 1.15 Peugeot in 1964, how fast would a 1.6 Alfa Romeo engine make this little wonder go?
...................................

1966:

#56 Société Auto Alpine / Alpine-Renault M65 (Henri Grandsire / André de Cortanze / Jean-Francois Piot)
Did not qualify. But why three drivers?

#63 Scuderia Bear / Ford GT40 (Richard Holquist)
Accident with Dick Thompson at the White House-section. Bruce Jennings and M. R. J. Wyllie mentioned as drivers, but didn't appear according to Wimpffen. Contacted a Richard Holquist on Facebook, but turned out to not be the person who was at Le Mans in 1966.

#6T Shelby American Inc. / Ford GT40 Mk. II (Ronnie Bucknum / Frank Gardner)
Spare car running in practice.
.......................

1967:

#61 Ecurie Francorchamps / Ferrari 275 GTB/C (Gustave Gosselin / Hughes de Fierlant)
Did not start.

#68 Jean-Claude Hrubon / Hrubon-Renault (Johnny Rives / Jean-Louis Marnet)
Did not start.

#10 Prototipi Bizzarini / Bizzarini GT Strada 5300 (Edgar Berney / Giancarlo Naddeo)
Failed scrutineering. Entered a 2 litre Ferrari engine, but showed up with a 7 litre Chevrolet unit – confirmation of the story would be welcomed!
.........................

1968:

#5 Scuderia Sant Ambroeus / Iso-Chevrolet Rivolta (Giorgio Pianta / Enrico Pinto)
Accident in practice. Pianta was going to head the sporting division of Alfa Romeo in the 1980s and 1990s.

#15 North American Racing Team / Ferrari 275 GTB/2 (Bob Grossman / Edgar Berney)
Illegal wheels, so disqualified. Car entered in the GT catagory so wheel size would have been a concern.

#63 Hubert Giraud / Hrubon-Renault (Philippe Marchesi / Patrick Champain)
Did not start.

#48 Marcos Racing Ltd. / Marcos-Volvo 1800 GT (Jim Marsh / John Quick / Peter Taggart)
Did not start.
.......................

1969:

#16 N.A.R.T. Ferrari 365 GTB/4 (Sam Posey /Bob Grossman)
Accident. Would this be the first appearence of a Daytona at Le Mans?

#58 ASA ESCA / Ford GT40 (Jean-Pierre Hanrioud / Dominique Martin)
Engine.

#61 N.A.R.T. / Ferrari Dino 206S (Robert Mieusset / Ricardo Rodriquez)
Accident.

#53 (or #47?) Unipower Cars / Unipower GT BMC (Piers Forrester / Stanley Robinson)
Did not qualify.

#48 Piper Cars Limited / Piper GT Ford (Tim Lalonde / John Burton)
Did not qualify.

#15 Porsche System Engineering / Porsche 917 LH (Herbert Linge / Brian Redman / Rudi Lins)
Did run practice. A T-car for Porsche.

End of part 3.

Jesper

Many thanks Jesper, for starting this thread!

1924:

None.
..............................

Not true, we find in newspapers this

#26 GEORGES IRAT drive by Maurice ROST and Jean LASALLE crash during practice.

For instance we have no pics about this car.

1925:

We find 3 OMEGA SIX who don't take start, because there were a problem during the practices.

#25 OMEGA SIX (Jacques MARGUERITTE / Louis BONNE)
#26 OMEGA SIX (Roland COTY / Albert CLEMENT)
#27 OMEGA SIX ("SABIPA" / BOYRIVEN)

Thank you for the contributions already posted. Here's Le Mans 1970:

#17 Grand Bahama Racing / Lola-Chevrolet Mk. 3B (Robin ORMES / David PROPHET)
Did not qualify. Recorded a 4:08.5 lap.

#24 Porsche KG Salzburg / Porsche 917K (Hans HERRMANN / Vic ELFORD)
Withdrawn. Likely to be a spare car as Salzburg raced both #23 and #25 with Herrmann and Elford split among the two cars.

#28 Martini International Racing / Porsche 908/02 (Dieter SPOERRY / André de CORTANZE / Rudi LINS)
Withdrawn. Accident in practice.

#39 North American Racing Team / Ferrari 312P Coupé (Tony ADAMOWICZ / Sam POSEY)
Spare car - Posey and Chuck Parsons finished the race but was not classified in the #57 sister car.

#41 Wicky Racing Team / Porsche 911S (Sylvain GARANT / Jean MÉSANGE)
Did not start. With a 4:35.5 qualifying time I'd suspect this was a did not qualify.

#68 Roy Johnson / Chevron-BMW B8 (Erwin BARNES / Roy JOHNSON)
Did not qualify. Recorded a 4:27.4 lap.

Jesper

1971: 49 cars started the 49th qualified in 4:29.0

#45 Claude Laurent / Porsche 911S (Claude LAURENT / Jacques MARCHÉ)
Did not qualify. 4:34.7

#52 Ecurie Léopard / Alpine-Renault A110 1600 (Jacques BOURDON / Maurice NUSSBAUMER)
Did not qualify. 4:40.6

#64 Porsche Kremer Racing Team / Porsche 911S (Claude BUCHET / Jean-Paul AGÉRE)
Did not qualify or withdrawn. 4:49.2

#68 The Paul Watson Racing Organisation / Porsche 911S (John CHATHAM / Mike COOMBE)
Did not qualify and/or accident in practice? 4:35.4
........................................................

1972: 55th and last on the grid qualified in 4:53.8

#26 Veglia GRAC Racing / Grac-Ford MT16 (Lionel NOGHÉS / Robert CYPRIEN)
Did not start due to accident in practice. 4:30.4

#43 Jean Mésange / Porsche 911S (Jean MÉSANGE / "GEDEHEM")
Did not qualify. 4:48.9

#47 Motor Racing Facilities Ltd. / Datsun 240Z (Robert GRANT / Martin BIRRANE)
Did not qualify. 5:00.2

#51 Wicky Racing Team / Porsche 911S (Juan DIEZ / Jean-Pierre AESCHLIMANN)
Did not qualify. 5:02.7

#55 A.G.A.C.I. / Citroën SM (Guy VERRIER / Gérard FOUCAULT)
Did not qualify. 5:11.2

#61 Wicky Racing Team / Porsche 908/02 (Walter BRUN / Max COHEN-OLIVAR / André WICKY)
Did not start because of wheel - what ever that means? Qualified in 4:29.0

#64 Scuderia Filipinetti / Lola-Ford T290 (Jacques COCHET / Dominique MARTIN / Gérard PILLON)
Did not qualify. 4:43.0

#73 Scuderia Brescia Corse / De Tomaso Pantera (Mario CASONI / "PAM")
Did not qualify. 4:49.1. "Pam" being Marsilio Pasotti to my notes. Car also said to be driven Enrico Pasolini and Gianpiero Moretti.

#78 Jean Sage / Porsche 911S (Jean SAGE / Pierre GREUB)
Did not start, no reason given. Qualifying time 4:38.3

#82 Claude BUCHET / Ford Capri RS2600 (Claude BUCHET / Joël BONNEMAISON)
Did not qualify. 5:07.8

#85 Société Darnval / Taydec-Ford Mk. 2 (J.-Daniel JAKUBOWSKI / Peter SCHWIETZER)
Did not qualify. 4:42.7

Some of the supposed DNQs qualified faster than some of the 55 that did start, but supposed 2nd and 3rd drivers might not have been fast enough.

Jesper

1973:

Six non-starters of which five recorded a time.

#57 Christian Poirot / Porsche 908/02 (Christian POIROT / Jean RONDEAU / Jürgen BARTH)
Second appearence of Rondeau at Le Mans - he retired from the race the previous year. For Barth it was his third appearence, having finished the race the previous two years. DNQ 4:31.0

#65 Michel Elkoubi / ACE-Ford PB2 (Massimo MARTINO / TBA)
Recorded no time during qualifying and I don't know if this car was even taken to the track it self. Yves Martin and Ugo Locatelli listed as drivers but apparently didn't appear.

#66 Promoto Racing Services / Chevron-Ford B21 (Brian ROBINSON / José URIARTE / Hervé LeGUELLEC)
DNQ 4:14.3 - fast enough to have been 17th on the grid, second among the 2.0 litre sports cars!

#68 John Greenwood / Chevrolet Corvette (Ron GRABLE / Jim GREENDYKE / Don YENKO)
Didn't know that Yenko held a racing license. DNQ 4:30.8

#75 Porsche Club Romand / Porsche Carrera RSR (Pierre GREUB / Paul KELLER)
DNQ 4:54.6

#84 Louis Meznarie / Porsche Carrera RS (Jean-Claude BOUCHER / Daniel GUERIN / Didier JAUNET)
DNQ 4:35.8

Jesper

Edited by Jesper O. Hansen, 27 May 2010 - 06:15.

1974:

Only one car not making the grid in 1974 - obviously the OPEC fuel crisis was feld.

#98 Claude Buchet / Mazda RX-3 (Claude BUCHET / Jean-Paul AGÉRE / Fred CANAL)
DNQ 4:50.6

Jesper

Can we go back to 1966.

What is the white GT40 on the front of the Alan Mann transporter. The 'Formula 2' website indicates that there was a #32 GT40 with the 4.7 litre engine entered by Alan Mann racing which was a Reserve Entry, though the car pictured below doesn't appear to carry a race number.



Does anyone have any further pictures of this GT40 and did it ever make it onto the track ?

Please go all over the place, Jager - I'm simply listing the arrived non-starters and speculating/asking why they didn't start.

Interesting picture as it does indicate a third Alan Mann car was present at Le Mans 1966. I haven't found any reference to it even though I recently spend some time on 1966 particularly. Of the cars I have knowledge of was present, the #15 Ford France GT40 Mk. I would be the best bet being white with a dark stripe below the doors. Don't know which team or person prepared and ran that car? The #59 and #60 Essex Wire Mk. Is were predominantly white too, but wouldn't they have arrived seperately from the Alan Mann cars? Except for the Essex Wire cars all other GT40 seemed to have been differently coloured, so my best bet would be the Ford France GT40 are the third car pictured.

Alan Mann listed for three non-appearing cars of which at least two did the April test session with #15 and #16.

Forgot to link to this site for picture references: http://www.lemans-hi...as.php?ano=1966

Jesper

Edited by Jesper O. Hansen, 27 May 2010 - 18:03.

1975: 15 entries either withdrawn or not qualified. Wimpffen reports that cars had to prove they could cover 20 laps on a tank of fuel even during qualifying. Did any team get excluded on this ground and prevented from starting?
In general 1975 looks to be one of the most low-key Le Mans races ever held.

#2 Ecuador Marlboro Team / Porsche 908/02 (Lothar RANFT / Guillermo ORTEGA)
DNQ 4:25.2

#17 North American Racing Team / Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 (Giancarlo GAGLIARDI / Harley CLUXTON)
DNQ 4:32.9

#33 Jean-Louis Gama / GLD-Porsche (Jean-Louis GAMA / Franc LECLERCQ / _ DENEULIN)
DNQ 5:55.9

#34 Paul Rilly / Lamborghini 400 GT (Paul RILLY / Roger LE VEVE)
DNQ 5:28.0

#39 Michel Lateste / Sederap-Ford (Michel LATESTE / "SEDERAP")
DNQ 5:05.1

#45 North American Racing Team / Ferrari 365 GTB/4 (Carlo FACETTI / Ronnie BUCKNUM)
Qualified 18th in 4:17.3 but withdrawn in protest over #17 not allowed to start.

#46 North American Racing Team / Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Spyder (Jean-Pierre MALCHER / Patrick LANGLOIS / Carlo FACETTI)
Qualified 44th in 4:31.8 but withdrawn in protest over #17 not allowed to start.

#54 Angelo Pallavicini / Porsche Carrera RS (Angelo PALLAVICINI / Marco VANOLI)
DNQ 4:36.7

#62 Escuderia Montjuich / Porsche Carrera RSR (Claude HALDI / Juan FERNANDEZ / Francisco PEREZ / _ CHIRIBAGA)
Qualified in 17th in 4:17.2 but did not start due to accident.

#70 Les Maisons de Week-End / Porsche Carrera RS (Jean-Louis RAVENEL / Jacky RAVENEL / Dany WAUTERS)
DNQ 4:37.2

#73 Thierry Perrier / Porsche 911S (Thierry PERRIER / Jean BELLIARD)
DNQ 4:45.3. As late as 2009 Perrier and his Perspective Racing ran the Racing for Asia Porsche in the GT2 catagory.

#75 Wicky Racing Team / De Tomaso Pantera (André WICKY / José THIBAULT / Elio COGO / Philippe CARRON)
DNQ 4:53.0

#89 Michel Guicherd / Chrysler Hemicuda (Michel GUICHERD / Jean-Claude GÉRAL / Christian AVRIL)
DNQ 5:15.4

#94 Shark Team / Ford Capri RS (Christian GOUTTEPIFRE / Jean-Pierre BODIN)
DNQ 4:48.3

#99 North American Racing Team / Ferrari 365 GT4/BB (Lucien GUITTENY / Jacky HARAN / Ronnie BUCKNUM / Carlo FACETTI / Giancarlo GAGLIARDI)
Qualified 40th in 4:30.0 but withdrawn in protest over #17 not allowed to start.

Jesper

1976:

#1T Inaltéra / Inaltera-Ford (Jean RONDEAU / Jean-Pierre JAUSSAUD / Christine BECKERS)
DNS. Reported to have run in practice, but no qualifying time recorded. Intended as T-car only.

#8 Team Warsteiner R. T. S. / Toj-Ford SC301 (Heinz SCHULTHESS / Jean-Claude LAGNIEZ / Max ANTICHAN)
DNQ, no time recorded. How much driving did this car do, if any?

#19T Renault Sport / Alpine-Renault A442 (Jean-Pierre JABOUILLE / Patrick TAMBAY / José DOLHEM)
DNS. Reported to have run in practice, but no qualifying time recorded. Intended as T-car only.

#
25 Team Warsteiner R. T. S. / Toj-Chrysler SC204 (Jacques MARQUET / Corinne KOPPENHAGUE / Jacky HARAN)
DNQ, 5:14.0.

#72 Paul Rilly / Porsche Carrera RSR (Paul RILLY / Roger LE VEVE)
Failed scrutineering, car entered in the GT catagory (Group 4), but for some reason not moved to the Group 5 or IMSA GTX catagory, which was not uncommen at the time, I believe.

#82 Wicky Racing Team - M. Delalande / Jacques MARCHÉ / Martial DELALANDE / Max COHEN-OLIVAR)
Qualified for 53rd spot on the grid with a 4:36.4, but for some reason didn't take the start.

Jesper

1977: Seven entries failed to make the start this year.

#6 Alain de Cadenet or Dorset Racing / De Cadenet Lola T380 Ford (Richard BOND / Simon PHILLIPS / Tony BIRCHENHOUGH)
On the reserve list for the grid with a 4:20.4. Likely DNQ

#20 Daniel Brillat-Seymaz Racing / Cheetah-BMW G601 (Daniel BRILLAT / Eric VUAGNAT / Sandro PLASTINA)
Recorded to be a DNS with no time recorded. This car likely didn't enter the circuit at any point during the week.

#27 Société R.O.C. / Chevron-Chrysler B36 (Jean-Louis BOS / Fred STALDER / Jacky HARAN)
DNQ with a 4:20.4 - similar time to #6.

#43 Louis Meznarie / Porsche Carrera RSR (Thierry SABINE / Jean BÉLIN)
DNQ with a 4:31.6. Think Paris-Dakar was still a few years into the future for Sabine.

#66 Segolen / Porsche 934 (Christian BUSSI / "SEGOLEN")
DNQ with a 4:32.4.

#73 Maurice Ouviére / Porsche Carrera RS (Philippe JAFFRENOU / Roger DORCHY / Philippe STREIFF)
DNQ with a 4:28.9

#84 Jean-Louis Chateau / Porsche 935 (Jean-Louis CHATEAU / "JIHEMDÉ" / J. Marc TRANCHANT)
Withdrawn for unknown reason, but did qualify for 36th on the grid and thus promoted one of the reserves for the race.

Jesper

Can we go back to 1966.

What is the white GT40 on the front of the Alan Mann transporter. The 'Formula 2' website indicates that there was a #32 GT40 with the 4.7 litre engine entered by Alan Mann racing which was a Reserve Entry, though the car pictured below doesn't appear to carry a race number.



Does anyone have any further pictures of this GT40 and did it ever make it onto the track ?

By second considerations the situation could be reverse. Are the cars loadad on the truck Sunday afternoon? Acquisition made during the week?

Jesper

1978:

#9 Alain de Cadenet / De Cadenet Lola LM-Ford Cosworth (John C. COOPER / Bob EVANS / Pete LOVETT)
DNQ with a 3:52.9

#14 BP Racing / Toj SC303-Ford Cosworth (Guy CHASSEUIL / Hubert STRIEBIG)
DNQ with a 4:14.8

#22 Agence Locomotiv / Lola T296/7-Chrysler ROC (Anna CAMBIAGHI / Pascuale GUERIE / Martine RÉNIER)
DNQ with a 4:27.8

#33 Cloud Engineering Ltd. - Dorset Racing / Lola T294S-Ford (Richard DOWN / Bob EVANS)
Accident in practice suggest that the entry was withdrawn, but no time mentioned!?

#40 AMG Motorenbau GMbH / Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC (Hans HEYER / Clemens SCHICKENTANZ)
DNQ with a 4:26.1

#60 Meccarillos-Cégécol / Porsche 934 (Simon DE LAUTOUR / Gérard BLEYNIE / Roland ENNEQUIN)
DNQ, no time recorded during qualifying.

#63 Christian Gouttepifre / Porsche Carrera RS (Christian GOUTTEPIFRE / Raymond TOUROUL / Robert BOUBET)
DNQ, no time recorded. Reported to have been disqualified for an illegal engine - car entered in the Group 4 under 3000 cc class. What was this DSQ about?

#73 Bernard Décure / Alpine-Renault A310 (Guy de SAINT-PIERRE / Marcel MIGNOT)
DNQ with a 4:34.4

#96 Garage du Bac / BMW 3.5 CSL (Alain CUDINI / Pierre DIEDONNÉ)
DNQ with a 4:25.3. An otherwise crack driver combination for its time, but the team or car not up to the job?

#98 Thierry Perrier / Porsche Carrera (Jean BELLIARD / Thierry PERRIER)
DNQ with a 4:23.5

Motorsport.com has some stunning photos of the event: http://www.motorspor...y_scrutineering

Jesper

Edited by Jesper O. Hansen, 30 May 2010 - 09:39.

1931

"#15 Soc. Anon. Alfa Romeo / Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM (Ferdinando Minoia / Giuseppe Campari)
Failed to start due to a broken engine in practice. Would this have been an Enzo Ferrari managed entry? What does the entry name actually stands for?"

Societe Anonyma, Ltd in English, AG in German, AB in Swedish and A/S in Danish.

Kind regards
Stefan

By second considerations the situation could be reverse. Are the cars loadad on the truck Sunday afternoon? Acquisition made during the week?

Jesper

I think the cars are too clean an too perfect for this picture to have been taken after the race and believe it must be when the cars first arrived.

Can we go back to 1966.

What is the white GT40 on the front of the Alan Mann transporter. The 'Formula 2' website indicates that there was a #32 GT40 with the 4.7 litre engine entered by Alan Mann racing which was a Reserve Entry, though the car pictured below doesn't appear to carry a race number.



Does anyone have any further pictures of this GT40 and did it ever make it onto the track ?

GT40 1012 Alan Mann at Spa in may,for spare at Le Mans in june.

GT40 1012 Alan Mann at Spa in may,for spare at Le Mans in june.

So another car could be added to the 1966 race. Did 1012 run during practice, and if so by whom?

Jesper

1931

"#15 Soc. Anon. Alfa Romeo / Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM (Ferdinando Minoia / Giuseppe Campari)
Failed to start due to a broken engine in practice. Would this have been an Enzo Ferrari managed entry? What does the entry name actually stands for?"

Societe Anonyma, Ltd in English, AG in German, AB in Swedish and A/S in Danish.

Kind regards
Stefan

Thanks for your reply, Stefan. Asked because I haven't noticed the title before. Probably an oversight by me.

Jesper

Thanks for your reply, Stefan. Asked because I haven't noticed the title before. Probably an oversight by me.

Jesper

I.m sure they were required as part of the "road equipment" along with horns and hoods

1979:

#16 March Racing / March-BMW M1 (Guy EDWARDS / Ian GROB / Dieter QUESTER)
DNQ, 3:59.39

#21 Labretta S.A.F.D. / Lola T296 ROC (Francois CALMELS / Renaud LAVERRE / Patrice LENORMAND)
DNQ, 4:25.99

#30 A.S.A. Cachia - Francois Migault / Lola T296 ROC (Pascal FOIX / Michel BIENVAULT / Murray SMITH)
Did not practice, no time

#77 Mazda Auto Tokyo Co. Ltd. / Mazda RX-7 252i (Tetsu IKUZAWA / Yojiro TERADA / Claude BUCHET)
DNQ, 4:18.88. This entry was the sole car in the IMSA 2.5 litre class (IMSA GTU?) but being fastest in class was not enough to be granted a spot on the grid.

#80 Ecurie des 13 Etoiles / Porsche 930 (Antoine SALAMIN / Gérard VIAL / Philippe COLLET)
DNQ, 4:35.25 ("Team of 13 stars" according to Google translation)

Jesper

1980:

#10 Ian Bracey / Ibec P6 - Ford-Cosworth (Tiff NEEDELL / Tony TRIMMER)
DNQ 3:53.7

#11 Nick Faure / De Cadenet Lola LM - Ford-Cosworth (Bernard de DRYVER / Nick FAURE / Richard JONES)
DNQ 3:56.7

#21 Racing Fan's - Walter Wolf Racing / Cheetah G601 - Ford-Cermec (Sandro PLASTINA / Mario LUINI / Marc FRISCHKNECHT)
DNQ 4:17.2

#26 Patrice Gaulupeau / Lola T298 - BMW (Michel LATESTE / Patrice LENORMAND / Jacques TERRIEN)
DNQ 4:22.9

#30 Jean-Marie Lemerle / Lola T298 - Chrysler-ROC (Jean-Marie LEMERLE / Max COHEN-OLIVAR)
DNQ 4:52.7

#40 Janspeed/ADA - TR Register / Triumph TR8 Turbo (John SHELDON / Ian HARROWER / John BRINDLEY)
DNQ 4:37.1

#74 Luigi Chinetti Sr. (NART) / Ferrari 512 BB (Preston HENN / Jean-Pierre DELAUNAY)
DNS 4:16.6 Engine in practice.

#81 Alpha Cubic Dome / Toyota Celica Turbo (Nobuhide TACHI / Fumiyasu SATO)
DNQ 4:27.9

#87 All Canadian Racing / Chevrolet Camaro (Maurice CARTER / Murray EDWARDS / Richard VALENTINE)
DNQ 4:16.8. Sister team to #88?

#88 Douglas Rowe / Chevrolet Corvette (Jacques BIENVENUE / Bill ADAM / Douglas J. ROWE)
DNQ 4:22.6. Sister team to #87?

................................................................................
.............

1981:

#6 WM A.E.R.E.M. / WM P79/80 - Peugeot (Denis MORIN / Charles MENDEZ)
Did not run in practice. Morin and Mendez shared #4 with Xavier Mathiot to finish 13th, so #6 probably entered as a spare car.

#16 Max Sardou / Ardex S80 - BMW (Michel LATESTE / Patrick PERRIER)
DNQ 4:05.02

#17 Cooke-Woods Racing / Lola T600 - Porsche (Bobby RAHAL / Brian REDMAN)
DNQ 4:18.30

#39 Z & W Enterprises Inc. / Mazda RX-7 (Dirk VERMEERSCH / Fred STIFF / Ray RATCLIFF / Pierre HONEGGER)
DNQ 4:21.97. Don't know who was the intended surplus driver, as only three would have been allowed to start.

#62 Segolen / Porsche 935 (Jacques GUERIN / "SEGOLEN" / Christian BUSSI)
DNQ 4:03.89

#74 Porsche Cars Australia / Porsche 924 Carrera GTR (Colin BOND / Peter BROCK / Jim RICHARDS)
DNQ 4:24.95

#75 Porsche System Canon / Porsche 924 Carrera GTR (Tony DRON / Richard LLOYD)
DNQ 4:20.01

#90 Z & W Enterprises Inc. / McLaren M12 GT - Chevrolet (Hervé REGOUT / Michel ELKOUBI / Bernard de DRYVER / Paul CANARY)
DNQ 5:13.06. This entry has been covered somewhere on this site.

Jesper

1966:

#63 Scuderia Bear / Ford GT40 (Richard Holquist)
Accident with Dick Thompson at the White House-section. Bruce Jennings and M. R. J. Wyllie mentioned as drivers, but didn't appear according to Wimpffen. Contacted a Richard Holquist on Facebook, but turned out to not be the person who was at Le Mans in 1966.

Just received a copy of Quentin Spurrings "Le Mans The Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race 1960-1969" - still only hours old in my glowing hands! The book has an article about this entry that repeats other sources that Richard Holquist was quite slow in this mount during practice. Entrant Bill McKelvy then complained to John Wyer that he had been delivered a Monday car to which Wyer replied by putting in Innes Ireland, who cut almost a minute off of the laptimes of Holquist. This does mean that at least two drivers practiced this car, but Ireland was never supposed to be driving this car, so it still leaves the question of who was to be second to Holquist in this entry?

Martin Krejzi has a notion of Ford GT40-1029 being crashed. According to Spurring the practice crash at "Maison Blanche/White House" Le Mans '66 was the defining moment. Spurring adds that the remains were send back to FAV (Ford Advanced Vechiles (GB?) and subsequently scrapped. From the picture I've seen - French AutoDiva forum? - the car looked second hand and beyond.

Jesper

Edited by Jesper O. Hansen, 04 June 2010 - 21:01.

Bruce Jennings and Allan Wylie, according to Wimpffen, Jennings drove with Holquist at Sebring so that ties in.

Bruce Jennings and Allan Wylie, according to Wimpffen, Jennings drove with Holquist at Sebring so that ties in.

From how I read the TATS of Wimpfen, Jennings and Wylie were entered but didn't arrive. So, what was the original idea of entrant Bill McKelvy and Scuderia Bear? From what faint I know of Jennings' records, he should have been able to post a reasonable time, if he was present.

Jesper

Edited by Jesper O. Hansen, 04 June 2010 - 21:32.

Did he get the chance to though? Or did it get written off first?

Did he get the chance to though? Or did it get written off first?

Who, in the first place, and .. don't know? Ireland supposud to be in this somehow..

Jesper

I got the impression that Holquist tried it, complained it was slow, Ireland went out, showed it was really the driver that was slow, Holquist went out again, had the accident with Dr Thompson, and that was it. So the other driver(s) never got a shot.