24h Le Mans
24 HOURS CENTENARY – THE LE MANS EXCEPTION ⎮ Cars on the track are recognisable by their shape, but primarily by their unique liveries, the most immediate reference point for every type of spectator, die-hard fan or not. Here are a few standouts that will most likely serve as inspiration for next year's centenary running.
For a long while at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the decoration of cars was monochromatic, referencing the country of origin for factory teams: red for Italy, blue for France, yellow for Belgium, etc. Some touches of colour have managed to make their mark though, like British Racing Green. Other teams chose signature colours, such as the midnight blue with white horizontal stripe on Ecurie Ecosse's Jaguar Type D that won the race in 1956 and 1957.
A major change in the history of racing happened in 1968 with the authorisation of outside sponsorship by companies whose main activity was not related to motorsport. That year, a certain livery hit the perfect note: Gulf Oil's sky blue and orange design on the Ford GT40s of Pedro Rodríguez/Lucien Bianchi and Jacky Ickx/Jackie Oliver, winners in 1968 and 1969 respectively.
In 1970 and 1971, the Porsche 917 became an icon at the 24 Hours thanks to its success and its liveries. In addition to the Gulf decoration on John Wyer's cars, the mauve and green with white facings of Gérard Larrousse/Willi Kauhsen's car (second in 1970) instantly reached cult status for enthusiasts and modellers. Not to mention the characteristic stylized flames around the headlights on the 917 of winners Richard Attwood/Hans Herrmann entered by Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg.
In 1971, Kauhsen shared a 917 with Reinhold Joest that sported a design in honour of the local region known for rillettes in the form of a pink livery with dotted lines representing the different parts of a pig. Its nickname "pink pig" is still used today. Porsche even made reference to it many years later, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
These pioneering decorations often include a peppering of advertising stickers representing sponsors, sometimes without any real concern for aesthetic coherence. But, national colours still shine through: winners in 1972, 1973 and 1974, the Matra prototypes are memorable as much by the intoxicating sound of their V12s as by the blue of France, a colour sported proudly by Signatech Alpine.
With a fondness for motorsport traditions and historical references, Great Britain remains proud of its British Racing Green, the colour Bentley chose for its return to Le Mans in the early 2000s, leading to victory for Tom Kristensen/Dindo Capello/Guy Smith in 2003.
Let's not forget Italian red, which over time has become the classic Rosso Corsa, Ferrari's competition red, the colour that will naturally represent the marque for its entry into the Hypercar class in 2023.
The decoration of cars is an integral part of the marketing of a team, amplified by the development of social media, as explained by graphic designer Gaazmaster who has created several liveries for the LMP2 class: "There are two types of teams these days: those with a large budget and few sponsors, where everything revolves around a single logo, and those with multiple sponsors. Each one has its own demands, as do the teams, especially those with historical colours that must be preserved. They all want the highest degree of visibility within an attractive livery that is immediately identifiable from afar."
Among the most distinctive and recognisable team colours is the green of Henri Pescarolo's helmet, carried over to his cars. Another example: the chequered flag design on driver, team owner and previous 24 Hours winner Jan Lammers' Dome prototypes in the early 2000s: "I thought of that chequered flag decoration out of desperation during a flight back to the Netherlands from Japan. We had lost our main sponsor and our involvement in the 24 Hours almost stopped before it even got started. I was a driver, team manager and so-called financial director all at the same time, but my marketing and management skills were limited. The irony of the story is that despite our difficulties, people loved the livery!"
Livery design sometimes focuses on historical reference, as was the case for Porsche in 2018. In celebration of its 70th anniversary, the German manufacturer adopted the "pink pig" livery from 1971 for the factory 911 that ended up winning the LMGTE Pro class thanks to Michael Christensen/Kévin Estre/Laurens Vanthoor. Also in 2018, Ford decorated its GTs in the liveries that won in 1966 and 1967 at the peak of the duel between the American marque and Ferrari at Le Mans.
In recent years, the 24 Hours has been the subject of special decorations in all the classes, for example the Risi Competizione team called upon the Superior School of Applied Arts and Crafts of Paris for the design of its LMGTE Pro car in 2019.
Surely the prospect of the 24 Hours Centenary next year will kickstart the imagination of graphic designers and marketing managers in creating exciting commemorative and vintage-inspired liveries for the occasion. Ferrari has already decided to base the decoration for its Hypercar 499P on that of the 1973 312 PB, the last factory prototype fielded by the Italian marque at the 24 Hours. Here is to plenty of surprises in store next June!
PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO Archives): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. From top to bottom: the 1971 Gulf livery (sky blue body, orange roof) on the #17 Porsche 917 of Jo Siffert/Derek Bell that is now a part of the 24 Hours Museum collection; Gérard Larrousse/Willi Kauhsen's mauve #3 917 in 1970 with green spray paint added the day before the race in the white areas; white and red were joined to blue to represent the French national flag on the 2022 Alpine; the chequerboard livery on the Dome fielded by Jan Lammers' team, a regular in the top 10 in the early 2000s (8th in 2002, 6th in 2003, 7th in 2004 and 2005); the first pink version 1971 Porsche 917 (before the addition in German of various parts of a pig) then the 2018 design on the winning 911 in LMGTE Pro; the livery of the Ferrari entered by Risi Competizione in 2019 designed by the School of Applied Arts in Paris.
