24h Le Mans
Fifty years ago, Ferrari won its ninth victory at Le Mans, the last to date. The thirteen drivers that contributed to that impressive record made their mark on the 24-hour race and on motorsport in general.
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Victorious in its debut in 1949, the year the race recommenced after WW2, Ferrari rapidly became a distinctive feature of the 24 hours of Le Mans. With nine wins in sixteen years, including six consecutive wins from 1960-65, the prancing horse set a record that was not broken until the mid eighties, by Porsche.
Luigi Chinetti – As driver, alongside Lord Selsdon, he gave Ferrari its first win at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1949—and in 1965, as owner of the North American Racing Team 1965, its ninth win and last to date.
Maurice Trintignant – The only French driver to have won the Le Mans 24 Hours (1954) and the Monaco Grand Prix (1955), both in a Ferrari.
Jose Froilan Gonzalez – Maurice Trintignant’s teammate in 1954, he also drove Ferrari to victory in Formula 1, at the 1951 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Olivier Gendebien – At the wheel of a Ferrari, he set the record for the number of wins at Le Mans (1958,60,61 and 62). Jacky Ickx equalled the record in 1977 and broke it in 1981.
Phil Hill – Hill won Le Mans three times with Olivier Gendebien (1958,61 and 62). In 1961 he became the only driver ever to have won the Le Mans 24 Hours and the F1 World Drivers Championship in the same year, both with Ferrari.
Paul Frère – Having won in 1960 with Olivier Gendebien, Paul Frère retired from racing immediately afterwards to concentrate on his new career as a journalist. He remained a figure of the Le Mans 24 Hours press room until he died in 2008.
Ludovico Scarfiotti & Lorenzo Bandini – The 1963 winners are the only Italian pair to have won the Le Mans 24 Hours in a Ferrari.
Nino Vaccarella & Jean Guichet – The Sicilian and the Frenchman were the ultimate gentlemen drivers. When they won Le Mans, Vaccarella was a maths teacher in Palermo and Guichet ran a ship-building business in Marseille.
Jochen Rindt – He gave Ferrari its last victory at Le Mans, sharing the car with Masten Gregory. After Phil Hill, he was the second Ferrari driver to win the Formula 1 Drivers Championship, with Lotus in 1970.
The 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours will take place on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June 2015.
Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO Translated by Emma Paulay
Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, LE MANS 24 HOURS, SATURDAY 23 & SUNDAY 24 JUNE 1962. Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill were the most successful Ferrari drivers at Mans, winning three times (in 1958, 61 and 62) out of a total nine for Ferrari.
