During the first half of the 1970s, Matra's saga at Le Mans drew the French public's enthusiasm, and made Henri Pescarolo the only French driver to have won three times in a row (1972-1973-1974). Ten years later he joined Belgian driver Olivier Gendebien and became a four-time winner, that time in a Porsche 956. Thereafter, Yannick Dalmas was exceptionally successful throughout the 1990s, himself winning four victories, and with four different cars: Peugeot 905 (1992), Dauer-Porsche 962 LM (1994), McLaren F1 GTR (1996) and BMW V12 LMR (1999).

During that period and also in the 2000s, Pescarolo, as a driver then outfit owner, gave a new French generation opportunities. Among them, Benoît Tréluyer has become, with Audi, one of the major players in endurance today, with three wins at the 24 Hours (2011-2012-2014). He is on the cusp of matching his mentor. "Overall, former Pescarolo Sport drivers haven't done too bad for themselves career-wise, Tréluyer said with a smile in 2011, a few days after having won at Le Mans for the first time. He didn't hesitate in pushing me to go with Audi...And had I been a constructor, I would not have hesitated to entrust him with a car because he achieves a lot with modest means!" Great recognition for a living legend of French motorsports from one of his most brilliant successors.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 17 1984, PODIUM. Victorious at the wheel of a Porsche 956 entered by Reinhold Joest (center), Henri Pescarolo (at right) and Klaus Ludwig (at left) made up the last two-person driver line-up to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.