In the early sixties Ferrari dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Belgian driver Olivier Gendebien won in 1960 with Paul Frère and in 1961 and 1962 with Phil Hill. Jean-Marc Teissèdre was introduced to the race at around that time. However, he preferred another Italian, the Maserati Tipo 151, the successor to the “Birdcage”, which got its nickname from its tubular chassis.

Jean-Marc Teissèdre: I was thirteen years old in 1962 and I watched Le Mans in black and white. In the sixties, you would listen to the race on the radio and catch a few glimpses on the television. To me, Le Mans wasn’t about Ferrari winning all the time. I only had eyes for Maserati. I found the unusual Birdcage design rather surprising but I loved the aggressive style of the Tipo 151. It was a great car yet, alas, it never got anywhere at Le Mans. The strangest thing is that I researched the car very thoroughly but I had never actually seen one up close until recently, in a classic car race in Le Mans. It was driven by Derek Hill, Phil Hill’s son.

Maserati was part of the line-up from 1954 to 1965. The car's best result was Augie Pabst’s and Richard Thompson’s fourth place in 1961.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO         Translated from French by Emma Paulay

Photo: D.R. - ARCHIVES ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY 23 & SUNDAY 24 JUNE 1962. Three Maserati Tipo 151s were entered for the 24 Hours in 1962. The number 2 was driven by Bruce McLaren who went on to win the race with Ford in 1966.