24h Le Mans
An epic technological story, but also a human one!
Audi caused a sensation by introducing its V10 TDI in 2006. Yet it was more than half a century after the appearance of diesel technology in the 24 Hours of Le Mans ! Back then a technological and human epic adventure.
In 1998, BMW lit the touch paper by winning the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring with a 320d Sedan. The explosion occurred a few years later , with a resounding victory for Audi at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was followed by a tidal wave of diesel engines in motor sport ( in WTCC with Seat , Volkswagen at the Dakar Rally) . Yet history is often forgotten, in that it was a small craftsman who had introduced the technology of " compression ignition " from the immediate postwar (1939-45) years .
Since its invention in the late nineteenth century , diesel technology was confined to industrial or agricultural uses (locomotives , boats, trucks , tractors ,etc.) . But two brothers , Jean and Jacques Delettrez , had the intuition that it could be competitive in racing . For the 1949 edition, they lined up a strange chassis with bodywork by Delage and driven by a curious 6-cylinder inline diesel 4.4 litre engine giving 70 horsepower .
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| Delettrez in 1949 | MAP at Le Mans - 1950 | Audi R10 TDI - 2006 |
| 1949 | The first attempt of the French brothers ended after 1660 km with a fault ... for the diesel - it does just not happen! Jacques Delettrez, out of fuel, however, managed to reach the pits by using the starter motor but unfortunately it completely drained the battery. The following year, the same starter motor exploded after being pressed by mistake while the engine was running ... Really! |
| 1950 | The promising experience of Delettrez encouraged the company "Manufacture d'Armes de Paris" to embark on an adventure. The innovative MAP marked the first engagement of a mid-engined car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Maybe too revolutionary, it was self driven by the famous Pierre Veyron and also Francois Lacour, but Veyron abandoned it (with a pierced radiator) after traveling 526 km. |
| 1951 |
The last appearance of the Delettrez brothers sounded the death knell of diesel at Le Mans. With a best lap of 2 minutes slower than the Jaguar XK120C of Stirling Moss and an early abandonment after 24 laps, with broken valves, the experience would not encourage future initiatives, either by its competitiveness or by its reliability. We would have to wait until 2004 to see a new page being turned with a private entry from Taurus Sports Racing with a Lola B2K/10-Caterpillar powered by a VW Touareg V10 TDI. |
