LE MANS ❘ FRENCH GREATS


This year celebrates the centenary of one of the world’s most famous motor races, 24 Heures du Mans. Dominic Bliss visits Le Mans to fi nd out why this sports event is so central to the city’s culture


LE MANS 24 HOURS I


From left: A race poster from 1958; Le Mans 1956’s winning D-type Jaguar


Jun/Jul 2023 FRANCE TODAY ❘ 45


t was the ultimate hare and tortoise race. When Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx achieved the fi rst of his six 24 Heures du Mans victories in 1969, his car might not have been the fastest on the track, but it was defi nitely one of the most reliable.


The race is remembered as much for its start as its


fi nish. This was a time when drivers used to embark on their long race by sprinting on foot across the track, leaping into their seats and zooming off at top speed. The ever-cool Ickx was having none of that. As a protest against this highly dangerous start format, he instead ambled slowly across the track, sat down leisurely in his blue and orange Ford GT40 and carefully buckled up his safety belt. By the time he had pulled off the grid, all the other competitors were far ahead of him. And his protest was quickly vindicated in the most tragic way as, just minutes later, British driver John Woolfe fl ipped his Porsche 917 and crashed fatally on the opening lap. The amateur driver, it turned out, wasn’t buckled in properly.


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100 years of speed


IMAGES © ALAMY, JAGUAR HERITAGE


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