The 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 27th 24 Hours of Le Mans, Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 20 and 21 June 1959, on Circuit de la Sarthe. It was also the fourth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. The prospect of an exciting duel between Ferrari, Aston Martin and giantkillers Porsche was enough to draw large crowds and some 150,000 spectators gathered for France's classic sports car race, around the 8.38-mile course.

Aston Martin finally achieved the coveted outright win, doing it with a 1-2 finish. The marque had first entered the Le Mans race in 1928, running every race since 1931Clausager 1982, p.106 and had finished second three times and third twice before this victory.

Regulations Significant changes occurred with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) regulations this year. The FIA had issued its revamped and revised Appendix J rules for Grand Touring (GT) cars and the ACO followed other endurance races and opened its entry-list to the GT categories for the first time.

Each GT model had to have a minimum production run of 100 cars over 12 consecutive months.Spurring 2011, p.340 Those not meeting those requirements were put into the Sports Prototypes category. Both GT and SP ran to the same engine categories within their respective divisions.

The ACO also introduced a new competition to measure optimal car performance. The Index of Thermal Efficiency (Indice au Rendement ÉnergétiqueSpurring 2011, p.9Moity 1974, p.78) took into account a car's weight, speed and fuel consumption (using standard 95/100-octane supplied fuel). Surprisingly, it did not include engine size in the calculation. This ran alongside the regular Index of Performance handicap competition, whose target distances were increased. Fuel, oil and water replenishment remained limited at a minimum of 30 laps between refills. Only two men, and a third as refueller, were allowed to work on a car in the pits, meaning the driver had to get out and behind the pit wall to not count against that total.Clarke 2009, p.29: Motor Jun17 1959

Regarding the track and organisation, the ACO installed IBM calculators to help with the administration. As well as considerable re-surfacing, a number of signalling lights were installed. Finally, acknowledging the huge influx of British spectators to the race, the ACO invited the racing magazine The Motor to send a journalist to provide race-commentary in English once an hour. This year the prize-money was £5000 for both the winners on distance and index of performance, and a total of over £30000.Clarke 2009, p.28: Motor Jun17 1959

Entries The increase in potential classes to 10 created a lot of interest with manufacturers and drivers and a total of 97 entries applied for the event. From this the ACO accepted 60 to practise, to qualify for the 54 starting places.* Racing Sports Cars – Le Mans 24 Hours 1959 entries, results, technical detail. Retrieved 3 April 2017.

Category Classes Prototypeentries GTentries Totalentries Large-engines S-300014 (+1 reserve)520 Medium-engines S-2000 / S-150012 (+1 reserve)9 (+1 reserve)23 Small-engines S-1100 / S-7508 (+2 reserve)6 (+1 reserve)17 Total Cars34 (+4 reserves)20 (+2 reserves)54 (+6 reserves)

This year there were seven manufacturer works teams, led by Ferrari and Aston Martin as well as Porsche, Lotus, DB, OSCA and Triumph. They were joined by the sports-car specialist Lister, Cooper and Stanguellini teams. It meant that half of the cars in the race were 'works' entries.

Defending champions Scuderia Ferrari brought their latest version of the Ferrari 250 TR. The chassis had been redesigned, made shorter and 77 kg lighter. The 3-litre V12 had a new 5-speed gearbox and now developed 306 bhp. Also, after six years Enzo Ferrari had finally relented and installed Dunlop disc brakes on the works cars.Spurring 2011, p.346Laban 2001, p.126Moity 1974, p.72 His squad of drivers included 1958 winners, Phil Hill/Olivier Gendebien, joined by Jean Behra/Dan Gurney and Hermano da Silva Ramos/Cliff Allison. There were also three 1958-models entered by private teams including the Equipe Nationale Belge and North American Racing Team.

A subsidiary team, Scuderia Eugenio Castellotti, was entrusted with a new prototype to take on the Porsches in the 2-litre division – the V6-engined Dino 196 S that produced 195 PS. It would be driven by Castellotti's close friend Giulio Cabianca with Giorgio Scarlatti.Spurring 2011, p.348

As in the previous year, Aston Martin arrived with victory in the 1000km of Nürburgring with their DBR1/300. Led by director John Wyer and team manager Reg Parnell (himself a veteran of 7 Le Mans races in the early 1950s), they arrived at Le Sarthe with a very strong driver line-up to give themselves every chance of victory. The three works cars were driven by Nürburgring winners Stirling Moss/Jack Fairman alongside the F1 team driver Roy Salvadori with ex-chicken farmer, Texan Carroll Shelby, and Maurice Trintignant/Paul Frère. This year the cars were more streamlined and Moss and Fairman were given a more powerful 255 bhp engine to keep up with the Ferraris.Spurring 2011, p.342 Graham Whitehead again privately entered another DBR1. After the death of his half-brother Peter, he now had Brian Naylor as co-driver. In the GT category there was also a new DB4 GT (also using the DBR1 engine) entered by the Swiss Ecurie Trois Chevrons

With no Maseratis this year, the remaining five cars in the S-3000 category all had Jaguar-engines: Lister Engineering brought two of their new Frank Costin-designed cars (joined by Jaguar's former team manager, Lofty EnglandSpurring 2011, p.361), with another for the Equipe Nationale Belge, while the previously successful Ecurie Ecosse team this year entered both a Jaguar D-Type (for Masten Gregory and Innes Ireland) and a Tojeiro-Jaguar (for Ron Flockhart and Jock Lawrence).

After the very strong run to 3rd. 4th and 5th in the previous year, the Porsche 718 RSK was the car to beat in the 2.0 and 1.5-litre prototype classes. They had also just achieved their first outright Championship victory in May's Targa Florio, finishing 1-2-3-4.Spurring 2011, p.352 The two works cars were driven by regulars Hans Herrmann / Umberto Maglioli and new team-members Wolfgang von Trips / Jo Bonnier. Four Porsches made up the only entrants in the S-1500 class, the works car driven by Edgar Barth / Wolfgang Seidel alongside Dutch, French and American privateers.

Colin Chapman's Lotus team arrived in force, entering several classes: F1 team driver Graham Hill was paired with Australian Lotus-agent Derek Jolly in a new 2-litre Lotus 15, while the other team driver, Alan Stacey was in one of the two Lotus 17s in the 750cc class. Additionally, the team joined privateer Dickie Stoop in entering Lotus Elites in the new GT-1500 class.

The 2-litre Prototype class was very competitive with 8 strong entries. Up against the Porsches and Lotus and the new Ferrari, Cooper sent the new T49 'Monaco' (named after its first GP victory)Spurring 2011, p.357 driven by young works driver Bruce McLaren. Triumph returned to Le Mans with three TR3S cars, its driver line-up including 1956 race winner Ninian Sanderson. In the smallest Prototype classes, there was only a single DB in the 1100cc class, but the 750cc was to be contested by DB, OSCA, Lotus and Stanguellini. One of the works OSCAs was notable as it was driven by the Mexican Rodriguez brothers. Ricardo had been refused entry the previous year for being underage. This year he did compete, becoming the youngest ever driver to race at Le Mans, being only 17 years and four months old.Spurring 2011, p.359

The new GT classes were well supported. The Ferrari 250 GT, in its various guises, was a tried and true racecar, winning since 1956. The V12 engine produced about 250 bhp. Four were in the entry list with only a single Swiss-entered Aston Martin DB4 GT competing against it in the GT-3000 class.

AC and MG each had a single car qualify in the GT-2000 class. After the non-appearance of the Squadra Virgilio Conrero Alfa Romeos, the Lotus Elite was the only model in the GT-1500 class with five entries. Having produced the required 100 units, DB was able to homologate the HBR-5 into the GT class, and four works cars were entered. Along with four privateers, it made DB the second biggest manufacturer present, after Ferrari. They were joined by the first appearance of Swedish manufacturer Saab looking to expand up its growing success in rallying.Spurring 2011, p.358

Practice For the first time, the ACO was able to close the public roads in April which allowed a test day for teams to prepare their cars. Only 19 cars took up the opportunity to run for 6 hours, and it was Phil Hill in the new Ferrari that set the pace. Surprisingly, Cabianca in the 2-litre Dino was second fastest, ahead of the Aston Martins.

After scrutineering was held on the Monday and Tuesday, nine hours of qualifying were held over two sessions on the Wednesday and Thursday. Again the Ferraris were fastest and this time it was debutante Dan Gurney putting in the best time of 4:03.3. However Jean Behra had a major argument with team manager Romolo Tavoni who had imposed a 7500rpm rev-limit on the cars, limiting top performance, to protect the engines. Moss recorded 4:10.8, Hansgen's Jaguar 4:12.2 and Graham Hill put in a competitive time of 4:20 in the 2-litre Lotus.

Some of the lap-times recorded during practice were:Clarke 2009, p.34: Sporting Motorist Aug 1959Clarke 2009, p.40: Autosport Jun 26 1959 Class Car Driver(s) Best time S-3000 Ferrari 250 TR/59 #12 Gurney 4m 03.3sec S-3000 Ferrari 250 TR/59 #15 Allison 4m 03.6sec S-3000 Ferrari 250 TR/59 #14 P.Hill 4m 04.7sec S-3000 Jaguar D-Type #3 Gregory 4min 09.7sec S-3000 Aston Martin DBR1/300 #2 Moss 4min 10.8sec S-3000 Aston Martin DBR1/300 #5 Salvadori 4min 12sec S-3000 Lister Sport #2 Hansgen 4min 12.2sec S-2000 Cooper T49 Monaco #24 Russell 4min 13.6sec S-3000 Aston Martin DBR1/300 #6 Trintignant 4min 14.8sec S-2000 Lotus 15 LM #30 G.Hill 4min 20sec S-1500 Porsche 718 RSK #36 de Beaufort 4min 20.6sec S-2000 Triumph #30 Sanderson 4min 49.8sec S-750 Lotus 17 LM #53 Stacey 5min 11.4sec S-750 Lotus 17 LM #54 Taylor 5min 16.4sec S-750 D.B. HBR-5 Spyder #50 de Tomaso 5min 18.1sec S-1100 D.B. HBR-5 GTS-Coupé #49 Masson 5min 18.9sec Both the Whitehead Aston Martin and the Tojeiro had major problems and needed parts urgently flown in before the race.

After practice, Dickie Stoop's Lotus Elite was in a traffic accident driving back to its garage in the town and was too badly damaged to be ready for the race-start the body having been all but destroyed.Spurring 2011, p.351

Race

Start Saturday started with heavy rain, but by 4pm it was dry and very hot.Henry 1988, p.68 Yet again, Stirling Moss was first away. Parnell had given him team orders to act as the 'hare' and to bait the Ferraris into a race-pace that would break them - a role he relished. (This is contradicted by the transcription of Parnells's race briefing published by Moss). Meanwhile, Behra stalled his Ferrari twice on the line and was 15th at the end of the first lap. He subsequently put in some blistering lap-times (setting a new 3-litre lap record) to get back up to 3rd by the end of the first hour. Setting the fastest lap of the race, he then powered his way into the lead passing Moss on the Mulsanne straight around 5.15pm on the 17th lap.Wilkins 1959, p.174Clarke 2009, p.31: Road & Track Sep 1959 Still furious with the team management he hammered the engine at all costs (at one time getting up to 9500rpm on the Mulsanne straight) to prove his point. At the time of the first driver changes on the 30th lap, the car needed a lot of water and suffered from overheating thereafter.