1923 24 Hours of Le MansPrevious: NoneNext: 1924Index: Races | Winners The 1923 24 Hours of Le Mans, officially the 24 Hours Grand Prix of Endurance (), was the inaugural Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 26 and 27 May 1923.
A strong field of twenty manufacturers entered, all from France aside from a single Bentley from Great Britain and a pair of Excelsiors from Belgium. In a rain-soaked race it was the Chenard-Walcker team and the Bentley that set the pace, chased by the smaller 2-litre Bignan. The Bentley was delayed by stones smashing a headlight and puncturing the fuel tank, and in the end the Chenard-Walckers of René Léonard / André Lagache and Christian Dauvergne / Raoul Bachmann had a comfortable 1–2 victory.
However, there was no official victory for them as this event was the first part of three consecutive annual races, for the Rudge-Whitworth Triennial Cup, where the ultimate winner would be the manufacturer whose best car exceeded their nominated target distance by the greatest margin. So it was the small 1.1-litre Salmson of Desvaux/Casse that took the lead in that competition. It had completed 98 laps, 46 over its 52-lap target.
The race was also an excellent exhibition of machine endurance and reliability. Thirty cars finished the event, a number not equalled at Le Mans again until 1993.
Regulations The final regulations for the event were not completed by Charles Faroux and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) until February 1923.Spurring 2011, pp. 44–5Spurring 2011, pp. 38–9 All cars had to be standard four-seater production models, except those under 1100cc which could be two-seaters where at least thirty cars had been built.Laban 2001, p. 30 The vehicle had to carry 60 kg lead ballast for each passenger space aside from the driver. A maximum of two drivers were allowed (but not riding together), and they alone could replenish the fluids (petrol, oil and water), although there was no minimum distance between refills as in later years. The fuel was to be supplied by the ACO.Clausager 1982, p. 19 Engines had to be turned off at pit-stops, and only re-started with an onboard starter.
All cars had to have standard touring equipment, such as wheel wings, hood (if a convertible), running boards, headlights, a rear-view mirror and "warning devices" (horn).Clausager 1982, p.18 None of the entered cars had window-wipers.Spurring 2011, p.43Clarke 1998, pp. 11–3: Autocar, June 1, 1923Laban 2001, p. 38
There was an hors course rule such that every car had to meet a certain ratio of their minimum distance at the 6, 12, and 18-hour marks or face disqualification. The ratios were 80%, 85% and 90% respectively. The final minimum distances were on a sliding scale based on engine capacity that were kept deliberately lenient for the first race. The distances included the following:
Engine size Minimum distance Average speed 6500cc 1600 km 66.67 km/h 4500cc 1500 km 62.5 km/h 3000cc 1350 km 55.25 km/h 2000cc 1200 km 50.0 km/h 1100cc 920 km 38.33 km/h
To encourage future entries and manufacturer commitment to the event, the sponsor, wheel supplier Rudge-Whitworth, put up a trophy for the manufacturer whose best-performing car had completed the furthest distance in 24 hours over three consecutive years. So, in effect, there was no prize for the individual race win. Curiously, the weekend chosen for the event was also when the French moved to "summer time" so clocks were moved forward an hour at 11 pm, therefore the race started at 4 pm Saturday but finished at 5 pm on Sunday.
Track
Automobile racing was well established in the Sarthe region, with races since 1906 with the very first French Grand Prix. The post-war circuit had hosted a number of races since 1920 and was in length. From the outskirts of Le Mans city, it ran on the main road southwards to the village of Mulsanne and back. The start/finish line was two-thirds of the back on the return leg on land rented for the event.Spurring 2011, p.33 The depôts (pits) consisted of wooden counters with canvas-roofed areas behind for each car. A race-control tower and two 44m wooden grandstands were built opposite the pits. A footbridge sponsored by Meyrel was built just after the start-line. The track was very narrow in places, including the country roads from Mulsanne to Arnage and from the start-line to Pontlieue hairpin.
For the spectators’ comfort and entertainment through the event, cafés and a dancefloor with jazz-band were set up behind the stands. There was also an area for people to use radios to pick up classical music broadcast from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Generators provided power for the public address system and lighting around the spectator area, and a long scoreboard was manually maintained giving the cars’ positions and laps completed and target distance.
Although most of the track was fenced from the spectators, the roads were not tar-sealed. Roading engineers were employed before the race to apply a temporary mixture of gravel, dirt and tar to the road surface. Acetylene floodlights from the army were set up at the tight corners of Pontlieue, Mulsanne and Arnage.
Entries For this first endurance trial there were 37 entries, all submitted by the manufacturers rather than individual drivers. Only the 2-car Avions Voisin team were late scratchings.Laban 2001, p.37 With the cars all painted in their national racing colours, there was a predominance of French blue cars except for a single green Bentley from Great Britain and two Belgian Excelsiors in yellow. The cars were assigned their numbers in the order of their engine size. Many of the car models were co-identified with the French CV-system of automotive horsepower tax.
Category Entries Classes Very large engines 7 over 3-litre Large-sized engines 13 2 to 3-litre Medium-sized engines 7 1.5 to 2-litre Small-sized engines 10 up to 1.5-litre Total entrants 37
The biggest-engined cars in the field were the 5.3-litre Excelsiors, luxury car-makers from Belgium founded in 1903. Success in racing and sales to the Belgian royal family established the company. The 1922 Adex C had a straight-six engine putting out 130 bhp and could reach 145 km/h (90 mph), however its hefty weight impeded its acceleration rate. It had perhaps the first anti-roll bar suspension running on Belgian Englebert tyres. Works drivers, Belgians Nicolas Caerels and André Dills, were pre-war veteran riding mechanics from Grand Prix and Indianapolis.Spurring 2011, p.60-1
Lorraine-Dietrich had been founded as a locomotive manufacturer in 1884 in Alsace-Lorraine, moving to automobiles in 1896 entering the early inter-city road-races. At war's-end the factories but soon resumed car production. The B3-6 appeared in 1922 with a straight-6 engine and 3-speed gearbox and three body-style variants were sent to Le Mans under competition director Maurice Leroux. The fastest was the lightened Torpédo bodystyle, capable of almost 145 km/h (90 mph).Spurring 2011, p.62-4
Delage was another famous French car company with a strong pre-war motor-racing pedigree already, including winning the 1914 Indianapolis 500, and quickly resumed racing after the war with its big 5- and 6-litre racing cars. The DE raced at Le Mans was a 1-off special of the current popular production model fitted with its engine modified to carry an overhead-valve cylinder head. It was raced by new works driver Paul Torchy and test driver Belbeu.Spurring 2011, p.71-2
Chenard-Walcker was a major Parisian automotive company, established in 1899 and one of the city's biggest suppliers of taxis. They had a close relationship with coachbuilding company FAR who built their bodywork, led by André Lagache and Raymond Glaszmann (both keen racers). Lucien Chenard, son of the founder, had set up a works racing team in 1921 with the company test-driver René Léonard. Active in post-war racing they sent a trio of cars with the latest Torpédo bodystyle from FAR. Two had the new U3 3-litre engine that put out 90 bhp, driven by Léonard with Lagache, and Glaszmann with Fernand Bachmann. The third car, with a less powerful U2 engine was run by Bachmann's brother Raoul with veteran Christian Dauvergne. They were supported by a well-drilled pit crew to assist the drivers.Spurring 2011, p.48-9
The sole British entry was a privately owned Bentley with a small support team from the factory. W. O. Bentley had founded his own company straight after the war in January 1919 and regularly raced his 3-litre Sports. John Duff was Bentley's new London agent, who had set almost 40 international records at Brooklands. He had then broken both ankles there at the end of 1922 when he crashed, going over its banking. Duff's was the first entry received by the ACO for the race. Bentley was not convinced, but released his test driver Frank Clement as co-driver. Duff drove the car to Newhaven then Clement took it to Le Mans, with two Bentley mechanics, their luggage and tools in the back seats. Unlike most other of the leading teams, the Bentley only had rear drum brakes.Clarke 1998, p.8-9: Autocar Jun1 1923 It ran special long-endurance tyres, designed by Lionel Rapson, convincing Duff he could get away without the weight of carrying a spare wheel.Spurring 2011, p.56-8
The biggest entry came from Rolland-Pilain, who presented four cars. The innovative company from Tours was founded in 1905. Émile Pilain filed patents for a hydraulic braking system and a Sleeve valve engine. The four cars were all different. There was the B22 with a Torpédo open-top body and an R Berline saloon. Both had pushrod engines, and hydraulic front brakes with Dunlop tyres. The smaller RP models (Torpédo and Berline variants) had 1.9-litre side-valve engines, cable-brakes on the rear and Michelin tyres.Spurring 2011, p.73-4
Ford had a major automotive plant at Bordeaux producing around cars per year by 1923. Charles Montier was Ford's agent in FranceClausager 1982, p.28 and a skilled engineer who specialised in building high-performance specials. His Le Mans entry was based on the abundant Ford Model T with his own engine design and sturdier mechanical parts. Racing his own car, he also added two rear seats hanging over the back of the rear axle to comply with the ACO regulations.Spurring 2011, p.76-7
Brasier had a strong racing heritage in the pre-war inter-city races, winning the last two Gordon Bennett Cups in 1904 and 1905. The brand-new TB4 model had a 2062cc engine, 4-speed gearbox and Rudge wheels.Spurring 2011, p.66-7 In contrast, Marius Berliet had little racing experience and saw Le Mans as a good opportunity to raise his company's profile. His Lyon-based factory had made huge numbers of trucks during the war. Two of the new VH model were at Le Mans, with 2617cc engines, 4-speed gearboxes, and again, Rudge wire-wheels.Spurring 2011, p.68-9
Corre La Licorne had grown from the company originally founded by former professional cyclist Jean-Marie Corre. Its cars had raced with moderate success before the war. Two models arrived for the race. The popular B7 tourer with a 2-litre Ballot engine and the new V14 with smaller 1.4-litre SCAP engine.Spurring 2011, p.80-1 In a similar fashion, Vinot-Deguingand had started building bicycles in 1898 before moving onto voiturettes and then automobiles, raced for the Parisian company by the brothers Léon and Lucien Molon. One of the new BP models, with an 1847cc engine, was brought to Le Mans, again to be driven by the Molon brothers.Spurring 2011, p.82-3