1952 Le Mans 24-hour race

A Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, built in 1952, here in the version for the Carrera Panamericana. With the same type of race, Hermann Lang and Fritz Riess achieved the only overall victory for Mercedes at Le Mans so far.

Cunningham C4-R

A model of the Nash-Healey 3 liter with the starting number 10. Leslie Johnson and Tommy Wisdom achieved third place in the overall standings with the original vehicle.

The 20th Le Mans 24 hour race , the 20 ^e Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , also 24 Heures du Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans , took place from June 14th to 15th, 1952 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

The race

Mercedes-Benz and Porsche

In 1952, Mercedes-Benz returned to the 24-hour race after 22 years of absence. The last time a Mercedes-Benz racing car raced at Le Mans was in 1931 , when Henri Stoffel and Boris Iwanowski finished second overall in a Mercedes-Benz SSK .

The appearance of Mercedes-Benz caused a far greater - in some cases negative - response in the French press than the appearance of Porsche in the previous year . In contrast to the Porsche brand, which was still small at the time and largely unknown to many, Mercedes-Benz was an established company, and seven years after the end of the Second World War , many French were against the start of German cars in this endurance race . In contrast to Porsche, which also relied on a French driver pairing in 1952, Mercedes-Benz racing director Alfred Neubauer only hired German racing drivers, which really fueled the displeasure. The pre-war Grand Prix driver Hermann Lang , who was declared the last European champion before the war in 1939, albeit only unofficially, shared a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL with Fritz Riess . Theo Helfrich and Helmut Niedermayr shared the second 300 SL . A third Mercedes sports car was driven by Karl Kling , who had become German sports car champion in a Veritas in 1948 and 1949 , and Hans Klenk . During training, an air brake was installed on the roof of this vehicle to support the braking process. Kling had this wing dismantled before the race because it lost too much top speed on the straight due to the voluminous part on the roof.

Porsche relied again on the 356 coupés . The later Porsche race director Huschke von Hanstein and Petermax Müller joined Auguste Veuillet and Edmond Mouche in the team.

Ferrari

The 1952 event was a historic race for Ferrari too . The red vehicles from Maranello had been at the start since the restart of the race in 1949 on the Sarthe, but this year the cars of the works team were used for the first time . The 250 Sport Experimental Berlinetta was prepared for Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi , a 900-kg lightweight coupé that was bodied by Vignale and whose 3-liter, 12-cylinder engine developed 230 hp. A few weeks before Le Mans, Giovanni Bracco had won the Mille Miglia with this coupé, after a dramatic race to catch up, by four minutes ahead of Kling in the 300 SL. The second works car, a 225S Berlinetta, was driven by the Frenchman Pierre Boncompagni and the American Tom Cole .

The three-time Le Mans winner Luigi Chinetti rolled three 340 America to the start. Chinetti, who had in the meantime accepted US citizenship, shared one with Jean Lucas . He entrusted the second Spyder to two Frenchmen. Pierre Louis-Dreyfus and René Dreyfus not only shared the racing car, but also shared their surname. The racing drivers who were very popular in their home country and who celebrated successes at Le Mans in the 1930s were not related. Pierre Louis-Dreyfus only lost the race in 1935 due to a mistake by his pit crew. In the third, there was another Frenchman, André Simon .

The sixth Ferrari, also a 340 America Spyder, was entered by Ecurie Rosier and driven by the overall winner of the 1950s race , Louis Rosier , and his compatriot Maurice Trintignant .

Talbot, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Cunningham

The Talbots were all registered privately and equipped with different bodies and technology by each team. So who TS26GS of Pierre Levegh and René Marchand a Spyder body and a 4.5-liter 6-cylinder engine. André Morel and André Chambas' T26 had a 6-cylinder supercharged engine.

The Constantin C, based on a Peugeot 203 , was also powered by this type of engine. The factory Jaguar C-Type got an aerodynamically improved front section and the new Aston Martin DB3 was constructed by the Auto Union designer of the 1930s, Eberan von Eberhorst.

Briggs Cunningham brought three C4-Rs to Le Mans. Front-engined race car with 5.5-liter Chrysler - V8 engines .

Pierre Levegh's solo ride

From the start Alberto Ascari took the lead and held it until the clutch was damaged after three hours of racing. To the astonishment of the spectators and the race management - who at first believed there was a mistake in the timesheets - the small 2.3-liter Gordini from Jean Behra and Robert Manzon then took the lead. Behra and Manzon were able to maintain the lead until just before half-time, then the duo stopped a brake defect. At this point, all of the factory Jaguars and two Cunninghams had failed due to technical defects. Of the Ferraris, only the Simon car was left in the race, and Mercedes had already lost a 300 SL after damage to the electrical system.

After Behra's failure, Pierre Levegh took first place in the overall standings. What followed went down in Le Mans history as one of the greatest driving achievements. At the time of the change in leadership, Levegh had already been in the vehicle for more than 12 hours and shouldn't have to vacate the cockpit until the failure. Why Levegh never let his partner Marchand behind the wheel has remained unclear to this day. At every pit stop he was ready to change drivers, but Levegh kept going. It is suspected that Levegh feared that the inexperienced Marchand might over-rev the already started engine.

Ultimately, however, an engine failure led to the retirement an hour and 10 minutes before the end of the race. When Levegh rolled out in the Mulsanne, horror broke out in the stands. The largely French spectators had firmly expected Levegh to win, who at the time of the retirement had an incredible seven laps ahead of the two remaining Mercedes-Benz. However, that Levegh had fallen asleep from tiredness quickly turned out to be a rumor. When the factory Mercedes was flagged as the winner after 24 hours, there was dead silence in the main stands. Seldom before and after was there so little acclamation from the audience for the winner. The Mercedes victory was also very unpopular in the press.

The victory of Hermann Lang and Fritz Riess is not only the only overall victory for Mercedes at Le Mans to this day, but also marks the first success for a closed sports car in this race.

Results

Pilots by nationality

55 French	29 British	11 Americans	9 Italians	8 Germans
2 Dutch

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S 3.0	21st	Daimler-Benz AG	Hermann Lang Fritz Riess	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	Mercedes-Benz 3.0L I6		277
2	S 3.0	20th	Daimler-Benz AG	Theo Helfrich Helmut Niedermayr	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	Mercedes-Benz 3.0L I6		276
3	S 5.0	10	Donald Healey Motor Company	Leslie Johnson Tommy Wisdom	Nash-Healey 4 liter	Nash 4.1L I6		262
4th	S 8.0	1	Briggs Cunningham	Briggs Cunningham Bill Spear	Cunningham C4-R	Chrysler 5.5L V8		252
5	S 5.0	14th	Luigi Chinetti	André Simon Lucien Vincent	Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta	Ferrari 4.1L V12		250
6th	S 2.0	39	Scuderia Lancia	Luigi Valenzano Umberto Castiglioni	Lancia Aurelia B20	Lancia 2.0L V6		248
7th	S 3.0	32	Peter CT Clark	Peter Clark Mike Keen	Aston Martin DB2	Aston Martin 2.6L I6		248
8th	S 2.0	40	Scuderia Lancia	Felice Bonetto Enrico Anselmi	Lancia Aurelia B20	Lancia 2.0L V6		247
9	SS / C	6th	André Chambas	André Morel André Chambas	Talbot-Lago T26 GS Compressor	Talbot-Lago 4.5L Supercharged I6		235
10	S 2.0	42	MP Trevelyan	Rodney F. Peacock Gerry A. Ruddock	Frazer Nash Le Mans Mk.II	Bristol 2.0L I6		225
11	S 1.1	50	Porsche KG	Auguste Veuillet Edmond Mouche	Porsche 356/4	Porsche 1.1L Flat-4		220
12	S 1.1	52	Automobiles Panhard et Levassor	Charles Plantivaux Robert Chancel	Panhard Dyna X86 Coupe	Panhard 0.9L Flat-2		217
13	S 1.5	45	Marcel Becquart	Marcel Becquart Gordon Wilkins	Jowett Jupiter R1	Jowett 1.5L Flat-4		210
14th	S 750	60	Ets. Monopolies	Jean Hémard Eugène Dussous	Monopoles X84	Panhard 0.6L Flat-2		208
15th	S 750	68	Renault	Ernest de Regibus Marius Porta	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4		195
16	S 750	61	Raymond Gaillard	Raymond Gaillard Pierre Chancel	Panhard Dyna X84 Sport	Panhard 0.6L Flat-2		186
17th	S 750	67	Renault	Jean Rédélé Guy Lapchin	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4		178
Failed
18th	S 5.0	8th	Pierre Levegh	Pierre Levegh René Marchand	Talbot-Lago T26 GS Spider	Talbot-Lago 4.5L I6
19th	S 3.0	25th	Aston Martin Ltd.	Lance Macklin Peter Collins	Aston Martin DB3	Aston Martin 2.6L I6
20th	S 5.0	65	Eugène Chaboud	Eugène Chaboud Charles Pozzi	Talbot-Lago T26GS	Talbot-Lago 4.5L I6
21st	S 1.5	48	Automobili OSCA	Mario Damonte François Lacour	Osca MT-4 1300 Coupe Vignale	Osca 1.3L I4
22nd	S 2.0	41	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Richard Stoop Peter Wilson	Frazer Nash Mille Miglia	Bristol 2.0L I6
23	S 1.5	47	Auguste Lachaize	Eugène Martin Auguste Lachaize	Porsche 356/4	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4
24	S 1.5	46	Jowett Cars Ltd.	Bert Hadley Tommy Wise	Jowett Jupiter R1	Jowett 1.5L Flat-4
25th	S 750	56	Just-Émile Vernet	Just-Émile Vernet Jean Pairard	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4
26th	S 3.0	31	NH man	Nigel Mann Mortimer Morris-Goodall	Aston Martin DB2	Aston Martin 2.6L I6
27	S 8.0	5	HH Allard	Frank Curtis Zora Arkus-Duntov	Allard J2X	Cadillac 5.4L V8
28	S 8.0	4th	HH Allard	Sydney Allard Jack Fairman	Allard J2X	Cadillac 5.4L V8
29	SS / C	43	Alexandre Constantin	Alexandre Constantin Jacques Poch	Constantin C	Peugeot 1.3L Supercharged I4
30th	S 5.0	12	Luigi Chinetti	Luigi Chinetti Jean Lucas	Ferrari 340 America B	Ferrari 4.1L V12
31	S 3.0	34	Automobiles Gordini	Jean Behra Robert Manzon	Gordini T15S	Gordini 2.3L I6
32	S 5.0	9	Pierre Meyrat	Pierre Meyrat Guy Mairesse	Talbot-Lago T26GS	Talbot-Lago 4.5L I6
33	S 3.0	33	Charles Moran	Charles Moran Franco Cornacchia	Ferrari 212MM Coupe	Ferrari 2.6L V12
34	S 750	59	Automobiles Panhard et Levassor	Jacques Savoye Raymond Lienard	Panhard Dyna X84 Sport	Panhard 0.6L Flat-2
35	S 3.0	30th	Scuderia Ferrari	Pierre Boncompagni Tom Cole	Ferrari 225S Berlinetta	Ferrari 2.7L V12
36	S 1.5	64	Maurice Gatsonides	Maurice Gatsonides Hugo van Zuylen Nijeveldt	Jowett Jupiter R1	Jowett 1.5L Flat-4
37	S 3.0	22nd	Daimler-Benz AG	Karl Kling Hans Klenk	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	Mercedes-Benz 3.0L I6
38	S 8.0	2	Briggs Cunningham	Phil Walters Duane Carter	Cunningham C4-RK Coupe	Chrysler 5.5L V8
39	S 750	54	Renault	Louis Pons Paul Moser	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4
40	S 1.1	51	Porsche KG	Huschke from Hanstein Petermax Müller	Porsche 356/4	Porsche 1.1L Flat-4
41	S 8.0	3	Briggs Cunningham	John Fitch George Rice	Cunningham C4-R	Chrysler 5.5L V8
42	S 5.0	15th	Ecurie Rosier	Louis Rosier Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 340 America Spyder	Ferrari 4.1L V12
43	S 750	58	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Jean-Paul Colas Robert Schollemann	DB Coupe	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2
44	S 1.5	44	Automobiles Gordini	Roger Loyer Charles de Clareur	Gordini T15S	Gordini 1.5L I4
45	S 5.0	16	Luigi Chinetti	Pierre Louis-Dreyfus René Dreyfus	Ferrari 340 America Barchetta	Ferrari 4.1L V12
46	S 5.0	18th	Jaguar Ltd.	Tony Rolt Duncan Hamilton	Jaguar C-Type	Jaguar 3.5L I6
47	S 750	57	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	René Bonnet Élie Bayol	DB	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2
48	S 3.0	26th	Aston Martin Ltd.	Dennis Poore Pat Griffith	Aston Martin DB3	Aston Martin 2.6L I6
49	S 3.0	35	Robert Lawrie	Robert Lawrie John Isherwood	Morgan Plus 4	Standard 2.1L I4
50	S 5.0	11	Donald Healey	Pierre Veyron Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Nash-Healey	Nash 4.1L I6
51	S 750	53	Renault	Yves Lesur André Briat	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4
52	S 3.0	62	Scuderia Ferrari	Alberto Ascari Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari 250S Berlinetta	Ferrari 3.0L V12
53	S 5.0	17th	Jaguar Ltd.	Stirling Moss Peter Walker	Jaguar C-Type	Jaguar 3.5L I6
54	S 5.0	19th	Jaguar Ltd.	Peter Whitehead Ian Stewart	Jaguar C-Type	Jaguar 3.5L I6
55	S 750	55	Jacques Lecat	Jacques Lecat Henri Mustard Life	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4
56	S 3.0	27	Aston Martin Ltd.	Reginald Parnell Eric Thompson	Aston Martin DB3	Aston Martin 2.6L I6
57	S 1.1	49	Norbert-Jean Mahé	José Scaron Norbert-Jean Mahé	Simca-Gordini TMM	Gordini 1.1L I4
Not started
58	S 5.0	7th	Ecurie Rosier	Louis Rosier Jean Estager	Ferrari 340 America Spyder			1
reserve
59	S 3.0		Pegaso	Salvador Fabregas Jesús Ricardo Iglesias	Pegaso Z102			2
58	S 3.0		Pegaso	Joaquin Palacio Pover Juan Jover	Pegaso Z102			3
59	S 3.0		Pegaso	Franciso Bulto Font	Pegaso Z102			4th
60	S 750		Renault	- -	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4		5
61	S 750		Renault	- -	Renault 4 CV	Renault 0.7L I4		6th
withdrawn
62	S 5.0		SpA Alfa Romeo	Juan Manuel Fangio José Froilán González Franco Cortese	Alfa Romeo Disco Volante			7th
63			Siata	- -				8th

¹ cylinder head defective ² reserve ³ reserve ⁴ reserve ⁵ reserve ⁶ reserve ⁷ withdrawn ⁸ withdrawn

Only in the entry list

Here you can find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race, but did not take part for various reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires
64			SpA Alfa Romeo		Alfa Romeo 1900
65			Aston Martin Ltd.		Aston Martin
66			Scuderia Ferrari	Giuseppe Farina Piero Taruffi	Ferrari
67				Giovanni Lurani Ovidio Capelli	Fiat
68			ACO	Charles Faroux	Bentley R Continental
69				Willy Daetwyler Toulo de Graffenried	Alfa Romeo

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Performance - 6th Annual Cup of the ACO	Eugene Dussous	Jean Hemard	Monopoles X84	Rank 14
18th Biennial Cup	Eugene Dussous	Jean Hemard	Monopoles X84	Rank 14
5001-8000 cc	Briggs Cunningham	Bill Spear	Cunningham C4-R	Rank 4
3001-5000 cc	Leslie Johnson	Tommy Wisdom	Nash-Healey 4 liter	Rank 3
2001-3000 cc	Hermann Lang	Fritz Riess	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	Overall victory
1501-2000 cc	Luigi Valenzano	Umberto Castiglioni	Lancia Aurelia B20	Rank 6
1101-1500 cc	Marcel Becquart	Gordon Wilkins	Jowett Jupiter R1	Rank 13
751-1100 cc	Auguste Veuillet	Eduard Mouche	Porsche 356/4	Rank 11
-750 cc	Eugene Dussous	Jean Hemard	Monopoles X84	Rank 14

Racing data

• Registered: 69
• Started: 57
• Valued: 17
• Race classes: 9
• Spectators: 400,000
• Honorary starter of the race: Wilfred Andrews, President of the Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain
• Weather on the race weekend: warm and dry
• Route length: 13.492 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 277
• Total distance of the winning team: 3733.800 km
• Winner's average: 155.575 km / h
• Pole position: unknown
• Fastest race lap: Alberto Ascari - Ferrari 250S Berlinetta (# 62) - 4.40.500 = 173.149 km / h
• Racing series: did not belong to any racing series

literature

• RM Clarke: Le Mans. The Jaguar Years 1949-1957. Brooklands Books, Cobham 1997, ISBN 1-85520-357-X .
• Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre, Alain Bienvenu: 24 heures du Mans, 1923–1992. Éditions d'Art, Besançon 1992, ISBN 2-909-413-06-3 .

Web links

Commons : Le Mans 24 Hours 1952  - Collection of images, videos and audio files