1953 Le Mans 24 hour race
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The 21st 24-hour race of Le Mans , the 21 e Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , also 24 Heures du Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans , took place from 13th to 14th June 1953 the Circuit des 24 Heures .
The race
Changes to the regulations
As a result of Pierre Levegh's solo drive from the previous year , the Automobile Club de l'Ouest changed or specified the regulations. No driver was allowed to sit at the wheel for more than 80 laps in a row and not drive more than 18 hours in total. After the first sports car world championship was held in 1953 , the technical regulations had to be adapted. Vehicles with supercharged engines were still allowed, but their coefficient in the Index of Performance was multiplied by two, which made it impossible for these racing cars to win this competition.
For the first time, speed measurements were also carried out at Le Mans. The Cunningham C5-R owned by John Fitch and Phil Walters was the fastest sports car on the Hunaudières Straight with a top speed of 249 km / h.
The racing teams
Triggered by the first sports car world championship, a large number of works teams came to Le Mans. Of the 60 starters, no fewer than 50 were works cars. The favorites were the works Jaguar C-Type with their revolutionary disc brakes and the works Ferrari . In addition to the disc brakes, the C-Types also received a new engine. The 3.4-liter unit now developed 220 hp. The top vehicle of the Scuderia was the 4.5-liter 340MM from Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi . Ascari exceeded the 180 km / h hurdle for the average over one lap with the 340MM in the race with a lap of 4.27.00.
For the first time since 1949 , the Alfa Romeo works team also took part. Four vehicles were registered, three approved for the start. The 3.5-liter 6C 3000 CM were driven by Juan Manuel Fangio , Onofre Marimón , Consalvo Sanesi , Piero Carini and last year's German winner Fritz Riess and his compatriot Karl Kling .
Gordini brought new prototypes to the Sarthe and the Talbots received new bodies. Briggs Cunningham also came to France from overseas with new prototypes. The C5-R had a 310 hp Chrysler engine.
Lancia also came to Le Mans with a works car. The fast D20 coupes had 2.7-liter supercharged engines. Panhard had hired the French aircraft designer Riffard, who gave the 0.7-liter racing car aerodynamic bodies. Also, Aston Martin and Renault participated with works cars.
Porsche came to Le Mans again from Germany . Three works cars, two 550 Coupé and one 356 were used . The works team from Mercedes-Benz did not start . The team from Stuttgart celebrated a one-two victory in 1952 after the loss of Pierre Levegh, which was not very popular in France. Nevertheless, a second German team was at the start: Borgward made its Le Mans debut with the Hansa 1500 Rennsport. Like Porsche in 1951 , the Borgward race management entrusted one of the two vehicles to a French driver pairing. In contrast, Mercedes had hired German drivers in the previous year without exception.
Both Spanish Pegasos had accidents during training and could not take part in the race. The Spaniard Juan Jover and the later President of the FIA , Paul Alfons von Metternich-Winneburg shared one of the two coupés .
The course of the race
After the start, the factory Allard J2R with Philip Fotheringham-Parker at the wheel surprisingly took the lead. However, this only lasted four laps, then the car had a brake defect and the Briton had to retire. This was followed by a fierce exchange of blows between Stirling Moss in the Jaguar and the Ferrari works driver Luigi Villoresi, which lasted until Moss' unforeseen pit stop due to a dirty petrol filter.
Even after the relapse of Moss, the Jaguars remained the toughest opponents of the factory Ferrari. The failure of the fast Villoresi / Ascari-340MM-Berlinetta due to clutch damage after driving 229 laps decided the race in favor of Rolt and Hamilton. The Scuderia had to accept far worse: During the night Tom Cole had a fatal accident in the dangerous section of the Maison Blanche route.
All Aston Martin, Lancia, and Bristol failed. Tommy Wisdom suffered severe burns to his hands and legs in an accident in his Bristol. One of the most original explanations for an accident failure came from Reg Parnell , who shared a factory Aston Martin DB3 S with Peter Collins . He thought of his house pigs and lost both concentration and control over his car.
Results
Pilots by nationality
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Final ranking
Item | class | No. | team | driver | chassis | engine | tires | Round |
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1 | S 5.0 | 18th |
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Jaguar C-Type | Jaguar 3.4L I6 | 304 | |
2 | S 5.0 | 17th |
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Jaguar C-Type | Jaguar 3.4L I6 | 300 | |
3 | S 8.0 | 2 |
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Cunningham C5-R | Chrysler 5.5L V8 | 299 | |
4th | S 5.0 | 19th |
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Jaguar C-Type | Jaguar 3.4L I6 | 297 | |
5 | S 5.0 | 15th |
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Ferrari 340MM Berlinetta | Ferrari 4.1L V12 | 294 | |
6th | S 3.0 | 35 |
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Gordini T16S | Gordini 2.5L I6 | 293 | |
7th | S 8.0 | 1 |
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Cunningham C4-R | Chrysler 5.5L V8 | 290 | |
8th | S 5.0 | 7th |
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Talbot-Lago T26GS | Talbot-Lago 4.5L I6 | 276 | |
9 | S 5.0 | 20th |
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Jaguar C-Type | Jaguar 3.4L I6 | 275 | |
10 | S 8.0 | 3 |
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Cunningham C4-RK | Chrysler 5.5L V8 | 269 | |
11 | S 5.0 | 11 |
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Nash-Healey Sports | Nash 4.1L I6 | 265 | |
12 | S 3.0 | 34 |
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Austin-Healey 100 | BMC 2.7L I4 | 257 | |
13 | S 2.0 | 39 |
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Frazer Nash Le Mans Touring Coupe | Bristol 2.0L I6 | 253 | |
14th | S 3.0 | 33 |
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Austin-Healey 100 | BMC 2.7L I4 | 252 | |
15th | S 1.5 | 45 |
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Porsche 550 Coupe | Porsche 1.5L Flat-4 | 247 | |
16 | S 1.5 | 44 |
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Porsche 550 Coupe | Porsche 1.5L Flat-4 | 247 | |
17th | S 750 | 57 |
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DB HBR | Panhard 0.7L Flat-2 | 237 | |
18th | S 1.1 | 48 |
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Osca MT-4 1100 Coupe | OSCA 1.1L I4 | 232 | |
19th | S 750 | 58 |
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DB HBR | Panhard 0.7L Flat-2 | 231 | |
20th | S 1.1 | 50 |
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Panhard X89 | Panhard 0.9L Flat-2 | 227 | |
21st | S 750 | 61 |
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Panhard X88 | Panhard 0.6L Flat-2 | 223 | |
22nd | S 1.1 | 51 |
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Panhard X87 | Panhard 0.9L Flat-2 | 218 | |
23 | S 750 | 53 |
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Renault 4CV | Renault 0.7L I4 | 218 | |
Not classified | ||||||||
24 | S 750 | 60 |
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Panhard X85 | Panhard 0.6L Flat-2 | 212 | |
25th | S 3.0 | 66 |
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Constantin | Peugeot 1.3L Supercharged I4 | 200 | |
26th | S 750 | 56 |
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VP 166R | Renault 0.7L I4 | 183 | |
Failed | ||||||||
27 | S 5.0 | 12 |
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Ferrari 340MM Berlinetta | Ferrari 4.5L V12 | 229 | |
28 | S 1.5 | 41 |
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Borgward Hansa 1500 racing | Borgward 1.5L I4 | 228 | |
29 | S 8.0 | 63 |
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Lancia D20 Compressor | Lancia 2.7L Supercharged V6 | 213 | |
30th | S 3.0 | 27 |
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Aston Martin DB3S | Aston Martin 2.9L I6 | 182 | |
31 | S 5.0 | 16 |
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Ferrari 340MM Vignale S | Ferrari 4.1L V12 | 175 | |
32 | S 8.0 | 31 |
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Lancia D20 Compressor | Lancia 2.7L Supercharged V6 | 174 | |
33 | S 1.1 | 49 |
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Porsche 356 | Porsche 1.1L Flat-4 | 147 | |
34 | S 2.0 | 40 |
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Frazer Nash Le Mans Mk.II Coupe | Bristol 2.0L I6 | 135 | |
35 | S 5.0 | 23 |
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Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM | Alfa Romeo 3.5L I6 | 133 | |
36 | S 5.0 | 21st |
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Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM | Alfa Romeo 3.5L I6 | 125 | |
37 | S 5.0 | 9 |
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Talbot-Lago T26 GS | Talbot-Lago 4.5L I6 | 120 | |
38 | S 8.0 | 30th |
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Lancia D.20 Compressor | Lancia 2.7L Supercharged V6 | 117 | |
39 | S 1.1 | 46 |
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Porsche 356 | Porsche 1.1L Flat-4 | 115 | |
40 | S 750 | 55 |
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Renault 4CV | Renault 0.7L I4 | 84 | |
41 | S 3.0 | 36 |
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Gordini T15S | Gordini 2.3L I6 | 84 | |
42 | S 1.5 | 47 |
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Osca MT4 1300 | OSCA 1.3L I4 | 80 | |
43 | S 3.0 | 26th |
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Aston Martin DB3S | Aston Martin 2.9L I6 | 74 | |
44 | S 2.0 | 38 |
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Bristol 450 Coupe | Bristol 2.0L I6 | 70 | |
45 | S 8.0 | 32 |
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Lancia D.20 Compressor | Lancia 2.7L Supercharged V6 | 66 | |
46 | S 8.0 | 5 |
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Allard J2R | Cadillac 5.4L V8 | 65 | |
47 | S 1.5 | 67 |
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Gordini T15S | Gordini 1.5L I4 | 40 | |
48 | S 5.0 | 8th |
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Talbot-Lago T26 GS | Talbot-Lago 4.5L I6 | 37 | |
49 | S 750 | 54 |
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Renault 4CV | Renault 0.7L I4 | 35 | |
50 | S 2.0 | 37 |
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Bristol 450 Coupe | Bristol 2.0L I6 | 29 | |
51 | S 1.5 | 42 |
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Borgward Hansa 1500 racing | Borgward 1.5L I4 | 29 | |
52 | S +8.0 | 6th |
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Talbot-Lago T26 GS Compressor | Talbot-Lago 4.5L Supercharged I6 | 24 | |
53 | S 5.0 | 22nd |
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Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM | Alfa Romeo 3.5L I6 | 22nd | |
54 | S 2.5 | 25th |
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Aston Martin DB3S | Aston Martin 2.9L I6 | 16 | |
55 | S 750 | 52 |
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Renault 4CV tank | Renault 0.7L I4 | 14th | |
56 | S 5.0 | 14th |
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Ferrari 340MM Coupe | Ferrari 4.1L V12 | 12 | |
57 | S 5.0 | 10 |
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Nash-Healey Sports | Nash 4.1L I6 | 9 | |
58 | S 750 | 59 |
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Monopoles X84 | Panhard 0.6L Flat-2 | 9 | |
59 | S 2.0 | 62 |
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Fiat 8V | Fiat 2.0L V8 | 8th | |
60 | S 8.0 | 4th |
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Allard J2R | Cadillac 5.4L V8 | 4th | |
Not started | ||||||||
61 | S 1.5 | 43 |
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Borgward Hansa 1500 racing | Borgward 1.5L I4 | 1 | |
62 | S 3.0 | 28 |
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Pegaso Z102 | 2 | ||
63 | S 3.0 | 29 |
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Pegaso Z102 | 3 | ||
64 | S 5.0 | 18T |
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Jaguar C-Type | Jaguar 3.4L I6 | 4th | |
65 | S 3.0 | 33 |
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Austin-Healey 100 | BMC 2.7L I4 | 5 | |
reserve | ||||||||
66 | S 3.0 | 24 |
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Gordini T24S | Gordini 2.3L I6 | 6th | |
67 | S 3.0 | 69 |
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Aston Martin DB2 | Aston Martin 2.6L I6 | 7th | |
68 | S 750 | 72 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | 8th | |
69 | S 750 | 74 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | 9 | |
70 | S 5.0 | 65 |
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Jaguar C-Type | Jaguar 3.4L I6 | 10 | |
71 | S 5.0 | 68 |
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Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM | Alfa Romeo 3.5L I6 | 11 | |
72 | S 1.1 | 70 |
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Osca MT-4 | OSCA 1.1L I4 | 12 | |
withdrawn | ||||||||
73 | S 5.0 | 64 |
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Talbot-Lago T26GS | Talbot-Lago 4.5L I6 | 13 |
1 Accident during training 2 Accident during training 3 Accident during training 4 Replacement car 5 not started 6 Reserve 7 Reserve 8 Reserve 9 Reserve 10 Reserve 11 Reserve 12 Reserve 13 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 |
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74 | S 5.0 | 15th |
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Ferrari 340 Mexico | Ferrari 4.1L V12 | |
75 | S 5.0 | 16 |
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Ferrari 340 America | Ferrari 4.1L V12 | |
76 | S 5.0 | 23 |
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Jaguar C-Type | Jaguar 3.4L I6 | |
77 | S 3.0 | 25th |
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Aston Martin DB3 | Aston Martin 2.9L I6 | |
78 | S 3.0 | 32 |
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Ferrari 250MM Berlinetta Pinin Farina | Ferrari 2.9L V12 | |
79 | S 3.0 | 33 |
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Ferrari 250MM | Ferrari 2.9L V12 | |
80 | S 3.0 | 45 |
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Austin-Healey 100 | BMC 2.7L I4 | ||
81 | S 3.0 | 48 |
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Pegaso Z102 Barchetta Touring Le Mans | ||
82 | 50 |
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Siata | |||
83 | S 2.0 | 51 |
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Ferrari 166MM | Ferrari 2.0L V12 | |
84 | S 2.0 | 53 |
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Bristol 450 | Bristol 2.0L I6 | |
85 | S 2.0 | 57 |
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Frazer Nash Le Mans Mk.II Coupe | Bristol 2.0L I6 | |
86 | S 2.0 | 58 |
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BMW 328 | BMW 2.0L I6 | |
87 | S 2.0 | 59 |
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Frazer-Nash Targa Florio | ||
88 | S 1.5 | 63 |
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Singer SM 1500 | ||
89 | 64 |
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Talbot Sport LM | |||
90 | 66 |
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Gordini T15S | ||||
91 | S 1.1 | 67 |
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Gordini TTM | ||
92 | S 3.0 | 69 |
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Aston Martin DB2 | Aston Martin 2.6L I6 | |
93 | S 8.0 | 71 |
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Allard J2R | |||
94 | S 1.5 | 72 |
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Kieft | ||
95 | S 750 | 73 |
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DB HBR | Panhard 0.7L Flat-2 | |
96 | S 1.1 | 74 |
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Osca MT4 | OSCA 1.1L I4 | |
97 | S 750 | 75 |
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Dyna Panhard | ||
98 | S 1.1 | 77 |
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Porsche 356 | Porsche 1.1L Flat-4 | |
99 | S 750 | 83 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | |
100 | S 750 | 88 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | ||
101 | S 750 | 89 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | ||
102 | S 750 | 90 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | ||
103 | S 750 | 91 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | ||
104 | S 750 | 97 |
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Stanguellini Bialbero | |||
105 | S 750 | 100 |
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Panhard X85 | Panhard 0.6L Flat-2 | |
106 | S 1.5 | 105 |
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Fiat 1500 | ||
107 | S 750 | 101 |
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Panhard X84 | Panhard 0.6L Flat-2 | ||
108 | S 750 | 106 |
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Nardi 4CV | |||
109 | S 750 | 107 |
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Nardi 4CV | |||
110 | S 750 | 108 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | |
111 | S 1.6 | 111 |
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Gordini T18C | ||
112 | S 5.0 | 112 |
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Ferrari 340 | Ferrari 4.1L V12 | |
113 | S 750 | 114 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | ||
114 | S 750 | 115 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 | ||
115 | S 2.0 | 116 |
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Lancia Aurelia | ||
116 | S 5.0 | 117 |
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Ferrari 340 America | Ferrari 4.1L V12 | ||
117 | S 1.5 |
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Frazer-Nash Palm Beach | ||||
118 | S 750 |
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Panhard | ||||
119 | S 750 |
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Panhard | ||||
120 | S 750 |
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Panhard | ||||
121 | S 750 |
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Panhard | ||||
122 | S 750 |
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DB HBR | Panhard 0.7L Flat-2 | |||
123 | S 750 |
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Panhard | ||||
124 | S 750 |
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DB HBR | Panhard 0.7L Flat-2 | |||
125 | S 750 |
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Dagrada | ||||
126 | S 4.0 |
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Frazer-Nash | ||||
127 | S 5.0 |
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Ferrari 340MM | Ferrari 4.1L V12 | ||
128 | S 750 |
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Renault 4CV 1063 | Renault 0.7L I4 |
Class winner
Racing data
- Reported: 127
- Started: 60
- Rated: 23
- Race classes: 9
- Spectator: unknown
- Honorary starter of the race: Jean Masson, French Secretary of State for Education
- 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: 303
- Total distance of the winning team: 4088.064 km
- Winner's average: 170.336 km / h
- Pole position: unknown
- Fastest race lap: Alberto Ascari - Ferrari 340MM Berlinetta (# 12) - 4: 27.400 = 181.642 km / h
- Racing series: 3rd round of the 1953 World Sports Car Championship
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 2-909413-06-3 .
Web links
Predecessor race Mille Miglia 1953 |
Sports car world championship |
Successor to the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps in 1953 |