1954 Le Mans 24 hour race

Ferrari 375 Plus

OSCA MT4

The 22nd 24-hour race of Le Mans , the 22 ^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 12th to 13th, 1954 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

The race

As in the previous year, the 24-hour race of 1954 developed into a duel between the factory cars of Jaguar and Ferrari . At Jaguar, the new D-Type was officially used for the first time. The three works cars were driven by the teams Duncan Hamilton / Tony Rolt , Peter Whitehead / Ken Wharton and Stirling Moss / Peter Walker .

Ferrari brought the new 375 Plus to the Sarthe, which was slower than the Jaguar on the long Hunaudières straight, but achieved faster lap times thanks to better weight distribution over the entire lap. In addition to the 375 Plus, which were only driven by the Scuderia factory drivers, there were also 375MM at the start, which were used by Briggs Cunningham . The American added the proven Cunningham C4-R to his racing team . When Aston Martin was entrusted to the DB3 coupes , with the support fleet Carroll Shelby and Paul Frère a Stars and Strips got livery. Lancia hadn't shown up for the race. The Italian racing team had with the Lancia D24 , the Mille Miglia won and reached the 12-hour race at Sebring second overall, but decided not to take part in Le Mans.

In the smaller classes, in addition to the Panhard engines, Renault engines were also used for the first time in the DB HBR from Deutsch & Bonnet . Maserati made its Le Mans debut, and at Porsche the 550 Spyders came to the Sarthe.

In the first hour of the race, a three-way Ferrari lead formed: José Froilán González led ahead of Robert Manzon and Paolo Marzotto . The best Jaguar driver was Tony Rolt in fourth place. During the night there was a heavy thunderstorm and the field began to clear. In addition to various accidents, many factory cars with technical defects failed. Until just before the end, the Gonzales / Trintignant- Ferrari and the Rolt / Hamilton-Jaguar fought a fierce duel for the overall lead when the 375 Plus failed to start due to a wet ignition at Gonzales' last pit stop. 12 minutes passed before the Argentine could get back on the track. In the end he saved a lead of 4 kilometers across the finish line. It was the second win for Ferrari at Le Mans and the first for the works team.

Results

Pilots by nationality

52 French	27 British	9 Americans	8 Belgians	7 Italians
4 Germans	2 Sweden	1 Argentine	1 Brazilian	1 Dominican
1 Moroccan	1 Dutch	1 Spaniard	1 Thai	1 Venezuelan

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S 5.0	4th	Scuderia Ferrari	José Froilán González Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 375 Plus	Ferrari 5.0L V12		302
2	S 5.0	14th	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Duncan Hamilton Tony Rolt	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6		301
3	S 8.0	2	Briggs Cunningham	Bill Spear Sherwood Johnston	Cunningham C4-R	Chrysler 5.5L V8		283
4th	S 5.0	16	Ecurie Francorchamps	Roger Laurent Jacques Swaters	Jaguar C-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6		277
5	S 8.0	1	Briggs Cunningham	Briggs Cunningham John Gordon Bennett	Cunningham C4-R	Chrysler 5.5L V8		274
6th	S 3.0	30th	Equipe Gordini	André Guelfi Jacques Pollet	Gordini T15S	Gordini 2.5L I6		263
7th	S 2.0	35	Bristol Airplane Company	Peter S. Wilson Jim Mayers	Bristol 450	Bristol 2.0L I6		260
8th	S 2.0	33	Bristol Airplane Company	Tommy Wisdom Jack Fairman	Bristol 450	Bristol 2.0L I6		257
9	S 2.0	34	Bristol Airplane Company	Mike Keen John Line	Bristol 450	Bristol 2.0L I6		255
10	S 750	57	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	René Bonnet Élie Bayol	DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		240
11	S 2.0	36	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Maurice Gatsonides Marcel Becquart	Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupe	Bristol 2.0L I6		228
12	S 1.5	39	Porsche KG	Johnny Claes Pierre Stasse	Porsche 550/4 RS 1500 Spyder	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		228
13	S 750	55	Ets. Monopolies	Pierre Hémard Pierre Flahault	Monopoles X84	Panhard 0.6L Flat-2		222
14th	S 1.1	47	Porsche KG	Zora Arkus-Duntov Gonzague Olivier	Porsche 550/4 RS 1100 Spyder	Porsche 1.1L Flat-4		216
15th	S 2.0	62	Edgar B. Wadsworth	Edgar Wadsworth John Brown	Triumph TR2	Triumph 2.0L I4		214
16	S 750	56	Ecurie Jeudy-Bonnet	Marc Gignoux Louis Cornet	DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		213
Not classified
17th	S 750	59	Automobiles Panhard et Levassor	René Cotton André Beaulieux	Panhard X88	Panhard 0.6L Flat-2		195
18th	S 750	54	P. Garzynski	René Breuil Jean Py	BG Le Mans	Renault 0.7L I4		194
Disqualified
19th	S 5.0	11	Georges Grignard	Jean Blanc Serge Nersessian	Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport	Talbot 4.6L I6		206
20th	S 1.5	43	Automobili OSCA	Lance Macklin Pierre Leygonie James Simpson	Osca MT4 1500	Osca 1.5L I4		247
Failed
21st	S 1.5	42	Automobili OSCA	Jacques Péron Francesco Giardini	Osca MT4 1500	Osca 1.5L I4		243
22nd	S 5.0	8th	David Brown	Reginald Parnell Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin DB3SSC	Aston Martin 2.9L Supercharged I6		222
23	S 1.1	63	Lucien Farnaud	Lucien Farnaud Adolfo Macchieraldo	Osca MT4 1100	Osca 1.1L I4		199
24	S 750	49	Automobiles VP	Yves Giraud-Cabantous Just-Émile Vernet	VP 166R	Renault 0.7L I4		190
25th	S 5.0	5	Scuderia Ferrari	Robert Manzon Louis Rosier	Ferrari 375 Plus	Ferrari 5.0L V12		177
26th	S 750	58	Automobiles Panhard et Levassor	Pierre Chancel Robert Chancel	Monopoles X88	Panhard 0.6L Flat-2		157
27	S 1.5	41	Porsche KG	Hans Herrmann Helmut Polensky	Porsche 550/4 RS 1500 Spyder	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		148
28	S 3.0	20th	David Brown	Prince Bira Peter Collins	Aston Martin DB3S Coupe	Aston Martin 2.9L I6		138
29	S 5.0	15th	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Peter Whitehead Ken Wharton	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6		131
30th	S 3.0	27	Jean-Paul Colas	Jean-Paul Colas Hernando da Silva Ramos	Aston Martin DB2 / 4 Vignale	Aston Martin 2.9L I6		121
31	S 5.0	6th	Briggs Cunningham	Phil Walters John Fitch	Ferrari 375MM	Ferrari 4.5L V12		120
32	S 2.0	28	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Alfonso de Portago Carlo Tomasi	Maserati A6GCS	Maserati 2.0L I6		116
33	S 2.0	38	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Stubborn Nottorp Ivar Andersson	Frazer Nash Le Mans	Bristol 2.0L I6		109
34	S 750	52	Ecurie Jeudy-Bonnet	Marc Azéma Alphonse de Burnay	DB HBR	Renault 0.7L I4		102
35	S 2.0	44	Alexandre Constantin	Edmond Mouche Alexandre Constantin	Constantin Barquette	Peugeot 1.3L Supercharged I4		95
36	S 5.0	12	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Stirling Moss Peter Walker	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6		92
37	S 5.0	3	Scuderia Ferrari	Umberto Maglioli Paolo Marzotto	Ferrari 375 Plus	Ferrari 5.0L V12		88
38	S 1.1	46	Kieft Cars Ltd.	Alan Rippon William Black	Kieft	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		86
39	S 1.1	65	Equipe Gordini	André Pilette Gilberte Thirion	Gordini T17S	Gordini 1.1L I4		76
40	S 3.0	19th	Equipe Gordini	Jean Behra André Simon	Gordini T24S	Gordini 3.0L I8		76
41	S 3.0	22nd	David Brown	Carroll Shelby Paul Brother	Aston Martin DB3S	Aston Martin 2.9L I6		74
42	S 750	50	Guy Michel and André Guillard	Guy Michel André Guillard	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4		73
43	S 3.0	21st	David Brown	Ian Stewart Graham Whitehead	Aston Martin DB3S Coupe	Aston Martin 2.9L I6		64
44	S 5.0	9	Ecurie Rossier	Jean-Louis Rosier Pierre Meyrat	Talbot-Lago T26GS	Talbot-Lago 4.5L I6		62
45	S 2.0	31	Equipe Gordini	Charles de Clareur André Moynet	Gordini T15S	Gordini 2.0L I6		54
46	S 2.0	37	Automobiles Frazer NasLtd.	Rodney F. Peacock Gerry A. Ruddock	Frazer Nash Le Mans	Bristol 2.0L I6		49
47	S 5.0	10	Pierre Levegh	Pierre Levegh Lino Fayen	Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport	Talbot-Lago 4.4L I6		33
48	S 1.1	48	Kieft Cars Ltd.	Georges Trouis Alfred P. Hitchings	Kieft sports	MG 1.1L I4		26th
49	S 5.0	7th	David Brown	Eric Thompson Dennis Poore	Lagonda DP115	Lagonda 4.5L V12		25th
50	S 750	66	Jacques Faucher	Jacques Faucher Jean Hébert	Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4		20th
51	S 750	51	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Pierre Louis-Dreyfus Jean Lucas	DB HBR	Renault 0.7L I4		8th
52	S 750	53	Nardi et Co.	Alexandre Gacon Mario Damonte	Nardi 750LM	Crosley 0.7L I4		7th
53	S 5.0	18th	Luigi Chinetti	Porfirio Rubirosa Innocente Baggio	Ferrari 375MM Berlinetta	Ferrari 4.5L V12		5
54	S 750	60	Automobiles Panhard et Levassor	Lucien Pailler Jacques Dewez	Panhard X88	Panhard 0.6L Flat-2		5
55	S 1.5	40	Porsche KG	Richard von Frankenberg Helm Glöckler	Porsche 550/4 RS 1500 Spyder	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		4th
56	S 750	64	Ecurie Jeudy-Bonnet	Claude Storez Jean-Claude Vidilles Jean Lucas	DB HBR	Renault 0.7L I4		4th
57	S 750	61	Automobiles Panhard et Levassor	Eugène Dussous Jacques Savoye	Panhard X84	Panhard 0.6L Flat-2		1
Not started
58	S 3.0	23	Nigel man	Nigel Mann Charles Brackenbury	Aston Martin DB3S	Aston Martin 2.9L I6		1
59	S 2.5	29	Officine Maserati	Michel Poberejsky	Maserati 250S			2
withdrawn
60	S 3.0	29	Donald Healey Motor Company	George Hunton Ed Lunken	Austin-Healey 100			3
61	S 3.0	30th	Donald Healey Motor Company	Ron Flockhart Louis Chiron	Austin-Healey 100			4th

¹ not started ^{2 appeared} too late for technical inspection ³ withdrawn ⁴ 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
62	S 3.0		Scuderia Ferrari	Mike Hawthorn Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari 250 Monza	Ferrari 2.9L V12
63	S 3.0	7th	Scuderia Ferrari	Gianni Marzotto Piero Carini Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 250 Monza	Ferrari 2.9L V12
64	S 5.0	3	David Brown	Reg Parnell Roy Salvadori Eric Thompson Dennis Poore Pat Griffith Graham Whitehead Peter Collins	Lagonda DP115	Lagonda 4.5L V12
65	S 4.0		Ecurie Francorchamps	Roger Laurent Jacques Swaters	Jaguar C-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6
66	3.0	30th	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Sergio Mantovani Bruno Venetian	Maserati 250S	Maserati 2.9L I6
67					ERG G-Type
68	S 8.0	1	Sydney Allard		Allard J2R	Cadillac 5.4L V8
69	S 750	73	Jean Hébert		Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4
70	S 750	74	Jacques Lecat		Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4
71	S 750	75	Ecurie Rosier		Renault 4CV	Renault 0.7L I4
72	S 4.0	18th	Scuderia Lancia	Alberto Ascari Luigi Villoresi	Lancia D24	Lancia 3.3L V6
73	S 4.0	19th	Scuderia Lancia	Juan Manuel Fangio Piero Taruffi	Lancia D24	Lancia 3.3L V6
74	S 4.0	20th	Scuderia Lancia	Robert Manzon Eugenio Castellotti	Lancia D24	Lancia 3.3L V6
75	S 3.0	21st	Daimler-Benz AG		Mercedes-Benz 300SL	Mercedes-Benz 3.0L I8
76	S 3.0	22nd	Daimler-Benz AG		Mercedes-Benz 300SL	Mercedes-Benz 3.0L I8
77	S 3.0	23	Daimler-Benz AG	Paul Brother	Mercedes-Benz 300SL	Mercedes-Benz 3.0L I8
78	S 3.0	28	Donald Healey Motor Company	Prince Bira Lance Macklin	Austin-Healey 100
79	S 3.0	66	Jean-Paul Colas	Jean-Paul Colas Hernando da Silva Ramos	Austin-Healey 100
80	S 1.5	51	Automobili OSCA	Porfirio Rubirosa Otto Linton	Osca MT-4	Osca 1.5L I4
81			J. Conte		Simca Aronde
82			Louis Rosier		Ferrari
83	S 750		Kieft Cars Ltd.		Kieft
84	S 500		Kieft Cars Ltd.		Kieft
85	S 4.0		John Manussis		Jaguar C-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6
86			Automobiles Frazer-Nash Ltd.		Frazer-Nash
87			Briggs Cunningham		Cunningham C6-R
88	S 750		Nardi et Co.		Nardi 750LM	Crosley 0.7L I4

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Performance - 8th Annual Cup of the ACO	René Bonnet	Élie Bayol	DB HBR	Rank 10
20th Biennial Cup	René Bonnet	Élie Bayol	DB HBR	Rank 10
5001-8000 cc	Bill Spear	Sherwood Johnston	Cunningham C4-R	Rank 3
3001-5000 cc	José Froilán González	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 375 Plus	Overall victory
2001-3000 cc	André Guelfi	Jacques Pollet	Gordini T15	Rank 6
1501-2000 cc	Peter S. Wilson	Jim Mayers	Bristol 450	Rank 7
1101-1500 cc	Johnny Claes	Pierre Stasse	Porsche 550/4 RS 1500 Spyder	Rank 12
751-1100 cc	Zora Arkus-Duntov	Gonzague Olivier	Porsche 550/4 RS 1100 Spyder	Rank 14
- 750 cc	René Bonnet	Élie Bayol	DB HBR	Rank 10

Racing data

• Registered: 88
• Started: 57
• Valued: 16
• Race classes: 9
• Spectator: unknown
• Honorary starter of the race: Bernhard zur Lippe-Biesterfeld , Prince of the Netherlands
• Race weekend weather: rain on Sunday
• Route length: 13.492 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 302
• Total distance of the winning team: 4061.150 km
• Winner's average: 169.215 km / h
• Pole position: unknown
• Fastest race lap: José Froilán González - Ferrari 375 Plus (# 4) and Paolo Marzotto - Ferrari 375 Plus (# 3) - 4: 16.800 = 189.139 km / h
• Racing series: 4th round of the 1954 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 2-909-413-06-3 .

Web links

Commons : Le Mans 24 Hours 1954  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Predecessor race Mille Miglia 1954

Sports car world championship

Successor RAC Tourist Trophy 1954