1957 Le Mans 24 hour race

Tony Brooks (with helmet) in his Aston Martin BR1 / 300 in front of his hotel in Le Mans

Maserati 300S

DKW Monza Coupe

The 25th 24-hour race of Le Mans , the 25 ^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 22nd to 23rd, 1957 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

Before the race

Regulations

Once again, those in charge of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest - the organizer of the 24-hour race since 1923 - adapted the regulations. The number of vehicles that could take part in the race was set at 55. The restrictions on cubic capacity and tank capacities decided in the previous year have been lifted again. The minimum distance between two refueling stops has been reduced from 34 to 30 laps. Since only the drivers were allowed to work on the vehicle with on-board equipment during a stop on the route, the tools that had been prescribed since 1923 were no longer required to be carried in the car. Although only the driver was still allowed to carry out repairs, the racing teams were free to carry tools from 1957 onwards.

Teams

As in the four sports car world championship races that preceded the 24-hour race, the Ferrari and Maserati works teams were the big favorites at Le Mans. Ferrari brought his four camshafts - V12 -Boliden to the Sarthe. Peter Collins , Phil Hill , Mike Hawthorn and Luigi Musso drove the 390 hp 335S . Stuart Lewis-Evans and Martino Severi a 315S . Olivier Gendebien and Maurice Trintignant drove a Ferrari 250TR58 , the first Testa Rossa Ferrari at Le Mans. In addition to the 300S , Maserati also brought two 4.5-liter 450S to the Sarthe. The Zagato Coupé driven by Stirling Moss and Harry Schell was developed by Frank Costin . The Spyder was driven by Jean Behra and André Simon .

Although Jaguar was not represented by a works team, five Jaguar D-types were rolled out to the start. The British cars only had outsider chances against the top Italian cars. Aston Martin brought a new design to Le Mans. The brothers Peter and Graham Whitehead drove the new DBR2 .

Porsche brought the 718 to the 24-hour race for the first time . The DKW Monza of Wolfgang Seidel had a body made of plastic.

The race

Jean Behra paid for his chase to the top of the race after a botched start with a defective clutch that forced him to retire after 28 laps. When Stirling Moss stopped in the lead with engine failure at 6 p.m., the last Maserati had failed with him. At the front the pace was so high at the beginning of the race that the fastest non-Italian car - the Jaguar D-Type of Ron Flockhart and Ivor Bueb - was already two laps behind the front. However, Ferrari also paid for this high pace with early retirements: Peter Collins set a new lap record on the first lap, only to be left with an engine failure on the second lap. When the Gendebien / Trintignant Ferrari was canceled at 7 p.m., four D-Type Jaguars were suddenly in the lead, with the Flockhart / Bueb car in the lead. With the exception of the car of the Belgian Equipe Nationale, where Freddy Rousselle lost 55 minutes with a repair to the ignition on the Les Hunaudières, and the electrical problems on the Hamilton / Gregory car, the Jaguars ran without any problems. In the end, the British brand celebrated one of the greatest triumphs at Le Mans. The five D types were among the top six in the overall standings. Only Lewis-Evans and Severi's Ferrari in fifth overall interrupted Jaguar's dominance.

Results

Pilots by nationality

44 French	27 British	10 Belgians	9 Americans	7 Italians
6 Germans	1 Australian	1 Moroccan	1 Dutch	1 Austrian
1 Swede

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S 5000	3	Ecurie Ecosse	Ron Flockhart Ivor Bueb	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.8L I6		327
2	S 5000	15th	Ecurie Ecosse	Ninian Sanderson John Lawrence	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6		319
3	S 5000	17th	Los Amigos team	Jean Lucas Jean-Marie Brussin	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6		317
4th	S 5000	16	Ecurie Nationale Belge	Paul Brother Freddy Rousselle	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.4L I6		310
5	S 5000	8th	Scuderia Ferrari	Stuart Lewis-Evans Martino Severi	Ferrari 315S	Ferrari 3.8L V12	E.	300
6th	S 5000	4th	Duncan Hamilton	Duncan Hamilton masts Gregory	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.8L I6		299
7th	S 2000	28	Ecurie Francorchamps	Lucien Bianchi Georges Harris	Ferrari 500TRC	Ferrari 2.0L I4		288
8th	S 1500	35	Ed Hugus	Ed Hugus Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 550A RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		286
9	S 1100	62	Lotus engineering	Herbert MacKay-Fraser Jay Chamberlain	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		285
10	S 2000	31	AC Cars Ltd.	Peter Bolton Ken Rudd	AC Ace	Bristol 2.0L I6		281
11	S 3000	21st	David Brown	Jean-Paul Colas Jean Kerguen	Aston Martin DB3S	Aston Martin 3.0L I6		272
12	S 2000	26th	Georges Guyet	Georges Guyet Michel Parsy	Maserati A6GCS	Maserati 2.0L I4		260
13	S 1100	42	Robert Walshaw	Robert Walshaw John Dalton	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		259
14th	S 750	55	Lotus engineering	Cliff Allison Keith Hall	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 0.7L I4		259
15th	S 1100	40	Cooper Car Company	Jack Brabham Ian Raby	Cooper T39	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		254
16	S 1100	41	André Héchard	André Héchard Roger Masson	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		253
17th	S 750	49	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Louis Cornet Henri Perrier	DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L FLat-2		239
18th	S 750	52	Equipe Monopole Course	Pierre Chancel Pierre Hemard	Monopole X89 Coupe	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		238
19th	S 750	46	Automobili OSCA	Jean Laroche Rémy Radix	OSCA 750 Sport	OSCA 0.7L I4		234
20th	S 750	53	Equipe Monopole Course	Robert Chancel Pierre Flahault	Monopole X88 Coupe	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		230
21st	S 750	58	Automobili Stanguellini	Fernand Sigrand Michel Robert Nicol	Stanguellini 750 Sport	Fiat 0.7L I4		214
Failed
22nd	S 1500	34	Porsche KG	Claude Storez Ed Crawford	Porsche 550A RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		275
23	S 2000	24	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Richard Stoop Peter Jopp	Frazer Nash Sebring	Bristol 2.0L I6		240
24	S 2000	27	Fernand Tavano	Fernand Tavano Jacques Péron	Ferrari 500TRC	Ferrari 2.0L I4	E.	235
25th	S 5000	10	North American Racing Team	George Arents Jan de Vroom	Ferrari 290MM-C	Ferrari 3.5L V12		183
26th	S 1100	45	Wolfgang Seidel	Wolfgang Seidel Heinz Meier	DKW Monza Coupe	DKW 1.0L I3		151
27	S 3000	20th	David Brown	Tony Brooks Noël Cunningham-Reid	Aston Martin DBR1 / 300	Aston Martin 2.9L I6		140
28	S 2000	25th	Léon Couliboeuf	Léon Couliboeuf José Behra	Maserati 200SI	Maserati 2.0L I4		136
29	S 750	56	Automobili Stanguellini	René-Philippe Faure Gilbert Foury	Stanguellini Bialbero	Fiat 0.7L I4		131
30th	S 2000	29	Los Amigos team	François Picard Richie Ginther	Ferrari 500TRC	Ferrari 2.0L I4		129
31	S 1500	32	Porsche KG	Umberto Maglioli Edgar Barth	Porsche 718 RSK	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		129
32	S 750	54	Equipe Monopole Course	René Cotton Jacques Blanchet	Monopole X88 Spyder	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		127
33	S 750	50	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Jean-Claude Vidilles Jo Schlesser	DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		126
34	S 750	51	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Paul Armagnac Gérard Laureau	DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		120
35	S 3000	19th	David Brown	Roy Salvadori Les Leston	Aston Martin DBR1 / 300	Aston Martin 2.9L I6		112
36	S 5000	9	Scuderia Ferrari	Olivier Gendebien Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 250TR58	Ferrari 3.1L V12	E.	109
37	S 1500	33	Porsche KG	Hans Herrmann Richard von Frankenberg	Porsche 550A RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		87
38	S 5000	5	David Brown	Graham Whitehead Peter Whitehead	Aston Martin DBR2 / 370	Aston Martin 3.7L I6		81
39	S 5000	11	Equipe Nationale Belge	Jacques Swaters Alain de Changy	Ferrari 290MM-C	Ferrari 3.5L V12		73
40	S 3000	12	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Giorgio Scarlatti Joakim Bonnier	Maserati 300S	Maserati 3.0L I6		73
41	S 1500	60	Equipe Nationale Belge	Claude Dubois Georges Hacquin	Porsche 550A RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		70
42	S 750	57	Bernard Deviterne	Bernard Deviterne Marcel Lailler	DB HBR5	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		68
43	S 1100	44	Automobili Stanguellini	Francesco Siracusa Roberto Lippi	Stanguellini Prototipo	Fiat 1.1L I4		67
44	S 5000	7th	Scuderia Ferrari	Mike Hawthorn Luigi Musso	Ferrari 335S	Ferrari 4.0L V12	E.	56
45	S 1100	39	Arnott Cars Ltd.	Jim Russell Dennis Taylor	Arnott Sports	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		46
46	S 3000	18th	Equipe Gordini	André Guelfi Jean Guichet	Gordini T24S	Gordini 3.0L I8		38
47	S 5000	1	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Stirling Moss Harry Schell	Maserati 450S Zagato Coupe	Maserati 4.5L V8		32
48	S 5000	2	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Jean Behra André Simon	Maserati 450S Spyder	Maserati 4.5L V8		28
49	S 1500	36	Maurice Slotine	Maurice Slotine Roland Bourel	Porsche 356A	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		26th
50	S 2000	61	Gotfrid Köchert	Gotfrid Köchert Erwin Bauer	Ferrari 500TRC	Ferrari 2.0L I4		18th
51	S 750	47	Automobilies VP	Jean-Marie Dumazer Bernard Consten	VP 166R	Renault 0.7L I4		15th
52	S 2000	30th	Equipe Gordini	Henri de Clarens Robert La Caze	Gordini T15S	Gordini 2.0L I6		3
53	S 5000	6th	Scuderia Ferrari	Peter Collins Phil Hill	Ferrari 335MM	Ferrari 3.0L V12	E.	2
54	S 3000	23	Automobiles Talbot	Franco Bordoni Bruce Halford	Talbot-Lago Sport 2500	Maserati 2.5L I6		1
Not started
55	S 3000	22nd	Ecurie Dubonnet	Franco Bordini Georges Burggraff Bruce Halford André Loens Jean Blanc	Talbot-Lago Sport 2500	Maserati 2.5L I6		1
56	S 1500	37	Lotus engineering	Herbert MacKay-Fraser Jay Chamberlain Colin Chapman Peter Ashdown	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.5L I4		2
57	S 5000	8th	Scuderia Ferrari	Stuart Lewis-Evans Martino Severi	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.1L V12	E.	3
58	S 2000	T	AC Cars Ltd.	Peter Bolton Ken Rudd Bob Jennings	AC Ace	Bristol 2.0L I6		4th

¹ not started ² valve damage in training ³ cylinder damage in training ⁴ replacement car

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
59	S 3000	14th	Officine Alfieri Maserati		Maserati 300S
60	S 1500	38	Alfranco Pagani		Alfa Romeo
61	S 1100	43	OSCA Automobili	Giulio Cabianca Colin Davis	OSCA MT4 1100S
62	S 750	48	Jacques Dewez	Jacques Dewez Robert Schollemann	Renault special
63	S 8000		Luigi Chinetti		Ford Thunderbird
64	S 8000		Luigi Chinetti		Ford Thunderbird
65	S 5000		Briggs Cunningham		Cunningham C6-R
66	S 5000		S: t Giles		Chevrolet Corvette
67	S 5000		S: t Giles		Chevrolet Corvette
68	S 5000		Norport		Chevrolet Corvette
69	S 2000		Phoenix		Phoenix Turner 2SR6
70	S 1100		Automobili Stanguellini		Stanguellini Bialbero	Fiat 1.1L I4
71	S 750				DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2
72	S 750				DB HBR	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2
73	S 5000				Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.8L I6
74	S 5000				Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.8L I6
75					Peugeot
76	S 5000				BMW 507	BMW 3.1L V8
77	S 1500				Porsche
78	S 1500				Porsche
79	S 1500				Porsche
80	S 3ß00				Gordini T24S
81	S 5000		Automobiles Talbot		Talbot	BMW 3.1L V8
82			Officine Alfieri Maserati	Juan Manuel Fangio Carlos Menditéguy	Maserati
83	S 5000		Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.		Frazer Nash	BMW 3.1L V8

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Performance	Cliff Allison	Keith Hall	Lotus 11	Rank 14
23rd Biennial Cup	no participant in the finish
3001-5000 cc	Ron Flockhart	Ivor Bueb	Jaguar D-Type	Overall victory
2001-3000 cc	Jean-Paul Colas	Jean Kerguen	Aston Martin DB3S	Rank 11
1501-2000 cc	Lucien Bianchi	George Harris	Ferrari 500TRC	Rank 7
1101-1500 cc	Ed Hugus	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 550A RS	Rank 8
751-1100 cc	Herbert MacKay-Fraser	Jay Chamberlain	Lotus 11	Rank 9
501-750 cc	Cliff Allison	Keith Hall	Lotus 11	Rank 14

Racing data

• Registered: 83
• Started: 54
• Rated: 20
• Race classes: 8
• Spectators: 250,000
• Honorary starter of the race: Walt Harrington, United States Ambassador to Paris
• Race weekend weather: warm and sunny
• Route length: 13.461 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 327
• Total distance of the winning team: 4,397.108 km
• Winner's average: 183.217 km / h
• Pole position: unknown
• Fastest race lap: Mike Hawthorn - Ferrari 335S (# 7) - 3: 58.700 = 203.015 km / h
• Racing series: 5th round of the 1957 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 1957  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Previous race 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1957

Sports car world championship

Successor 1000 km race in Kristianstad 1957