1958 Le Mans 24 hour race

A Ferrari 250TR58, who now for the collection of Ralph Lauren is one

The rear view of a Maserati 200SI. The Frenchman Eugène Martin drove a privately registered 200SI, but retired after 20 laps due to a gearbox failure.

The 26th 24-hour race at Le Mans , the 26 ^s Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , and 24 Heures du Mans Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans , was held at from 21 to 22 June 1958 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

The race

Heavy rain and heavy, sometimes gusty winds had a lasting impact on the 24-hour race in 1958. For 15 hours there was a veritable deluge in the race that led to thirteen accidents, one of which was fatal.

The Ferrari racing team , who also brought their new 3-liter Testa Rossa to the Sarthe, was the big favorite for overall victory . Including the works cars, there were no fewer than ten Testa Rossa at the start, with José Behra's and Pedro Rodríguez's North American Racing -Testa-Rossa having a 4-cylinder, 2-liter engine. After Maserati withdrew from the sports car world championship at the end of 1957, the Jaguar and Aston Martins remained Ferrari's toughest opponents to a success in the overall standings.

The not even 17-year-old Mexican Ricardo Rodríguez was not allowed to start from the organizing Automobile Club de l'Ouest despite violent interventions by his father . The race started in a heavy thunderstorm. The spectators saw little more than the spray from the passing vehicles. Stirling Moss took the lead in the Aston Martin DB3 and held it until the early evening hours. Just after 6 p.m. - at this point three Jaguar D-Type had already failed with engine failure - a collision occurred in the falling fog between the US Ferrari driver Bruce Kessler and the French industrialist Jean-Marie Brussin , who was a private driver Jaguar D-Type drove. Brussin was killed and Kessler seriously injured.

At midnight, Jaguar hoped for overall victory when Duncan Hamilton took the lead. But this Jaguar also broke down due to a collision. This cleared the way for the Ferrari factory team with Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill . It was the first Le Mans victory for an American and Belgian racing driver. Mike Hawthorn set the fastest race lap for the fourth time in a row , but due to the bad weather did not come close to his best time from the previous year.

Results

Pilots by nationality

43 French	32 British	10 Belgians	9 Americans	6 Germans
2 Italians	1 Argentine	1 Australian	1 Cuban	1 Guatemalan
1 Mexican	1 Dutch	1 Swede	1 Swiss	1 Spaniard

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S 3000	14th	Scuderia Ferrari	Olivier Gendebien Phil Hill	Ferrari 250TR58	Ferrari 3.0L V12		305
2	S 3000	5	P&AG Whitehead	Graham Whitehead Peter Whitehead	Aston Martin DB3S	Aston Martin 3.0L I6		293
3	S 2000	29	Porsche KG	Jean Behra Hans Herrmann	Porsche 718 RSK Spyder	Porsche 1.6L Flat-4		291
4th	S 1500	31	Porsche KG	Edgar Barth Paul Frère	Porsche 718 RSK	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		290
5	S 1500	32	Baron Carel Godin de Beaufort	Carel Godin de Beaufort Herbert Linge	Porsche 550A RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		288
6th	S 3000	21st	Equipe Nationale Belge	Jean Blaton Alain de Changy	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12		279
7th	S 3000	22nd	Ed Hugus	Ed Hugus Ray Erickson	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12		278
8th	S 2000	28	AC Cars Ltd.	Richard Stoop Peter Bolton	AC Ace LM Prototype	Bristol 2.0L I6		257
9	S 2000	27	AC Cars Ltd.	Hubert Patthey Georges Berger	AC Ace	Bristol 2.0L I6		255
10	S 1500	34	Jean-Paul Colas	Jacques Dewez Jean Kerguen	Porsche 550A RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		254
11	S 750	42	Automobili OSCA	Alejandro de Tomaso Colin Davis	OSCA Sport 750TN	OSCA 0.7L I4		252
12	S 750	44	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Gérard Laureau Louis Cornet	DB HBR4 Spyder	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		250
13	S 750	46	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Paul Armagnac Jean-Claude Vidilles	DB HBR4	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		242
14th	S 750	41	Automobili OSCA	Jean Laroche Rémy Radix	OSCA Sport 750	OSCA 0.7L I4		241
15th	S 3000	10	Bruce Halford	Bruce Halford Brian Naylor	Lister LM	Jaguar 3.0L I6		241
16	S 2000	24	Peerless Cars	Peter Jopp Percy Crabb	Peerless GT Coupe	Triumph 2.0L I4		240
17th	S 750	51	Equipe Monopole Course	Jacques Poch Guy Dunaud-Saultier	Monopoles x86	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		218
18th	S 750	45	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Robert Mougin Jean Lucienbonnet	DB HBR4	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		214
Not classified
19th	S 750	53	Automobili Stanguellini	François Sigrand René-Louis Revillon Michel Nicol	Stanguellini 750S	Fiat 0.7L I4		212
20th	S 750	55	Team Lotus Engineering	Alan Stacey Tom Dickson	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 0.7L I4		202
Failed
21st	S 3.0	8th	JD Hamilton	Duncan Hamilton Ivor Bueb	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.0L I6		251
22nd	S 3.0	3	David Brown Racing Dept.	Tony Brooks Maurice Trintignant	Aston Martin DBR1 / 300	Aston Martin 3.0L I6		173
23	S 1100	38	Team Lotus Engineering	Innes Ireland Michael Taylor	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		162
24	S 3000	1	Francisco Godia	Francisco Godia Joakim Bonnier	Maserati 300S	Maserati 3.0L I6		142
25th	S 750	47	Bernard Deviterne	Marcel Laillier René Bartholoni	DB HBR5	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		129
26th	S 2000	25th	North American Racing Team	Pedro Rodríguez José Behra	Ferrari 500TR58	Ferrari 2.0L I4		119
27	S 3000	12	Scuderia Ferrari	Mike Hawthorn Peter Collins	Ferrari 250TR58	Ferrari 3.0L V12		112
28	S 750	54	Automobili Stanguellini	René Philippe Faure Michel Nicol	Stanguellini 750S	Fiat 0.7L I4		110
29	S 3000	16	Scuderia Ferrari	Wolfgang von Trips Wolfgang Seidel	Ferrari 250TR58	Ferrari 3.0L V12		101
30th	S 750	48	Equipe Monopole Course	Maurice van der Bruwaene Jacques Lefourel	Monopoles X89	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		101
31	S 1100	40	John Ogier	Tommy Bridger Peter Blond	Tojeiro	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		83
32	S 3000	19th	North American Racing Team	Edwin Martin Fernand Tavano	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12		77
33	S 3000	20th	Los Amigos team	François Picard Jaroslav Juhan	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12		72
34	S 3000	18th	North American Racing Team	Dan Gurney Bruce Kessler	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12		64
35	S 1500	37	Squadra Virgilio Conrero	Marcel Lauga Jean Hébert	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV Zagato	Alfa Romeo 1.3L I4		59
36	S 2000	30th	Porsche KG	Richard von Frankenberg Claude Storez	Porsche 718 RSK	Porsche 1.6L Flat-4		55
37	S 3000	4th	David Brown Racing Dept.	Roy Salvadori Stuart Lewis-Evans	Aston Martin DBR1 / 300	Aston Martin 3.0L I6		49
38	S 3000	11	Henri Peignaux	Jean-Marie Brussin André Guelfi	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.0L I6		47
39	S 3000	17th	Fernand Tavano	Alfonso Gómez-Mena Piero Drogo	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12		45
40	S 750	50	Equipe Monopole Course	Bernard Consten Jean Vinatier	Monopoles VM5	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		44
41	S 3000	9	Equipe Nationale Belge	Freddy Rousselle Claude Dubois	Lister LM	Jaguar 3.0L I6		43
42	S 1500	35	Team Lotus Engineering	Jay Chamberlain Pete Lovely	Lotus Mk15	Coventry Climax 1.5L I4		39
43	S 750	52	Automobili Stanguellini	Georges Guyot Pierre Ros	Stanguellini 750S	Fiat 0.7L I4		38
44	S 3000	58	Ecurie Francorchamps	Lucien Bianchi Willy Mairesse	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12		33
45	S 1500	36	Squadra Virgilio Conrero	Giorgio Ubezzi Eric Catulle	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV Zagato	Alfa Romeo 1.3L I4		31
46	S 3000	2	David Brown Racing Dept.	Stirling Moss Jack Brabham	Aston Martin DBR1 / 300	Aston Martin 3.0L I6		30th
47	S 3000	57	Maurice Charles	Maurice Charles John Young	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.0L I6		29
48	S 1100	39	Car Exchange	William Frost Robert Hicks	Lotus 11	Coventry Climax 1.1L I4		28
49	S 2000	23	Jean Thépenier	Marcel Martin Michel Dagorne	Maserati 200SI	Maserati 2.0L I4		20th
50	S 750	56	Lotus France team	Roger Masson André Héchard	Lotus Mk15	Coventry Climax 0.7L I4		19th
51	S 750	49	Equipe Monopole Course	René Cotton André Beaulieux	Monopoles x86	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		10
52	S 3000	6th	Ecurie Ecosse	Jack Fairman masts Gregory	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.0L I6		7th
53	S 2000	26th	Team Lotus Engineering	Cliff Allison Graham Hill	Lotus Mk15	Coventry Climax 2.0L I4		3
54	S 3000	7th	Ecurie Ecosse	John Lawrence Ninian Sanderson	Jaguar D-Type	Jaguar 3.0l I6		2
55	S 750	43	Just-Émile Vernet	Jean-Marie Dumazer Robert Dutoit	VP	Renault 0.7L I4		2
Not started
56	S 1500	59	Leman	Heinz Schiller Claude Tot Hans Wirz	Porsche 550RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4		1
57	S 1100	60	Automobili Stanguellini	Roger Castelain Pierre Ros	Stanguellini Bialbero	Fiat 1.7L I4		2
58	S 750	61	Just-Emile Vernet	Louis Chardin Michel Heymel	VP	Renault 0.7L I4		3
59	S 2000	63	Peerless Cars	Ian Baillie Richard Gibson John Dalton	Peerless GT Coupe	Triumph 2.0L I4		4th

¹ reserve ² reserve ³ reserve ⁴ reserve

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
60	S 3000	1	Claude Bourillot		Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12
61	S 3000	14th	Equipe Nationale Belge		Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12
62	S 3000	15th	Joakim Bonnier		Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12
63	S 3000	16	François Picard		Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12
64	S 3000	21st	Jean-Pierre Colas		Aston Martin DB3S	Aston Martin 3.0L I6
65	S 2000	22nd	Automobiles Frazer Nash		Frazer-Nash Continental
66	S 1500	32	Ed Hugus		Porsche 550RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4
67	S 1500	33	Christian Goethals		Porsche 550RS	Porsche 1.5L Flat-4
68	S 750	55	Elva		Elva Mk.II
69	S 750	62	De Pontac	Laforcade Gaston Serraud	CTAP
70	S 3000	15th	Scuderia Ferrari	Luigi Musso Gino Munaron Olivier Gendebien Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari 250TR	Ferrari 3.0L V12
71					VP

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Performance	Alejandro de Tomaso	Colin Davis	OSCA Sport 750TN	Rank 11
24th Biennial Cup	no participant in the finish
2001-3000 cc	Olivier Gendebien	Phil Hill	Ferrari 250TR58	Overall victory
1501-2000 cc	Jean Behra	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 718 RSK Spyder	Rank 3
1101-1500 cc	Paul Brother	Edgar Barth	Porsche 718 RSK	Rank 4
501-750 cc	Alejandro de Tomaso	Colin Davis	OSCA 750 Sport 750TN	Rank 11

Racing data

• Registered: 71
• Started: 55
• Rated: 20
• Race classes: 6
• Spectators: 150,000
• Honorary starter of the race: Mr. Chaplain, Mayor of Le Mans
• Race weekend weather: heavy rain and heavy gusts of wind
• Route length: 13.461 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 305
• Total distance of the winning team: 4101.926 km
• Winner's average: 170.914 km / h
• Pole position: unknown
• Fastest race lap: Mike Hawthorn - Ferrari 250TR58 (# 12) - 4: 08,000 = 195.402 km / h
• Racing series: 5th round of the 1958 World Sports Car Championship

literature

• 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 1958  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Previous race 1000 km race on the Nürburgring 1958

Sports car world championship

Successor RAC Tourist Trophy 1958