Le Mans 24 hour race 1961

The Ferrari 250TRI / 61 with starting number 10; the winning car from Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill

Porsche 718 RS Spyder

The 29th 24-hour race of Le Mans , the 29 ^e Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans , also 24 Heures du Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans , took place from 10 to 11 June 1961 the Circuit des 24 Heures .

The race

When this year's 24-hour race was over, the Ferrari brand caught up with Bentley and Jaguar with its fifth overall victory . In the drivers category, Olivier Gendebien achieved his third overall victory and had as many successes as Woolf Barnato and Luigi Chinetti . Together with Phil Hill he drove a Ferrari 250TRI / 61 . The duo set two Le Mans records. For the first time, the 4400 km mark was exceeded in the total distance and the winning average was just over 185 km / h. Ferrari racing cars were the favorites from the start, with the two Mexican Rodriguez brothers - 19 and 21 years old - taking the public's favor by storm.

The best Le Mans start caught Jim Clark , who took the lead with the Aston Martin DBR1. Mike Parkes had the worst start and was the last to leave. After the end of the first lap, however, the Briton had overtaken an astonishing 40 vehicles and was already in the top field. The Briggs Cunningham - Maserati Tipo 63 , with Augie Pabst at the wheel, never got away and had to be started by a mechanic. Shortly after the Ferrari 246SP , driven by Wolfgang von Trips and Richie Ginther , took over the lead, the Dino rolled out of the Mulsanne without petrol. The two works Ferraris dominated the night. The only pressure came from the NART- Rodriguez-Ferrari. On Sunday morning at 7 a.m., the two brothers drove up to the leading Gendebien Ferrari within two seconds. Rarely at Le Mans, at this point in the race, were the grandstands as crowded as they were in 1961 to cheer on the Rodriguez brothers. At this point the Aston-Martins and Scuderia Serenissima - Maserati had long since failed. In the morning, the NART Ferrari lost almost half an hour in the pits. But the Mexicans started a terrific race to catch up and were already back in second place at 2 p.m. before the Ferrari crashed with engine failure.

In the end, Ferrari still celebrated a one-two-three, as the 250 GT of Pierre Noblet and Jean Guichet finished in third place before the Tipo 63 of Augie Pabst and Dick Thompson .

Results

Pilots by nationality

31 French	27 British	17 Americans	8 Belgians	6 Italians
4 Germans	3 Australians	3 New Zealanders	3 Swiss	2 Mexicans
2 Dutch	1 Irish	1 Swede	2 South Africans

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	engine	tires	Round
1	S 3.0	10	Scuderia Ferrari	Olivier Gendebien Phil Hill	Ferrari 250TRI / 61	Ferrari 3.0L V12		333
2	S 3.0	11	Scuderia Ferrari	Willy Mairesse Mike Parkes	Ferrari 250TRI / 61	Ferrari 3.0L V12		330
3	GT 3.0	14th	Pierre Noblet	Pierre Noblet Jean Guichet	Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta SWB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		317
4th	S 3.0	7th	Briggs Cunningham	Augie Pabst Dick Thompson	Maserati Tipo 63	Maserati 3.0L V12		311
5	S 2.0	33	Porsche System Engineering	Masts Gregory Bob Holbert	Porsche 718/4 RS Spyder	Porsche 2.0L Flat-4		309
6th	GT 3.0	20th	North American Racing Team	Bob Grossman André Pilette	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		309
7th	S 2.0	32	Porsche System Engineering	Edgar Barth Hans Herrmann	Porsche 718/4 RS Coupe	Porsche 1.6L Flat-4		306
8th	S 2.0	24	Briggs Cunningham	Briggs Cunningham William Kimberly	Maserati Tipo 60	Maserati 2.0L I4		303
9	S 2.0	26th	Standard Triumph Motor Company	Peter Bolton Keith Ballisat	Triumph TR4S	Triumph 2.0L I4		284
10	GT 1.6	36	Porsche System Engineering	Herbert Linge Ben Pon	Porsche 356B Abarth GTL	Porsche 1.6L Flat-4		284
11	S 2.0	27	Standard Triumph Motor Company	Les Leston Rob Slotemaker	Triumph TR4S	Triumph 2.0L I4		279
12	GT 1.3	38	Lotus engineering	William EJ Allen Trevor Taylor	Lotus Elite Mk14	Climax 1.2L I4		268
13	GT 1.3	40	Ecurie Edger	Bernard Kosselek Pierre Messenez	Lotus Elite Mk14	Climax 1.2L I4		267
14th	S 850	60	Abarth & Cie	Denis Hulme Angus Hyslop	Fiat-Abarth 850S	Fiat 0.8L I4		263
15th	S 2.0	25th	Standard Triumph Motor Company	Marcel Becquart Mike Rothschild	Triumph TR4S	Triumph 2.0L I4		262
16	GT 1.6	34	Sunbeam Talbot	Peter Harper Peter Procter	Sunbeam Alpine Harrington	Sunbeam 1.6L I4		261
17th	GT 2.0	28	Equipe Chardonnet	Jean-Claude Magne Georges Alexandrovitch	AC Ace	Bristol 2.0L I6		261
18th	S 850	53	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Gérard Laureau Robert Bouharde	DB HBR4	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		257
19th	S 850	45	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	André Moynet Jean-Claude Vidilles	DB HBR5 Coupe	Panhard 0.8L Flat-2		243
20th	S 850	48	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	André Guilhaudin Jacques Grelley	DB HBR5	Panhard 0.8L Flat-2		243
21st	S 850	47	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Edgar Rollin René Bartholoni	DB HBR5	Panhard 0.8L Flat-2		239
22nd	S 850	52	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Jean-Claude Caillaud Robert Mougin	DB HBR5	Panhard 0.8L Flat-2		237
Disqualified
23	GT 1.3	35	Sunbeam Talbot	Peter Jopp Paddy Hopkirk	Sunbeam Alpine	Sunbeam 1.6L I4		130
Failed
24	GT 4.0	1	Jean Kerguen	Jean Kerguen Jacques Dewez	Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato	Aston Martin 3.7L I6		286
25th	S 850	55	Abarth & Cie	Paul Condriller Karl Foitek	Fiat-Abarth 700S	Fiat 0.7L I4		255
26th	S 3.0	17th	North American Racing Team	Pedro Rodríguez Ricardo Rodríguez	Ferrari 250 TRI / 61	Ferrari 3.0L V12		305
27	S 2.0	30th	Porsche System Engineering	Jo Bonnier Dan Gurney	Porsche 718/4 RS Coupe	Porsche 1.7L Flat-4		262
28	GT 1.6	37	Auguste Veuillet	Pierre Monneret Robert Buchet	Porsche 356B Abarth GTL	Porsche 1.6L Flat-4		261
29	GT 3.0	21st	Ecurie Chiltern	John Bekaert Richard Stoop	Austin-Healey 3000	BMC 2.9L I6		254
30th	S 850	54	Roger Masson	Roger Masson Paul Armagnac	DB HBR4	Panhard 0.7L Flat-2		208
31	GT 1.3	39	Lotus engineering	John Wyllie David Buxton	Lotus Elite Mk14	Climax 1.2L I4		193
32	S 3.0	4th	Essex Racing Stable	Roy Salvadori Tony Maggs	Aston Martin DBR1 / 300	Aston Martin 3.0L I6		243
33	S 2.5	23	Scuderia Ferrari	Wolfgang von Trips Richie Ginther	Ferrari Dino 246SP	Ferrari 2.4L V6		231
34	S 3.0	12	Scuderia Ferrari	Fernand Tavano Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari 250 GT / TR SWB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		163
35	GT 3.0	16	Scuderia Serenissima	Maurice Trintignant Carlo-Maria Abate	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		162
36	S 1.0	43	North American Racing Team	David Cunningham Ed Hugus	OSCA Sport 1000	OSCA 1.0L I4		125
37	S 850	56	Abarth & Cie	Giorgio Bassi Giancarlo Rigamonti	Fiat-Abarth 700S	Fiat 0.7L I4		111
38	S 850	8th	Scuderia Serenissima	Piero Frescobaldi Raffaele Cammarota	Fiat-Abarth 700S	Fiat 0.7L I4		124
39	S 3.0	5	Border Reivers	Jim Clark Ron Flockhart	Aston Martin DBR1 / 300	Aston Martin 3.0L I6		132
40	GT 2.0	29	Ecurie Lausannoise	André Wicky Edgar Berney	AC Ace	Bristol 2.0L I6		115
41	S 850	51	UDT Laystall Racing Team	Cliff Allison Mike McKee	Lotus Elise Mk14	Climax 0.7L I4		102
42	GT 3.0	18th	North American Racing Team	Stirling Moss Graham Hill	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		121
43	GT 1.3	41	Ecurie Los Amigos	Jean-François Malle Robin Carnegie	Lotus Elite Mk14	Climax 1.2L I4		86
44	S 850	50	Automobiles OSCA	Jean Laroche Colin Davis	OSCA Sport 750	OSCA 0.7L I4		85
45	S 1.0	42	Donald Healey Motor Company	John K. Colgate Jr. Paul Hawkins	Austin-Healey Sprite Sebring	BMC 1.0L I4		64
46	GT 3.0	19th	North American Racing Team	George Arents George Reed	Ferrari 250GT SWB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		76
47	GT 3.0	15th	Ecurie Francorchamps	Lucien Bianchi Georges Berger	Ferrari 250GT SWB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		60
48	S 3.0	9	Scuderia Serenissima	Ludovico Scarfiotti Nino Vaccarella	Maserati Tipo 63	Maserati 3.0L V12		53
49	S 1.0	46	Ecurie Ecosse	Ninian Sanderson Alan McKay	Austin-Healey Sprite Sebring	BMC 1.0L I4		40
50	S 3.0	6th	Briggs Cunningham	Walt Hansgen Bruce McLaren	Maserati Tipo 63	Maserati 3.0L V12		31
51	S 2.5	22nd	Ecurie Ecosse	Tom Dickson Bruce Halford	Cooper T57 Monaco Mk.II	Climax 3.0L I4		32
52	GT 4.0	3	Essex Racing Stable	Lex Davison Bib Stillwell	Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato	Aston Martin 3.7L I6		25th
53	GT 4.0	2	Essex Racing Stable	Jack Fairman Bernard Consten	Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato	Aston Martin 3.7L I6		22nd
54	S 2.0	58	Ted Lund	Ted Lund Bob Olthoff	MGA coupe	MG 1.8L I4		14th
55	S 850	49	Abarth & Cie	Teodoro Zeccoli Jean Vinatier	Fiat-Abarth 700S Spyder	Fiat 0.7L I4		15th
Not started
56	GT 3.0	57	Pierre Dumay	Pierre Dumay Roger Delageneste	Ferrari 250GT SWB	Ferrari 3.0L V12		1
57	S 1.0	44	Equipe Nationale Belge	Claude Dubois Gérard Langlois van Ophem	Fiat-Abarth 1000S			2
58	GT		Chris Lawrence	Chris Lawrence	Morgan Plus 4			3
59	GT 3.0	61	Cambridge Racing	Jim Clark Trevor Taylor	Austin-Healey 3000	BMC 3.0L I4		4th
60	GT 1.3	62	Maurice Pourthault	Maurice Pourthault Jean Davos	Lotus Elite MK14	Coventry Climax 1.2L I4		5
61	S 850	63	Christian Faucher	Christian Faucher JJ Petit	BMW 700S	BMW 0.7L I2		6th
62	S 850	52T	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	Jean-Claude Caillaud Robert Mougin	DB HBR5	Panhard 0.8L Flat-2		7th

¹ Not started ² Not started ³ Technical inspection failed ⁴ First reserve ⁵ Second reserve ⁶ Third reserve ⁷ Replacement car, accident in training

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
63	GT 2.0		Morgan		Morgan 4/4
64	S 3.0	18th	Scuderia Serenissima	Giorgio Scarlatti Carlo-Maria Abate Gianni Balzarini Nino Vaccarella Walt Hansgen	Maserati Tipo 63	Maserati 3.0L V12
65	GT 2.0	31	Lotus engineering	Trevor Taylor Peter Arundell	Lotus 19th	Climax 1.2L I4
66	S 1.5	59	Maurice Martin	Maurice Martin	DB HBR
67			Camoradi Racing	Lloyd Casner	Maserati Tipo 61	Maserati 3.0L V12
68	GT 2.0		Light blue	William McCowen Peter Riley	AC Ace	Bristol 2.0L I6
69	GT		Squadra Virgilia Conrero		Alfa Romeo

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Index of Performance	Gérard Laureau	Robert Bouharde	DB HBR4	Rank 18
Index of Thermal Efficiency	Peter Harper	Peter Procter	Sunbeam Alpine Harrington	Rank 16
Sports car 3.0	Olivier Gendebien	Phil Hill	Ferrari 250 TRI / 61	Overall victory
Sports car 2.5	no participant in the finish
Sports car 2.0	Masts Gregory	Bob Holbert	Porsche 718/4 RS Spyder	Rank 5
Sports car 1.0	no participant in the finish
Sports car 850	Denis Hulme	Angus Hyslop	Fiat-Abarth 850S	Rank 14
Gran Turismo Car 4.0	no participant in the finish
Gran Turismo Car 3.0	Pierre Noblet	Jean Guichet	Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta SWB	Rank 3
Gran Turismo Car 2.0	Jean-Claude Magne	Georges Alexandrovitch	AC Ace	Rank 17
Gran Turismo car 1.6	Herbert Linge	Ben Pon	Porsche 356B Abarth GTL	Rank 10
Gran Turismo car 1.3	William Allen	Trevor Taylor	Lotus Elite MK14	Rank 12

Racing data

• Registered: 69
• Started: 55
• Valued: 22
• Race classes: 9
• Spectator: unknown
• Honorary starter of the race: Paul Panhard, President of the Association of French Automobile Manufacturers
• Weather at the race weekend: cold, windy and rain showers again and again
• Route length: 13.461 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 00,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 333
• Total distance of the winning team: 4476.580 km
• Winner's average: 186.524 km / h
• Pole position: unknown
• Fastest race lap: Ricardo Rodriguez - Ferrari 250TRI / 61 (# 17) - 3: 59.090 = 201.202 km / h
• Racing series: 4th round of the 1961 Sports Car World Championship
• Racing series: 6th round of the FIA GT Cup 1961

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 1961  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Previous race 1000 km race on the Nürburgring 1961

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 4-hour race in Pescara 1961