Tour de France for automobiles
The Tour de France for automobiles was a stage race held in France from 1899 to 1986 .
It was a road race similar to the Mille Miglia , which, unlike the legendary Italian race, was driven in different stages. In later years, valuation races were added on circuits.
history
The first race was held in 1899. The board of directors of the Automobile Club de France reacted early on to the new challenges that arose from the rapidly growing automobile industry and, together with the newspaper le Matin, organized a race across France. On a round trip from Paris via Vichy and Nantes back to Paris, 2172 km were covered between July 16 and 24, 1899. The winner René de Knyff needed almost two days on a Panhard & Levassor for the route. The event was named Tour de France and is therefore four years older than the cycle race of the same name . When the cycling event became more and more popular in the interwar period , the car race was given the addition of a car .
The Tour de France was ridden with interruptions until the Second World War . The first race after the war took place in 1951 and ushered in the golden era of this race, which lasted until 1966. 1951 also saw the first win for Ferrari when Pagnibon / Barraquet won on a 212 Export . In the 1950s, Ferrari was the measure of all things, because the Italians had the right sports cars for this race with their GT vehicles. The Scuderia won eight times in the overall standings between 1951 and 1962. After the triumph of Alfonso de Portago in 1956, Olivier Gendebien and partner Lucien Bianchi won three times in a row (1957, 1958 and 1959), replaced by Willy Mairesse, who won the race together with Georges Berger in 1960 and 1961. The last time Scuderia triumphed in 1964 with Lucien Bianchi at the wheel of a Ferrari 250 GTO . In 1958 the British racing driver Peter Whitehead had a fatal accident on the tour. He rode a Jaguar with his half-brother Graham Whitehead , who was considered a reliable co-pilot in long-distance races. On September 21, 1958, after dark, Graham was driving the car when the car broke through a rotten bridge railing in Lasalle near Nimes and crashed into a ravine. While Graham survived the accident, any help came too late for Peter.
In the 1960s, the French racing and rally driver Bernard Consten won the race five times, making it the record winner to this day. In the same decade, the stage race was also opened to sports prototypes, so that racing cars like the Ferrari 512S , the Ford GT40 or the Matra MS650 drove hundreds of kilometers on public roads. When it became more and more difficult to find sponsors and the event no longer met the safety standards of the time in any way, the fiftieth and final Tour de France automobile took place in 1986.
In 1992 the Tour de France was revived as a racing event for historic racing vehicles and has been held annually as a Tour Auto since then . In addition to great drivers in motorsport history such as Stirling Moss , Hans Hugenholtz , Jean Ragnotti and Érik Comas , the large prototypes are once again driving on public roads, as in the 1960s.
Overall winner 1951–1986
year | vehicle | driver | Driver (copilot) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1951 | Ferrari 212 export | Pierre Boncompagni | Alfred Barraquet | |
1952 | DB 750 | Marc Gignoux | Mme Gignoux | |
1953 - sports car | Osca MT4 | Jacques Péron | R. Bertramnier | |
1953 - touring car | Renault 4CV 1062 | Paul Condrillier | Daniel | |
1954 | Gordini T15S | Jacques Pollet | Hubert Gauthier | |
1956 | Ferrari 250 GT | Alfonso de Portago | Edmont Nelson | |
1957 - GT car | Ferrari 250 GT | Olivier Gendebien | Lucien Bianchi | |
1957 - touring car | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | Jean Hébert | Marcel Lauga | |
1958 - GT car | Ferrari 250 GT | Olivier Gendebien | Lucien Bianchi | |
1958 - touring car | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | Jean Hébert | Bernard Consten | |
1959 - GT car | Ferrari 250 GT | Olivier Gendebien | Lucien Bianchi | |
1959 - touring car | Jaguar Mark I. | Hernando da Silva Ramos | Jean Estager | |
1960 - GT car | Ferrari 250 GT | Willy Mairesse | Georges Berger | |
1960 - touring cars | Jaguar Mark II | Bernard Consten | Jack Renel | |
1961 - GT car | Ferrari 250 GT | Willy Mairesse | Georges Berger | |
1961 - touring cars | Jaguar Mark II | Bernard Consten | Jack Renel | |
1962 - GT car | Ferrari 250 GT | André Simon | Maurice Dupeyron | |
1962 - touring cars | Jaguar Mark II | Bernard Consten | Jack Renel | |
1963 - GT car | Ferrari 250 GTO | Jean Guichet | José Behra | |
1963 - touring cars | Jaguar Mark II | Bernard Consten | Jack Renel | |
1964 - GT car | Ferrari 250 GTO | Lucien Bianchi | Georges Berger | |
1964 - touring cars | Ford Mustang | Peter Procter | Andrew Cowan | |
1969 | Porsche 911R | Gérard Larrousse | Maurice Gélin | |
1970 | Matra MS650 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | Patrick Depailler | Jean Todt |
1971 | Matra MS650 | Gérard Larrousse | Johnny Rives | |
1972 | Ferrari 365 GTB / 4 | Jean-Claude Andruet | Michèle Espinosi-Petit | |
1973 | Lancia Stratos | Sandro Munari | Mario Mannucci | |
1974 | Ligier JS2 | Gérard Larrousse | Jean-Pierre Nicolas | Johnny Rives |
1975 | Lancia Stratos | Bernard Darniche | Alain Mahé | |
1976 | Porsche 911 Carrera | Jacques Henry | Bernard-Etienne Grobot | |
1977 | Lancia Stratos | Bernard Darniche | Alain Mahé | |
1978 | Fiat 131 Abarth | Michèle Mouton | Françoise Conconi | |
1979 | Lancia Stratos | Bernard Darniche | Alain Mahé | |
1980 | Lancia Stratos | Bernard Darniche | Alain Mahé | |
1981 | Ferrari 308 GTB | Jean-Claude Andruet | Chantal Bouchetal | |
1982 | Ferrari 308 GTB | Jean-Claude Andruet | Michèle Espinosi-Petit | |
1983 | Opel Manta 400 | Guy Fréquelin | Jean-François Fauchille | |
1984 | Renault 5 Turbo | Jean Ragnotti | Pierre Thimonier | |
1985 | Renault 5 Maxi Turbo | Jean Ragnotti | Pierre Thimonier | |
1986 | Renault 5 Maxi Turbo | François Chatriot | Michel Périn |