1959 Le Mans 24h

11th successive year the Aston Martin team set off for France and as usual set up camp at the hotel difference in the otherwise sleepy Village of LA charch Aston had entered a team of three dbr ones for Sterling moss and Jack Fairman Roy salvadori and Carol Shelby and Paul freyr and Morris trantonio Sterling does not like Lamar considering it too dangerous because of the big speed differential between the faster and slower cars and the massive inexperienced drivers over 120 drivers take part and there are just not that many drivers in the world with enough skill for them all reg Parnell in the dbr3 led the team of three dbr ones down the tree-lined ramp to the passage where the cars were scrutineered beneath the roofed enclosure [Music] for Eric Hind and the Aston mechanics the passage can be a stressful experience particularly with the infamous French polxion for zealous rulings each scrutineering Bay dealt with a separate aspect of the accreditation process [Music] [Music] Ridge Parnell guided Aston number four up onto the way Bridge and then Sterling Moss took over declaring the cart away 1882 pounds [Music] [Music] gave the car official approval to race Sterling Moss is now a household name throughout the world and his signature is always in demand such as the price of Fame [Music] so with scrutinering over we drove back beneath the archways through the crowded streets of the city of Le Mans and out towards the circuit for our by now traditional lap of the public Road Track just past the pits the road sweeps right and Uphill beneath the Dunlop Bridge in the dbr1 this Bend is taken at 140 miles an hour at 5200 revs in fifth gear over the rise and downhill towards the s's Sterling breaks and changes down to Third five seven revs and drift through at a mere 107 miles an hour [Music] [Music] [Music] then on to tetrouge a 60 mile an hour right-hander in second gear if the tank is full or third as the fuel load gets lighter [Music] now we're on the mulsan straight which isn't all that straight and up through the gears with foot hard down Sterling takes the Aston past that familiar Landmark the Cafe de la hibadrome the rev counter needle is up to six thousand and the speed is 166 miles an hour now over to the left hand side for Multan corner at the 300 meter Mark the discs on the dbr1 pull the car back as Sterling brakes and goes down to first gear just 30 miles an hour past the signaling pits up through the gears again the speed Rises to 150 miles an hour then it's down to third again then second now for Indianapolis up to third again momentarily before dropping down to Second for Arnage a first gear corner with a full tank back on the home straight accelerating out of Arnage the road climbed slightly and winds right before dropping down to the notorious white house corner Sterling takes that in top speed about 122 miles an hour and so back to the pits once more to complete a lap of this 8.76 mile circuit has taken Moss a matter of four minutes three seconds first practice session took place on Wednesday evening Ferrari testarossas were entered for jean-bera with Dan Gurney Cliff Allison with Helena de Silva Ramos and Phil Hill and Olivier zanderbian zombiera watched the mechanics work on his car the V12 is lighter than the astons and faster too [Music] Bearer set off Shadows lengthened by the Setting Sun in the Aston pit Trent in your prepared to drive the car he would race in Anger two days hence final practice at Lamar is always on the Thursday evening with Friday always a day off [Music] it is a well-known Motor Racing Maxim that if you polish your car one day it rains the next on Saturday morning the Falcon boys left lashart for the circuit team Personnel followed the race cars in two Lagonda shooting breaks [Music] Trent in your looked relaxed and unruffled on Race morning Carol Shelby had brought along his entire family from the Texas Chicken Ranch Jack famine was fresh from his victory in the thousand kilometers only two weeks earlier veteran Aston driver Mort Goodall was to man The signaling pit at mulsan the rain clouds had cleared and the scene was set for aston's 11th attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Parnell and chief mechanic Eric hind were oblivious to the crowds around them so too was Roy salvadori who I saw chatting with former Aston drivers Pat Griffith and Eric Thompson The Squat and purposeful Ferrari was the car most feared by David Brown's team [Music] neither could the small Porsches be discounted the German cars are always a model of reliability the Saabs however could it was such cars competing in the 750 class that Sterling thought made the race too dangerous Aston Chief mechanic Eric hind check the fuel level on one of the DVR ones team manager reg Parnell with many enthusiasts watched over him after due calculation reg was able to tell Eric how much fuel the car should start with vast crowds had already taken their place for the start of the race Lamont regularly hosts over 200 000 race goers of whom about sixty thousand can be from Britain officials set off to clear the course regist strategy for the race was to give the Moss famine car a rev limit of 6100 revs the salvadori Shelby and The Trentonian Freya cars were given a Target lap time which ideally they would aim to follow this was done as a compromise sacrificing some outright speed through reliability as to finish first first you must finish I had every confidence that Sterling would take off into the lead from the start and he did just that within his island in the akiriakos detai second [Music] oh [Music] at the end of the first lap Moss led the two Works Ferraris of jean-debier and Da Silva Ramos Jean Beres Ferrari had failed to fire up until the leaders were about halfway around the first lap into malsan on the second circuit Moss LED from the two Ferraris with Ireland's Jaguar fourth and Salvador is Aston fifth Sean bearer was scything through the field after tardy stunned [Music] [Music] with only four laps gone the leading Aston was already lapping slower machinery the other two astons were running nicely within their time schedules one hour into the race lap 14 must still then but was being caught hand over fist by Bearer who was circulating the south at a blistering pace [Music] foreign [Music] came through in the lead Moss let Bearer go as he was in any case lapping in four minutes five seconds extremely quick for the early stages of a 24-hour race steadily Bearer began to draw away [Music] Graham Hill rounded Turf Rouge in the lotus Chapman's fragile cars brown paper and strings some call them have enough difficulty holding together for a short British race let alone the 24 hours at the mall two hours of the 24 were gone bear and lead by 25 seconds from Moss followed by the two other works Ferraris of Jean de beer and de Silva Ramos [Music] salvadori was fifth a lap behind his team leader trentino in the third dvr1 was ninth [Music] when Bearer pitted Sterling took the lead again [Music] Dan Gurney took over Ferrari number 12 and set off after Moss as the light started to fade [Music] shall be replaced salvadori behind him on the road was Fairman having taken the wheel of number four from Sterling [Music] [Music] suddenly on the 66th lap Thurman stopped in his pit complaining of fluctuating oil pressure after a hasty word reg Parnell sent him out again to complete his allotted number of laps [Music] trenching you're prepared to take over from freyr [Music] with the Belgian out of the car the Aston was refueled oil tank replenished and the screen quickly cleaned oh [Music] 53 seconds later trentino rejoined the race in seventh place okay I'll have a Coke shouted freyr above the pit Lane din [Music] five hours into the race and the bearer Gurney Ferrari led the Aston by nearly half a minute [Music] when Fairman completed his plan 30 laps he came in to hand back to Moss [Music] Sterling rejoins still in second place but he immediately found the car to be down on par two laps later at five past nine he was forced to return a small piece of an inlet valve had broken off and once again the hair had lost to the hands [Music] as night settled so did the race already there had been 22 retirements [Music] by midnight to Bear a gurney Ferrari was having electrical trouble slowing the car and reducing it to just one headlight in the early hours of the morning the lead Ferrari finally returned promoting the salvadori Shelby Aston Martin into the lead and the zombie Hill Ferrari into second the freyr tranchino Aston was now third it stops being merely routine [Music] foreign however in The Cold Light of Day things didn't look as good salvadori had been delayed with tire trouble dropping his Aston to second place and with eight hours still to go Ferrari number 14 LED Aston number five by three laps the freyr Francine Aston was third and Porsches were fourth fifth sixth and seventh even though he had retired Sterling had stayed in the Aston pit all night to cheer on the remaining two dbr ones Carol Shelby bought the lead astonin to hand over to salvadori who then set off in pursuit of the single remaining Works Ferrari reg Parnell tried to forget that twice before Aston Martins have finished second at the mall [Music] by now salvadori was two laps behind the gender beer Hill Ferrari the trentino frere Aston was third the fourth place car the Belgian entered 250 GT Ferrari was a further 19 laps behind after all four Works Porsches had retired in quick succession [Music] foreign [Music] then at 11AM after 263 laps Divya pitted the Ferrari unexpectedly David Brown and Sterling Moss peered down the pit Lane in anticipation the Ferrari was overheating and sounded terrible [Music] little could be done so the car was sent out again [Music] all right just give it your best said reg to trenches good luck said David Brown the aston's exhaust had been re-routed under the car by the pedal box and this gave salvadori a burned foot not the only time that Roy got a singing from Aston Martin's after the plumbers had re-fixed the seals the Aston quickly got underway [Music] at mulsan Shelby brought the Aston onto the same lap as the Ferrari oh [Music] by now only 17 cars out of the 53 starters remained in the race [Music] the Ferrari is sick we've still got a chance infused panel to Salvadorian the sweat soap Shelby jumped out and once again the Aston mechanics leapt into action go shouted red and salvadori got on his way his co-driver got hearty pets on the back from the team manager and Le Patron soon after Jean the bear returned with the crippled Ferrari finally to retire the Ferraris had simply been running too quickly compromising their reliability Reggie's plan looked as if it was going to work at musan the news was signaled to the two astons who were now first and second the next car the GT Ferrari was over 20 laps adrift salvadori immediately dropped his Pace to four minutes 50 per lap but trentonore continued to push the Aston pit urged him to slow for several laps finally having to give him the message not to overtake Salvadorian before he dropped his pace [Music] the opposition was now annihilated the astons cruised an only mechanical failure could Rob them of victory this one's ours said Shelby to Parnell Brown and Moss [Music] at 20 past two salvadori brought the Aston in to hand over to Shelby for the final stint the car was refueled and oiled for the last time the team took their time as they were well ahead they are With The Big Texan in the saddle the team began the long and nail-biting wait for four o'clock it's straight the three liter straight six sounded in excellent health [Music] Salvadorian freyr were told to hold position that a cruise around the course for the remaining laps in the pits pacemaker Moss had set his sights on a different challenge well go on Bernard you ask her in this island as usual was the one to break the ice shall be slowed down on his last lap in order to take the checkered flag just after four o'clock but by mistake the organizers failed to show him the flag and he had to go around again Aston number six came home to finish second finally after completing an extra lap Shelby was sent the flag after almost everyone else he was immediately swamped by the enthusiastic crowd the winning Aspen completed 2701 miles at an average speed of 112 and a half miles an hour Moss's early Pace had stretched the Ferraris Reggie's strategy had increased reliability but Victory above all was for one man David Brown whose Faith had finally been rewarded [Music] Roy Salvadorian Carol Shelby had shattered all three liter records to win the 1959 Le Mans [Music]

Channel: Classic Cars in Action

Views: 22,893

Keywords:

Id: 8YH7d1V5-Zg

Length: 28min 5sec (1685 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 17 2023