Musée des 24 heures du Mans - Le Mans 24 Hours Museum

Part of the current 70 years of Porsche display at the museum.

Just before Christmas, I decided to make a return visit to the Le Mans 24 Hours museum.  On a Sunday morning, I was one of about a dozen people at the museum and thus was able to take my time and see everything I wanted, without others getting in the way.  The museum really does cover every period of the great race and at the moment is hosting a special exhibit commemorating Porsche at Le Mans.

Below see some of the photos I took and some reminders of the history of Le Mans and motor racing.

1906
Le Mans first played a major part in motor racing history as early as 1906, when it hosted the world's first ever Grand Prix race.  It was won by a Hungarian driver, Ferenc Szisz in a Renault.   Le Mans also held the French GP in 1921, 1929 and 1967.

Le Mans facts No.1 - The 1906 French GP was boycotted by the British manufacturers as they considered it as a French publicity stunt.  Some of the early motoring pioneers like Charles Jarrott (winner of the 1902 Circuit des Ardennes) already considered motor racing as too commercialised by 1906. 

A wonderful diorama of the 1906 Grand Prix of the Automobile Club of France at Le Mans.  It was made by Yvon Laurent.  This is the Mercedes team at the weigh-in.   No.6A is the car Camille Jenatzy drove.  His mechanic was an Englishman called Burton.

1920s
The world famous 24 Heures du Mans motor race was first held in 1923 when the car that covered the greatest distance was a  Chenard & Walcker Sport 3 litre driven by a team of French drivers.  In 1924 a privately entered Bentley won.  From 1927 to 1930 the works Bentley's driven by the "Bentley Boys" won four times in a row.

Le Mans facts No.2 -  There was no official winner of the 1923 24 Heures du Mans as it was just the first part of a triennial competition for the Coupe Triennale Rudge-Whitworth Cup.  Eventually, in 1925 the first of these cups was awarded to a Chenard & Walcker.

Detail of a 1923 Chenard-Walcker similar to the first ever winner of the 24 Hours.

Another diorama, this time of the pits during the 1927 race.

The actual Bentley that won Le Mans in 1924.

1930s
The early thirties saw Alfa Romeos win from 1931 to 1934.  Tazio Nuvolari won at his first and only attempt in 1933.  Lagonda scored a surprise win in 1935 and then Bugatti ansd Delehaye won the last three races before WWII.

Le Mans facts No.3 -  The winning Alfa Romeo of Sommer and Nuvolari in 1933 had to have a fuel leak plugged by chewing gum which was applied whilst racing.  They eventually won by less than 10 seconds.

The winning Alfa Romeo in 1931 passing an accident at Les Hunaurdieres.  Another amazing diorama.

Nuvolari's helmet and googles.   He won in 1933.

Lagonda were the surprise winners in 1935.

A representation of the great Robert Benoist.  He won in 1937.

A beautiful sporting Peugeot Darl' Mat from 1937.

1940s
There were no 24 Heures du Mans from 1940 to 1948.  The race returned in 1949 and provided the first of nine wins for Ferrari.

Le Mans facts No.4 - The 1949 race was the first LM24 won by a V12 engine and the first won by an under 2 litre engine.  Luigi Chinetti drove for nearly 23 hours.  As well as winning the race, the Ferrari also took the Index of Performance (a handicap classification based on engine size). 

The actual Ferrari that won in 1949 is in the museum.

The French DB marque first took part in Le Mans in 1949.

1950s
Jaguar took five wins in the nineteen fifties, two with the C Type and three with the D Type.

Le Mans facts No.5 - In 1957 privately entered Jaguar D-Types scored a 1-2-3-4-6 finish, completely beating the works teams from Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin.

A representation of a Jaguar D Type.

A 1951 DB Panhard Barquette Antem.  This car had a displacement of just 745cc.

Diorama of the 1952 Le Mans.  Porsche racing past a Cunningham.

1956 Lotus XI.

Diorama of some pitstops in the 1957 race.

1960s

The early sixties saw Ferrari dominate from 1960 to 1965 and Ford win from 1966 to 1969.

Le Mans facts No.6 - The tradition of the winner spraying Champagne on the podium was started at the 1967 race by Dan Gurney.  His team mate AJ Foyt is the only person to have won the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Daytona 24 Hours, the Sebring 12 Hours, the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500.  

Ferrari 250 GTO reconstruction.

1962 René Bonnet DJet class winner.

Porsche 906 

Porsche 907/8K

1970s
Porsche took its first outright win at Le Mans  in 1970 having competed since 1951.  It took five wins during this decade.    Matra took three wins from 1972 to 1974 and Alpine Renault took one in 1978 to keep French interest alive.

Le Mans facts No.7 - In winning the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hourrs, Hans Herrmann became the first winner of the Endurance Triple Crown.   He had won the Sebring 12 Hours in 1960 and the Daytona 24 Hours in 1968.  Amazingly he also won the Targa Florio in 1960 and was also a class winner in the 1954 Mille Miglia and the 1954 Carrera Panamericana.   Added to this he finished second in the 1,000km races at Nurburgring, Spa, Brands Hatch and Monza.  Thus a truly unique set of results in ten of the toughest endurance races.

Diorama showing a Matra pitstop during the 1973 race.

1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo.

Renault Alpine A442A.  This was the fourth placed car in 1978.

1980s
The 1980s was the Group C era at Le Mans with Porsche dominating but Jaguar and Sauber-Mercedes also winning.  A number of Group C cars were on display.

Le Mans facts No.8 - In winning the 1980 LM24hrs, Jean Rondeau became the only man to win the race in a car bearing his own name.

The winning Rondeau M379 of 1980.

WM-Peugeot P79/80

1990s
The nineties saw Mazda, Mclaren and BMW score their only LM24Hr wins.

Le Mans facts No.9 - By competing in the 1999 edition Henri Pescarolo took part in a record 33 Le Mans 24 hour races.  He won four times and had another two class wins.

Overalls ofd the great Henri Pescarolo.

Toyota 94CV.  This car nearly won in 1994.

1998 Porsche 911 GT1.

2000s
The 24 Hours of Le Mans in the early 21st century was dominated by Audi.

Le Mans facts No.10 - The Volkswagen Group won Le Mans nine times in the 2000s with eight wins by Audi and one by Bentley.   Peugeot spoilt the run by winning in 2009.

2009 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP.

2003 Bentley Speed 8.

2010s
Audi, Porsche and Toyota have all taken wins this decade.

Le Mans facts No.11 - Porsche has the most wins at Le Mans with nineteen overall wins between 1970 and 2017.  They took seven consecutive wins between 1981 and 1987.

2013 Audi E-Tron Quattro R18H.  The occasion of Tom Kristensen's sixth victory in the race.

2016 Morgan onroak LMP2 car.  This car was adapted for quadruple amputee Frederic Sausset.

I hope this article will give you a flavour of what you might see at the museum.  Definitely worth a trip.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page.