1923 24 Hours of Le Mans

1st 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race

1923 24 Hours of Le MansPrevious: 2024Next: 1924Index: Races | Winners
The 1923 24 Hours of Le Mans, officially the 24 Hours Grand Prix of Endurance , was the inaugural Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 26 and 27 May 1923. A strong field of twenty manufacturers entered, all from France aside from a single Bentley from Great Britain and a pair of Excelsiors from Belgium. In a rain soaked race it was the Chenard Walcker team and the Bentley that set the pace, chased by the smaller 2 litre Bignan. The Bentley was delayed by stones smashing a headlight and puncturing the fuel tank, and in the end the Chenard Walckers of René Léonard / André Lagache and Christian Dauvergne / Raoul Bachmann had a comfortable 1–2 victory. However, there was no official victory for them as this event was the first part of three consecutive annual races, for the Rudge Whitworth Triennial Cup, where the ultimate winner would be the manufacturer whose best car exceeded their nominated target distance by the greatest margin. So it was the small 1.1 litre Salmson of Desvaux/Casse that took the lead in that competition. It had completed 98 laps, 46 over its 52 lap target. The race was also an excellent exhibition of machine endurance and reliability. Thirty cars finished the event, a number not equalled at Le Mans again until 1993.

The final regulations for the event were not completed by Charles Faroux and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) until February 1923. All cars had to be standard four seater production models, except those under 1100cc which could be two seaters where at least thirty cars had been built. The vehicle had to carry 60 kg lead ballast for each passenger space aside from the driver. A maximum of two drivers were allowed (but not riding together), and they alone could replenish the fluids (petrol, oil and water), although there was no minimum distance between refills as in later years. The fuel was to be supplied by the ACO. Engines had to be turned off at pit stops, and only re started with an onboard starter. None of the entered cars had window wipers. There was an hors course rule such that every car had to meet a certain ratio of their minimum distance at the 6, 12, and 18 hour marks or face disqualification. The depôts (pits) consisted of wooden counters with canvas roofed areas behind for each car. A race control tower and two 44m wooden grandstands were built opposite the pits. A footbridge sponsored by Meyrel was built just after the start line. With the cars all painted in their national racing colours, there was a predominance of French blue cars except for a single green Bentley from Great Britain and two Belgian Excelsiors in yellow. The cars were assigned their numbers in the order of their engine size. Many of the car models were co identified with the French CV system of automotive horsepower tax. Category Entries Classes Very large engines 7 over 3 litre Large sized engines 13 2 to 3 litre Medium sized engines 7 1.5 to 2 litre Small sized engines 10 up to 1.5 litre Total entrants 37

The biggest engined cars in the field were the 5.3 litre Excelsiors, luxury car makers from Belgium founded in 1903. Success in racing and sales to the Belgian royal family established the company. The 1922 Adex C had a straight six engine putting out 130 bhp and could reach 145 km/h (90 mph), however its hefty weight impeded its acceleration rate. It had perhaps the first anti roll bar suspension running on Belgian Englebert tyres. Works drivers, Belgians Nicolas Caerels and André Dills, were pre war veteran riding mechanics from Grand Prix and Indianapolis. Lorraine Dietrich had been founded as a locomotive manufacturer in 1884 in Alsace Lorraine, moving to automobiles in 1896 entering the early inter city road races. At war's end the factories but soon resumed car production. The B3 6 appeared in 1922 with a straight 6 engine and 3 speed gearbox and three body style variants were sent to Le Mans under competition director Maurice Leroux. The fastest was the lightened Torpédo bodystyle, capable of almost 145 km/h (90 mph). Delage was another famous French car company with a strong pre war motor racing pedigree already, including winning the 1914 Indianapolis 500, and quickly resumed racing after the war with its big 5 and 6 litre racing cars. The DE raced at Le Mans was a 1 off special of the current popular production model fitted with its engine modified to carry an overhead valve cylinder head. It was raced by new works driver Paul Torchy and test driver Belbeu. Chenard Walcker was a major Parisian automotive company, established in 1899 and one of the city's biggest suppliers of taxis. They had a close relationship with coachbuilding company FAR who built their bodywork, led by André Lagache and Raymond Glaszmann (both keen racers). Lucien Chenard, son of the founder, had set up a works racing team in 1921 with the company test driver René Léonard. Active in post war racing they sent a trio of cars with the latest Torpédo bodystyle from FAR. Two had the new U3 3 litre engine that put out 90 bhp, driven by Léonard with Lagache, and Glaszmann with Fernand Bachmann. The third car, with a less powerful U2 engine was run by Bachmann's brother Raoul with veteran Christian Dauvergne. It ran special long endurance tyres, designed by Lionel Rapson, convincing Duff he could get away without the weight of carrying a spare wheel. Ford had a major automotive plant at Bordeaux producing around 20,000 cars per year by 1923. Charles Montier was Ford's agent in France and a skilled engineer who specialised in building high performance specials. His Le Mans entry was based on the abundant Ford Model T with his own engine design and sturdier mechanical parts. Racing his own car, he also added two rear seats hanging over the back of the rear axle to comply with the ACO regulations. Brasier had a strong racing heritage in the pre war inter city races, winning the last two Gordon Bennett Cups in 1904 and 1905. The brand new TB4 model had a 2062cc engine, 4 speed gearbox and Rudge wheels. In contrast, Marius Berliet had little racing experience and saw Le Mans as a good opportunity to raise his company's profile. His Lyon based factory had made huge numbers of trucks during the war. Two of the new VH model were at Le Mans, with 2617cc engines, 4 speed gearboxes, and again, Rudge wire wheels. Corre La Licorne had grown from the company originally founded by former professional cyclist Jean Marie Corre. Its cars had raced with moderate success before the war. Two models arrived for the race. The popular B7 tourer with a 2 litre Ballot engine and the new V14 with smaller 1.4 litre SCAP engine. In a similar fashion, Vinot Deguingand had started building bicycles in 1898 before moving onto voiturettes and then automobiles, raced for the Parisian company by the brothers Léon and Lucien Molon. One of the new BP models, with an 1847cc engine, was brought to Le Mans, again to be driven by the Molon brothers. Jacques Bignan was a Parisian engineer who expanded and founded his own automobile company in 1918. It was initially subcontracted by Automobiles Grégoire to build cars for British importer Malcolm Campbell. Two of their successful 11CV cars were entered, one with a special Desmodromic valve engine developed by French race driver Albert Guyot and engineer Némorin Causan. The complex valve system gave the 2 litre engine 75 bhp instead of 70 bhp but had a far better acceleration curve. It was driven by Paul Gros and Baron de Tornaco. Georges Irat was a decorated French pilot from the war who moved from being a foreign car importer in Paris to setting up his own company in 1921 with Maurice Gaultier, an engine designer from Delage. Two of the latest Torpédo bodied versions of their Type A were entered. The 1995cc engine put out about 50 bhp. Salmson had been formed in 1890 as a pump and compressor manufacturer. After being one of the earliest makers of air engines (in 1908), it had been an important French aircraft manufacturer during the war. In 1919, it converted its Paris factories to car and cyclecar production. The works racing team, formed in 1921, had been dominant in the small engine classes led by former fighter pilot Robert Benoist. Lucien Desvaux, Benoist and Georges Casse had just finished 1–2–3 at the single driver 24 hour Bol d’Or cyclecar race the weekend before Le Mans. Two VAL 3 voiturettes were entered for Desvaux / Casse and the other regular team driver Luis Ramon Bueno, who drove with Maurice Benoist (Robert's brother). Bugatti was still a small company, yet to achieve its great fame. Recently relocated back to Molsheim when the Alsace was ceded to France after the war, Ettore Bugatti was still only producing small touring cars. The two T22 "Brescia Bugattis" were privately owned, fitted with the new 1495cc engine capable of 95 km/h (50 mph). However the cars were heavy and further stymied by the 180kg of required passenger ballast to be carried for a 4 seat car. SARA was a new Parisian company, only formed a year earlier to build cars based around the pioneering new pressurised air cooling system of August Tisserant. The new ATS 2 seater model had the only French 4 cylinder air cooled engine, and produced 30 bhp and two cars were entered. French financier and company co owner François Piazzoli drove a lightened version without running boards. Amilcar was another new Parisian company formed in 1921 producing small engined cars and cyclecars. Their CC model won Europe's first 24 hour event at the 1922 Bol d’Or, beating Salmson. An entry to Le Mans was filed at the behest of privateer owners Maurice Boutmy and Jérôme Marcandanti to race the new CV model. The 1004cc engine produced just 18 bhp. But as a 2 seater it was also given the smallest target distance of just 48 laps.

With no official practice session, some teams (including La Lorraine, Chenard Walcker and Bignan) arrived earlier in the week before Friday scrutineering to learn the track. For the standing start, the cars were lined up on the front straight two by two with engines off. Pictures show them in numerical order, The big Belgian Excelsiors were overtaken from the start by Robert Bloch's Lorraine Dietrich. What was supposed to be an "endurance trial" soon became a race along the narrow country roads. It was perhaps surprising then that throughout the rain that lasted the first four hours, Convoys would form as those cars followed ones with functioning lights. The Chenard drivers were equipped with hand operated acetylene spotlamps to help with their main lights. Later in the night, the Bentley had a very near miss avoiding Paul Gros’ Bignan that had burst a tyre approaching Mulsanne corner. Both cars braked hard and swerved onto the grass, ending up only inches apart.

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Tyre Reason DNA 5.0 3 Avions Voisin Voisin C5 Voisin 4.0L S4 Did not arrive DNA 5.0 4 Avions Voisin Voisin C5 Voisin 4.0L S4 Did not arrive

Pos Class Team Drivers Chassis Target Laps Ratio exceeded 1 1.1 34 Société des Moteurs Salmson Lucien Desvaux Georges Casse Salmson VAL 3 98 52 188.5% 2 1.1 35 Société Nouvelle de l'Automobile Amilcar Maurice Boutmy Jérôme Marcandanti Amilcar CV 89 48 185.4% 3 1.1 33 Société des Moteurs Salmson Luis Ramon Bueno Maurice Benoist Salmson VAL 3 93 52 178.8% 4 2.0 23 Établissements Industriels Jacques Bignan Baron Raymond de Tornaco Paul Gros Bignan 11CV ‘Desmo’ Sport 120 70 171.4% 5 1.5 29 Automobiles Ettore Bugatti Comte Max de Pourtalès Vicomte Sosthene de la Rochefoucauld Bugatti T22 104 63 165.1% 6 3.0 9 Chenard Walcker SA André Lagache René Léonard Chenard Walcker Type U3 15CV Sport 128 79 162.0% 7 2.0 24 Établissements Industriels Jacques Bignan Philippe de Marne Jean Martin Bignan 11CV Sport 112 70 160.0% 8 3.0 10 Chenard Walcker SA Christian Dauvergne Raoul Bachmann Chenard Walcker Type U3 15CV Sport 124 79 157.0% 9 3.0 8 Bentley Motors Limited Capt John Duff Frank Clement Bentley 3 Litre Sport 112 79 141.8% 10 3.0 17 Société des Automobiles Brasier Eugène Verpault Migeot Brasier TB4 99 71 139.4%
Note: Only the top ten positions are included in this set of standings.

Class Winning Car Winning Drivers 5 to 8 litre No. 2 Excelsior Adex C Caerels / Dills * 3 to 5 litre No. 7 L Lorraine Dietrich B3 6 Sport Rossignol / de Courcelles * 2 to 3 litre No. 9 Chenard Walcker U3 Sport Lagache / Léonard * 1500 to 2000cc No. 23 Bignan 11CV Desmo Sport De Tornaco / Gros * 1100 to 1500cc No. 28 Bugatti T22 De Pourtalès / De la Rochefoucauld * 750 to 1100cc No. 34 Salmson VAL 3 Desvaux / Casse *
Note: setting a new class distance record. With no official class divisions, these are the highest finishers in unofficial categories aligned with the Index targets.