Tales from the track

I know of no other race track as rich with motor racing stories as Le Mans. Partly this is because the race has been going on for quite a long time – nothing like as long as the Indy 500 I grant you, but if you factor in length of time on track, not even the greatest race in the western hemisphere has cranked out anything close to as many racing hours as Le Mans or, for that matter, as many racing cars.

So for a hack in search of a few good tales to tell, there is no happier hunting ground than that fabled eight-point-something miles of part permanent, part road course south of the city of Le Mans.

But there’s something else too: Le Mans has always attracted variety like no other race I know. Races over time have included cars with engines of less than 750cc and as much as 8-litres. Everyone from World Champions to absolute rookies have chanced their arm at Le Mans – when the late, very great Rob Walker raced his Delahaye there in 1939 he’d never done a race before that season. As he waited for his teammate to come into the pits he could be found wearing a dark blue pin-stripe suit because, obviously enough, that’s what gentlemen wore at that time of day. By 4am the following morning he is waiting for the car to come in again, but when it does he learns it has a broken exhaust and has burned his co-driver’s feet so badly he is unable to drive again. So Rob drives 12 hours straight, pouring water on his feet at each pitstop, brings the car home in eighth place, then drives it to Paris and parties all night.