[Leica] Sebring 12 Hrs. '59 - OT!!

[pdzwig at summaventures.com (Peter Dzwig)]

Philippe, Arche,

Quoting from Brain Laban's book, "Le Mans 24 Hours, The complete story...

"In 1925 the start was held for the first and only time on the Mulsanne 
Straight...The pits and start-line grandsatnd moved with it because the 
owner of 
the land normally used had asked for too much money as the crowds continued 
to 
grow. This meant that it was Hunaudieres that witnessed the birth of ...the 
running Le Mans start.

as The Motor colourfully described it, 'As the loudspeaker gave out the 
final 
warnings the competitors' cars were parked diagonally down the right-hand 
side 
of the road wioth the hoods folded and strapped down and with doors shut. 
The 
drivers stood tense and expectant on the other side of the course. Slowly 
the 
minutes ticked by until, with the dropping of a great flag and a stentorian 
"Partez!" from gargantuan loudspeakers the drivers raced for their cars, 
erected 
their hoods with all possible speed, leaped in, depressed the starter 
button, 
and roared off'"

The race continued to start in this way until 1970.

I presume that the diagonal parking was caused by the limited space on the 
road/shoulder at that point after the stands and pits had been put in place.

Cars not only had to run with hoods, they had to be driven for a fixed 
distance 
with the hoods up. All repairs in the early days had to be effected by the 
driver and he was not allowed to receive outside assistance on pain of 
disqualification. That went for refuelling too.

It was after all originally envisaged as a strict test of the usability of 
the 
cars for daily use, where a "works team" would not be to hand! In fact the 
winner of the Rudge-Whitworth Cup (the main prize) was only determined over 
three races held in consecutive years. This is part of the reason that there 
are 
so many classifications for efficiencey.

Peter Dzwig

Arche, Harvey wrote:

> Philippe wrote, re: Lemans start -
> 
> Loved this warp back in time, Arche.
> 
> I've always wondered: what is the reason for/origin of this typical  
> 
> start procedure: running to the car, etc instead of a grid start?
> 
>  
> 
> Some one else may know for certain, but I believe that, under the rules
> for these classes of automobiles at the time, cars had to be startable
> without outside ignition help- ie: had to have battery, ignition switch,
> and starter motor built-in. Essentially they were jumped up road cars. I
> believe they were also required to have at least a nominal trunk and
> carry a spare tire. The race began from an absolute dead stop. Also-
> what a spectacle!
> 
> Arche
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> 
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