The 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans was a race for Sports Cars which took place on 28 and 29 July 1956 on the Circuit de la Sarthe. The race was won by Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson driving a Jaguar D-Type for the new Ecurie Ecosse team. This race also marked the golden jubilee of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) founded in 1906, however because of the previous year's disaster, celebrations were deferred to 1957 to go along with the imminent 25th anniversary of the race.Spurring 2011, p.280
Following the events of 1955, the front stretch and pit lane were redesigned in order to enhance driver and spectator safety. This involved a change to the layout of the Dunlop curve, shortening the overall length of the track by 31 meters.
This race saw the death of French driver Louis Héry when his Monopole was involved in an accident early in the race.
Regulations The official enquiry into the 1955 Le Mans disaster found severe deficiencies in the track layout along the main straight and for quite some time there were serious concerns for the future of the race. However, the ACO took all the recommendations on board and was able to convince the French government for continuation. The extensive renovations cost FF300 million, moving 70000 cubic metres of earthLaban 2001, p.118Clarke 1997, p.136: Autosport Jun29 1956 and meant the race was delayed from June 9–10 to the end of July.
The pit straight was redesigned: it was widened by 13m (giving room for a deceleration lane), the small kink removed by straightening the approach, and the Dunlop curve realigned, steepened and eased, moving the Dunlop Bridge. This all had the effect of shortening the lap by 31 metres. The grandstand was demolished and rebuilt with new spectator terraces beyond a ditch between the track. The postwar pits were also torn down and a new 3-storey complex built giving more space for crews and with hospitality suites above (although there was still no barrier out to the racing line). This limited the number of starters to 52, down from 60.Spurring 2011, p.250
Elsewhere on the track, the Indianapolis and Maison Blanche corners were also widened and resurfaced, and a dangerous hump on the road after Arnage was removed. A new “signalling pits” was built just after the Mulsanne corner (in the same place Bentley had used 20 years earlier with a phone-link back to the pits) so as to reduce crew congestion and driver distraction on the critical pit straight area.Spurring 2011, p.250Laban 2001, p.119Clausager 1982, p.20
Regarding new regulations, the ACO also set a number of new restrictions with a view to limit maximum speeds. Prototypes were now given a maximum engine size of 2.5L. Production cars had to have 50 units “built, sold or provided for”Spurring 2011, p.251 and were still unrestricted in engine capacity. These new limits put the ACO out of step with the FIA and hence the race was dropped from the 1956 World Sportscar Championship. Full-width windscreens, at least 200mm, high were also mandatory further trimming top-speed. Other effects to encourage economy limited all fuel tanks to a maximum size of 130 litres, and the liquids replenishment (fuel, oil, water) window was extended again, from 32 to 34 laps (458 km / 284 miles) meaning a minimum practical fuel economy of 10.8mpg would be needed. Finally, drivers were now only allowed to do 72 consecutive laps and 14 hours in total.Clausager 1982, p.96
Entries Although Mercedes-Benz and Cunningham had withdrawn from racing, there was still strong support from the car manufacturers and 14 sent works-entries.Spurring 2011, p.249
Category Classes Entries Large-engines S-5000 / S-300018 Medium-engines S-2000 / S-1500 14 Small-engines S-1100 / S-750 17
To some surprise, Jaguar and Aston Martin were able to present cases to the ACO that their current cars qualified as production models. Jaguar brought three of its updated D-types (now 130 kg lighter and up to 275 bhp), the lead car of Mike Hawthorn / Ivor Bueb equipped with fuel-injection.Moity 1974, p.61 Their other drivers were the experienced Jack Fairman and Ken Wharton, and Paul Frère with new team-member Desmond Titterington. The team arrived in red-hot form after a comprehensive 1-2-3-4 result at the Reims 12-hour race. The reliable ally, Equipe Nationale Belge, fielded a new production D-Type. It also saw the arrival of Scotsman David Murray (racing driver)’s new Ecurie Ecosse under team manager Walter “Wilkie” Wilkinson. Murray's drivers were fellow-Scots Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson, stepping up from the smaller classes. In the absence of the big Cunninghams and Talbots this year, the Jaguars had the S-5000 class to themselves.
Two true production cars, privately entered into the race, were a Jaguar XK140 and a gull-wing Mercedes-Benz 300SL.
Aston Martin returned with a pair of the DB3S, nominally production models but allowed non-standard components.Spurring 2011, p.255 Again, a strong driver line-up was represented, including Stirling Moss (now a works driver for Maserati, which was not at Le Mans this year) with Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori with Peter Walker. The team, having abandoned its Lagonda project, instead arrived with its own new 2.5L prototype – the DBR1/250. Its smaller engine still managed to produce virtually the same power (212 bhp) as its big brothers. It was driven by F1 drivers Reg Parnell and Tony Brooks
Ferrari, without the production facilities to compete with the British, instead had to create a new 2.5L ‘prototype’ for, essentially, the one-off race at Le Mans. Engineer Vittorio Jano developed last year's 2.5L S-4 grand-prix engine and put it into a chassis adapted from the new 500 TR (the inaugural version of the “Testarossa”). Called the 625 LM, it gave 225 bhp giving a maximum speed of 230 km/h – 10 km/h slower than the Jaguars. Team drivers were race-winner Maurice Trintignant and Olivier Gendebien, Phil Hill and André Simon and Spanish noble 'Marquis' Alfonso de Portago with Duncan Hamilton (fired from Jaguar for ignoring team orders at the Rheims race once too often).Spurring 2011, p.257Moity 1974, p.63 Although the 2.0L V12 in the 500 TR was considered too weak by the factory to take on the Jaguars, there were three private-entries including a second car for the Equipe Nationale Belge.
Like Ferrari, French manufacturers Gordini and Talbot could not produce enough to meet the ACO requirements and therefore would have to enter their cars as prototypes. Gordini had two 2.5L cars and a smaller car in the S-1500 category. The larger cars trialled different engines: one using the 2.5L Straight-8 in the Grand Prix cars, and the other a new, more powerful, Straight-6 version (giving about 230 bhp).Spurring 2011, p.264 Talbot, now in receivership and in a change of tack, had adapted the 2.5L grand-prix engine from the Maserati 250F to their new sports cars. Two cars were entered for Jean Behra with Louis Rosier and Jean Lucas with pre-war Maserati veteran Geoffredo “Freddie” Zehender.Spurring 2011, p.267Moity 1974, p.63
After their great success in the previous race, Porsche returned in force with new cars: a pair of 550A Coupés and a 356 Carrera production model. The new car had famously recently beaten the bigger works Ferraris and Maseratis in the non-Championship Targa Florio. The factory also supported a further a pair of older, privately entered 550 RS spyders and a 356A. Competing in the S-1500 class were a pair of private Maseratis and Colin Chapman’s Lotus 11 with the new FWB-Climax engine. His two other cars still used the smaller 1098cc FWA-Climax engine. The other entrants in the S-1100 class were Cooper’s T39 using the same Climax engine, and a tiny French RB fitted with an OSCA 1093cc engine.
For once the smallest, S-750, class was not the preserve of the French. Italian manufacturers Stanguellini and Moretti both sent two-car entries, and OSCA a single car. They were up against a strong DB-works entry of four cars, and three Monopoles. Panhard had closed its racing department after the 1955 disaster and appointed Monopole, effectively as its works team.
Over the flying kilometre on the Mulsanne straight, the following top speeds this year were recorded this year:Clarke 1997, p.151: Road & Track Oct 1956 Car Engine Horsepower Maximum Speed Jaguar D-Type Jaguar 3.4L S6 285 bhp 156.8 mph (250.8 km/h) Ferrari 625 LM Ferrari 2.5L S4 225 bhp 144.7 mph (231.52 km/h) Aston Martin DB3S Aston Martin 2.9L S6 240 bhp 142.6 mph (228.16 km/h) Gordini T15S Gordini 2.5L S8 <230 bhp 142.4 mph (227.84 km/h) Porsche 550A Porsche 1.5L F4 135 bhp 138.0 mph (220.8 km/h) Maserati 150S Maserati 1.5L S4 125 bhp 129.5 mph (207.2 km/h) Lotus 11 / Cooper T39 Climax FWA 1.1L S4 83 bhp 119.0 mph (190.4 km/h) D.B. HBR-5 Panhard 747cc F2 - 109.2 mph (174.72 km/h)
Practice This year there were only the two practice sessions assigned – on the Wednesday and Thursday. Hawthorn set the fastest lap of 4:16.0 early on. Titterington was barely 3 seconds slower but then he demolished his car in an accident, forcing the team to prepare the spare car for the race.Spurring 2011, p.252 The best Moss could do in the Aston Martin was a 4:27Clarke 1997, p.152: Road & Track Oct 1956 Meanwhile, the team was also finding the fuel consumption of their prototype DBR1, easily the noisiest car in the field, was excessive and therefore needed to trim it back to be able to get through the race.Spurring 2011, p.255 Most of the other larger cars were also doing checks on their fuel consumption for the new regulations, and having to adjust their engine settings accordinglyClarke 1997, p.142: Autocar Aug3 1956
As a comparison, some of the lap-times recorded during practice were: Car Driver Best Time Jaguar D-Type Hawthorn 4min 16sec Aston Martin DB3S Moss 4min 27sec Ferrari 625 LM de Portago 4min 28sec Porsche 550A von Trips 4min 40sec Lotus 11 (1.5L) Chapman 4min 46sec Lotus 11 (1.1L) 5min 08sec DB-Panhard HBR-5 5min 46sec
Race Start A minute's silence was held before the start of the race for the previous year's victims and a commemorative plaque unveiled.Spurring 2011, p.249Laban 2001, p.120
The race started in light drizzle, making the new track surface treacherously greasy. As usual, Moss was lightning-quick and first off the line in his Aston Martin. Hawthorn's more powerful Jaguar blasted past him on the back straight and led at the end of the first lap. On lap three, Paul Frère got it sideways in the narrow Esses and spun his Jaguar. Fairman, close behind in the sister car, slammed on the brakes and also spun, then de Portago arrived unsighted and with nowhere to go broadsided Fairman. All three cars got going again: Frère limped on but came to a halt on the Mulsanne straight. De Portago got a bit further but the Ferrari's oil cooler was smashed. Fairman got to the pits but the damage was too severe to repair. Ten minutes gone and three of the leading works entries were already eliminated. Hill's Ferrari barely managed to skate through his teammate's oil, but soon his clutch started to fail. More drama occurred minutes later when Hawthorn came in from the lead with an engine misfire. It was eventually traced to a hairline crack in a fuel line – the delay and repair cost an hour, and 21 laps, and dropped the remaining works Jaguar out of contention.
But worse had happened between these issues: Louis Héry, local garage owner in his second Le Mans, crashed his private Monopole-Panhard heavily at Maison Blanche. The car rolled and tore itself apart. Héry, critically injured, died in the ambulance en route to the hospital.Spurring 2011, p.251