The 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 20th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14–15 June 1952 at Circuit de la Sarthe.
After 22 years away, Mercedes-Benz returned in triumph, scoring a 1–2 victory with their new gull-wing Mercedes-Benz W194 which was equipped with a 3.0L S6 engine that had less power than the road car sold two years later.
Aston Martin, with their DB3, joined Ferrari, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, and Cunningham in the top-level sports prototype game, setting the stage for the rivalries that provided so much drama during the rest of the decade.
This race was notable in that Pierre Levegh attempted to drive the entire 24 Hours by himself. With just over an hour to go however, a connecting rod in the engine of Levegh's car broke, taking it out of the race.
Regulations This year the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) decreed that mudguards now had to be integral with the bodywork, unlike the pre-war style of cycle-type mudguards. This meant cars had proper sports-car bodies and were not just modified Grand Prix cars. After ongoing issues with the fuel used in the race, the ACO's ‘ternary' fuel was made up of 75% petrol, 15% alcohol and 10% benzole. The minimum replenishment period for fuel, water and oil was extended from 25 laps to 28.Spurring 2011, p.121 The target average lap speeds (i.e. minimum distances per hour) for each class were also increased. Finally, after 19 runs of the event, the prize money (FF 1 500 000) for the race-winner was raised to make it the same as that for the Index of Performance winnerSpurring 2011, p.121 – just reflecting the stature that the teams and spectators had always placed on the overall race win.
Entries There were over a dozen multi-car works teams that year, along with self-built team owners and works-supported private entries. There were less than 20 genuine private entries, well in the minority of the 60 starters and reserves. This year the big news was the return of Mercedes-Benz and Rudolf Caracciola to La Sarthe after 22 years, and the first entry from the Scuderia Ferrari works team.
Mercedes, led again by their pre-war team manager Alfred Neubauer, arrived with a trio of Mercedes-Benz W194 sportscars named '300SL' (Sport Leicht), which would lead to the road-going fuel-injected 1954 Mercedes-Benz W198 Gullwing of the same name. To fit into a low racer, the 3.0L S6 engine of a new limousine was tilted at a 50° angle, and race-tuned as Mercedes-Benz M194 engine, still fitted with carburettors. The cars had tubular frames with high sides, and in the first two races, Mille Miglia and supporting the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix, had only small gullwing windows above the closed sides. These were considered too small by the ACO organizers, thus new chassis had to be made, with doors that cut half way into the sides. Mercedes also tested tilted air brakes above the roof, these were not allowed to race. The cars had run for over 12 hour at the Mille Miglia, and were tuned down a fraction to 165 bhp for better 24 hour durability.Spurring 2011, p.123
Along with Neubauer was only one of three pre-war Mercedes team drivers, Hermann Lang. Rudolf Caracciola was entered on the No.22T car, but in May had broken his leg in Switzerland, and this ended his illustrious career.Spurring 2011, p.123 Even worse happened to Luigi Fagioli who had won the 1935 Monaco Grand Prix for Mercedes, but got injured before the recent 1952 Monaco Grand Prix sports car race, and would die after the Le Mans race. Karl Kling was the other post-war team leader, with a third car given to lesser known drivers.
Jaguar returned with a strong 3-car team. Having been beaten for speed by the new Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz in the Mille Miglia, the C-types were hurriedly redesigned with a more aerodynamic shell, which unfortunately meant a smaller radiatorClarke 1997, p.71Spurring 2011, p.126 and a relocated header tank. They also presented a strong driver line-up with the previous year's winners Peter Walker with Stirling Moss, and Peter Whitehead with new driver Ian Stewart, as well as Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton who had previously driven for Healey.
Aston Martin, after their great success in the 1951 race, arrived with three new DB-3 cars, as well as two privately entered DB-2s, all fitted with the reliable 2.6L S6 engine. Sydney Allard decided to change engines this year, swapping the Cadillac for a Chrysler V8 and the new J2X had new bodywork to comply with the new ACO regulations.Spurring 2011, p.138 This year Donald Healey entered a pair of Nash-engined prototypes, one with a new body for the British drivers, the other with a new engine for his French drivers.Spurring 2011, p.127
Talbot was the last of the old French manufacturers remaining in the large-engine classes with four privately entered T-26 cars (with strong support from the factory), now with the required new enclosed bodywork. André Chambas had modified his 4.5L engine by adding twin-superchargers which (by using the x1.4 supercharge-equivalence factor) meant his car (#6) had the biggest effective engine capacity and started at the head of the grid.Spurring 2011, p.119 picture Gordini, having gone their separate ways from Simca, were now powered with their own engines: a smaller team with the standard 1100cc car, and a special 2.3L version for its regular GP drivers, Jean Behra and Robert Manzon, which was very nimble. With the swarm of small-engined Panhards, Renaults and Simcas (as well as a supercharged Peugeot special), the French were the biggest nationality represented with 20 cars, followed by the 18 British cars.Clausager 1982, p.84
Ferrari was back again in force, with eight entrants including two in a works team, and a trio from Luigi Chinetti's American team. Alongside the previous year's '340 America' 4.1L model was the new '250 Sport' with a 3.0L V12 engine capable of 220 bhp (fresh from beating Mercedes and Jaguar in the Mille Miglia) and one of the smaller 2.7L '225 Sport' that had just taken the top five places at the Monaco Grand Prix (this year a sports-car race) a fortnight earlier. The '250 S' was to be driven by Enzo Ferrari's GP drivers Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi, while the smaller works '225 S' was driven by Tom Cole Jr., latterly with Allard. Even Louis Rosier had jumped from Talbot to a pair of Ferrari 340 Americas. He was entered in one (racing with fellow French F1 racer Maurice Trintignant) and the other for his son.
Lancia's first foray the year before had been a win, and the works team returned with a pair of updated B20 Aurelias to again contest the 2-litre class. Another pre-war veteran, Luigi Fagioli, was to have driven (after scoring a 3rd place in the Mille Miglia) but had been critically injured at the same Monaco GP that Ferrari had won and could not compete.Spurring 2011, p.130 (He died of his wounds less than a week after the Le Mans race.)
Another future Italian stalwart of the race made its debut this year: OSCA had been set up by the three Maserati brothers after selling their namesake company, and arrived with their first sports car, the MT-4. Its 1.3L engine developed 90 bhp, putting it in a competitive contest against the Jowetts and Porsche.
Briggs Cunningham returned with his own cars and regular team-drivers John Fitch and Phil Walters. This year they had two new C-4R roadsters and one with a closed coupé body (C-4RK) designed by renowned pre-war aerodynamicist Wunibald Kamm. Made over 500 kg lighter than the 1951 C-2, they claimed the biggest engines just ahead of the Allards, with the burly 5.4L Chrysler 'Firepower' V8 putting out 320 bhp.Spurring 2011, p.132 Potential works entries from Alfa Romeo (for Juan-Manuel Fangio and José Froilán González) and Pegaso were scratched amid concerns about the cars being able to last the distance.Spurring 2011, p.120
Practice The remodelled Jaguars soon showed up overheating problems what were to plague them through the race, despite some hasty modifications.Spurring 2011, p.126Clausager 1982, p.84 A Le Mans star of the future, Phil Hill drove one of the Cunninghams in practice, but not in the race.Spurring 2011, p.133
In the second practice session, Griffith heavily crashed his Aston Martin into the sandbank at Tertre Rouge, but team manager John Wyer managed to swap in the spare car without the officials noticing.Spurring 2011, p.140 Also needing a full rebuild after a practice crash was the new DB coupé.Spurring 2011, p.135 A piston failure during practice forced the scratching one of Louis Rosier's Ferraris.Spurring 2011, p.136 But it was Hermann Lang in the Mercedes which both set the fastest unofficial top speed on the 3 mile Mulsanne Straight, at some 150 mph. And the fastest lap in practice at 4m40s, just a tenth ahead of Ascari's Ferrari,Spurring 2011, p.123 with both fully 20 seconds faster than the ‘official' time of the Cunningham in 1951.
Race
Start After the wet race the previous year, this year's race was essentially dry. Leader after the first lap was Phil Walters in the Cunningham coupé,Spurring 2011, p.120 chased by Moss in the Jaguar and the red and blue Ferraris of Ascari and Simon respectively, then the other two Jaguars and Levegh's Talbot.Spurring 2011, p.120Pomeroy & Walkerley 1953, p.144Clarke 1997, p.60 Ascari soon got to the front and between him and Simon they took turnabout lowering Stirling Moss's lap record – eventually setting it six seconds faster than the previous year.
Soon enough though, after just 6 laps, Ascari was in the pits with clutch problemsSpurring 2011, p.136Clarke 1997, p.60 – something that would plague the Ferraris through the race. It was worse news at the Jaguar garage. Moss had moved back up to second when Ascari pitted but soon was also pitting, with overheating problems.Spurring 2011, p.126Clarke 1997, p.60 By nightfall all three Jaguars were out of the race in a dramatic change of fortune to the previous year. Two of the Aston Martins had retired with differential issues.Clarke 1997, p.60 Phil Walters had kept the Cunningham coupé in close reach, and after 4 hours handed the car over to his co-driver Duane Carter who promptly planted it into the sandbank at Tertre Rouge on his second lap out.Spurring 2011, p.133 Soon after getting back in the race their engine started playing up with similar problems that had already sidelined John Fitch's car.
Surprising the home crowd, that moved the Gordini of Robert Manzon up behind Simon. Though running a much smaller engine than the cars around it, it was proving very fast. When Simon had to start nursing a slipping clutch, Manzon took the lead in the 3rd hour. Meanwhile, the three Mercedes-Benzes were playing a waiting game, running to Neubauer's strict, conservative pace to preserve the cars and hovering just in the top 10. After several trips to the pits, Vincent stuck the former lead Ferrari into the sandbank at Mulsanne corner, dropping it right down the order.Spurring 2011, p.120 Chinetti's own Ferrari moved up into the top five, while his 3rd car had fallen to clutch problems in the early evening, as had Rosier's car.
Night