I bought this iconic photographic print of the start of the 1950 Le Mans 24-hour race in France. I don’t know if is a print from the original negative.
It shows the famous Le Mans start where drivers start across the track and run to their cars, start the engines and drive away. This dangerous and chaotic practice changed in 1970.
I love the spectators in the foreground craning their necks to view the start. One man with his back to the scene appears to be holding a viewing device.
And the cars! No.1 is out of view but No. 2 is a crazy creation – a Cadillac but given the name Le Monstre by the French crowd. Driven by Phil Walters and Briggs Cunningham, described as looking like a cross between a First World War tank and a hovercraft. Powered by a 6.2 litre V-8 engine with five carburetors it won over the crowd managing to work its way up from 35th place to finish eleventh
Le Monstre during the race
At one point in the race Cunningham drove the car into a sandbank - hence the damaged nearside
No 3 was also a Cadillac, a Coupe de Ville, driven by Sam and C. Miles Collier (father of the founder of the Revs Institute car museum), who, allegedly drove the car wearing jackets and ties, their normal work outfits. Another alleged story says that on sprinting across the track to their car the Colliers found they had inadvertently left the car locked! The Coupe de Ville finished 10th, one place ahead of Le Monstre.
Runners and Results of the cars seen in the photograph(no number 13!) 1 M.A.P Francois Lacour / Pierre Veyron dnf
2 Cadillac Le Monstre Briggs Cunninham / Phil Walters 11th
3 Cadillac Coupe de Ville Sam Collier / Miles Collier 10th
4 Allard J2 Sidney Allard / Tom Cole 3rd
5 Talbot-Lago Louis Rosier / Jean-Louis Rosier 1st
6 Talbot-Lago GS Coupé André Chambas / André Morel 13th
7 Talbot-Lago MD Pierre Meyrat / Guy Mairesse 2nd
8 Delahaye 175S Charles Pozzi / Pierre Flahault Disq
9 Delahaye 175S Gaston Serraud / André Guelfi dnf
10 Delettrez Diesel Jean Delettrez / Jacques D dnf
11 Bentley Corniche Eddie Hall / Tom Clarke 8th
12 Bentley Paulin H.S.F. Hay / Hugh Hunter 14th
14 Nash-Healey Tony Rolt / Duncan Hamilton 4th
15 Jaguar XK120 Peter C. Clark / Nick Haines 12th
16 Jaguar XK120 Peter Whitehead / John Marshall 15th
17 Jaguar XK120 Leslie Johnson / Bert Hadley dnf
18 Delage D6-3L Henri Louveau / Jean Estager 7th
19 Aston Martin DB2 George Abecassis / Lance Macklin 5th
20 Aston Martin DB2 Eric Thompson / John Gordon dnf
21 Aston Martin DB2 Charles Brackenbury / Reg Parnell 6th
22 Riley RMC Lawrie / Beetson 17th
23 Healey Elliott Mann / Morris-Goodall 19th
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