1964 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 32nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 20 and 21 June 1964. It was also the ninth round of the 1964 World Sportscar Championship season.

Pre-race

Le Mans in 1964

In 1963, Ford had almost won the Indianapolis 500 on its first try with Lotus. The Indianapolis powerplant, a 4.2L aluminum block Fairlane engine with a Colotti gearbox, was installed in the new Ford GT40s.

The new white and blue coupe made its first appearance in April at Le Mans test days. The results were disappointing, as the car was unstable on the straight, however Ford sent one car to Germany for Phil Hill and Bruce McLaren to race in the 1000km Nürburgring. The GT40 qualified second to a Ferrari 275P, but retired after 15 laps. Ford entered three GT40s in the 24 Hours and could also count on Shelby's Cobra Daytona coupés and a works Le Mans Coupé entered by AC.

Even if the reliability of the GT40 was questionable, Ferrari took Ford as a serious threat. The works entered four prototypes at Le Mans, three 3.3L 275Pa and a 4.0L 330P. Other Ferrari prototypes, including two 330Ps, were entered by the British team Maranello Concessionaires, the Belgian team Equipe Nationale Belge and the American North American Racing Team (NART).

Race

Pedro Rodríguez took the best start with the NART 330P. Richard Attwood's No. 12 Ford GT-40 caught fire in the evening. Phil Hill drove the sole surviving GT40, and broke into the top three coming from 32nd during the night and establishing a lap record at 131.375 mph (211.4 km/h). Just before 05:30, Phil brought the last GT40 to the pits. After some discussion between Ford officials, the cause of the retirement was a gearbox failure. Ferraris took the top three spots, with the factory Ferrari of Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella winning. The race saw the first success for Shelby American, with the Daytona Coupe first in the GT class, fourth overall.

The race was marred by the deaths of 3 spectators caused by an accident during nighttime hours. James Gilbert and Lionel Yvonnick, both 19 from Western France and Jacques Ledoux, 17 from Paris were standing at a point at the section between Arnage and Maison Blanche, were hit by Giancarlo Baghetti's Ferrari and Peter Bolton's AC Cobra. Bolton's Cobra suffered a tyre blow out on a fast corner, and he ended up in Baghetti's path, and the two cars collided and hit the three spectators. The three people were standing in a forbidden zone of the circuit. Baghetti emerged uninjured, and Bolton was taken to hospital with minor injuries.^[1]

Official results

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
1	P 5.0	20	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Jean Guichet Nino Vaccarella	Ferrari 275P	Ferrari 3.3L V12	349
2	P 5.0	14	Maranello Concessionaires	Graham Hill Jo Bonnier	Ferrari 330P	Ferrari 4.0L V12	344
3	P 5.0	19	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	John Surtees Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari 330P	Ferrari 4.0L V12	337
4	GT +3.0	5	Shelby-American Inc.	Dan Gurney Bob Bondurant	Shelby Cobra Daytona	Ford 4.7L V8	334
5	GT 3.0	24	Ecurie Nationale Belge	Lucien Bianchi Jean Blaton	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari 3.0L V12	333
6	GT 3.0	25	Maranello Concessionaires	Innes Ireland Tony Maggs	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari 3.0L V12	328
7	GT 2.0	34	Auguste Veuillet	Robert Buchet Guy Ligier	Porsche 904/4 GTS	Porsche 2.0L Flat-4	323
8	GT 2.0	33	Racing Team Holland	Ben Pon Henk van Zalinge	Porsche 904/4 GTS	Porsche 2.0L Flat-4	319
9	GT 3.0	27	North American Racing Team (NART) Fernand Tavano	Fernand Tavano Bob Grossman	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari 3.0L V12	315
10	GT 2.0	31	Porsche System Engineering	Gerhard Koch Heinz Schiller	Porsche 904/4 GTS	Porsche 2.0L Flat-4	315
11	GT 2.0	35	Scuderia Filipinetti	Herbert Müller Claude Sage	Porsche 904/4 GTS	Porsche 2.0L Flat-4	309
12	GT 2.0	32	"Franc"	Jacques Dewes Jean Kerguen	Porsche 904/4 GTS	Porsche 2.0L Flat-4	308
13	GT 1.6	57	Scuderia St. Ambroeus	Roberto Bussinello Bruno Deserti	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ	Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4	307
14	P +5.0	1	Auguste Veuillet	Pierre Noblet Edgar Berney	Iso Grifo A3C	Chevrolet 5.4L V8	307
15	GT 1.6	41	Scuderia St. Ambroeus	Giampiero Biscaldi Giancarlo Sala	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ	Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4	305
16	P 5.0	23	Ecurie Nationale Belge	Pierre Dumay Gerard Langlois van Ophem	Ferrari 250LM	Ferrari 3.3L V12	298
17	P 3.0	46	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Roger Delageneste Henry Morrogh	Alpine M64	Renault-Gordini 1.1L I4	292
18	GT +3.0	64	Société Chardonnet	Régis Fraissinet Jean de Mortemart	AC Cobra	Ford 4.7L V8	289
19	GT 2.0	37	British Motor Corporation	Paddy Hopkirk Andrew Hedges	MG MGB Hardtop	MG 1.8L I4	287
20	P 3.0	59	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Roger Masson Teodore Zeccoli	Alpine M63	Renault-Gordini 1.0L I4	284
21	P 3.0	50	Standard Triumph	David Hobbs Rob Slotemaker	Triumph Spitfire	Triumph 1.1L I4	272
22	GT 1.3	43	Team Elite '62	Clive Hunt John Wagstaff	Lotus Elite Mk14	Coventry Climax 1.2L I4	266
23	GT 1.3	52	Société Automobiles René Bonnet	Philippe Farjon Serge Lelong	René Bonnet Aérodjet	Renault-Gordini 1.1L I4	260
24	P 3.0	53	Donald Healey Motor Company	Clive Baker William Bradley	Austin-Healey Sprite Sebring	BMC 1.1L I4	257

Not Classified

Failed to cover 70% of winner's distance (244 laps)

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
25	P 3.0	47	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Mauro Bianchi Jean Vinatier	Alpine M63	Renault-Gordini 1.0L I4	230

Did Not Finish

Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Engine	Laps
26	P 3.0	30	Porsche System Engineering	Colin Davis Gerhard Mitter	Porsche 904/8	Porsche 2.0L Flat-8	244
27	GT +3.0	18	Michael Salmon	Mike Salmon Peter Sutcliffe	Aston Martin DP214	Aston Martin 3.7L I6	235
28	P 3.0	48	Société Automobiles René Bonnet	Robert Bouharde Michel de Bourbon-Palma	René Bonnet Aérodjet	Renault-Gordini 1.1L I4	216
29	P 5.0	10	Ford Motor Company	Phil Hill Bruce McLaren	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.2L V8	192
30	GT +3.0	16	Peter Lindner	Peter Lindner Peter Nöcker	Jaguar E-Type Lightweight	Jaguar 3.8L I6	149
31	P 3.0	65	Standard Triumph	Jean-François Piot Jean-Louis Marnat	Triumph Spitfire	Triumph 1.1L I4	140
32	P 3.0	29	Porsche System Engineering	Edgar Barth Herbert Linge	Porsche 904/8	Porsche 2.0L Flat-8	139
33	P 3.0	54	Société des Automobile Alpine	Philippe Vidal Henri Grandsire	Alpine M64	Renault-Gordini 1.1L I4	133
34	GT +3.0	6	Briggs S. Cunningham	Chris Amon Jochen Neerpasch	Shelby Cobra Daytona	Ford 4.7L V8	131
35	P 3.0	45	S.E.C.A. CD	Pierre Lelong Guy Verrier	CD 3	Panhard 1.2L Supercharged Flat-2	124
36	GT +3.0	9	Rootes Group	Peter Procter Jimmy Blumer	Sunbeam Tiger Thunderbolt	Ford 4.3L V8	118
37	GT 3.0	26	North American Racing Team (NART)	Ed Hugus José Rosinski	Ferrari 250 GTO	Ferrari 3.0L V12	114
38	P 5.0	2	Maserati France	André Simon Maurice Trintignant	Maserati Tipo 151/3	Maserati 4.9L V8	99
39	GT +3.0	17	P.J. Sargent	Peter Sargent Peter Lumsden	Jaguar E-Type Lightweight	Jaguar 3.8L I6	80
40	P 3.0	44	S.E.C.A. CD	Alain Bertaut André Guilhaudin	CD 3	Panhard 1.2L Supercharged Flat-2	77
41	GT +3.0	3	AC Cars Ltd.	Peter Bolton Jack Sears	AC Cobra Coupé	Ford 4.7L V8	77
42	P 5.0	21	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Mike Parkes Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari 275P	Ferrari 3.3L V12	71
43	P 5.0	22	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Giancarlo Baghetti Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari 275P	Ferrari 3.3L V12	69
44	P 5.0	11	Ford Motor Company	Richie Ginther Masten Gregory	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.2L V8	63
45	P 3.0	56	Société Automobiles René Bonnet	Pierre Monneret Jean-Claude Rudaz	René Bonnet Aérodjet	Renault-Gordini 1.0L I4	62
46	P 5.0	15	North American Racing Team (NART)	Pedro Rodríguez Skip Hudson	Ferrari 330P	Ferrari 4.0L V12	58
47	P 5.0	12	Ford Motor Company	Richard Attwood Jo Schlesser	Ford GT40 Mk.I	Ford 4.2L V8	58
48	P 3.0	55	Société Automobiles René Bonnet	Jean-Pierre Beltoise Gérard Laureau	René Bonnet Aérodjet	Renault-Gordini 1.1L I4	54
49	GT 1.6	40	Scuderia St. Ambroeus	Fernand Masoreo Jean Rolland	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ	Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4	47
50	P 3.0	60	Société Automobiles René Bonnet	Bruno Basini Roland Charriére	René Bonnet RB5	Renault-Gordini 1.2L I4	44
51	GT +3.0	8	Rootes Group	Claude Dubois Keith Ballisat	Sunbeam Tiger Thunderbolt	Ford 4.3L V8	37
52	P 3.0	49	Standard Triumph	Michael Rotschild Bob Tullius	Triumph Spitfire	Triumph 1.1L I4	23
53	P 3.0	42	Lawrence Tune Engineering	Chris J. Lawrence Gordon Spice	Deep Sanderson 301	BMC 1.3L I4	13
54	GT 1.6	38	Royal Elysées	René Richard "Pierre Gelé"	Lotus Elan 26R	Lotus 1.6L I4	7
55	P 5.0	58	North American Racing Team (NART)	David Piper Jochen Rindt	Ferrari 250LM	Ferrari 3.3L V12	0

Statistics

• Pole Position - #19 SpA Ferrari SEFAC - 3:42.0
• Fastest Lap - #10 Ford Motor Company - 3:49.2
• Distance - 4695.31 km
• Average Speed - 195.638 km/h

Trophy Winners

• Index of Performance - #20 SpA Ferrari SEFAC
• Index of Thermal Efficiency - #46 Société des Automobiles Alpine

References