THE EDITOR
“There is a magic and mystique to Le Mans that can be hard to pin down”
The first Le Mans 24 Hours took place 100 years ago this month on 26-27 May 1923. It had been dreamt up by Emile Coquille, a French importer of Rudge-Whitworth bicycles and wheels, George Durand of the ACO and Charles Faroux, the editor of a weekly motoring magazine. Initially it was envisaged to be an eight-hour race – four in daylight, four at night, but Durand suggested a full 24 hours. What could be a better proof of reliability and endurance?
That first event drew 33 starters from 17 manufacturers, all hoping to make their mark on history, yet now vanished – Delage, Montier, Chenard et Walcker, Brasier, Georges Irat, La Lorraine, Berliet… Only one name carried through to us uninterrupted: Bentley.
All the cars were French apart from the Bentley and two entrants from Excelsior, a Belgian manufacturer, and each raced in their national colours – blue for France, yellow for Belgium and green for the British. The weather was filthy and the track rutted but a jazz band and fireworks kept the crowd in good spirits.